Ferguson: The Glazers are doing a great job!
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The Glazers are doing a great job, says Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson has defended the Glazer family, claiming Manchester United’s American owners have been treated unfairly by fans desperate to get them out of Old Trafford.
Ferguson has consistently defended the Glazers since their controversial takeover in 2005 but made his latest comments because of the unrest caused by United’s inability to match neighbours City in the transfer market.
Glazer: Criticised by fans
Although chief executive David Gill reiterated this week that Ferguson has cash for new signings if he needs it, fans fear the money needed to service the £716million debt heaped on the club by Malcolm Glazer and his family means their manager has no choice but to build from within.
But Ferguson said: ‘You know very well that no matter which business is bought nowadays, it’s usually bought with debt.
‘Because it’s a football club it seems to attract a different type of negative reporting via the media or particularly some of our fans.
‘It’s unfair that because a particular family like the Glazers have bought the club, they should come under criticism when anybody could have bought it.
‘I have to say they’ve done their job well. They support myself and they’ve supported the players. I’ve never been refused when I’ve asked for money for a player so what can I do other than carry on the way we’re doing it? I’ve no complaints.’
Those waging the green and gold campaign in an attempt to force out the owners will not bepleased to hear Ferguson’s public show of support.
But Fergie says he has staked United’s future on his new generation of players and promised that they will be his legacy when he quits Old Trafford.
New boy: United defender Chris Smalling
While City's spending is set to exceed £100million, United have so far paid out £17m - £10m on Chris Smalling and £7m on Javier Hernandez - during a quiet summer in the transfer market, with Ferguson instead relying on his young players to make the step up.He is adamant they will reward his faith by becoming United's new golden generation.
'There will be a point obviously when I do quit,' said Ferguson. 'Now when the time comes I think the club will be OK. 'Whenever I do go, and I don't see it being tomorrow, what you have to do is maintain the success of the club and make sure that the club is always in good hands and there's no need for a complete overhaul of the playing squad.
'I've got probably 12 players all under 21 which is a fantastic average age. The future should be pretty secure with them.
'Over the years we've bought players for quite high amounts like Berbatov, Ferdinand, Veron and Rooney. We try to equate how we're going to get the proper value before we do it. 'But we're in such a competitive world that you're hamstrung in relation to the borders people will stretch to get the best players.
'When I see some of the values, and you're talking about players at £40m or £30m-odd, I don't think the enormous amounts of money they're paid rests easy with supporters, not just for the transfer fees but for their salaries.
Putting pen to paper: Sir Alex Ferguson signing autographs in the United States
'Now we take a quite good view of it and say let's look at our own young players. Have they got the ability? How much can we trust them? Do we see a top player in that young player?
'And we're not bad, you know. There are some good young players who have come through the system. They understand the club, they're loyal to the club and we can build through that.'
Chief executive David Gill reiterated this week that Ferguson has cash for new signings if he needs it. However, fans fear the money needed to service the £716m debt heaped on the club by the Glazers means their manager has no choice but to build from within.
Those waging the green and gold campaign in an attempt to force out the owners will not be pleased to hear Ferguson's public show of support.
The new guard: Fergie has backed his latest recruits to make the grade
'The debt has come through the club being bought out by an owner,' he said. 'You know very well that no matter which business is bought nowadays, it's usually bought with debt.
'It's unfair that because a particular family like the Glazers have bought the club, they should come under criticism when anybody could have bought it.
'I have to say they've done their job well. They support myself and they've supported the players. I've never been refused when I've asked for money for a player so what can I do other than carry on the way we're doing it, and the way I'm allowed to carry on? I've no complaints.'
We do it like this: Fergie with Javier Hernandez
United continued their tour of North America in Houston against the MLS All-Stars in the early hours of this morning.
Asked what keeps him going at the age of 68, Ferguson added: 'The most important thing is I'm at the right club. 'It's a fantastic football club which demands a challenge all the time. Every day of every year we have the challenge of being at the top. I think that helps me.
'The second thing is that you need good natural energy which I've been blessed with. The third is that I can keep going as long as my health keeps going. If I have my health I will carry on.
'I tried quitting a few years ago and it was a disaster. Agony. My wife made me change my mind and she was right.'
Jose Mourinho remains one of the favourites to take over from Ferguson when he retires, and the United boss offered an insight into the kind of character required to succeed him.
'We're a massive club, there's no question about that, and you have to ingrain yourself into the fabric of the club immediately,' he said.
'That gives you a good chance in terms of understanding the history. It's not a history you should be afraid of. I was never afraid of it, I was proud to be part of the history. 'Then, after that you need a strong personality, a strong mentality and, of course, you need to know the game.'
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eh...............even Old Fergie also not above bootlicking and dicksucking his Jewish paymasters ah..............