Om gårdagens intervju med Sir Alex var rätt blek så är de citat som i dag hittat dagens ljus i La Suede ungefär fyra hundra gånger mer intressanta.
Han öppnar sig på ett sätt vi inte sett ofta, allt för en studie om hans ledarskap som genomförts på Harvard i USA och heter Sir Alex Ferguson: Managing Manchester United.
Fergie lyfter på locket till en hel del ”secrets”:
“Some managers are ‘pleasing managers’. They let the players play 8-a-sides or 10-a-sides – games they enjoy.
“We look at the training sessions as opportunities to learn and improve. The players may think ‘Here we go again’ but it helps to win. The message is simple: we cannot sit still at this club.
“There is no room for criticism on the training field. For a player – and for any human being – there is nothing better than hearing ‘well done’. Those are the two best words ever invented in sports. You don’t need to use superlatives.”
Kommentar: Vad fin han är. Och Gud så tråkigt det måste vara att aldrig få köra tvåmål. Men som sagt: Det är ingen social verksamhet.
“You can’t always come in shouting and screaming.“That doesn’t work. No one likes to get criticised.
“But in the football dressing room, it’s necessary that you point out your players’ mistakes.
“I do it right after the game. I don’t wait until Monday, I do it, and it’s finished. I’m onto the next match. There is no point in criticizing a player forever.
Kommentar: Det är ju en av hans styrkor, Alex. Att han blir förbannad och bara går vidare. Om dom missköter sig till en viss gräns, vill säga:
“You can’t ever lose control – not when you are dealing with thirty top professionals who are all millionaires. If they misbehave, we fine them, but we keep it indoors. And if anyone steps out of my control, that’s them dead.”
“I am only interested in players who really want to play for United, and who, like me, are ‘bad losers’.
“You have to get the game out of your system quickly or it becomes an obsession. Win, lose, or draw. We show our face, and keep our dignity. We are Manchester United.”
Kommentar: Fergie är allt som oftast en av de bättre förlorarna i den moderna toppfotbollen. Visst, han kan ge sken utåt ibland av att bara gnälla på domare och klaga på uteblivna straffar och för få tilläggsminuter, men det är otaliga gånger vi läst om hur stor han är vid förlust. Som när vi verkligen blev bortdömda i returmötet med Porto – och på så sätt indirekt gav José Mourinho snabbare rikedomar – och Fergie stegade in och gratulerade portugisen efter att ha åkt ur på stopptid.
“We never reveal the team to the players until the day of the game. For a three o’clock game, we tell them at one o’clock and before that I speak to the players I’ve left out.
“I do it privately. It’s not easy, but I do them all myself. It is important. I have been dropped from a Cup Final in Scotland as a player at ten past two, so I know what it feels like.
“I’m not ever sure what they are thinking, but I tend to say ‘Look, I might be making a mistake here,’ – I always say that – ‘but I think this is the best team for today’.
“I try to give them a bit of confidence, telling them that it is only tactical, and that there are bigger games coming up.
“But I believe you must make quick decisions and move on. Why should I go to my bed with a doubt?”
Kommentar: Roligt att Fergie inte avslöjar laget förrän två timmar innan avspark och att han kör individuella samtal med alla (?) andra spelare innan och alltid ber om ursäkt, typ. Skulle vara intressant att se hur Berba reagerade när han inte ens fick plats på Wembleys bänk förra våren.
”I once heard a coach start with ’This must be the 1000th team talk I’ve had with you,’ and saw a player quickly responding with ’And I’ve slept through half of them!’
”So I like to tell different stories, and use my imagination. Generally, it is about our expectations, their belief in themselves, and their trust in each other.
”I remember going to see Andrea Bocelli, the opera singer. I had never been to a classical concert in my life. But I am watching this and thinking about the coordination and the teamwork, one starts and one stops, just fantastic. So I spoke to my players about the orchestra – how they are a perfect team.”
Kommentar: Det känns så typiskt Fergie. Alltihopa. Och han är mer en motivator än man kanske tror. Som det klassiska snacket i halvtid på Camp Nou 99. ”I told them the cup is only six feet away from you at the end of this day. If you lose, you can’t even touch it.” Allt det här får mig mer och mer tro att Mourinho är den man Glazyr-gubbarna vill ha som ersättare. Nackdelen med det tänket är förstås att José säkert tjänar dubbelt så mycket som Alexander.
Om Mou säger Alex:
”Jose is very intelligent, he has charisma, his players play for him, and he is a good looking guy. I think I have most of those things, too, apart from his good looks.”
”He’s got a confidence about himself, saying ’We’ll win this’ and ’I’m the Special One’.
”I could never come out and say we’re going to win this game. It’s maybe a wee bit of my Scottishness?”
och apropå halvtidssnack:
”There are maybe eight minutes between you coming up through the tunnel and the referees calling you up on the pitch again, so it is vital to use the time well.
”Everything is easier when you are winning: you talk about concentrating, not getting complacent, and small things you can address. But when you are losing, you know that you are going to have to make an impact.
”The last few minutes of the first half I’m always thinking of what I’m going to say. I’m a little bit in a trance. I am concentrating. I don’t believe in taking notes. I see other coaches do it, but I don’t want to miss any part of the game.
”And I cannot imagine going into the dressing room, looking at my notes, and saying ’Oh in the 30th minute, that pass you took’. I don’t think it’s going to impress the players.”
Kommentar: Undrar hur mycket tuggummi han har med sig på en match. Är det Phelan som ansvarar för lagret? Och hur är det egentligen med Fergies hosta? Hostar han mer ju nervösare han är?
Och så snackar han lite igen om sina chefer – men är det en gnutta kritik jag läser mellan raderna?
”The Glazers decide. They have generally been very supportive and are very low-key. If I owned United and they won the league, I would be over the moon.
”I remember when I played with Rangers, when the directors were under the shower with their clothes on, dancing about. But the Glazers shook a few hands and had some photographs taken, that was it.
”Some English clubs have changed managers so many times that it creates power for the players in the dressing room.
”That is very dangerous. Football management in the end is all about the players. You think you are a better player than they are, and they think they are a better manager than you are.”
Kommentar: Är ”generally” ett nyckelord? Han slickar visserligen rätt saftigt i meningarna efter, men han lyckas ändå få in kritik mot Glazyrerna. I vilken form är omöjligt att säga, men det ska bli väldigt intressant att läsa Den Gamles uppdaterade memoarer när han lämnat klubben.
Om han inte kolar på bänken, vilket är en ganska stor risk.
Slutligen: Varför öppnade Fergie upp sig på detta viset?
Det förklarar han här.
”When you’re approached by an institution like Harvard, you know you are dealing with top quality. I had to consider that I was opening myself up to something I’ve never done before.
But at this stage of my life, I felt that if I’m helping young people progress through their own routes to management, then ultimately that was an important and compelling factor for me.”
* Gary Nevilles popularitet som pundit för Sky fortsätter att växa och det är förståeligt. Han är briljant.
Kolla hans senaste analys av Arsenal.
Här är ett knäck om hur det går till bakom kulisserna i hans nya tv-jobb.
