Sir Alex backs Rafael
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Sir Alex Ferguson was in typically deflective mood after Manchester United's exit from the Champions League. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
Once again, Sir Alex Ferguson decided to adhere to what Leo Durocher, the old baseball coach, used to say about "show me a good loser and I'll show you an idiot". This time it was a Stan Boardman moment, deriding Bayern Munich as "typical Germans" for surrounding the referee to campaign for Rafael da Silva's red card. Typical Ferguson, you could say. The habit of trying to influence, or deceive, match officials is practised in every country – even Ferguson's beloved Scotland, judging by the way Darren Fletcher was flailing his arms at Mike Dean and beseeching him for a nonexistent penalty against Chelsea last Saturday.
By now, we have grown accustomed to this kind of response from Ferguson, whether it be questioning whether Italians can be trusted or calling the Dutch "arrogant", as he did after a 3-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in 2000. The shock factor has diminished over the years, replaced by a knowing roll of the eyes from those who know him best. Nobody works the levers of the media better than Manchester United's manager and, like a conjuror, these little outbursts can succeed in misdirecting his audience from the shortcomings of his own team. Those Germans: they bombed our chippie, you know.
What Ferguson did not want to consider on Wednesday night was the notion that his team had come up short. Bayern, he said, were "lucky". In fact, he used that word half a dozen times and, in fairness, with a little justification on the basis that, 11 versus 11, United did look the more likely winners. It has been a galling week for the Premier League champions but there were mitigating circumstances, among them Wayne Rooney's injury, and the lesson of history is that we should desist from the kind of knee-jerk reaction that had another newspaper's website posing the question at 8am today "Has time got the better of Ferguson?"
The hair may not be so chestnut any more, the bags under his eyes seemed supersized on Wednesday and his voice was laced with unmistakeable sadness, but do not question his longevity. Bill Shankly left Anfield at the age of 60. Brian Clough relinquished his powers at Nottingham Forest at 58. Bob Paisley lasted until he was 64 and Sir Matt Busby closed his reign at Old Trafford when he was 62.
Time caught up with them all. Even Busby. On one coach journey, a sheet of paper was passed around United's players showing a caricature of Busby, drawn with great skill and care in ink, depicting him with his nose as a penis and his cheeks as two testicles. The caption read "Bollocks Chops". Eamon Dunphy, one of United's players of the time, remembers it illustrating "the depths to which Busby's stock had sunk among a faction in the club". Can you seriously imagine the class of 2010 treating Ferguson with so little respect?
Even so, there are legitimate concerns for United supporters. One is Michael Carrick's regression and his seemingly fixed inability to influence big matches. Rio Ferdinand is now 31 and troubled by recurrent back problems. Rafael da Silva has shown that, while talented, he is still very raw. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and particularly Gary Neville are in decline. Edwin van der Sar will retire at the end of next season. And the replacements for this illustrious cast of thirtysomethings do not always inspire confidence.
The French winger Gabriel Obertan has vanished almost without trace since the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Leeds United in January. Darron Gibson is a splendid striker of the ball but lacks the mobility and passing range of a really top midfielder. Ben Foster has endured a dreadful year. A £10m deal has been put in place for Fulham's young central defender Chris Smalling but, since then, he has looked error-prone to say the least.
Then there is the issue of Dimitar Berbatov and the overwhelming sense that Wednesday demonstrated he has not worked. Berbatov was on the bench despite Rooney's patent lack of fitness. After Rooney was withdrawn, with the team needing another goal, there were 25 minutes when Ferguson moved Nani, a winger, into the centre-forward's role. Berbatov has now started only six out of 22 Champions League games since becoming United's most expensive player at £30.75m from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2008. He was introduced with 10 minutes to go.
Ferguson will deny it, of course, but even the most trusting disciple could be forgiven for wondering whether the manager can ever be believed again after the Peculiar Case of Wayne Rooney's Right Ankle. Ferguson also denies that the ruling Glazer family have kept from him the £80m that United received from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo but, again, can we take his word for it?
This is the true problem for United: they need a better class of replacement for their older players and that will require their owners to flex some financial muscle. Everyone in football knows that is not going to happen.
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Javier Hernández is set to join Manchester United from Guadalajara. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AP
Sir Alex Ferguson today defended Manchester United's transfer policy following the signing of the unheralded Mexican striker Javier Hernández.
In a tacit admission that the club were no longer prepared to splash out on big name players, the United manager said: "Players like Hernández we have been historically very, very good at developing. This is what this club has always done.
"Every summer you will have big name players who are made available by agents. Last summer it was [Franck] Ribéry and [Karim] Benzema." He said of Benzema, who eventually went from Lyon to Real Madrid for £25m: "We were in for one as you know and at 21 he was the right age but as I said before we didn't think we would get value for the transfer fee."
Ferguson said they moved now for Hernández because if he had had a good World Cup his fee, which was undisclosed, would have shot up.
The Guardian revealed today that United had turned down the chance to sign the prolific Spain striker, David Villa, 28, who would have cost up to £40m, because they felt they could not afford such a sum for a player looking for his last contract.
"Occasionally we do go into the transfer market for mature players," insisted Ferguson. "[Dimitar] Berbatov was 27 when he came to us but you have to ask yourself if when a 27-year-old fulfils his contract for five years he will have little resale value."
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Sir Alex was unwavering in his praise for Rafael ahead of the Reds' trip to Blackburn on Sunday, despite the Brazilian’s match-turning red card last Wednesday night.
Following the right back’s dismissal on 50 minutes, 10-man United struggled to match Bayern Munich, who went on to score a crucial second away goal and clinch the tie.
But the manager refused to apportion blame to the talented teenager: “He is young and he is inexperienced but his performance on Wednesday night... he was probably our best player. He was fantastic. He absolutely dominated [Franck] Ribery and it is just disappointing for the boy."
Immediately after the match, Sir Alex voiced his displeasure at the role Bayern Munich players played in Rafael's second booking. And he remains convinced referee Nicola Rizzoli was unduly influenced.
“It was unfair, it was totally unfair. They [the Bayern Munich players] got the boy sent off. It was not a sending off.
"He barely touched him. In fact, Ribery has done more to him than he has done to Ribery.
“The issue was how they reacted. They knew the boy was on a yellow card, they surrounded the referee and that happens, we see it time and time again within football.”
Rafael's dismissal came at a crucial point in the match. Up to that point, United had dominated proceedings.
“Our performance was fantastic," Sir Alex said. "At 3-0 it could have been 5-0. We were magnificent, absolutely magnificent.”