Break's a bonus for Reds
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United’s quest for the Premier League title is being propelled by the Reds’ unique character and defiance to adversity, according to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Despite being reduced to 10 men and facing a dogged Bolton side, United nabbed three vital points through substitute Dimitar Berbatov’s late winner at Old Trafford to open up a five-point lead over second-placed Arsenal.
Having seen his side prise points from the jaws of disappointment time and again over the years, Sir Alex was delighted to once again witness the indefatigable spirit within his players.“It wasn’t a 100 percent top performance by us today, but we never gave in,” the Boss told MUTV. “It’s the character of this club. It’s a fantastic character. No other club in the country’s got that. We are fantastic when it comes to gritting our teeth and getting something out of a dead situation. We did it again today and full marks to them.
“The only way I can judge today is that we had five massive games in the last couple of weeks: two games against Marseille, we’ve been to Chelsea and Liverpool, we beat Arsenal in the FA Cup. It’s a hell of a programme and these lads deserve praise for that.”
Sir Alex also saluted the contribution of a baying home contingent, who cranked up the volume for the final stages to compensate for the absence of red-carded Jonny Evans.“The fans were fantastic in the last 20 minutes, they got right behind us,” he said. “They really were magnificent, they really got us over the line. In actual fact we looked better at that point. The sending-off galvanised us a little bit.
"Players had to play all over the place. Everyone’s done a shift, worked their socks off and I think we’ve got a deserved win out of it. We were by far the better team, Bolton never presented a problem to us in the second half at all – they had a clear header in the end of course, but apart from that it was just us against them, our attack all the time.”
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'No complaints' over red card
Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that Jonny Evans’ sending-off against Bolton was a justified decision by referee Andre Marriner.
The Northern Ireland international defender contested a 50-50 challenge with Trotters midfielder Stuart Holden, but was red-carded by Marriner after his studs-up attempt to win the ball wounded the American.
Sir Alex admitted a degree of sympathy for his player – who now misses next month's games against West Ham, Fulham and Manchester City – but ultimately understood Marriner’s decision.
“I think the referee’s sent him off because the player’s got a bad injury,” the Boss told MUTV. “I don’t think it was a malicious tackle; the two of them went for the same ball, but his boot was raised off the ground – as was the Bolton player’s – and he’s caught the lad.
“You can’t have a 100 percent complaint about the sending off, because once you raise your foot you’re putting yourself in a dangerous area. The boy’s got a bad gash, so that justifies the referee sending him off.
"Jonny Evans is not that type of player, we know that, but I don’t think we can have a real complaint. It was unfortunate maybe.”
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While international breaks are often little more than a hindrance to Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans, the United manager admits the current gap in the domestic calendar is a welcome reprieve.
Having sidled past Bolton last Saturday with a patched up defence, the Reds’ depleted ranks were further thinned by the dismissal of Jonny Evans and an injury to Wes Brown.
Although an international fixture list is always fraught with the danger of more players succumbing to injury, the timely breather should allow a handful of squad members time to progress from treatment room to dressing room in time for next month's resumption of domestic duties.
“It’s come at an absolutely fantastic time for us,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “We’ve got the bonus of two weeks’ rest to patch up the injuries, and hopefully that'll be the biggest break of all.”
United go into the Premier League sabbatical with a five-point lead at the head of the table and Sir Alex feels the swelling of his playing roster can prove the difference in an absorbing title race.
“It’s a great lead,” he said. “Obviously they’ve got a game in hand, Arsenal, but we’ve got the points and we don’t need to worry about that part. If we get the players back, all our major players we’ll have a great chance.
“I’d have loved to have given Ji-sung Park a bit of game (against Bolton), but when we went to 10 men we were hamstrung a bit there, but I get Ji back in two weeks’ time, away at West Ham. Vidic will be back, Darren Fletcher hopefully will be back and hopefully if, bit by bit, we can get them all together we’ll have a great chance.”
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touch wood on those who are playing the internationals..
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Hope none of them kenna anything during the break.
Hargreaves about to make a comeback, end up fresh injury, shoulder. I don't think we'll ever see him play again considering his contract is ending.
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remember Jesper Blomqvist? he played for united for one season in the 99 treble. He didnt play for united after that CL win over Bayern.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
remember Jesper Blomqvist? he played for united for one season in the 99 treble. He didnt play for united after that CL win over Bayern.
Due to a serious knee injury, Blomqvist did not play football in the next two seasons, which resulted in Manchester United deciding not to renew his contract. Nonetheless, Ferguson persuaded Everton manager Walter Smith to offer the Swedish international a short term contract at Goodison Park, from November 2001 until the end of the season
