‘Dolly & Daisy’ the rocks of Ferguson’s early Manchester United team.
If the sobriquet of ‘Dolly and Daisy’ sounds like a double act from an Old Time Musical Hall playbill, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that, thanks to their manager, it was in fact the nom de guerre of the most successful central defensive pairings of the early Premier League years. Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister were the pair in question, and they would write their names large into the history of the most successful football club of the time. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance that the pairing had on the development of Manchester United’s domestic dominance, when Sir Alex Ferguson built his dynasty of success. Suffice to say however, that the unassuming pair at the heart of the Old Trafford backline was the rock upon which the Scot relied over a seven-year partnership jammed full with trophies. Continue reading →
Alex Ferguson and Aberdeen’s uncharted journey to European glory.
Before launching on his oft-quoted mission about knocking a certain Merseyside club off their perch, Alex Ferguson – this was long before royalty bestowed a title on him – led Aberdeen to the forefront of Scottish football. Not only did he take the Pittodrie club to the top of the tree domestically, winning three league titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup in half-a-dozen years between 1980 and 1986, the later-to-be Overlord of Old Trafford also gave the Dons undreamt of European success in 1983, when they lifted the European Cup Winners Cup, defeating the might of Real Madrid in the final. Continue reading →
The ‘Little Witch’ and his spell among the Red Devils – Juan Sebastian Verón at Old Trafford.
It’s questionable whether there are many transfers involving expensive foreign imports to the English game that have evoked so much varied opinion as when Juan Sebastian Verón joined Manchester United from Lazio in July 2001. The deal was reported as being worth a then British record transfer fee, of around £28million. Continue reading →
Sir Alex Ferguson learns the difficult art of denial
Sir Alex Ferguson – Is he trying to walk away from his mistake?
There was always that dread moment at school when a particularly hard-line teacher suspected you of doing something wrong.
“It wasn’t me,” you said. “I didn’t do it.” It was as if multiple denials were some kind of incantation that would convince the menacing figure of malevolence of your innocence. It never seemed to work though, no matter how effusive you were in pleading to the contrary. Busted!
It would be wrong to paint the latest version of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography in such a light, but I have to confess that the addition of chapter 27, ‘United in Transition’, brings those thoughts to mind. A mea culpa it certainly isn’t. Continue reading →
The poisoned chalice of being the man that follows the man.
With the new season just around the corner, and a new man at the helm at Old Trafford, it seemed an appropriate time to reprise an article I produced around the turn of the year talking of the difficulties that Davis Moyes was facing, and would face moving on as he sought to replace Sir Alex Ferguson. It also discussed that if Moyes was moved on, the next manager in line may have an easier ride. It turned out to be quite prescient.
Gary Thacker 