Sir Alex Ferguson, 71, retires after 27 years: the statement in full

Old Trafford legend: Sir Alex Ferguson

There is little that can be added to the statement released by Sir Alex Ferguson today. At 71, after 27 years at Old Trafford, with a hip replacement operation looming, he's GONE. Fergie will stay on as a director at Manchester United and will bow out publicly before the home game against Swansea on Sunday.

Since taking over an ailing giant from Ron Atkinson in 1986, Sir Alex won 38 trophies: 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.

Jose Mourinho has been installed as favourite to take over from Ferguson by bookmakers, with Everton's David Moyes and Borussia Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp also in the running.

Here's how his retirement was announced:

“The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time.

"It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long-term future of the club remains a bright one.

"Our training facilities are amongst the finest in global sport and our home Old Trafford is rightfully regarded as one of the leading venues in the world.

"Going forward, I am delighted to take on the roles of both Director and Ambassador for the club. With these activities, along with my many other interests, I am looking forward to the future.

"I must pay tribute to my family, their love and support has been essential. My wife Cathy has been the key figure throughout my career, providing a bedrock of both stability and encouragement. Words are not enough to express what this has meant to me.

"As for my players and staff, past and present, I would like to thank them all for a staggering level of professional conduct and dedication that has helped to deliver so many memorable triumphs. Without their contribution the history of this great club would not be as rich.

"In my early years, the backing of the board, and Sir Bobby Charlton in particular, gave me the confidence and time to build a football club, rather than just a football team.

"Over the past decade, the Glazer family have provided me with the platform to manage Manchester United to the best of my ability and I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with a talented and trustworthy Chief Executive in David Gill. I am truly grateful to all of them.

"To the fans, thank you. The support you have provided over the years has been truly humbling. It has been an honour and an enormous privilege to have had the opportunity to lead your club and I have treasured my time as manager of Manchester United."

Why Liverpool finally apologised over Suarez and the non-handshake

SO exactly why did Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and his boss Kenny Dalglish apologise a day after the Uruguayan had appeared unrepentant over the storm of outrage they sparked across the football-speaking world?

Why, after an eight-match, unappealed ban for racist abuse, did Suarez suddenly appear contrite after refusing to shake hands with the wronged Patrick Evra during Manchester United's 2-1 win on Saturday?

While United boss Sir Alex Ferguson raged "Suarez could have caused a riot" and insisted "he should never play for Liverpool again”, Dalglish told us on Saturday: “I think you are bang out of order to blame Luis Suárez for whatever happened today.”

But by Sunday, Suarez and Dalglish were grovelling on the official Liverpool FC website. Dalglish, who has just one black face in his current first team squad, even went as far as saying: “I did not conduct myself in a way befitting of a Liverpool manager during that interview and I'd like to apologise for that.”

According to the Daily Telegraph it was a scathing article from English football writer Rob Hughes for  the New York Times which provoked an immediate reaction from Liverpool's owners, the Fenway Sports Group, to act before their club's reputation was seriously damaged by the actions of one ignorant Uruguayan and an old-fashioned Scottish manager.

The NY Times and Fenway have major financial links, the company was formed when they teamed up with Liverpool owner John W Henry to buy the Boston Red Sox in the US. Once they became involved, both Suarez and Dalglish were left with no alternative but to apologise.

Remember, Henry and Fenway chairman Tom Werner had already flown over to Liverpool when the Suarez storm first broke. They held a series of meetings at Anfield and met with Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore in an attempt to ease the tensions caused by Suarez, Dalglish and his unrepentant team who wore t-shirts supporting the Uruguayan despite his conviction by the FA.

The three-pronged apology on the official Liverpool website went way beyond the usual level on these issues. There was nothing half-hearted about it.

As the BBC’s ex-Liverpool talkshow host Stan Collymore, himself the subject of huge abuse over the Suarez saga on twitter, tweeted: “Liverpool Football Club have now pulled the rug from under any idiot who looked for Suarez excuse on the handshake. Well done LFC.”

Both Collymore and the Telegraph claim it was after reading the story below that John W Henry made the call that defused the whole situation, prompting Suarez to say: “I have spoken with the Manager since the game at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong. I've not only let him down, but also the Club and what it stands for and I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what happened.

"I should have shaken Patrice Evra's hand before the game and I want to apologise for my actions. I would like to put this whole issue behind me and concentrate on playing football."

The suddenly-contrite Dalglish added: "It is right that Luis Suarez has now apologised for what happened at Old Trafford. To be honest, I was shocked to hear that the player had not shaken hands having been told earlier in the week that he would do.

"All of us have a responsibility to represent this club in a fit and proper manner and that applies equally to me as Liverpool manager.

"When I went on TV after yesterday's game I hadn't seen what had happened, but I did not conduct myself in a way befitting of a Liverpool manager during that interview and I'd like to apologise for that."

And Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayres said: “We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did not shake hands with Patrice Evra before yesterday's game. The player had told us beforehand that he would, but then chose not to do so.

"He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to offer his hand to Patrice Evra. He has not only let himself down, but also Kenny Dalglish, his team-mates and the Club. It has been made absolutely clear to Luis Suarez that his behaviour was not acceptable.

"Luis Suarez has now apologised for his actions which was the right thing to do. However, all of us have a duty to behave in a responsible manner and we hope that he now understands what is expected of anyone representing Liverpool Football Club."

Here’s what Hughes reported: If the Fenway Sports Group is to be the responsible team owner in soccer that it has proved to be in baseball, it needs to get hold of Liverpool, its club in England’s Premier League, and repair its global image fast.

On Saturday, Liverpool lost at Manchester United, 2-1, allowing United to temporarily move into first place in the Premier League. There is no disgrace in such a loss; United, the defending English champion, is vying to keep that title this season, and it very rarely loses at home.

Another ugly incident mars Liverpool's good name, New York Times

But there was disgrace, witnessed by television viewers around the world, in the refusal of Liverpool’s Luis Suárez to shake the hand of United’s Patrice Evra before kickoff.

The hand might not always be offered with sincerity. It might often be less than the noble sign of pregame respect between opponents that Fifa would like to have us believe it is. But in this case it was important to show a global audience that Suárez and Evra were man enough to touch palms and bury the enmity between them.

This was the first time that Suárez had started a game since he was barred for eight matches for repeatedly calling Evra racist names when they competed against each other last October. Suárez claimed that the words he uttered, as used in his Uruguayan hometown, were not racist but could be affectionate. Evra, who is black and French, but understands Spanish well, said he was deeply offended.

Both players are feisty, provocative, volatile characters, as their records for their clubs, and their national teams, have long shown. Evra led the French team that mutinied against its coach and refused to train during the 2010 World Cup. Suárez was the player who made no apology for deliberately handling the ball that led to Ghana’s elimination from that tournament, and he was purchased by Liverpool after he was suspended in the Dutch league for biting an opponent.

It would seem that each of them would wish to show that, for the sake of their team if not their own reputation, they could abide by the rules and rituals of the game that makes their fortune.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson began the week by publicly asking his players to rise above any bitter feelings they had and display sportsmanship on the field. He said he spoke with Evra on Saturday morning.

“Patrice and I had a chat,” Ferguson said, “and he said: ‘I’m going to shake his hand. I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. I want to keep my dignity.’ ” When the moment arrived, it was beyond Evra’s grasp.

Suárez shook hands with the referee, and then with the child who was United’s mascot for the day. He then stared at the ground, ignoring the hand extended by Evra and walking toward the next man in line, goalkeeper David de Gea.

Evra grabbed the arm of Suárez, who shrugged him off. De Gea seemed to try to ask Suárez to shake Evra’s hand, and he again refused. The next United player in line, Rio Ferdinand, then withdrew his hand as Suárez passed.

“After seeing what happened, I decided not to shake his hand,” Ferdinand said after the game. “I lost all respect for the guy.”

Ugly repercussions followed. The United crowd booed Suárez, as the Liverpool crowd had booed Evra in its stadium when the teams met in the FA Cup two weeks ago.

In the tunnel as the teams headed to halftime Saturday, the teams scuffled after Evra attempted to say something to Suárez. The police and stewards intervened to separate the players.

The Suárez-Evra feud overshadowed the top-class soccer these teams are capable of. United quickly took a 2-0 lead on two goals by the Liverpool-born Wayne Rooney.

The first was from a corner by Ryan Giggs, when Rooney’s sharp anticipation and reflexes led to a short-range volley in a poorly defended penalty area. The second started when Antonio Valencia preyed on an error from Jay Spearing and with split-second vision teed up Rooney, who put a shot between the legs of goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

A late consolation goal by Liverpool, with Suárez reacting like lightning to Ferdinand’s failure to control a deflection, highlighted Suárez’s immense talent. It is that talent that everyone should be talking about, and not racism, especially in a game in which 11 nationalities were represented.

Long after the lights were switched off at Old Trafford, Suárez wrote on Twitter that he was “sad” because of the loss and “disappointed because everything is not that it seems.”

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish claimed he did not see Suárez refuse the handshake, or the shoving in the tunnel at halftime. He had said earlier in the week that Suárez should not have been barred for what he said about Evra, but that he had spoken to Suárez and he knew that Suárez would shake the hand of Evra.

When he was asked on Sky TV after the game why Suárez had not, Dalglish avoided directly answering the question.

“I think you are bang out of order to blame Luis Suárez for whatever happened today,” Dalglish said.

Shortly before that, Evra was whooping to all corners of the stadium. The referee, Phil Dowd, who had managed the game commendably, at that point physically restrained Evra and asked him not to further inflame the players or the supporters.

Ferguson was less charitable. “He is a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club,” he said of Suárez. “That certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again.”

It is time for John Henry and Tom Werner, leaders of the Fenway Group that controls Liverpool, to state clearly the direction the team will take on this issue."

Webb of intrigue: Why whistler Howard should decline future Manchester United games. And why he won't.

Depending on your allegiances, Howard Webb is either England’s pre-eminent World Cup final referee or Manchester United’s greatest signing. Those are just two of the printable labels used to describe the 40-year-old former policeman from Rotherham.

On Sunday at Stamford Bridge, those (and there are many of us) who believe he is Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest ally came loudly to the fore as United, 3-0 down against Chelsea, were given two questionable penalties – both stuck away by Wayne Rooney in the space of 10 minutes – before a Javier Hernandez equaliser forced a dramatic share of the spoils.

But even that wasn’t good enough for Sir Alex. After the match, he claimed: “We could have had four penalties. How they didn’t give one in the first half I don’t know. That linesman (the previously anonymous Darren Cann)... I don’t know where they get them from.

“They should've had a man sent off in the first half. Danny's clear through and he was brought down. Nothing, no decision.

"That linesman gave a penalty kick against us from 40 yards away last year against Liverpool, this year against Arsenal - and he can't see that?

"I don't blame Howard Webb - he needed help in that situation and he didn't get it.”

And in a couple of phrases that would land most other Premier League managers in hot water, he added for good measure: "That assistant referee, who's all too happy to flag at Old Trafford for penalty kicks, didn't give them."

And that, in a nutshell, is Mr Webb’s problem. It’s not that anybody is suggesting he gets paid by United to give penalties – they’ve had eight this season so far – it’s just that he appears to be the referee most susceptible to Fergie’s particular Strathclyde dockworker style of persuasion.

At 70, Ferguson has been putting pressure on referees since he gave up his role as an “effective striker with a lot of elbows” to coach St Mirren in 1974. When he went to Aberdeen in 1978 and trophies began to come his way, I remember Gordon Strachan telling us how the young coach used to tell his players to surround referees if they’d made a clearly difficult decision against his side.

There was one particular scene, involving Roy Keane and David Beckham, with referee Andy D’Urso in 2000 I will never forget. The poor ref looked like he was going to have a heart attack. A vein in Keane’s temple was throbbing. D’Urso had nowhere to go. And all because he’d awarded a penalty against United at Old Trafford. He didn’t get many United games after that.

And those intimidatory tactics have worked wonders ever since. That’s nearly 40 years of bullying. Players, referees, journalists, even the FA and the Glazer family who now squeeze the cash out of United. They all get it. In spades.

On Sunday, when Gary Cahill escaped punishment for that sliding challenge on Danny Welbeck a yard outside the box in the first half, the expression on Ferguson’s florid face wasn’t so much anger as bewilderment. His striker had been sent tumbling and NOTHING HAD BEEN GIVEN. He could barely believe it.

It is my firm belief that Sir Alex, now beyond the realms of usual managerial behaviour in the Premier League after 25 years in charge at Old Trafford, made his feelings evident to Webb and his fellow officials at half-time. He’s bigger than the game now. He does what he wants.

And when we came out for the second half, the ever-willing Mr Webb was eager to make amends. To fall out with Sir Alex is not good for a referee. Sir Alex, more than any other top coach, gets to tell the FA who he wants in charge of his matches. If you fall out with United, your stock as a public figures soon declines. Blowing the whistle at West Brom v Wigan on a wet Wednesday night simply doesn’t cut it.

So what happens? Chelsea go 3-0 up five minutes after the break. A miracle given they are without the three musketeers of Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole. Stunning. All footballing logic turned on its head. Chelsea are cruising, United are well beaten.

It takes Mr Webb just eight minutes to restore normality. First, in the 58^th minute, marauding French fullback Patrice Evra goes flying in to the box. Unlikely to get his cross in, he steps across Daniel Sturridge’s tackle just as the striker goes in. Watch the video. Ignore the pundits like Alan Curbishley who suggest it was “clear contact, a definite penalty”. If Evra hadn’t moved across the challenge, Sturridge would have made a faultless tackle.

But Webb was ready, just waiting for the tumble. PENALTY! Chelsea’s defenders barely complained. They were three goals up. Rooney stuck it away. But still 3-1.

But ten minutes later, it got worse. A lot worse. Just like Adam Johnson for Manchester City the day before, Welbeck did the “dangly leg” thing, the latest fashion for Premier League cheats. On the edge of the box, Branislav Ivanovic stuck out a despairing foot to make a challenge. With Welbeck no threat from that position, Ivanovic quickly pulled back the offending limb. But not quick enough to avoid Welbeck – he actually moved his leg away from the path of the ball to ensure Ivanovic made contact, and tumbled theatrically to the floor. PENALTY!

From then on, with Chelsea heads down, it was just a matter of time before, in the 84th minute, the little Mexican pea Hernandez produced his equaliser. The only surprise was that United didn’t go on to win it. Chelsea were gone. Andre Villas Boas had learned another valuable English lesson.

I guess you can say one thing for Webb in this instance. At least he made a game of it. No, I’m not saying he intentionally cheated. Just that he was eager to keep the old tyrant happy on the side as he waved his hands around and informed Webb just how much injury time to allow.

Graham Poll, the thing from Tring who fulfilled the high-profile refereeing role before Webb, was another who recognised the need to keep Fergie happy. He now writes a column for the Daily Mail and is a well-rewarded after-dinner speaker, neatly forgetting the time he handed three yellow cards to a Croatian at the 2006 World Cup.

Webb is rapidly falling in to the same traps Poll did. He revels in being the centre of attention, he loves the banter with the players, being a name. But is it any wonder?

As an 18-year-old he started refereeing in the North East Counties League on the advice of his father. As far as I can tell he never played any serious football, few of the modern whistlers do. Long gone are the days when ex-players used to take up officiating. Most start in their teens now as the FIFA retirement age is a ridiculously young 45.

At 38 Webb hit the peak of his art, refereeing Spain’s World Cup final win over Holland at Soccer City in 2010 where he handed out a record 14 yellow cards (one of them became a red for Johnny Heitinga, the previous highest for a final was six) and failed to send off Nigel De Jong for a perfectly placed kung-fu kick on the chest of Xavi Alonso. For once both sides were furious after the game. But Webb survived the furore and has another six years of whistling while he works ahead of him.

Now Webb finds himself being dragged further in to, well, a web of intrigue if you like. Long before any United match has kicked off with him in charge, Webb is widely tweeted as being United’s 12^th man, their best signing, the one with most assists for the champions. It puts him under huge pressure.

For as long as Sir Alex Ferguson is in charge at United – and it looks like being at least another two years – Webb will be under the spotlight when he handles a United game.

There is one easy way out. He could decline to referee United’s crucial games. Do the honourable thing and admit it’s all become a bit complicated. But he won’t. That would be too great a sacrifice for a man who relishes the limelight.

So for now, we must accept that Webb will be in charge next time United face a serious challenge. And my advice to defenders? Don’t go near Welbeck’s dangling leg in the box. Or Rooney’s new hair. Or Ryan Giggs’ veteran ankles. Webb will be waiting.


Abuse below is due to this post being linked to Chelsea website. Chelsea fans claim it isn't them, but nearly half of the hits come from their "The Shed" chat forum. I have tracked down IP addresses of the major culprits... just two. One masquerading as somebody else on Twitter in South Africa, a journalist with a grudge. The other unknown in Britain pretending to be a gang from the north. Sorry. Have cut the worst of it out, but leaving the rest. Police are aware of IP addresses and promise action.
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