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Anorak News | In The Wallet, My Son

In The Wallet, My Son

by | 26th, May 2004

‘ANYONE who can recall Darren Ferguson, the podgy, slow United midfield player of the early 1990s, will have suspected that Alex Ferguson likes to do right by his children.

Mrs Ferguson gives little Charlie a ride home

Suspicions that Fergie’s grandson Charlie was the jockey aboard Rock of Gibraltar as the champion horse won its seventh successive Group One race have yet to be proven.

But before we can get to that, Jason Ferguson has attracted the attention of the Guardian. And news there is that Manchester United have banned Fergie Junior from acting for them in transfer dealings.

And this is not going to be easy, since Jason and his Elite Sports Group represent no less than 13 members of the current United squad.

United’s transfer policy is to become more transparent and, as the Sun reports, there will no longer be a situation where £700,000 is paid in agent’s fees to person or persons unknown on a £2.5m fee, as occurred with the transfer of goalkeeper Tim Howard.

The record shows that over a period from January 2001 to January 2004, United transferred players to the tune of £125m (the figure is £158m in the Telegraph) and paid out a whopping £13.43m in fees to agents (a sum all papers agree on).

Those Manchester United fans wondering why their season tickets are going up in price this summer might like to tune into Fergie And Son, a television programme to be shown on BBC Three tomorrow night.

Not for nothing does the Times call the documentary “trial by television”.

But Fergie should not overly worry, especially since rumours suggest that the show will be fronted by his cousin, produced by his nephew, and researched by his dog.

Meanwhile, one transfer no Ferguson is believed to be involved in is that taking Jose Mourinho from Porto to Chelsea.

The Sun says that the deal is done and the Blues are ready to unveil their new manager tomorrow.

But the Portuguese coach has a few words to the wise for his future employees at Stamford Bridge.

On the eve of Porto’s Champions League final against Monaco, Mourinho describes his ideal club.

“I do not imagine a successful club without a very good relationship between the manager and the board,” he says.

“This interference happened once in my life when I was Benfica coach and I walked out. Porto is built on us all having the same motivation, the same objective.

“I would say Porto is the ideal of a successful football club, in that way.”

Which makes us wonder if Mourinho will still be at Chelsea after the ink’s dried on his contract…’



Posted: 26th, May 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink