Celebrating 21 Years At Manchester United

Celebrating 21 years at Man U., Ferguson rues soccer's lost traditions

LONDON (AP) -Imagine Wayne Rooney arriving at Manchester United and being ordered to wash Alex Ferguson's car. Or Cristiano Ronaldo beginning his United career by scrubbing the mud off his teammates' boots.

"I'd say the difference with young players now is that we do everything for them,'' Ferguson said. "The old tradition was that the young players did the boots, washed the manager's car. ... By creating that soft approach or easy approach, you do everything for them. Sixteen year-old boys, not even allowed to clean their own boots!''

Times have changed, but not Ferguson's winning mentality.
Celebrating 21 years as manager of Manchester United on Tuesday, Ferguson is basking in success.

An apprentice toolmaker at the tough shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Ferguson played part time before turning pro and going on to become the most successful coach in English soccer.

Despite collecting 20 trophies in 20 seasons, including nine Premier League titles, five FA Cups and a European Champions League, Ferguson hungers for more success.

"Last year's (Premier League) championship was as good as the first,'' he said. "Winning is your drug. There are no thoughts about (retiring) at the moment, definitely not.''

When Ferguson took over at Old Trafford in 1986, Jack Nicklaus was the Masters champion, 20-year-old Mike Tyson was about to become the youngest heavyweight champ and a teenage Boris Becker had won Wimbledon.

When Fergie arrived, Rooney had just turned 1. Ryan Giggs, now in his 18th season with the club, was only 12.

United hadn't won the league title since 1967 and was struggling to keep up with Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal in the championship race. The club chose the man who had just broken the Celtic-Rangers stranglehold in Scottish soccer by leading Aberdeen to back-to-back league titles as well as a European Cup Winners Cup triumph.

Ferguson was almost fired after only three years in charge.

A 5-1 loss to neighboring Manchester City and a run of six defeats and two ties in eight games led to calls for his dismissal. When the club drew a tough third-round FA Cup draw with Nottingham Forest, there were expectations that an early loss in the cup would mean Ferguson would go.

United edged Forest 1-0 and went on to win the cup for its first trophy under the Scot. The cup triumph put United back into Europe the following season and the Red Devils won the Cup Winners Cup by beating Barcelona in the final.

Although Leeds United beat United to the league title in 1992, Ferguson's methods had begun to work. With the arrival of the Premier League in '93, United simply took control.

The Red Devils won eight of the first 11 Premier League titles. Despite going three seasons without winning the Premier League, they bounced back to recapture it last season. Right now, United is neck-and-neck with Arsenal at the top of the standings.

Ferguson will be 66 on the last day of 2007 and shows no sign of losing his ability to turn out title-winning teams. He also remains largely hostile toward the media, refuses to talk to the BBC and has little or no contact with Arsenal's Arsene Wenger whenever their teams meet.

Ferguson will maintain that competitive edge until the day he retires.

Until then, the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo can stay clear of car shampoos and shoe brushes.