Call me anything you want... just not 'Boss' - Fergie tells United players to back Moyes
Sir Alex Ferguson has told his players
they can call him all the names under the sun - but never to refer to
him as 'boss' again.
The
Scot took charge of his final game as manager of Manchester United on
Sunday as his Premier League champions were held to a thrilling 5-5 draw
by West Brom at the Hawthorns.
And
the 71-year-old, who made the speech just hours before the news of his
retirement was made public, was at pains to ensure his replacement -
Everton boss David Moyes - has the respect of the dressing room.
You’ve been fantastic servants to me. We’ve achieved some great things,' Ferguson told his players, reports The Sun.'And if all that we’ve done together means anything to you, there’s just one thing I’d ask of you all.
'After I’ve gone and we bump into each other, I don’t want to hear you call me Boss ever again.
'Call me anything but that. Call me whatever you’ve called me behind my back for years — but just not Boss.
'You’ll have a new boss by then and he’s the only one you should call that.'
Ferguson ended his magnificent managerial career just the way he would have wanted - with a nice glass of red wine.
He
declared himself satisfied with the 2003 Chateau Pontet Canet, bought
especially for the occasion, with West Brom boss Steve Clarke delighted
it did Ferguson justice.
'He knew what it was,' said Clarke proudly. 'He said it was a good year.'
The post-match drink followed a
staggering game, as United cruised into a 3-0 lead, and then 5-2, before
being pegged back by a dogged West Brom side, who salvaged a 5-5 draw.
It
was the first time a United team had drawn by such a score since Newton
Heath were held by Lincoln in 1895. It was also the highest scoring
draw in the Premier League era.
'I am not sure Sir Alex enjoyed it that much,' said Clarke.
'There is no point analysing the game. We had a great Plan A, which went out of the window after 10 minutes.
'It was a great occasion. That game will be remembered for a long time.
'He was quite complimentary about our season and I wish him all the best.'
Ferguson opted not to speak to the media afterwards.
Earlier,
the Scot was given a guard of honour from both teams and a rapturous
ovation from the fans as he walked on to the pitch at The Hawthorns.
He was then comically handed a fresh packet of chewing gum by the West Brom mascot, Baggie Bird.
It
didn't take long for Ferguson's team to go in front as Shinji Kagawa
opened the scoring in the sixth minute, before a Jonas Olsson own goal
three minutes later gave Manchester United a 2-0 lead.
Alexander
Buttner made it 3-0 for United after half an hour but James Morrison
pulled one back for the hosts just before half time.
Romelu
Lukaku then scored minutes after the break to spark hopes of a West
Brom comeback, but Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez extended
United's lead.
Amazingly,
West Brom pulled it back to 5-5 with four minutes remaining through two
goals from Lukaku and one from Youssouf Mulumbu.
There was a feverish atmosphere outside the ground prior to the match with souvenir scarves and programmes selling rapidly.
One cunning fan incredibly snapped up 700 of the special edition programmes at a cost of £2,800.
At 144 pages, the programme, selling at £4 each, is the biggest ever produced for a domestic fixture in England.
Twenty
thousand copes were printed, 17,500 more than the amount produced for
West Brom's home fixture against Wigan two weeks ago.
Another
supporter purchased 300 copies for £1,200, which means that one
twentieth of the total editions printed are in the hands of two people.
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