Manchester United Supporters Club ( Malta ) 50^th Anniversary

By Joe Bajada

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson addressed a crowded news conference at the Corinthia San Gorg Hotel in Malta on Monday 11 th February 2009.  He was with three of his golden oldies players Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. They were here as part of the celebrations of the Manchester United Supporters' Club on their 50th anniversary.

MUSC president James Bullock greeted the Man United guests saying once again that it was a great honour for the club to have them here on such a special occasion.

In a relax mood, he fielded questions from journalists and reporters. Also present for this Press conference were Joe Bajada and Philip Cassar from  our team of GFA Review. Sir Alex Ferguson, recently named as the most powerful person in British sport, rates the current United squad as the best he's ever managed.

Sir Alex Ferguson, said Chelsea should have been among the front runners in England this season, but their form somehow faltered in the past few weeks. He think that they will recover soon to remain title challengers. But Sir Alex Ferguson still think Liverpool will constitute the main threat to our title hopes.

Questioned about their European Champions League hopes, the Boss said that he is convinced that United will be facing a tough tie against Jose Mourinho’s Inter. Despite this difficult task against the Italians, Sir Alex is expecting Barcelona to be their main threats for the Champions League this season.

Ferguson said he was very happy with the current Manchester United squad because  having a lot of experience on their side. He added that they have also some exceptional youngsters who are knocking on the veteran’s doors. That is what he believes that keeps Manchester United on top. Besides that they have a very strong squad with a very good quality as well.

Sir Alex Ferguson being asked by Joe Bajada on behalf of the Gozo Football Association Review, answered that he thought the recipe for success was the fact that every morning he would think of what challenge was facing him next. For him there is always a challenge and more expectations, but the players have always made life easier for him.

Asked what he still was hungry for after leading the club to so many successes in his career, Ferguson said that this year they were fighting on all four fronts. The challenges for them never stop. This means that there will still be a lot of passion and hunger for more success. It is not just him, but all the staff including the players. He said “We are passing through a fantastic spell and the beauty of it is that it seems to be never ending.”

Asked about Dutch goalkeeper Van der Saar’s record of 13 clean sheets, Ferguson said that this will always be remembered. But he conceded that other players, especially those right in front of the goalkeeper, deserved a lot of praise for helping him to extend that record match after match.

Asked about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford, Ferguson again repeated he believed this was not an issue. All rumours were coming from Spain with Real Madrid being mentioned frequently as a possible destination. He still believes that the Portuguese international will eventually stay with them.

Paul Scholes and Gary Neville both agreed that they were still motivated by the challenge being provided by several other players. They said competition for a place in the line-up was healthy and as there was nothing wrong to have three players for each position.