Ferguson: United's squad today is better than when we won the Treble in '99
By CHRIS WHEELER
From Real Madrid to Reading, the challenges facing Manchester United are diverse and increasingly decisive. The business end of the season is fast approaching and it was perhaps appropriate that Sir Alex Ferguson turned up at Carrington in a suit yesterday instead of his usual training gear.
He was there to reflect on a highly satisfactory draw in the Bernabeu in midweek and look forward to Monday’s FA Cup tie at home to more Premier League opposition, with every chance of reaching two quarter-finals. A 12-point cushion in the title race means that one trophy is almost in the bag already.
For the first time this season the United manager was asked about the possibility of another Treble. Ferguson was quick to bat away the suggestion at this early stage, but he was not so reticent when comparing his current squad to the triumphant class of ’99.
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United are better off today was his frank, and perhaps surprising, assessment. ‘I could have played a completely different team on Wednesday and I think we still would have got a result,’ said Ferguson, although that one might raise a few eyebrows in Madrid.
The depth of his squad will certainly be tested over the coming months if United continue to challenge on three fronts and Ferguson rotates players to cope with the demands on his team.
But he is in no doubt that it is stronger than the celebrated group that included Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
‘I think it’s nice to look back at these things and how it was done in that particular time with the squad of players I had, which is not nearly as strong as the one I have now,’ said Ferguson.
‘Numbers wise it’s stronger. When we went to the Champions League final, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were suspended but Henning Berg was the only injury. I had to pull in a player, Jonathan Greening, who had only played a few times and he actually got a winner’s medal for sitting on the bench. That gives you an idea of the respective strength of
the squads.
Impressive: Sir Alex Ferguson is sure his United side now is even better than in 1999
‘It’s not just the four strikers I could change, you could change the entire team now. There were good internationals who weren’t even involved on Wednesday.
‘It will be a different team when Madrid come here. One, two or three who didn’t play on Wednesday could play in the second leg. I’ve got all these international players, so why shouldn’t I trust them?
‘The way I’m looking at it is to pick a team to win the next match and it will be a different team against Reading and again against QPR, Norwich and then Madrid.’
There are certain similarities developing with 1999 — not least the fact that United went on a 33-game unbeaten run that season after losing to Middlesbrough before Christmas, as Ferguson recalled yesterday.
The current sequence is 15 games since defeat to CFR Cluj in a meaningless Champions League game at the start of December, and there is a familiar momentum building around Old Trafford now. ‘I feel there’s a good spirit. That’s obvious,’ he said.
Rotation: Ferguson is well aware United need to utilise everyone they have to compete on three fronts
As he prepares to meet a Premier League club for the third successive round in this season’s FA Cup, the United boss also pointed out that all the teams he beat on the way to lifting the trophy 14 years ago were from the top flight.
He is not one to be fooled by nostalgia or blinded by complacency, however. Ferguson knows all too well how quickly it can fall apart. He will not forget painful FA Cup defeats at home to the likes of West Ham and Portsmouth in the past.
And for all the positive talk about his players yesterday, he warned them not to underestimate Reading after the sterling effort against Real.
‘I think the reality is don’t get carried away by it, particularly in the FA Cup, because anything can happen,’ said Ferguson. ‘You don’t want to be a shock, that’s for sure.
‘In many people’s eyes, “It’s Reading, yeah, we’ve just been to Madrid, it was a great night and Monday will take care of itself”. Monday can’t take care of itself. We have to take care of it.
‘We must have a performance which respects our opponents and the fact that the FA Cup can produce shocks.
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‘We’ve suffered them ourselves and we don’t want another one on Monday night. We’re taking nothing for granted.’ Ferguson will not need reminding about the crazy 4-3 win at Reading in December when all seven goals were scored inside the opening 34 minutes. Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has not played again since that night.
‘It was a ridiculous game,’ said Ferguson. ‘The bookies must have made a fortune in the second half, backing a repeat of Arsenal’s 7-5 win over Reading. Then common sense took over in the second half and the players started behaving themselves and there were no goals.
‘It was an amazing game but I doubt very much that it will be like that on Monday.’
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