Manchester United: On the news regarding Sir Alex Ferguson

Some news hits like a ton of bricks; the news regarding Sir Alex Ferguson was like hitting the truck carrying said bricks.

Swirling around in the lead up to the Manchester United versus Liverpool match which ended in a draw, some time was needed to digest such a mammoth story. That story, regarding an alleged bribe to fix a UCL match between Manchester United and Juventus, is explosive. It is explosive because of the stakes for such a scheme and the level of competition it allegedly touches. Perhaps most unnerving of all is the name alleged itself, Sir Alex Ferguson; a mammoth figure in the recent history of football internationally, let alone the football rich nation of England.

The accusations leveled by corrupt former agent Giuseppe “Pino” Pagliara paint a rather unfortunate and disturbing portrait. Caught by an undercover reporter who was “wired”, Pagliara says that he “thanked” Sir Alex with a gold Rolex watch. While the claims are as of now unsubstantiated, they make us have to reflect on the possibility as well as the historical causation and consequences.

The accusation brings us back to a mentality that in the hyper competitive/hyper compensated world we now live in, seems alien at best and totally fraudulent at worst. Such an old and outdated form of earning capital comes from a time in which the outlandish television contracts of the Premier League did not exist.

Once upon a time, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger were managing in a nation where many of the players, Star or otherwise, would go out drinking and smoking most evenings. While football was competitive and professional, the wages were not entirely life changing. It was not so long ago that many footballers had second jobs as well. English football has always been grittier and grainier than most other nations, and that is reflected in the society and nation for sure.

Names like Sam Allardyce and Sir Alex Ferguson would have come up in such a nation and in such a time in the sport as a whole. Match fixing was once much more common than today and the practice thrives in circumstances where principal actors receive less than comfortable wages.

That Sam Allardyce is the largest name (before Sir Alex Ferguson) to become swept up in such a ruckus further implies this; match fixing is a thoroughly antiquated form of advancing personal finance. Winning is simply easier, as well as a morally superior choice; as it relates to advancing the clubs purpose, the team camaraderie and  earning greater financial reward and accolades, it is a no brainer.

That old-time managers like Sam Allardyce or Sir Alex Ferguson are accused of accepting bribes to match fix is not surprising by the aforementioned metrics. That they each did it on gigantic stages like the English National team and Manchester United is truly remarkable. For Fergie, allegedly accepting the £30,000 watch for a UCL match in the latter portion of his tenure is undoubtedly the bigger blight if true.

Much has changed over 30 years, and such horrid behavior could be rationalized by knowing the aforementioned history of where English football was 30 years ago. I do not condone match fixing or bribery at all to be certain, but those with historical context absolutely understand where something now antiquated, fits within a constantly changing paradigm like English football.

The problem for Sir Alex Ferguson and his legacy if such allegations can be proven is truly the timing of the occurrence. That it happened as English football was blowing up popularly around the world, towards the end of Ferguson’s career suggests something a bit more sad than the singular act in itself; he simply went to the well one time too many.

Giuseppe “Pino” Pagliara alludes to this as well, blustering that he had manipulated Sir Alex in such a way previously as well. The picture painted is that of a seedy footballing underworld in which winning is an investment towards making kickbacks for shock defeats.

What makes this so hard to imagine is the love and admiration that we have for Sir Alex Ferguson. He led legendary Manchester United squads for decades, amassed such a bevy of trophies while lifting up English football to international reverence and prominence; how can we now separate the two sides of such a great and heroic sporting figure?

The issue happens to us all the time; Pete Rose is the all time hit King of Major League Baseball and will likely never live to see his induction to its Hall of Fame. Why? Because he wagered on his team, not even against it. Barry Bonds will never see the Hall of Fame either, despite a career with greater stats than any man before him. Why? Because he took many performance enhancing drugs to bolster his already legendary talent and ambition. OJ Simpson is a hall of fame running back in the NFL and yet, none amongst us would have him over for dinner; separating man from his profession is key.

Sir Alex Ferguson: A Special One, but still human

Sir Alex Ferguson is likely the greatest manager in the history of football, if not in the top five hands down. His legacy as that should not be changed because of these allegations, even if confirmed to be true. His legacy should however, make note of these allegations right next to where the positives of his tenure are noted.

The allegations do not subtract from that which Fergie has accomplished, but do add to that which his legacy should entail. Is it a negative strike against that legacy? Absolutely, but will it and should it envelope the entire legacy of the man, as the aforementioned names have become synonymous with their shortcomings? No. What the man has given to football is far greater than what an incident like this took away from the game, no matter how terrible and unfair it is.

These allegations should be addressed and understood before too much analysis can be made. With that said, match fixing is a blight upon any organized sport or game and soaks up all enthusiasm and confidence in the sport. In the end, the fans suffer which ultimately makes the participants suffer even more egregiously; ultimately, cheating football cheats the very people whose livelihood relies on the growing confidence and love of the game they’re defaming. It is becoming less commonplace thanks to the dearth of money from across the globe but make no mistake, it will never be completely eradicated; a story like this proves that even the holiest of names can be touched, let alone clubs where less money is found.