BENITEZ SLAMS FERGIE

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The Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has once again opened his feud with the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson by saying that the Scot should not make tiredness as an excuse for his team dropping a two-goal advantage against Chelsea in the FA Cup. Manchester United raced to a 2-0 lead after just 11 min on the clock, but they were shellshocked when Chelsea came back in the most amazing manner. Benitez made two major substitutions just after half-time, which had a huge impact in the match. United, who controlled the match impeccably in the first half, were totally out of sorts in the second half.

Eden Hazard opened the scoring for Chelsea, while the Brazilian midfielder Ramires equalised the match. The star midfielder Juan Mata could have almost sealed a memorable victory for Chelsea, but he was denied by a fine save by the Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea. After the match, Ferguson complained that his team was tired after having played several matches in recent weeks. However, Benitez has pointed out to the fact that Chelsea have been playing almost 2 matches every week since the start of the season. Hence, Ferguson should not be making tiredness as an excuse for not performing well in the second half.

“I thought you were joking. They played on Tuesday, we played in Romania on Thursday. They were playing at home. They had everything in their favour. I was waiting. I have some education. I know a lot of people are watching, so I know what you have to do. I’m a professional and we were going to Romania and I knew we had players who were a little bit tired and we had to manage them. We knew we had to make some substitutions and we did it,” said Benitez.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AIM

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Manchester United have been hugely successful in a number of competitions over the last decade. They have managed to win several Premier league titles and also one Champions League title. Despite all these successes, the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been devoid of the success in the best domestic cup competition of all – the FA Cup. It has been nine seasons since United last tasted success in this competition, and Ferguson has said that it is too long for a club like United to go without winning the FA Cup.

On several occasions in the past, United have been knocked out of this competition in the first few rounds itself. They will be facing Premier league opposition Reading in the last 16 round of the FA Cup. Only three members of the current United team have been successful in the FA Cup – Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes. Ferguson was speaking after the brilliant 4-1 win over Fulham during the weekend. The club managed to get past West Ham in the previous round after a replay. Ferguson has said that the past few years have been extremely difficult in the competition due to the bad luck, but he is hoping that this year it changes.

“I hope this is the year that changes. Certainly today they have done very well. Rio Ferdinand has never won an FA Cup medal and we’ve got to do something about that. This was a good performance. We respected Fulham, as you can see from the fact we put out a very strong team. What I’m really pleased about is Chicharito got two today so he’s up to 14, Wayne got one. If we get those two and Robin in the 20-plus mark, then we’re definitely in business,” said Ferguson after the Fulham match.

FERGIE NOT RETIRING

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The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed suggestions that he will retire from football management at the end of the season. He is one of the longest serving managers in world football after having spent 26 years at the helm of Manchester United. The Scot recently turned 71 years of age and he has accepted the fact that he isn’t getting any younger. There have been suggestions that he will announce his retirement at the end of this season due to the numerous transfer rumours linking the likes of José Mourinho, David Moyes, and Guardiola with the Manchester United post.

Ferguson, though, has quashed any lands of retirement as of yet by saying that he intends to carry on for more time. During the 26 years, Ferguson has managed to make Manchester United one of the most successful clubs in the world. United also holds the record for the most number of league titles won in England. They are currently chasing the 20th Premier league title, and have a seven-point advantage over arch rivals City. During his period, Ferguson has seen the challenges from the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and – currently – Manchester city. Even with all the competition, he has managed to keep United incredibly competitive over the years.

“I’m hoping to stay on for a bit of time. It’s very difficult. Over the years, names have been bandied about but football is such a precarious industry. But you could be talking about one of the potentially exciting young managers in the game, but is he going to be here in two or three years’ time? The sack race is horrendous. Sometimes a manager can only survive four games if he doesn’t win a match,” said Ferguson, who recently had his statue unveiled before Manchester United’s stadium Old Trafford.