Ed Harrison On Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes Was Great But I Still Dropped Him

http://www.express.co.uk  

4 February 2012

ERIC HARRISON. It is not a name which is instantly recognisable in football; but it should be.

A former Manchester United youth coach, he discovered the famous class of ’92, which included Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham.

And, he even once had the temerity to drop Scholes, not a decision the firebrand youngster took very well.

“Paul was a gem to work with as a kid, as were all the other youngsters who made it through to United’s first team,” said Harrison, now a scout at Blackburn Rovers.

“Their professionalism even when they were kids had to be seen to be believed. Paul was just a brilliant boy and what a talent. Mind you, I had to drop him once.

“He was 16 years old and he had been suffering with shin splints. I had been advised by the physio to leave him out of a youth game, so I called Paul into my office and said he wasn’t playing.

“Needless to say he wasn’t best pleased. But that was part of the make-up of the boy. He was fearless and superbly talented; and all he ever wanted to do was play. We used to get pretty sizeable crowds watching the youth team and they all saw that we had some special players coming through.

“I’d say the vast majority of those fans came to watch Scholes. Word had got around that he was something very special and in those days he played as a striker. He would score from anywhere and the knack of finding the net never left him. All I can say about his tackling is, I had nothing to do with that.”

When TV pundit Alan Hansen made the infamous assertion that you “never win anything with kids” – a comment which was to backfire on him – Harrison said the former Scotland and Liverpool defender was simply guilty of not doing his homework.

“Alan had never seen these kids play,” said Harrison.

“He had never seen what we’d all seen; these kids coming through were phenomenal talents. My job was to nurture them and get as many into the first team as possible. I never had any doubts a stack of them would make it and neither did Sir Alex Ferguson. The gaffer used to watch the youth side all the time so he knew. Alan Hansen did not realise the depth of talent.”

Scholes’ return to the first team this season has thrilled Harrison, who cannot believe, 20 years after he was part of a team which won the FA Youth Cup, he is still playing at the highest level.

“I’m surprised and delighted in equal measure,” he said.

“I always thought there were plenty more miles left in Paul’s legs, but for him to leave the game then come backshows how much he loves football. Paul has always had his own satellite navigation system in his brain. Did you see his goal against Bolton the other week? He laid the ball off then moved effortlessly into the penalty box. The ball fell to him and he tucked it away with all the ease I remember he employed as a kid. It takes a real footballing brain to know when to move and where; and Paul has always had that.”

With Manchester City faltering in the league in recent weeks, United’s clash withfourth-placed Chelsea today holds real significance.

“United are in the title race, no doubt about it,” said Harrison.

“They have so many experienced players who have been there before and done it. That could be the difference. City have great players, too, but experience is so vital.

“Paul Scholes coming back to football brings the class of the Nineties back home for me. It seems another age, another time; but it was a very special period for the club. I know people say there is a lot of luck involved in getting kids through, but I don’t think so. My job was made easier because the attitude of the kids was exceptionally good.

“I was tough with them because, ultimately, I was judged on how many made it through to the top. But kids are the same as they have always been – they actually like discipline. Paul did and look where it got him.”

● ERIC HARRISON is Head of Coaching for McDonald’s, Community Partner of the FA. McDonald’s are

helping young footballers shine and over four seasons have pledged to train a further 30,000 coaches and support more than 6,000 local clubs and 400,000 volunteers.

Eric Harrison was the man behind the success of class 92 and also known as Fergie's Fledglings. He was the one that nurtured these incredible talents that mesmerizing the world of football. Though he is not recognizable but his work had be applauded by world when he discovered the famous class of ’92, which included Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham.

Now the 74 years not longer with United to coach the youth team but he is always been remembered especially by the kids he nurtured to be the world finest. It was said that he was the first one to be seek by Beckham and others when they win any cups or titles. They love him so much. And he knew that the class of 92 had so much class.

So when TV pundit Alan Hansen made the infamous assertion that you “never win anything with kids” – a comment which was to backfire on him – Harrison said the former Scotland and Liverpool defender was simply guilty of not doing his homework.

“Alan had never seen these kids play,” said Harrison. 

Harrison now predicted that Manchester United Youth Team that win 2011 FA Cup will provide many talents for future United squad. He is right though United just offload the trouble Morrison to West Ham, Old Trafford still have many talents left for example Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, Kean Twins, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Larnell Cole and Ezekiel Fryers.

These players surely will continue United supremacy in English and Europe football.

Ferguson Tells The Untold

Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester United could have signed Carlos Tevez on a permanent deal if we had acted quicker

The 70-year-old has hailed the Argentine striker as a "big game player", whilst also discussing Rio Ferdinand's need to adjust his game in recent years due to age and injury

http://www.goal.com?

20 February 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested that Carlos Tevez could have signed for Manchester United on a permanent deal if the club had acted quicker.

The Argentine spent two years on loan at Old Trafford from 2007 to 2009, winning the Champions League in the process, before leaving the club to join rivals Manchester City.

Tevez has recently returned to Eastlands after a spell away from the club following a falling out with manager Roberto Mancini, with Ferguson revealing that he was "hesitant" about signing the striker.

"He is a man for a big game Carlos Tevez, there’s no question about that," Ferguson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He’s a big game player and he did well in his season with West Ham, and it was an easy solution because he was loaned to us and we paid the loan fee for that two years and then we had the option to buy him.

"But by the time the option came round, we were maybe a bit slow of course, but his agent was everywhere with him. And the money we were quoted was not what he eventually went for, it was a lot, lot more.

"A deal could’ve been done if we’d acted earlier on, but I was just a bit hesitant about it, I wasn’t quite sure."

The 70-year-old also discussed Rio Ferdinand, revealing that he tried to sign the centre-half from West Ham at the age of 17, before eventually securing the defender’s signature from Leeds United in 2002 for £30 million.

"We tried to get him when he was 17, so I feel I’ve been tracking him all his life," Sir Alex continued.

"Their [West Ham] trainer was a guy called Brown at the time, and we phoned him to buy Rio at 17, he said we’ll do a part exchange with Beckham."

Ferguson also noted the prominent role Ferdinand plays at the club, discussing how the England international can be influential amongst younger players, with the defender currently helping out midfielder Paul Pogba, whose future at Old Trafford remains in doubt.

"We tracked Rio for a long time, and he’s matured and become an important figure within the club. He’s good with the players, good with the young players," he added.

"At the moment he’s working hard on the young boy Pogba, he’s not sure what to do. He is well regarded, Rio."

Ferdinand has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons, with his first-team appearances often limited due to recurring problems, and the Scotsman has admitted that the 33-year-old may have lost some of his agility and pace in recent years.

"It’s hard for Rio to have so much speed and agility, then he gets to 33 and he’s lost a bit. Maybe 10-15 per cent of it, so he’s had to change his game. He used to gamble, Rio, when a guy was slipping away from him he’d [sprint back] because he could [go into] overdrive. He can’t do that now.

"I spoke to him about it, I said ‘look, you’re not the same player you were five years ago, you cannot expect to be and you’ve had the back injuries’. You have to take care of that, he does the yoga now which is good. So just adjust your game, step back a yard.

"You don’t need to be there on top of him [a striker] knowing your pace is going to get you out – that’s not always going to get you out. He can maybe read the situation better now – he’s doing great, better than he ever did."

With Ferdinand having already ruled himself out of the running to replace John Terry as England captain, the former Aberdeen boss discussed the advice he gave to the centre-back when he was stripped of the armband last year.

"When the captaincy as taken away from and I spoke to him about it, I said 'look put that out of your mind'. He said 'maybe it’s a good thing, I can concentrate on my job here'. I said 'Rio, it’s the same with us, I can’t have you captain when you’re not available every week'. He took that perfectly well.

"It’s just about coping with an ageing player. Scholes and Giggs do the yoga. Scholes has come back nice and fresh," Ferguson concluded.

United Top Scorers

Manchester United All-Time Top Scorers

http://soccerlens.com/man-utd-top-scorers/87343/?

19 February 2012

Manchester United All Time Top Scorers

The top 21 in United’s list of all-time goal scorers:

Name	Appearances	Goals Scored
Sir Bobby Charlton	758	249
Denis Law	404	237
Jack Rowley	424	211
George Best	470	179
Dennis Viollet	293	179
Joe Spence	510	168
Wayne Rooney	349	166
Mark Hughes	467	163
Ryan Giggs	899	162
Paul Scholes	683	151
Ruud Van Nistelrooy	219	150
Stan Pearson	343	148
David Herd	265	145
Tommy Taylor	191	131
Brian Mcclair	471	127
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer	366	126
Andy Cole	275	121
Cristiano Ronaldo	292	118
Sandy Turnbull	247	101
George Wall	319	100
Joe Cassidy	167	99

Expensive Cities In The World

World's 10 most expensive cities

http://www.cbsnews.com

16 February 2012

For the first time in at least 20 years, Zurich ranks as the world's most expensive city, overtaking Tokyo, which had held the top spot for most of the last two decades, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest global survey.

In what should be something of a relief to Americans, no U.S. city ranked among the world's most expensive places to live -- and only New York cracked the top 15. On the other hand, it's probably not a surprise that no U.S. city made the list of the globe's cheapest places, either.

Strengthening local currencies are to blame for rising costs of living in Switzerland and Japan, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says.

"Both Japan and Switzerland have seen strong currency movements over the last few years which have made them relatively more expensive," says the EIU. "This has become especially true of Switzerland in the last year, where investors looking for a haven currency outside the beleaguered Eurozone have invested heavily in the Swiss Franc."

An index swing of 34 percentage points pushed Zurich up four places compared with last year to overtake Tokyo, which remains in second place. Geneva, the other Swiss city surveyed, saw a 30 percentage-point rise in the cost of living to move into a third-place tie with Osaka, Japan, the EIU notes.

For comparison purposes, the EIU uses an index where the cost of living in New York equals 100. So Zurich, with a top index ranking of 170, may be thought of as 70 percent more expensive than New York. Tokyo, at 166, is 66 percent more expensive than New York.

See the world's most expensive cities, courtesy of the Economist Intelligence Unit, below

The Ten Most Expensive
Country	City	WCOL Index (New York = 100)	Rank
Switzerland	Zurich	170	1
Japan	Tokyo	166	2
Switzerland	Geneva	157	3=
Japan	Osaka Kobe	157	3=
Norway	Oslo	156	5
France	Paris	150	6
Australia	Sydney	147	7
Australia	Melbourne	145	8
Singapore	Singapore	142	9
Germany	Frankfurt	137	10