CUNEYT Cakir, the Turkish referee who sent-off Nani in Manchester United’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid at Old Trafford, has emerged as favourite to take charge of the all-German final at Wembley between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Cakir showed Nani the red card for a challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa in the 56th minute when United were winning 2-1 on aggregate. Two goals in 13 minutes saw Real advance to the semi-finals, Sir Alex Ferguson blaming United’s defeat on Cakir. Ferguson was so incensed he refused to attend a post-match press conference, incurring an £8,500 fine from UEFA.

The decision to dismiss Nani was widely criticised, but crucially the Turk was supported by Pierluigi Collina, the match officials’ assessor at Old Trafford and an influential voice on UEFA’s Referees Committee. Collina gave Cakir a mark of 8.2 for his display at Old Trafford, the Italian’s only criticism of the referee was that he should have also shown Rio Ferdinand the red card for appearing to sarcastically applaud him inches from his face as they left the pitch.

Cakir, 36, is highly rated by FIFA, too, as world football’s governing body appointed him to handle the potentially explosive 2014 World Cup qualifying tie between Croatia and Serbia in March which passed off without any controversial incident. He also refereed the 2012 Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Corinthians, which the Brazilians won 1-0. In the last minute Cakir sent-off Gary Cahill for a challenge on Emerson.

Also among Cakir’s red card list are Steven Gerrard during England versus Ukraine last September when he also handed out nine yellow cards, Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews against Italy at Euro 2012, Chelsea’s John Terry against Barcelona in April 2012 and Mario Balotelli in Manchester City’s Europa League tie against Dynamo Kiev in March 2011.

But his no-nonsense approach has won him admirers at UEFA and he is set to return to England for the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25.

*THIS has been on Planet Twitter, but if you have missed it…it is an incredible choice of photograph for Johnny Giles’ Wikipedia page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Giles

Your first ever newspaper?

The Sportsman, a sports news and betting paper that hit the streets in 2006. It sounded like a good idea … until it was launched. I jumped ship before everyone was made redundant, which was about six months after the first edition.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?

Pizza delivery boy. I started with Tops Pizza … but left after being tapped up by Dominos. The drop money was better, and I took home a Pepperoni Passion at the end of every shift.

What was your finest achievement playing football?

Played for Wimbledon and then Fulham as a teenager, and made a few outings in the Ryman League for the mighty Leatherhead … before hanging up my boots at the grand old age of 20.

Most memorable match covered?

My first one. I was only 16, but Gerry Cox of Hayters gave me the nod to cover an FA Cup match between Basingstoke and Bournemouth. My grandad had to take me to the game and pick me up afterwards. Mark Stein scored the winner after the keeper smashed a clearance against him.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?

Dave Kidd’s left footed strike in 5-a-side last year. ‘Swing and hope’ I think they call it. But the ball flew into the top corner, and Kiddo has not stopped talking about it since.

Best stadium?

Craven Cottage. An old-fashioned feel, for all the right reasons.

…and the worst?

Kenilworth Road. An old-fashioned feel, for all the wrong reasons.

Your best ever scoop?

Gerard Houllier to become Aston Villa boss. It seemed so unlikely, even I wasn’t convinced when I pressed send.

Your personal new-tech disaster?

Covered a game at Old Trafford – and realised when I got back to London that my laptop was still on the desk in the Press room. I still owe Steve Bates a pint for collecting it, actually [Steve said that with interest it’s now a barrel – Ed].

Biggest mistake?

Playing rugby. I’m not very well built for the sport, but just presumed I’d be able to run past everyone. It worked for about half hour, but then some huge kid tackled me, I went flying through the air and broke my arm. Never played again.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?

A few people congratulated me when Dan Jones started writing a column in the Evening Standard.

Most media friendly manager?

Chris Coleman. When I started to report full-time Cookie was in charge of Fulham, and really helped me out at times. He came out with some great lines in interviews too. His presser when he stated Louis Saha would be leaving ‘over my dead body’ was a classic.

Best ever player?

Eric Cantona.

Best ever teams (club and international)?

Club… Manchester United 1999
International… France 2000.

Best pre-match grub?

Tottenham have raised their game this season with new caterers. Best signing since Gareth Bale.

Best meal had on your travels?

California Pizza Kitchen, LA. Not a big food lover so decent pizza always does the job.

…and the worst?

I did manage to find bad pizza once. It was in Bangkok.

Best hotel stayed in?

Vidago Palace in Portugal.

…and the worst?

I can’t remember what it was called but on my first ever foreign trip I was sent to Paris for Hayters to get an interview with Patrick Vieira. I stayed in a smelly, run down place near Gare du Nord, and it can not have cost more than 30 quid for the night. The walls were annoyingly thin, the bed sheets had holes in, and the fire alarm batteries needed changing so it beeped all night.

Favourite football writer?

Don’t have one, but I like story-getters. Neil Ashton, Neil Moxley and John Cross are very good.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?

Would have to be BBC Radio 5 Live’s Mike Ingham.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?

Access is getting worse and worse, so all I would ask is to let us speak to the players more often. How can we report properly on the game otherwise?

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?

NBA Playoffs

Last book read?

A Long Way Down. It’s a novel by Nick Hornby, not a non-fiction title detailing the next four years of QPR’s history.

Favourite current TV programme?

New Girl for comedy. Chicago Fire for drama.

Your most prized football memorabilia?

The Dimitar Berbatov signed shirt that I’m sure Fulham’s press office will be sending me as soon as the season is over…

Advice to any would-be football writer?

Make as many contacts as you can, and then get in touch with me if you get any good stories.

*And the bonus ball today is a wonderful anecdote from Dave Allard about the late, great Ian Willard and a manager who made every football writer’s job so pleasant:

The dear old Duke. The pint, the pipe and stories galore.

Trips to the Midlands with Ipswich were enhanced by his presence.

He once said to Bobby Robson after he was late for a press gathering at Villa Park following a defeat: “Stop behaving like a twat Bob.”

Robbo said: “Ahh Ian, you’re probably right.”

Priceless.

By COLIN TATTUM

IAN Willars, a former Birmingham Post & Mail journalist and chairman of the Football Writers’ Association (Midlands), has died aged 75.

Ian, or ‘The Duke’ as he was known, was a legendary character in Midlands football and cricketing circles, and beyond.

He was an old school reporter, a fine and concise writer, who got stories through his contacts and through trust. It wasn’t just what he produced in the newspaper, but the stories behind the stories, the scrapes, the fun. Ian was a bon viveur and charming, never sour, company. Whenever you met him and asked how he was, the answer was always the same: ‘In beautiful condition’. He had that effect on you – he made you smile a warm smile.

Ian was a major figure in my formative years at the Mail, he took me under his wing as a cub reporter when I first popped up in the Colmore Row offices on work experience. Along with the then sports editor Ian Johnson, he was a major influence. The two of them seemed to look upon me kindly and look after me, educating me in the ways of the sports hack’s world back then in the late 80s – and it was a different world.

No mobile phones, no Internet, no set-piece and sanitised press conferences that are the staple of Sky Sports.

The Mail had resources too, we had a big staff. We even had our own pub on site, the Printer’s Devil and – wait for it – a snooker room. They were great, fun-filled days, Ian would bestride the local scene, and I can never recall anyone having a bad word to say about him. He would always pass on little tips and advice, some of which, although they seemed so simple at the time, still matter.

Never more than 25 words in every paragraph in your story, he would say. Never forget who you are writing for.

And when managers would get uppity at criticism, he used to puff on his pipe, look over his reading glasses and remind anyone in earshot: ‘We see ‘em come – we see ‘em go’.

Those around Ian in his heyday and on the countless trips he made all over, covering our local sides in Europe or with England, plus Warwickshire and Worcestershire, will have many, many anecdotes and tales about The Duke which are better than mine. But I would nevertheless like to share a few, which always make me chuckle.

In 1988, he was covering the European Championship in West Germany and I took two weeks holiday, got a rail card (which was only £50) and travelled around watching as many matches as I could. Ian, already in situ, knew I was coming out and got a message back asking if I could get him an advance on his expenses, in petty cash.

‘Tell them it’s for hotel valeting – I need my trousers pressed’. That was code for beer money.

I would turn up at the various hotels he was booked into with the official touring party, crash out in his room to get some much needed sleep, and then the next day be introduced to the great and good of Fleet Street, and England’s players, who used to stay in the same accommodation as the press.

One evening I remember he called me down to the hotel bar in Dusseldorf and said: ‘Right, there’s this lovely young Fraulein I’d like you to meet’. I got chatting to her and thought my luck was in.

Next thing I know Everton’s Gary Stevens plonked himself down on the other bar stool next to her and, for some reason, she swivelled her chair and started fluttering her eyelashes at him. Can’t imagine why. Ian just laughed that mischievous laugh of his.

Also on duty covering England, at Italia 90, one of Ian’s briefs was to supply a regular diary chronicling the thoughts of a then relatively unknown David Platt. When Platt scored that volley against Belgium, putting England into the World Cup quarter-finals in the most dramatic of fashion, everyone wanted a piece of him. The interest went crazy. Platt was spirited away by England and Ian couldn’t get to him. No one, could, in fact. He was stuck, on deadline, and without a word from the new national hero for the next day’s newspaper.

Nevertheless, the Birmingham Evening Mail’s front page carried a Platt exclusive – ‘My dream goal’, screamed the headline. The Mail bigwigs were delighted.

And how had Ian pulled it off? ‘Well,’ he revealed later, drawing on his pipe, before smiling, ‘it’s what he would have said . . . ‘.

Ian also had a nifty trick to fool the bosses at the Mail base. He would bring two jackets to work; one to wear, one to sling on the back of his chair. The reason became clear – when you disappeared ‘over the road’ to the Queen’s Head pub in Steelhouse Lane, everyone assumed you were still around, just in a different part of the office.

Thus the ’10.31 club’ was born – in the Queen’s a minute after it opened in the morning. And Ian would often say he was only there for some ‘intro juice’.

I doubt if we will ever see the like of Ian again. The new breed of football journalist is a different case, working in more cloying, less fun conditions. Ian, Ian Johnson and the reporters of that ilk used to joke that they were the ‘last of the BTJs’ – bar trained journalists.

What he would have made of social media, Twitter and the message board sages, I dread to think. I remember when we began using mobile phones, those huge housebrick things that you had to charge up for days.

Ian was in the press box at Bramall Lane shouting to make himself heard to the Sports Argus copytaker on the other end of the line, who was trying to type out his words of wisdom for his live ‘running’ report to go in that evening’s pink.

‘Duke’, someone noticed, ‘you’re holding the phone the wrong way round’.

I played for Ian’s Sunday football team, Boldmere Greens, when I first started out at the Mail. Everyone there found him engaging, a real gent and great company, just like those in his profession did.

I owe Ian a lot. Not only was he an excellent writer, very knowledgeable about football, cricket and extremely helpful to others, but he was a character who brought light into other people’s life, without ever being arrogant or superior.

Rest in peace, Duke.

This article is reprinted from Colin Tattum’s Birmingham City blog

YOU’RE BANNED.

The sadly all too familiar words directed at football writers. Clubs, usually at the behest of the manager, exclude a reporter, even the newspaper, from press conferences and at times from match days. And there is nothing the Football Writers’ Association or anyone can do.

The joke in Manchester is that any journalist covering United who hasn’t been banned at some time is not doing his job properly. Yet excluding football writers is not funny, with Luke Edwards of the Daily Telegraph the latest to be given a banning order by Newcastle United who were upset at his claim that the club’s significant French contingent have yet to fully adapt to the needs of English football.

Edwards wrote: “The tension is believed to be down to the fact some individuals have been more interested in complaining about tactics and worrying about their own personal agendas rather than helping the club to survive in the Barclays Premier League. That has infuriated those who are deeply concerned by the manner in which the team have imploded since losing to Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Europa League earlier this month.

“Telegraph Sport understands that there is concern that the large French contingent on Tyneside do not care as much about the team’s demise and have failed to grasp what is needed to succeed in English football.”

Newcastle sent the newspaper a solicitors letter demanding a retraction and the removal of the article from the Telegraph web site. Until that happens “both Luke Edwards and any representative of the Daily Telegraph/Sunday Telegraph will be banned from attending St James’ Park and from attending any Newcastle United pre-match press conferences and all Newcastle United player interviews at the training facilities.”

Edwards, who previously worked on the Journal, said: “I’ve been covering Newcastle for 12 years now. My sources are 100 per cent trusted and reliable.”

Something, somewhere is wrong at Newcastle who were 66-1 to be relegated before the January transfer window when the club signed four more French-speaking players. As 2012/13 comes to an end, Newcastle are facing the prospect of Championship football next season but the club deny that having a majority of French players in the side is a contributory factor though many had voiced their concern that “Le Toon” could have a negative effect on the team.

Football writers are not cheerleaders, they are not programme editors always having to fly the flag for clubs or putting a positive spin on things after a seventh consecutive defeat. It is worrying that clubs can ban newspapers for not being supportive and Edwards said: “It is a danger. It’s indicative of an industry that’s trying to get greater control over the messages that come out and what is written about their football clubs and their products.

“Clubs expect the local paper to be like fans and show loyalty and not criticise them. And they can actually be a lot more sensitive to criticism from local newspapers. I think every sports journalist out there, local or national, will take an interest in this because it could happen to them.”

Perhaps the most frustrating is when a reporter is banned for writing a story that is totally correct but the club were angry the news leaked out. Clubs demand accurate reporting yet still show the red card to accurate reporters.

Kaylee Seckington, who covers Crawley Town for the Crawley News, was banned from speaking to players and manager Richie Barker after he was unhappy with two headlines.

Alex Thomson of Channel 4 News believes newspapers should show solidarity and boycott clubs who operate bans. He wrote in a recent blog: “It’s this bizarre thing in British football where reporters or even entire organisations are banned (i.e. censored) for doing their job, in a way which would surely never be tolerated in any other media field in Britain. This is what the nastier and more corrupt regimes around the world do – pick on individuals and organisations, safe in the knowledge that the rest, the herd, are far too cowed and terrified to do one goddam thing about it.

“So after Syria, corrupt West African despots and so on, I see something similar in the way big British football handles its craven media. I refer to the practice of football clubs simply banning any journalist, paper, broadcaster who dares write something seriously critical about a club.

“There are some long-established abusers of press freedom. Cities where this is as accepted a part of life as rain. Celtic and Rangers share a shameful pedigree in this: for years they’ve felt able to ban reporters with impunity and nobody seems to lift a finger in protest. Where’s the boycott of Old Trafford, St James’s Park, Ibrox and Celtic Park? Where’s the solidarity? Where’s the sense that a free and fair media matters a hell of a lot more than a bunch of football managers who think they can come over all Stasi because they’re so damned precious they can’t take any stick?

“It’s pathetic. It’s inexcusable. It’s another reflection of the tawdry morality in modern British football. And the media from Sky Sports (with their oh-so-cosy first question in the press conference) and the BBC to local papers should call time on this. Where is the Football Writers’ Association? Next time this happens wouldn’t it be a fine thing if there was nobody at the manager’s press conference and no cameras or radio at their match?

“Banning reporters should become a breach of contract and regulation which it is the clear duty of the FA to impose upon the game which looks more powerless and weak every time this happens””

The FWA have put forward the idea of an arbitration panel comprising representatives from the organisation plus English football’s major stakeholders to rule on disputes. Legally a club can ban anyone from entering their premises though such treatment of football writers and their newspapers is a practice that is not widespread in Europe.

Gabriele Marcotti, the England-based Italian sports journalist who writes a column in The Times each Monday, said: “Italy would not ban a newspaper. In Italy we have a strong newspapers and journalists guild. People wouldn’t stand for it or some of the stuff that happens here, like assistant managers going to press conferences or managers having private briefings.

“I think it’s ridiculous [to ban papers]. If a  newspaper was banned in Italy I think what would happen is that people would boycott the next press conference. When Jose Mourinho was coach at Inter Milan he banned an individual journalist. At his next press conference the moment he sat down everyone got up and walked out. In Italy we tend to sink or fall together.”

Guillem Balague, who is part of Sky Sports’ La Liga coverage and the magazine programme Revista De La Liga, said: “In Spain they don’t ban you but they have another way of making sure you don’t get stories. Clubs would just give them to others.

“There was an incident with Mourinho who took a journalist aside and into a room where there were six people. He started to have a go at the reporter because stories had been leaking from the camp and Mourinho wanted the writer to reveal his source.

“It’s interesting here that even though you cannot access clubs who control who says what yet they still they feel the need to ban.

“But banning in Spain? No. It’s a bit of a medal though, isn’t it?”

Photography: Action Images

Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale revealed he felt humbled to have taken his place among the “legends” of the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.

The Wales international, 23, topped the poll of journalists for 2012/2013 with a narrow victory over Manchester United forward Robin van Persie, who was last year’s recipient when at Arsenal.

Bale’s 25 goals in all competitions have helped take Andre Villas-Boas men into the quarter-finals of the Europa League and kept them in the race to secure a return to the Champions League via a top-four finish in the Barclays Premier League.

The FWA accolade has been running since 1948, when Sir Stanley Matthews was the first recipient of a long list which includes the likes of England World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, the Charlton brothers, George Best through Kevin Keegan, Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Christiano Ronaldo.

“When you look at all of the past winners, the legends of the game, this is a massive honour, and to be on the list with them now is a massive privilege,” Bale said as he received his award from FWA chairman Andy Dunn, chief sports writer for the Sunday Mirror ahead of a gala dinner at the Lancaster London Hotel on May 9.

“You always dream of things like this, whether they come true or not is another, but now that it has, it is a massive achievement for me, but one I could have not done without my team or my manager.

“The team has been fantastic this season and we have played some very good stuff, it is always easier to play in a really good team.

“The manager has been fantastic for me, playing me in different positions where I am able to find the space and actually show my stuff.

“I have really enjoyed my football and been able to play well.”

Bale was also named Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

“Hopefully there is a lot more (to come),” the Wales forward added.

“I have only just started in my new free role in the middle, so there is still a lot to learn in that position for me, I still need to kind of figure out a few things which is important.

“As I say to myself every season, I want to improve again, there are still things I need to improve, there are things which need working on in more areas than others, and I can do that.”

Chelsea’s Juan Mata was third in the journalists poll, with Bale taking the first place with 53% of the votes ahead of Van Persie.

Bale becomes Spurs’ first winner of the FWA award since David Ginola in 1999, and the first Wales international to be selected for English football’s oldest individual trophy since Everton’s Neville Southall in 1985.

Tottenham head into the final two games of the Premier League season still hopeful of securing a top-four finish.

Bale said: “Everyone at Tottenham still believes, we know it is not in our hands, but there are a lot of funny things which can happen in football.

“The main thing is we need to concentrate on ourselves and hope that little bit of luck goes with us.”

Words: Jim van Wijk, FWA National Committee

Photography: Action Images

By Andre Villas-Boas

Another season has gone by. A few players have stood out, a few players caught the eye and a few have been at another level.

Some, though, were simply outstanding.  And in that small group is Gareth Bale.

As a manager you can only get to know a player fully when you start working with him. You see what makes him tick, get to know his personality and his character intimately and you see what he enjoys to do or not to do on the pitch.

Gareth had an impressive impact on me and my staff for the obvious reasons that we all know: his power, his leap and the innate talent that he has.

Everybody has seen that during our games this season but it’s away from the public eye in training where I’ve been privileged to witness his brilliance.

I was amazed by his ability to stop, turn, accelerate and change direction at incredible speed yet still remain composed enough to slot in that cross, that final pass or the shot which could make the difference on any given matchday.

Can Gareth evolve and become better? Like every player and like all of us in our profession, you have to say yes.

In the same way as Ajax and Barcelona breed their young players, Gareth’s experiences as a left-back, a winger and a striker have allowed him to live and experience different situations in the game to which he has had to adapt.  When all of that knowledge becomes instinctive he will be able to further develop his game and we will continue to enjoy watching him play.

During pre-season in Baltimore, when I first approached Gareth to play as a lone striker his response was: “I can try, but it’s not my position.” How lucky can a manager be that out of an experiment you discover something that can work!

In my opinion, any single individual award that is won in a sport where you are so dependent on your team-mates is not always fair, but I raise a glass to the person who in their biggest moments of glory is able to recognise the importance of the ones that surround them on a daily basis and are able to share that glory with them.

Gareth has done exactly that with all of us at Tottenham Hotspur when he joined that elite group of players to have added the Footballer of the Year award to recognition by the PFA.  That is down to Gareth’s humbleness and transparency as a person and makes him stand out as a great sportsman.

Congratulations Gareth it is a pleasure to work with you and an honour to be your manager.

This article is in the brochure for the Footballer of the Year Dinner at the Lancaster London, May 9.

“WE HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO BE DOING THE JOB IN A TIME WHEN FERGUSON HAS BEEN AROUND”

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

NEIL CUSTIS, who has covered Manchester United for The Sun for 14 years, is like the newly-crowned Barclays Premier League champions – top of the table. Custis has been banned “about five times” by Sir Alex Ferguson, believed to be a Football Writers’ Association record.

Yet Custis is sad that Ferguson is set to retire at the end of another successful season. The bans and the media rows are all part of a complex man who has managed Manchester United with an iron fist yet behind the occasional anger at headlines or true stories he would rather have not been printed Ferguson will be missed by football writers everywhere.

He refused to speak to the BBC for seven years. The Guardian’s Daniel Taylor was red carded six years ago after his exceptional book “This Is The One – The Uncut Story Of A Football Genius” was published. It was generally full of praise for Ferguson, but reliving some hairdryer moments upset the Scot.

Taylor told football365.com: “He got a press officer to read it on his behalf, who gave it this professional, over-the-top report with sub-headings and everything, and the recommendation of this report was that there’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s completely fair, and he basically said ‘I’ll ban him anyway.’”

At the beginning of the season the Daily Telegraph’s Mark Ogden was banned for revealing [correctly] that Rio Ferdinand would miss the game against Everton because of injury.

More recently one national newspaper was excluded for printing that Antonio Valencia left the training ground on crutches while two others were banned in the wake of stories about Wayne Rooney’s future. Ferguson is the only manager in the Barclays Premier League to snub after-match press conferences with the written media yet for all his extremes Custis said the United manager has given all football writers an era they will never forget.

Custis said: “I think I’m probably top [of the banned table] because I’ve done the job longer than the guys from the other dailies.

“The thing is, I’d get back in, we’d make up and have a laugh about it. I have always got on with him, despite the bans. I’d stand up to him, we’d have rows…battles…I think he enjoyed it, though I’m not sure if I did all the time. I think occasionally reporters would get a ban because he saw them as a threat.

“After my last ban I was stuck in traffic…Ferguson arrived early and I sneaked in at the back. He said ‘Custis, you’re back in and you’re late.’ I replied that I was sorry but I went to The Cliff it’s been so long.

“I shall miss him. Newspapers spend thousands of pounds so football writers can travel around the world with United pre-season and the reason is for the 45 minutes we get with him. He enjoyed the banter, the game he played with the media, the challenge of the press.

“As football writers we have been very fortunate to be doing the job in a time when Ferguson has been around. It’s been the best time to cover Manchester United.

“He would come out with phrases like ‘squeaky bum time’ and ‘football, bloody hell’ that are part of the game’s lexicon.”

Not to mention the hairdryer or Fergie time.

“He has a wonderful way of talking about football that took it away from being just a sport into a drama that encapsulated everybody.”

Luke Edwards of the Daily Telegraph has just been banned by Newcastle United and the publicity this generated surprised Custis because in Manchester such things are a regular occurrence. He said: “People have been discussing the lad who’s been banned by Newcastle and it is wrong to be banned from games. But I thought someone had just invented the wheel.”

The announcement of Ferguson’s retirement came as a surprise, but Custis said in hindsight it should not have been. He said: “I suppose it’s always been on the cards because the guy’s 71 yet he seemed so full of life though he always has the capacity to shock. The thing that made me wonder was the fact he was so emphatic that he wasn’t going, almost too emphatic.

“For me it’s not just what Manchester United have lost, it’s what football has lost. Sir Alex Ferguson can say something mundane and it’s a back page lead plus inside spread. Someone else can reveal they’ve landed on Mars and it wouldn’t have the same impact. OK, I exaggerate, but the guy was the embodiment of the Barclays Premier League…his teams and Ferguson himself have created so much drama that without him the league would not be the same. Ferguson sums up not just what is great about Manchester United, but what is great about English football.

“The reason the Barclays Premier League is so popular around the world is in many ways because of Ferguson.”

When Ferguson was appointed manager of United on November 6, 1986 they were 21st in the old First Division, finishing the season in 11th place. It was four years before Ferguson won his first trophy, the FA Cup – 37 trophies have followed in 23 years.

Cuistis said: “If you want to know about Ferguson’s legacy you just need to walk around Old Trafford and then look at photos of how Old Trafford was when he arrived. It is now a monument to Manchester United and to Ferguson.

“His record will be impossible to beat because nobody will have the chance to beat it, to dominate in the way he has. No one will be given the time to create something that can have such longevity. Ferguson was allowed the time to build a foundation that would need be just tinkered with each year, but not a major overhaul.

“He’ll be remembered as the man who created the modern day Manchester United, the man who put down a marker for all football clubs in how to operate. There is a lot of short-term thinking at clubs now, but United have thought long-term. No other club would have stuck with their manager to the extent United did with Fergie in his early days.

“In the time he’s been in charge Chelsea have had 18 managers, it’s a similar story with Manchester City.” For the record, Real Madrid have had 24.

Many believe that the best job in football is the man who follows Ferguson’s successor. Custis disagrees and said: “Ferguson has said that while people call it ‘the impossible job’ it isn’t. It was an impossible job when he took over given the state Manchester United were in. It seemed impossible that almost 27 years on they’d be in the position they are now.

“The new manager has everything set up for success, from the training ground, the academy, the current squad…far from being an impossible job, it’s the best job.”

Inevitably it is United’s two Champions League successes, won in the most dramatic squeaky bum fashion, that give United fans their greatest moments.

Custis said: “He’s touched so many people’s lives, not least United supporters who were at the Nou Camp in 1999 or in Moscow in 2008. Those memories will remain forever. It’s not just what he’s done for United, but for a whole generation who have stories to be passed on to their children.

“Some have done this for a short time like Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, but he quit after five years because he was finding it a bit tough. One of Ferguson’s finest achievements was keeping the club together amid all the turmoil when the Glazers took over [in 2005]. The fans were in revolt, the club were suddenly in debt, the future was uncertain, but the one person who kept his foot on the ball was Ferguson. He was the glue that held the club together at a very difficult time.”

Covering United has given Custis many unforgettable moments, but one Fergie memory stands out.

“It has to be when he said ‘there are too many Custis’s.”

Neil’s brother Shaun, The Sun’s chief football writer, had been banned by Ferguson who had an identity crisis, saying to Neil: “What are you doing here, you’re banned.”

Custis said: “He tried to throw me out of a press conference for a story Shaun had written. I pointed this out and he replied laughing: ‘There are too many Custis’s.’”

WAS IT REALLY “THE MATTHEWS FINAL”?

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

IT IS forever known as the Matthews Final – Blackpool 4, Bolton Wanderers 3, May 2, 1953. Stanley Matthews, the first ever Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in 1948, was the most popular player of his generation, more Bobby Charlton than David Beckham in his appeal, but who had twice been on the losing side in FA Cup finals with the Seasiders, in 1948 and 1951.  At 38, the clock was ticking – could the man nicknamed the Wizard of the Dribble make it third time lucky?

Nat Lofthouse, the great Bolton and England centre-forward, conceded: “Everybody in England, except the people of Bolton, wanted Stanley to get his medal. We had a huge emotional barrier to break down.”

The country, Bolton excepted, had its wish, but was it really the Matthews Final? Did the emotions of the nation and the media create an image that was more fantasy than reality? Stan Mortensen was credited with a hat-trick and Bill Perry scored the dramatic late winner – even Matthews was to say: “To be honest, I found the whole thing one big embarrassment. Every time I hear the words [Matthews Final] I cringe with embarrassment because quite simply it’s not true.”

In a fascinating and superbly researched book – The Great English Final – David Tossell has separated fact from fiction, including doubts surrounding the scorers of two goals, of one of the greatest games Wembley has ever staged.

THE COVERAGE of the 2012/13 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Wigan Athletic will be intense, supplements published, with television and radio providing a fitting hors d’euvres to a match that retains a special place in the English sporting calendar, despite the growing emphasis on the Barclays Premier League.

In 1953 things were rather different. Media interest in the preparation for the final was minimal, the Evening Gazette reporting that Blackpool were watched by “a couple of dozen men, two women, four press photographers and a dog” during a pre-Wembley training session. A dozen fans were at the station to see Bolton off. There were no “exclusives” or the sort of hard-hitting back page stories demanded now by sports desks.

Sixty years ago football was wary of the presence of television cameras, believing it could affect attendances and 16 Football League games were played on the same day as the final. The BBC secured the rights to televise the Wembley game for a fee of £1,000, the Football Association stating: “The national interest in soccer [yes, soccer] must come first.” However, the Light Programme broadcast only a second-half commentary, having failed to persuade the FA to mirror television’s coverage of the entire game. Ten million people, huddling around five million TV sets, watched the match – more than some finals in recent years have attracted – with as many again listening on the radio. In 1953 the FA Cup final was as much a social event as a football match.

Some things have remained constant, though. Each finalist was allocated 12,500 tickets, underlying the FA’s policy was the feeling that they were simply unwilling to have their national event dominated by the working-class masses that typically made up most clubs’ fan bases. Far better to allow in the lords and colonels who dominated the committee rooms of the amateur game. Ticket prices at Wembley ranged from £2.10s to 3s 6d, with Nat Lofthouse having 97 requests for tickets dropped through his door.

The FA sent Blackpool’s allocation by train, a bemused-looking porter captured by photographers as he pushed his trolley bearing a priceless brown paper package. Blackpool gave 10 tickets to the Blackpool Corporation, the names of the lucky councillors drawn out of a hat by the Mayor. When the Evening Gazette tried to find the names of the recipients they were told: “No comment.”

The players were paid £12 a week, Bolton’s promised win bonus was £25 per player, £5 more than Blackpool’s. Matthews, probably English football’s first superstar, earned £15 a week from a boot sponsorship with the Co-op, the deal requiring him to make personal appearances at stores on the morning of away games between nine and 11.

Future BBC commentator John Motson, who grew up in Lewisham, south-east London, attended one such appearance and said: “Matthews was undoubtedly the most famous footballer in the country. He sat at a table in the store and we all queued up for his autograph. I remember being very shy and just said: ‘Thank you very much.’”

Matthews, the first player to have a ghosted column in a newspaper, the Sunday Express, also promoted Craven cigarettes – “The cigarettes for me” – in newspaper advertisements, despite admitting: “I’ve never smoked in my life.” Emphasising the difference in attitude towards smoking then and now, the last line of Blackpool manager Joe Smith’s team-talk was invariably: “Get two goals up before half-time, lads, so I can enjoy my cigar in the second-half.”

THE DUKE of Edinburgh performed the pre-game ceremonial duties on behalf of The Queen, his wife of five and a half months, his acerbic wit evident even then as he remarked that Bolton’s shiny satin navy britches made them look like “a bunch of pansies.” The kick-off was almost delayed as Blackpool centre-half Harry Johnston, the Footballer of the Year in 1951, had forgotten to take out his dentures and had to dash to the touchline, 12th man Johnny Crosland the lucky recipient of his captain’s choppers. As Johnston later stood in line to receive his winner’s medal he suddenly realised he had not reclaimed his dentures. “Quick John,” he shouted to Crosland. “My teeth, my teeth, I’ve got to meet The Queen.”

Nat Lofthouse gave Bolton a second minute lead, Stan Mortensen equalising on 35 minutes, a goal generously awarded to the striker as it took a significant deflection off Harold Hassell. Going outside full-back Johnny Ball, Mortensen shot left-footed across the goal towards the far post and Hassell, racing back to cover, diverted the ball inside the near post, leaving goalkeeper Stan Hanson helpless. Mortensen’s cup final hat-trick has become established as historical fact, but Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC’s commentator, called it as a Hassall own-goal. The keeper seemed likely to have saved Mortensen’s scuffed shot and in modern times the Premier League’s dubious goals committee would most certainly have ruled against Mortensen, though few begrudged the achievement of one of the most popular men in the game.

Five minutes later Bobby Langton is credited with restoring Bolton’s advantage, but again there are doubts about who had the last significant touch. Langton clipped the ball left-footed towards the far post. Arriving late, Willie Moir ran across goalkeeper George Farm’s line of sight. As both men stretched for the ball – Moir with his head, Farm with fist – it continued unimpeded on its path and nestled in the far bottom corner of the net. Wolstenholme said later in his commentary: “We’ve just received confirmation from the Bolton dressing-room that Willie Moir scored the second goal. He must have touched it with his head.” Yet the record books give the goal to Langton.

Eric Bell made it 3-1 after 55 minutes and it seemed as if Matthews was going to be a three-times Wembley loser. But Mortensen struck again in the 68th minute, converting an overhit centre from Matthews that was flapped at by Hanson, allowing the centre-forward to slide between two defenders and steer the ball home from two yards. However, there were signs that belatedly the great man was stepping further towards the front of the stage

With one minute of regulation time remaining referee Sandy Griffiths signalled a Blackpool free-kick, apparently penalising the merest brush by Doug Holden on Jackie Mudie. A group of four Bolton players stood momentarily with hands on hips, looking quizzically at the official – the closest the era ever came to a present day all-too-familiar surrounding of the referee. Mortensen completed his [alleged] hat-trick, blasting the ball past the wall and inside the left post.

In the second minute of stoppage time Matthews made his most significant contribution to the final, slipping slightly as he crossed the ball for Bill Perry to fire home Blackpool’s winner. Matthews was at last able to lift the FA Cup.

There were no after-match TV or radio interviews on the pitch, a handful of photographers capturing Blackpool players with the cup. Remarkably, both teams had booked the Cafe Royal for their post-match banquets, with champagne drunk and humble pie eaten in the finalists’ respective rooms.

A FAMILIAR cry in Fleet Street after a big match has been: “What’s the line?” This time there was only one angle. The News of the World’s headline was: “That Old Matthews Magic Delights The Queen.” The Sunday Chronicle: “Magnificent Matthews,” saying “Matthews 4, Bolton 3 is more correctly the result.”

In the modern day of tabloid reporting, where the events of a game are often prioritised in order to fit around the newspapers’ chosen storyline, such side-steppoing of objectivity is commonplace. In 1953, pre-determining the narrative was rare. And to be sure, it was pre-determined. A week before the final Frank Butler of the News of the World had written: “If they [Blackpool] do win, it will go down in soccer history as the Stanley Matthews final. Never have so many wished so much for one man to get a winner’s medal.”

It is easy to fall into the trap of assuming the tag was applied purely because of what happened on the field, in which case it is also easy to feel sympathy for the overlooked Stan Mortensen and Bill Perry. The Opta report commissioned by The Times to mark the 50th anniversary of the final listed the contribution of Matthews behind, in descending order, Mortensen, Willie Moir, Johnny Wheeler, Ernie Taylor and Perry.

The conclusion the newspaper drew – “Put simply, the Matthews final is a myth” and is based purely on a statistical breakdown of the action, ignoring the environment in which it took place. It is a verdict as flawed as that of the reporters who, in their excitement, sought to credit Matthews with single-handedly winning the game.

Yet while Matthews may not have been Man of the Match, Tossell told footballwriters.co.uk the way the final is remember is still justified. He said: “In my view the Matthews Final is merited, not because of misplaced perception that he won the game single-handedly, although he was clearly the classiest player on the field, but because of the way he dominated the narrative both in the build-up and on the day. It’s impossible in these times to fully appreciate the widespread love – it’s the appropriate word – the public had for Matthews, who was considered a model of all that was good about England.

“It’s apparent in the reverential commentary of Kenneth Wolstenholme throughout. As I mention at one point in the book, it could have been Bolton who scored the last-minute winner yet it might still have reasonably been remembered as the Matthews Final.”

Adapted from The Great English Final by David Tossell (Pitch Publishing, £16.99).