The book was giving an insight of how we work at United, the atmosphere in the dressing room, nothing about criticism towards other players or managers. I was completely shocked as to how it was put in the papers, because it was not how it was in the book.
It had not been well received by his manager either. Ferguson made his feelings on the matter clear to Stam in a meeting, but the Dutchman said there was no indication that he was about to leave the club. Fergie was very open, we just had a conversation and he expressed his feelings about me as a player basically.
I got back in my car to go home. I phoned my wife, then straight away my agent called me. Despite the book being the catalyst for his exit, Stam is still of the opinion that United used it as an excuse to get him out the door. He feels that United needed to sell him in order to balance the books, and his autobiography provided the perfect excuse.
At the time they [United] used it. He was so quick and strong. In the Treble-winning season, he proved himself as one of the best ever defenders. He was awesome.
After that first meeting in Eindhoven I realised his honesty and directness could offer an interesting perspective on English football, and offered him a monthly column in Manchester United magazine. A year later The Daily Telegraph, appreciating his frankness, also signed him up as a columnist, and I went with him as his ghost writer, producing fortnightly columns during the season. I also helped launch his website through icons.
As a result I got to know Stam well. He was always a pleasure to work with; a reliable, engaging and gentle character, he had no ego. He was remarkably laid back. I once phoned him three days after Holland, the hosts of Euro , had been knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals by Italy when Stam had blazed a penalty high over the goal in the shoot-out.
I thought he would be distraught, so I offered my sympathies. The semifinal defeat. It detailed his journey from Holland to United and included stories about how Sir Alex Ferguson had allegedly tapped him up at PSV Eindhoven and was now encouraging his players to go down for penalties.
After featuring in the opening day win over Fulham, Stam was dropped and not even given a place on the bench for the next game, a trip to Blackburn Rovers. It was assumed this was punishment for the revelations in his book. But earlier that summer Ferguson has actually informed the United board he wished to sell Stam, believing that since returning from a four-month absence with an achilles injury he had lost pace and was no longer the same player.
He initially wished to replace him with the French defender Lilian Thuram from Parma. I should maybe have waited a bit longer. Stam, like Ferguson, disputes the book was to blame. He had just returned from a serious injury and, approaching 30, it was time to cash in.
It was a sad ending to the United career of a player who earned his place in the history of the club. Many United fans agree that the departure of the big Dutchman was a mistake by Ferguson. In early , when Stam returned to Old Trafford in the FA Cup as manager of Reading, the Old Trafford faithful arose and gave their former defender the reception he deserved.
Stam arrived at Manchester United almost 20 years ago in the summer of Neither he nor his new fan base could have believed just what was in store for the player in his first campaign in English football, where Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping to regain the Premier League title from new holders Arsenal.
He made his debut in a defeat to Arsenal in the Charity Shield — hardly the best of starts. The towering defender, however, quickly adapted to the English game and became one of the finest defenders to have graced the Premier League thanks to his combination of pace, positioning and leadership. That debut season was one to remember as Stam and his new teammates defied the odds and claimed the famous treble. The loss to Arsenal in the Charity Shield was only one of five defeats during a season in which Stam cemented his place in the heart of the Manchester United defence and became the rock that had been missing ever since the departure of former captain Steve Bruce.
Stam signed alongside new recruits that summer which included Dwight Yorke and Jesper Blomqvist. It was a case of in with the new and out with the old as Brian McClair and Gary Pallister both saw their United careers ended as Ferguson built a new side capable of winning titles once more.
0コメント