Premier League - Managers: Fergie pleased

Eurosport - Thu, 05 Mar 12:25:00 2009

A brief look at the reaction to Wednesday night's Premier League action, with Alex Ferguson reflecting on a tough battle at St James' Park.

2008-2009 Manchester United Alex Ferguson - 0

Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester United

Chris Hughton: "Yes, I do (think Newcastle will survive). It's vital that we put on that type of performance right through to the end of the season. I was delighted with the performance. In the form that Manchester United are in, to be able in a lot of periods of the game to take the game to them, take the lead and go very close to getting a second speaks volumes for this group of players."

Alex Ferguson: "It wasn't a great performance. We got off to a terrible start, and Newcastle were pumped up for it. We expected that and we should have dealt with it better. But coming from 1-0 down was a good result for us. It required a lot of grit. Our football has been better, and we were maybe careless with passing of the ball. Newcastle knew it was a massive game for them and went about their job in the right way. We could have been 2-0 down actually."

Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa

Mark Hughes: "That was one of our most accomplished performances - if not the most accomplished. It is baffling at times why we cannot produce that kind of performance away from home, although in fairness, there have been some positive signs recently."

Martin O'Neill: "We are not nervous - we are excited. Really, if you are not excited by the position we are in, you shouldn't be playing. We are in this position because we deserve to be. It would be a shame to throw it up now without a fight - but I don't think we will."

Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Middlesbrough

Harry Redknapp: "That's 10 points from five games, and you'd be flying with that average. It's still all to play for - with 12 teams in it, I think. Even Fulham would be looking over their shoulders. This was a massive game because of the games we have coming up - three away and Chelsea at home. Another three victories should be enough. But there are 11 games left, and we want to keep pushing on."

Gareth Southgate: "I thought we were poor defensively. We looked a threat going forward. It was open - which was exactly what we didn't want, because they have better footballers than us. We came here in good spirits. Were we too buoyant? We certainly had belief. It was a big blow - but it's about how we respond now. I don't think there was complacency, but we didn't do the right things at the right times and we weren't as resilient as we should have been."

Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Everton

Sam Allardyce: I couldn't fault the team for effort. Unfortunately, we just needed a quality finish. In the second half, with the chances we had - you will never get many against Everton - we did not convert. That is probably why we are sat here 0-0."

David Moyes: "Steven (Pienaar) had a good opportunity, and I thought he should have scored. We are disappointed, because we wanted to take three points. A point at Blackburn is not a bad result, but I would have liked to have played better and passed better."

Stoke City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

Tony Pulis: "Players of (goalscorer James) Beattie's age sometimes need the challenge of proving they can still play in the top flight. It was one of the reasons why we went and got him. He wanted this chance. His goalscoring record is smashing. Not only that, it is what he does around the place as well. He is a very good team man; he gets the players together. He has brought something else to the dressing room. He is a larger-than-life character."

Gary Megson: "You won't see a worst (goal) conceded up and down the country, never mind in the Premier League. Most of the time when the first goal goes in it completely changes the game. I thought we had more possession than ordinarily we do have but we weren't good enough with it. We did not compete with Stoke when they were putting balls into the box. We did not have all 11 players performing at the level they are capable of and that has cost us."

Wigan Athletic 0-1 West Ham

Steve Bruce: "The game was ruined as a spectacle. Carlton Cole shouldn't have been sent off. Referee - use a bit of common sense. It had the makings of a decent game but how he sends someone off in the first half for something as petulant as that I don't know. I feel a bit sorry for him because in my opinion Mr Attwell is not ready to step up to the plate."

Gianfranco Zola: "I told the referee I didn't think it was a reckless challenge, Carlton didn't even look at the defender - he just went for the ball. He didn't want to cause any damage and it (the sending off) was too much. The referee is a human being and they make mistakes and we are here to support them. We explained it to each other at the end of the game. He said he thought it was a reckless challenge."

Fulham 0-1 Hull City

Roy Hodgson: "The official said to me that John (Pantsil) complained to him about being abused by somebody. The referee didn't hear anything so he couldn't take any action. It's unusual to see John quite that angry so something has obviously happened out there, but what it is I don't know. I'll investigate it with John. I wouldn't have thought he was abused by fans - if players got angry about that they'd be angry every time a game is played."

Phil Brown: "It was a grind tonight to say the least but we've been pretty before and have been turned over. This match wasn't about being pretty, it was about winning. I wouldn't have said we deserved to win but a clean sheet always gets you somewhere near winning. It wasn't a good performance. We've played much better than that and lost or got a point. Full credit to the defence and Manucho for coming on and scoring the goal."

Eurosport

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  1. Let us not tolerate racist, sexist, pathetic ignorant­ fools like igwe.

    From tomkbms, on Thu 5 Mar 2:33PM

  2. igwe you ignorant mongrel.

    From tomkbms, on Thu 5 Mar 2:31PM

  3. As for Tevez, he plays when Fergie picks him, which is­ more often than Rafa picked Keane. Successful squad­ rotation is the key to winning multiple tournaments.­ United proved this in 1999 when two subs, Sherringham­ and Solksjaer, scored the goals to beat Bayern Munich­ in Barcelona.

    From David, on Thu 5 Mar 1:14PM

  4. igwe g, why should anyones sexuality have any relevance­ on here? Try and find some objectivity to your­ arguements, or you simply shouldn't post. It­ appears you're a Liverpool supporter and well done­ for that. Liverpool are a very good team, but this­ season seem to be lacking strength in depth. Maybe next­ year, some astute transfers can change that, we'll­ see.

    From David, on Thu 5 Mar 1:14PM

  5. Being honest, with United being 7 pts ahead and having­ a game in hand, we're looking very strong. Even if­ Liverpool win at Old Trafford on 14th, we'll still­ be 4pts ahead with a game in hand. A while back, that­ might have happened, but with current form, I think­ it'll be either a win for United or a scoring­ draw.
    I thought United showed a lot of character to­ come back against a Newcastle team that played very­ well, defying their current league position. I think­ Martins was lucky to escape punishment for his elbow to­ Vidic face and Taylor likewise for his attempted­ clothesline on Ronaldo. Those two incidents alone­ demonstrate the amount of referee assists United get!­ The same as everyone else, both for and against­ us.
    It's kinda sad that supporters of other clubs­ feel the need to blame everything else except their own­ teams lack of performance for United being on top.­ We're there because we've earned more points­ than the rest. It's that simple. We've won more­ matches than the rest, because we're better than­ the rest.

    From David, on Thu 5 Mar 1:04PM

  6. man ntd win games because they have the skill ambition­ grit desire and winning mentality. thats why they are­ the best. if your own sad teams strived to do the same­ you would have something to argue about. look at the­ way tevez rooney fletcher vidic cover the pitch thats­ what im talking about. up the red devils

    From a.barnes199, on Thu 5 Mar 12:45PM

  7. Martin O'Neil: Villa are only where they are today­ because Arsenal have been @#$%!!! Don't get too­ cocky because you ain't "all that".

    From Ozone, on Thu 5 Mar 12:45PM

  8. United are only running away with the league because­ the rest of the teams are garbage... lmao

    From King_Billy, on Thu 5 Mar 12:40PM

  9. come on now every body,settle down.the title is still­ not decided yet,a lot of thing could still happen.by­ the way everybody is going at each other's throat­ right now there won't be anybody left to see­ what's gonna happen at the end of the season.lets­ save some for then now shall we.GO DEVILS...

    From bulaug79, on Thu 5 Mar 11:50AM

  10. By the way I'm so sexy I can turn a guy's head­ even wearing my boliersuit and tool belt and ppe and­ carrying a massive sds drill... Ever seen driller­ killer by the way igwe g...? It's about a troubled­ artist who loses it and goes out to buy a battery pack­ and a drill and goes around driling vagrants and tramps­ like yourself to death LOOOOOOOOOOL!

    From PolyphobiaCymru, on Thu 5 Mar 11:40AM

  11. It seems like the haters have tried everything to­ justify their bitterness and jealousy, and been­ silenced by the Utd fans commenting on here. And so­ they revert back to the old classic: 'how man ref­ assists have Utd had the last ten years?' Let me­ answer that for you - the exact same amount of ref­ assists as Chelski (JT has gotten away with more red­ cards/pens than anyone in the league because he screams­ at refs like an unstable lout) Liverpool and Arsenal.­ Not to mention having to witness Blackburn and Bolton­ attempt to beat us (and many other teams) by 100% brute­ force and 0% footballing ability. You all know this is­ true, and yet you persevere. You'll feel better if­ you just let it go. Jealousy is an enemy, and your­ letting it get the better of you. Sort it out.

    From Dominic, on Thu 5 Mar 11:37AM

  12. Who in their right minds would go with slime like igwe­ g, ma, woman, animal, mineral or vegetable - never in a­ million years - the scrunty little focker!

    From PolyphobiaCymru, on Thu 5 Mar 11:36AM

  13. Tevez doesn't play cos we have 2 better strikers.­ Liverpool don't have 2 better strikers then Keane­ they one and then a load of headless­ chickens/championship strikers. Keane left cos Rafa is­ a stubborn idiot that didn't like the fact that he­ wasn't the player that he wanted.

    From supertrin47, on Thu 5 Mar 11:34AM

  14. Guys can you all see where its heading,there are no­ prizes for guessing but the champions are ruling left­ right and centre.United by birthright.Simon in Harare.

    From smanyumwa, on Thu 5 Mar 11:33AM

  15. I do quite often being bi-sexual mate, problem with­ that have we? Or are you jealous because you don't­ see as much action as I do, being stuck in your crack­ house eating rats in your shell suit full of rock­ holes?!?!

    From PolyphobiaCymru, on Thu 5 Mar 11:31AM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    gafyn_richard_adams78 look at urself in the mirror and­ say " I love being gay"

    From Godwin, on Thu 5 Mar 11:24AM

  17. Newcasltes S Taylor is a cheat, not just because of the­ incident yesterday but on many occasions he has­ handballed in the box then pretended that he has been­ hit in the face and in the chest. People slate Ronaldo­ to stop diving, well dont you think people like Taylor­ should stop cheating? Anyway weather they cheat or not­ Newcastle are going DOWN!!!!!!!!

    From chirag1512000, on Thu 5 Mar 11:23AM

  18. I am a sexy model- partime

    Do you have interest in-­ checking my photos?

    Find me out at ------S eek ri ch C­ om ------- under the same handle

    From alicemo0, on Thu 5 Mar 11:21AM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    All this talk about losing Keane is just stupid talk by­ Dumb Man U fans, If a player cannot fit into a team,­ why should the coach take the risk of playing him.­ After all where is that dwarf Tevez, guess he is on is­ way out

    From Godwin, on Thu 5 Mar 11:21AM

  20. Liverpool still scoring goals despite losing Keane?­ could of sworn they got beat 2-0 by a poor Boro side­ and Kuyt, El Zhar etc. missed chances which Keane would­ of buried.
    Rafa should sign that contract before he is­ sacked, let him carry on signing about 60 players over­ 4 years with about 5 being a success (Alonso, Skrtel,­ Reina, Masch, Torres).......the rest just being a set­ of Average cr*p that never improves the team.
    In Rafa­ we trust, as i'm a united fan. Please stay!

    From supertrin47, on Thu 5 Mar 11:20AM
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