Sir Alex Ferguson 'had his doubts' over Man Utd fixture list in astonishing rant

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

The randomised Premier League fixture will be released on Wednesday, although doubts have been raised about the system - most memorably by legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson
An astonishing attack from Sir Alex Ferguson about Manchester United's fixture list prompted the Premier League to release their own statement in 2009. The official list of matches and their dates for the 2025/26 campaign will be released on Wednesday at 9am.
The huge schedule details the rough plan of the 380 games that will be played between the 20 clubs in the top flight of English football. Premier League officials state the list is always randomised and put together by an outside IT company called Atos.
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However, after being left unhappy by a run of matches at the start of 2009, Ferguson tore into the Premier League's fixture list and insinuated that they tried to make life difficult for the Red Devils. In the 2008/09 campaign, United had to face nine of the 10 teams who finished directly below them the previous season away in the first half of the campaign.
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He was also aggrieved that his team had to play on the road straight after United's three Champions League away clashes at the time. In a pre-match press conference previewing an FA Cup third-round tie away to Southampton, the Scot tore into the Premier League.
He said: "I've been saying this for a few months, but our fixture programme didn't do us any favours. I think we have been handicapped by the Premier League. They tell me it's not planned - bloody hell!'
When asked if he felt the Premier League wanted to disadvantage United, he added: "I've got my doubts. I'm not saying what they do down there.
"But next year we'll be sending somebody to see how it happens, I can assure you. I just don't understand how you can get the fixtures like that.'
The previous summer, United did have the opportunity to raise objections to the Premier League about the fixture list but chose not to. Officials from the division refuted Ferguson's comments with a strong statement.
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It read: "The Premier League fixtures are put together through as random a process as possible. The initial list is created by specialist software before going to the Fixtures Working Party, which is made up of representatives from the Premier League, Football League, FA, clubs and supporters.
"The police also approve it before it is sent to the clubs, at which point they can raise any objections they may have. There are various factors that go into the structuring of the fixture list - police requests, club requests, involvement in European or FIFA competitions for example - but the overriding factor is the luck of the draw.'
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Despite the tricky fixture scheduling, United were able to win the Premier League, pipping Liverpool to the title by four points. Throughout that era, Ferguson was far from the only person who was sceptical about the scheduling.
At the start of the 2005/06 campaign, Jose Mourinho, who was beginning his second season at Chelsea at the time, told the People newspaper: "It is always Chelsea who get the worst games, the worst fixtures to play, while Arsenal always have the best ones."
His comments were said after the reveal of the fixture list, which had Chelsea down to play away from home immediately after their first five Champions League games, while the Gunners had home matches after their European clashes.
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