Sir Alex Ferguson Rants about Lack of Added Time after Tottenham Win

How much added time Sir Alex?

In his post match interview Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager directed his anger at the lack of added time at the end of his team’s 3 – 2 defeat by Tottenham at Old Trafford. It was their first home defeat by Tottenham in the Premier League era who last won there in December, 1989 when Ferguson was a manger under some pressure at Old Trafford. Gary Lineker was the scorer of the only goal that day and Terry Venables was the Spurs’ manager. Ferguson referred to the lack of added time at the end of the match, unhappy that referee Chris Foy had decided on only an additional  four minutes. The United manager ranted,

"“They gave us four minutes, that’s an insult to the game. It denies you a proper chance to win a football match.”"

The second half at Old Trafford was played at a high tempo with United constantly forcing Tottenham back as they tried recover from the two goal deficit Tottenham inflicted on them before the interval. It was a game with few stoppages and interventions by the officials or trainers. Ferguson who is famous for consulting his watch to ensure the referee plays to his time was unimpressed by Mr Foy’s decision in this area, according to the United manager’s reckoning,

"“There were six substitutions, the trainer came on, so that’s four minutes right away and the goalkeeper must have wasted about two or three minutes and they took their time at every goal kick. That’s obvious to everyone today and it’s a flaw in the game that the referee is responsible for time keeping. It’s ridiculous that it’s 2012 and the referee still has control of that.”"

There were actually only five substitutions as Ferguson introduced Wayne Rooney at half-time before the second half started and the final two, one for each team, came in added time. There were few stoppages during the second half and while Tottenham took their opportunity to slow the game down it was as much due to the hectic pace of the game as about time wasting. It is rather hypocritical of Sir Alex to complain on this matter as in a similar situation, trying to hold on to a slender lead, United would have done the exact same and tried every trick in the book to run down time.

Why Did Sir Alex Take Issue with Added Time?

The amount of additional time is an old issue as far as Sir Alex is concerned. He frequently revisits it when United are denied a late winner or equaliser as happened on Saturday. United have benefited from extensive additional time on numerous occasions, especially at Old Trafford, where they have frequently scored very late equalising and winning goals. In Premier League matches the officials are quite generous with added time whereas in European competitions there tends to be an extra three minutes as standard regardless of stoppages, ararely does it go any higher. With the United manager’s vast experience in Champions League football he should be aware of this.

So why did he bring up this matter at the weekend?

Denied on Saturday evening by Tottenham, I believe he returned to the issue as a way of deflecting attention from his team’s failings and even, perhaps, his own mistakes. United lost the game in the first half where they were lethargic and Tottenham totally controlled the pace and tempo of the match. They dominated United in midfield where Mousa Dembele and Sandro were too strong for the ageing partnership of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Tottenham’s pace on the wings was another factor in their win as the United defenders had no response to Jan Vertonghen, Gareth Bale, Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon running at them. The three goals came as a direct result of powerful running by Vertonhen for the first and by Bale for the second and third.

Sir Alex would not want to be questionned on the lack of pace in his side or his continuing reliance on the experienced but ageing players – Giggs, Scholes and Rio Ferdinand.

Neither would he take kindly to questions on his team selection and the decision to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench for the first half. Within five minutes of coming on, Rooney who has been a constant threat to Tottenham teams over the years, had made an impact by providing the cross for Nani to score their first goal and set up a possible comeback. He was influential throughout the half and struck the post with a free-kick.

After such an exhilarating game with goals and tension to the final kick, it seems rather churlish of Sir Alex to find fault with such a minor issue. His team had had from the 53rd minute to equalise but failed and then an extra four minutes. How much longer did he want? To play until United scored?

To be fair to the United manager he didn’t make an issue of the penalty appeals that were turned down, commenting that the one when Vertonghen was holding Nani in the first half should have been awarded. Considering the number of occasions when such decisions have favoured United against Tottenham, he obviously decided to take those decisions on the chin and find another way of deflecting attention from his team’s short-comings.

Clint Dempsey and Andre Villas-Boas celebrate Spurs win ay Old Trafford [photo from www.tottenhamhotspur.com]Andre Villas-Boas was clearly delighted with the result and talking to BBC Sport he commented,

"“Winning at Old Trafford is very difficult but we can’t make it an individual night for anybody, it was victory for the team.”"

The Tottenham players were also pleased with the win and Kyle Walker tweeted:

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Brad Friedel also went on Twitter to record his delight:

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Had Sir Alex a case for complaint about only four additional minutes at Saturday’s match?