Former Newcastle chairman, Freddie Shepherd has told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle how the club made an approach to sign Alex Ferguson as Kevin Keegan's replacement in 1997.
Imagine how different the last 17 years of English football could have been had their audacious plan actually come true?
Shepherd said 'When Keegan left we tried to get Ferguson to Newcastle as his replacement.' He explains 'We had talks with his advisors at the time. We soon realised there was no way he was going to come to Newcastle.'
By his reckoning, Ferguson was using Newcastle to bargain for a better salary at Old Trafford:
He was just trying to get an increase in salary. We knew we were just being used. Kevin had left and we tried to get Ferguson but that’s as far as we got.
We were ambitious, we tried to get him – at least we tried.
At one time we thought we might get him because he wasn’t happy with Man U. It wasn’t to be though.
This became apparent when United's chairman at the time, Martin Edwards, rang Shepherd:
Martin rang and said to me, "Have you got anything to tell me?"
I said, "No."
He said "What if I said, “Ferguson”, what would you say?"
I was on a boat at the time and I nearly fell off it.
He was an absolute divil was that Fergie lad.
via: chroniclelive.co.uk
