Brinkmanship

According to reports, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is “on the brink” as he prepares his team to face premiership leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford. Apparently, the board are thinking the unthinkable and could axe Alex if he “doesn’t get it right soon”.

It all sounds depressingly familiar. Could this, in fact, be the same ‘brink’ that Graeme Souness was on recently – and for all we know still is? Or do different clubs reserve the right to operate their own brinks and wield their own axes? Is the presence of Freddy Shepherd more disconcerting than the absence of a Glazier or two?

Nobody has ever been so foolish as to deny that the job of a football manager is just about as precarious as it gets. But there is something particularly chilling about a story linking a man of Ferguson’s stature, with all the massive success he has achieved over many years, with rumours of this kind. Not so long ago, his position was regarded as impregnable.

Now it is reasonable to assume that nobody is safe.