David Beckham returns to Manchester this week in the UEFA Champions League match-up between Manchester United and AC Milan, and with the prodigal son coming home, he spoke to the media recently about the lessons he had learned growing up with the expectations placed on him by Sir Alex Ferguson.
It is Ferguson’s achievement in turning United into not merely a football club, but an educational establishment; in producing not just better footballers, but better people. And Beckham, despite being cast out, is more than happy to add his glowing testimony.
Speak to Beckham about his formative years at United and he will talk, as will any of those who have come through the youth ranks, about the lessons repeatedly drummed into them: humility, respect for elders, desire, determination, loyalty, good manners.
Ferguson demands them from the club’s young players even if, in the frenzy of competition, he is not always able to live up to those values himself.
This all came to mind the other day when a fascinating observation was offered by a senior England official: he could differentiate clearly between the players of Chelsea and United. One group had a swagger around the camp, a confidence that sometimes seeped into cockiness. Those from the North West, he said, were more humble and respectful.
It is the difference between Ferguson’s United and Chelsea, where managers have been chopped and changed, sometimes almost at the whim of the squad, and respect for authority eroded. The players have power because many of them were lured for huge contracts and money is what binds them to the club. If contracts are not improved, they make threats.
Manchester City will be next to suffer from this loss of power to the dressing room after creating their own inflationary spiral. A player such as Shaun Wright-Phillips has seen what others are earning. Now he wants the same.
At United no one doubts who is the boss. No one questions who will win the arguments. They know that there is only so far they can push their luck, their behaviour or their demands for better pay.
But it is about more than shouting; it is about nurturing young players so that they have the character to thrive when they make it into the first team. It is a system born of stability and longevity, something attempted only at those few clubs where they plan beyond next week.
They do that at United, where Ferguson still involves himself in developing the youth, telling young aspirants that it is not success that should make them proud, but hard work.
He will instruct them to respect their rivals. “Don’t ever think you’re above a challenge. It’s not right,” he will say. “Arrogance is not a quality, it’s a hindrance to success.”
It is Ferguson’s achievement in turning United into not merely a football club, but an educational establishment; in producing not just better footballers, but better people. And Beckham, despite being cast out, is more than happy to add his glowing testimony.
Speak to Beckham about his formative years at United and he will talk, as will any of those who have come through the youth ranks, about the lessons repeatedly drummed into them: humility, respect for elders, desire, determination, loyalty, good manners.
Ferguson demands them from the club’s young players even if, in the frenzy of competition, he is not always able to live up to those values himself.
This all came to mind the other day when a fascinating observation was offered by a senior England official: he could differentiate clearly between the players of Chelsea and United. One group had a swagger around the camp, a confidence that sometimes seeped into cockiness. Those from the North West, he said, were more humble and respectful.
It is the difference between Ferguson’s United and Chelsea, where managers have been chopped and changed, sometimes almost at the whim of the squad, and respect for authority eroded. The players have power because many of them were lured for huge contracts and money is what binds them to the club. If contracts are not improved, they make threats.
Manchester City will be next to suffer from this loss of power to the dressing room after creating their own inflationary spiral. A player such as Shaun Wright-Phillips has seen what others are earning. Now he wants the same.
At United no one doubts who is the boss. No one questions who will win the arguments. They know that there is only so far they can push their luck, their behaviour or their demands for better pay.
But it is about more than shouting; it is about nurturing young players so that they have the character to thrive when they make it into the first team. It is a system born of stability and longevity, something attempted only at those few clubs where they plan beyond next week.
They do that at United, where Ferguson still involves himself in developing the youth, telling young aspirants that it is not success that should make them proud, but hard work.
He will instruct them to respect their rivals. “Don’t ever think you’re above a challenge. It’s not right,” he will say. “Arrogance is not a quality, it’s a hindrance to success.”
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