Sun 14th Mar - Old Trafford
By Peter Fraser Last updated: 24th November 2007
Ferguson: Positive
Sir Alex Ferguson believes the role of England manager is close to an 'impossible job' following the failure to qualify for Euro 2008, but he feels the future is bright.
The Manchester United boss saw his former Old Trafford assistant Steve McClaren sacked as England manager following Wednesday's defeat to Croatia which ended hopes of an appearance in Austria and Switzerland next summer.
Ferguson believes that whoever is appointed as McClaren's successor will face a difficult task, but he does not subscribe to the current fears for the future of the England national team.
Ferguson insists there is enough quality in the current crop of English players and that problems at grass roots level do not affect the present national side.
"I think it (England manager) has become a nearly impossible job." Ferguson told Sky Sports News.
"You have to think that there is a good thread in the England squad that was better than the performance of Wednesday night.
"There are good players. There is no point saying that everything is wrong and that everything is black, it's not.
"There are good players about. There is no point in looking at these players and saying that everything is wrong with English football, grass roots level and all the rest.
"It's got nothing to do with the present day players. There is enough to have a good future."
Ferguson has also dismissed the argument that a quota system should be introduced in the Premier League to limit the number of foreign players in order to allow home-grown talent to flourish.
"To ask us to produce teams which excel in European football under a parochial system is asking too much," Ferguson added.
"So what do we do? We start from abroad and Arsenal and Liverpool are doing the same.
"We can't knock our club for doing that. We do well at producing players from our academy and hopefully we will continue to do that."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Sunday 21st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Man Utd vs Liverpool |
| Saturday 27th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Bolton vs Man Utd |
| Tuesday 30th March | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Bayern Munich vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 3rd April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Man Utd vs Chelsea |
| Wednesday 7th April | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Man Utd vs Bayern Munich |
| Sunday 11th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Blackburn vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 17th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Man City vs Man Utd |
| Sunday 25th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | Man Utd vs Tottenham |
| Saturday 1st May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Man Utd |
| Sunday 9th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man Utd vs Stoke |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 14th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Fulham | |
| Wednesday 10th March | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Man Utd 4 - 0 AC Milan | |
| Saturday 6th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wolverhampton 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Sunday 28th February | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 2 Man Utd | |
| Tuesday 23rd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 West Ham | |
| Saturday 20th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Everton 3 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Tuesday 16th February | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| AC Milan 2 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Wednesday 10th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 5 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 1 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Wednesday 27th January | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Man Utd 3 - 1 Man City | |
| Saturday 23rd January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 4 - 0 Hull | |
| Tuesday 19th January | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Man City 2 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 16th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Burnley | |
| Saturday 9th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 1 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Sunday 3rd January | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Man Utd 0 - 1 Leeds | |
| Wednesday 30th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 5 - 0 Wigan | |
| Sunday 27th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 1 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 19th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 3 - 0 Man Utd | |
| Tuesday 15th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Wolverhampton | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 67 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 30 | 66 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 29 | 64 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 55 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 51 |
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