Source: Daily_Mail
Fever pitch: Wembley not fit for my stars to play on, blasts fuming Fergie
Sir Alex Ferguson blamed a dodgy Wembley pitch for his decision to play a reserve team in an FA Cup semi-final.
Ferguson's Manchester United team saw their dreams of a five-trophy season go up in smoke as a second-string team lost a penalty shootout to Everton.
The United manager pointed the finger at Wembley, echoing complaints of the weekend's other semi-final loser, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
Ferguson said: 'We had a team picked after Wednesday's game in Porto but when I saw the pitch yesterday I didn't want to go into extra time with our strongest squad.
'I couldn't let that happen because of the affect it could have.
'We had to take the bold decision of going with the younger ones but Berbatov and Scholes would have started, possibly Evra, too.
'Looking at the pitch, it looked dead and today it looked the same. It looked spongey and dead and difficult to move the ball about quickly.
'You'd think the lights would help the growth and standard of the pitch, but it looked dead to me. You couldn't risk it.'
Victorious Everton manager David Moyes agreed with Ferguson, suggesting that the pitch may need to be ripped up.
Moyes said: 'It's very difficult to explain. The pitch is spongey, there's no speed, and it's all very slow. It's as if it needs the soil underneath taking out.'
The pitch certainly contributed to a drab game but the FA have dashed any hopes of it being better for next month's final.
A spokesman said: 'It has been down for six games now and will be reviewed in the summer.'
The game will be remembered for Ferguson's team selection but also for a penalty which referee Mike Riley failed to award when Everton's Phil Jagielka fouled Danny Welbeck in the 68th minute.
Phil Neville revealed he had to take a penalty against his former club
Jagielka, who was to score the winning kick in the shoot-out, admitted later that he did foul the United youngster.
'I touched him but I do not know how much it caused him to go down. The penalty was not given, so maybe we were a bit lucky.'
Ferguson suggested that Riley may have been influenced by Moyes' suggestion that the official was a United fan.
Ferguson said: 'All that nonsense about him being a United fan was really ridiculous. Somebody filled David Moyes' head full of nonsense about it and it was used in the press conference.
'It can play on a referee's mind. I've no idea if it affected his decision but you never know, it might have. I hope not.'
Everton defender Jagielka had to be persuaded to take a penalty. The former Sheffield United player, who missed one in a UEFA Cup shootout against Fiorentina last season, said: 'I didn't know what I was doing when I got up there but I am glad it went in.'
Everton captain Phil Neville revealed that he felt compelled to take his kick, which he scored.
He said: 'I had not taken one since I was 11 and I missed that one. But I had been practising.'
