Source: Telegraph
Sir Alex Ferguson or Simon Cowell: who is the master manipulator?
Sir Alex Ferguson or Simon Cowell: who is the master manipulator? If this weekend has proved anything, it is that there is only one answer. The perfectly-waxed pop svengali is not a patch on Manchester United's McMachiavelli. [LNB]Cowell's powers are waning. Rage Against The Machine did all they could to help Joe, the X Factor winner you will have forgotten about by February, reach Christmas number one, mainly by swearing on 5 Live, but still they trounced Cowell in the charts. [LNB]Ferguson, on the other hand, simply gets better with age. Manchester United have lost five games in the Premier League this season and it is not even Christmas. You may not have noticed. This is because of Ferguson's powerful brand of voodoo, which has guaranteed that as bad as United are, Liverpool are worse. [LNB]Had there been any need to prove just how fearful a sorcerer he is, though, this weekend clinched it. Liverpool lost - again - Harry Redknapp found himself in a spot of bother with the law and, the crowning glory, Manchester City sacked Mark Hughes, all of which meant that United could receive six of the best, trousers down, from a side built on a fraction of their budget and nobody bat an eyelid. [LNB]-- [LNB]At this stage of the campaign, United are enduring their second worst performance in terms of defeats. Only in 2001/02 (six defeats in 18 games) have results been poorer. That season they finished third in the Premier League table, 10 points behind the unbeaten Invincibles of Arsenal. [LNB][LNB]Season P W D L F A GD Pts Position Final Place 1992/93 18 8 6 4 20 13 +7 30 5 1 1993/94 18 14 3 1 36 15 21 45 1 1 1994/95 18 13 2 3 35 12 23 41 2 2 1995/96 18 10 5 3 35 19 16 35 2 1 1996/97 18 8 7 3 37 25 12 31 5 1 1997/98 18 12 4 2 44 13 31 40 1 2 1998/99 18 8 7 3 36 23 13 31 3 1 1999/00 18 13 3 2 48 23 25 42 2 1 2000/01 18 12 4 2 44 14 30 40 1 1 2001/02 18 9 3 6 43 28 15 30 5 3 2002/03 18 10 5 3 30 17 13 35 2 1 2003/04 18 14 1 3 37 13 24 43 1 3 2004/05 18 9 7 2 28 13 15 34 4 3 2005/06 18 12 4 2 34 14 20 40 2 2 2006/07 18 14 2 2 38 10 28 44 1 1 2007/08 18 13 3 2 32 9 23 42 2 1 2008/09 18 11 5 2 29 10 19 38 3 1 2009/10 18 12 1 5 37 17 20 37 2 ?
