Sir Alex Ferguson has begun his psychological war games. The Manchester United manager has said that Tottenham are the best team at the moment. Of course Sir Alex Ferguson was talking about Britain and not Europe, after all, as good as Tottenham are they are probably not quite yet at Barcelona’s level. Sir Alex Ferguson is good friends with Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, and it is unlikely that Harry Redknapp is unaware of his friend’s admiration for his side.
It is not the first time that Sir Alex Ferguson has commented on how good Tottenham are in recent times. A few months previously he alleged that Tottenham were the most exciting side around, whilst last season Harry Redknapp let it be known publicly that when he had been speaking with Sir Alex Ferguson the Manchester United manager had made it clear how much he admired the likes of Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric. Tottenham do have an impressive squad, but publicly admiring it as a rival is something altogether different. Manchester United were linked with Gareth Bale before he joined Tottenham from Southampton and since the speedy Welshman has become such a consistent performer, over the past 24 months, the Northern club have consistently been linked with him all over again. Likewise the side have repeatedly been linked with Luke Modric, the Croatian midfield schemer.
The Glaswegian has rarely used psychological tactics in recent years. His arch old nemesis Arsene Wenger, manager of Arsenal. has hardly been a rival. Arsenal have been so far off a proper title challenge that the Manchester United manager has not felt compelled to comment on them. Chelsea have changed managers so frequently that Ferguson never found the opportunity to begin a battle. Even when Chelsea did win the title with Carlo Ancelotti Sir Alex Ferguson refused to enter a psychological slanging match. He did so on the grounds of being good friends and an admirer of the Italian.
Sir Alex Ferguson has even gone so far as to publicly comment on his admiration for Roberto Mancini’s stance as Manchester City manager against Carlos Tevez. Sir Alex Ferguson said the situation called for strong leadership and the Italian had provided it. This time around, however, the Glaswegian has stated that Tottenham are the best team around as an obvious dig at Manchester City. Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to crank up the pressure on his city rivals and time will tell if the tactic pays off.