“There’s only one team that brings glory to this town and that’s not ****ing City!” and other things Fergie told me
A long-serving sports journalist has recounted 24 years of working on the sports desk of the Manchester Evening News as he signed off from the title.
Stuart Brennan, who most recently was chief Manchester City reporter at the MEN, shared some of his untold stories from over the years — which was described by the MEN as a golden era for city sport.
“Monstered by Fergie, mauled by the Raging Bull and called “Yoda” by Pep Guardiola. The last 24 years as a sports writer at the Manchester Evening News have been surreal at times,” wrote Stuart.
“But as Geoffrey Chaucer said, all good things must come to an end. And for me, as Daffy Duck said,“That’s All Folks!””
In the article, Stuart recounted an early mauling from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who back in those days still granted the local paper a daily interview.
“I never stood a chance. Little did I know that he was still seething from the MEN coverage of the Manchester derby, the second-to-last one at Maine Road, when David Beckham’s free kick won the game but the Blues had pushed their old rivals all the way,” remembered Stuart.
““Youse are a ****ing disgrace! The ****ing Manchester Evening Blues! City this, City that — there’s only one team that brings glory to this town and that’s not ****ing City! You’re all City fans on that sports desk, I know …”
Stuart first started at the MEN as a boxing writer, and several of the stories shared in the farewell article related to trips watching some of Manchester’s best-known boxers — even ending up driving Michael Brodie home from Carlisle, and being stopped by Cumbrian police along the way.
On other occasions, the locations were a bit more glamorous, such as following Ricky Hatton to Las Vegas, before landing the gig covering Manchester City in 2009.
Stuart added: “Getting the City job in 2009 was another stroke of luck. As I have reminded my predecessor Chris Bailey more than once, he got to do the hard yards at Macclesfield and York, while I have been swanning off to Los Angeles and Melbourne, Barcelona and Munich.
“Charting the rise of the Blues has been a privilege, from Roberto Mancini’s feisty ground-breakers to Manuel Pellegrini’s slick outfit and on to the incredible side Pep Guardiola has moulded — even a cynical old hack like me has sat open-mouthed at the audacity and genius of some of their football.
“Back in 1998 I gave the most honest job interview I have ever had, when I said working on the MEN sports desk had long been my ambition — brought up on United, City, Salford rugby league and Lancashire cricket, I really wasn’t interested in Fleet Street with its Arsenals and Chelseas. Manchester has always been the centre of my sporting universe, and it continues to be so.”
You can read the full article here
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