Page 158 - Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

star at Feyenoord but he stressed what a dream it was for Dutch kids to wear the United crest. He was
impressed with the youth of our team. We had Giggs and Scholes but we also had Chicharito and the
two Da Silvas, Evans, Jones and Smalling, Welbeck. Carrick, at 31, was having his best-ever season
for us. It dawns on some players, when they perform at their best, just how important they are to the

team, and in turn it makes them grow, as it did with Carrick.
Robin knew he was coming to a settled club. City had been terrific the previous season, but you
would not call them a settled organisation. There was always an issue, with someone setting off
fireworks or falling out with the manager; Tévez wanting to play golf in Argentina. City had won the
League largely through the efforts of four top performers: Yaya Touré, Sergio Agüero, Vincent
Kompany and Joe Hart. Plus David Silva for the first half of the season, though he trailed away
somewhat after Christmas.

I say this all the time about strikers. Cantona, Andy Cole: if they are not scoring they think they are
never going to score again. In his brief dry spell in the March of that season, Van Persie wasn’t
playing as well and it affected him. But from the minute he scored against Stoke on 14 April, he was
on fire again.
Over the years I witnessed some immortal Manchester United goals. Cantona treated the crowd to
two or three wonderful chipped finishes. Rooney’s bicycle kick against City took some beating. The

execution was incredible. It’s not as if that unforgettable overhead finish was delivered from the six-
yard line. He was 14 yards from goal. It also took a deflection as he was running in. Nani’s cross
veered off a City player, so Wayne was forced to make an amazing mid-air adjustment. That was the
best one, for my money.
But Van Persie’s against Aston Villa in the 3–0 win that secured us the title on 22 April was
special too: an over-the-shoulder volley from a long drilled ball by Rooney. A normal player would
try that trick a hundred times in training and score once. Van Persie could do it regularly. Shoulder

down, head down, eyes down, through the ball. The same mastery of technique brought him a goal of
similar quality for Arsenal against Everton. He was a wonderful signing who finished the season with
26 League goals: 12 at home and 14 away. He struck 17 times with his left foot and eight with his
right, plus once from a header. Those figures earned him the Golden Boot, awarded to the Premier
League’s top scorer, for the second consecutive year.
At the other end of the age scale, we continued to place our faith in youth. Nick Powell, who joined

in July 2012, had been in our sights since November 2011. Crewe brought him into their team at
outside-left when he was 17 and still a bit gangly. Our academy staff had drawn a ring round his name
and we scouted for him regularly. Jim Lawlor went to look at him and said he was interesting, though
he was not sure what his best position would be and thought he might be a wee bit laidback.
So I sent out Martin to watch him twice. Martin’s view was that he definitely had something but
was not the full package yet. Then Mick Phelan went to examine him in a couple of fixtures. Finally it
was my turn. Crewe v. Aldershot. After five minutes in the stands, I told Mick, ‘He’s a player. Mick,

he’s a player.’ It was his touch on the ball and his vision.
At one point in the game I saw he got a half-run on the opposition’s defence, had a wee look over
his shoulder and just lofted the ball to the centre-forward to have a shot on goal. Then he showed us a
header, then a turn of pace. Coming away I said to Mick: ‘I’m going to phone Dario Gradi,’ now
director of football at Crewe.
‘I see you were at the game yesterday,’ said Dario.

‘The boy Powell,’ I said. ‘Now don’t get carried away. What’s your ballpark figure?’
Dario said: ‘Six million.’