The only four English players good enough to play for United on a regular basis these days cost about 50 million quid!How do you think SAF would respond to a wage cap suggestion by FIFA?This would make it fairer for the smaller clubs to compete with the big boys.SAF is truely a great manager but has the grace of an elephant with the runs!!!

johnny white, copenhagen, denmark

I really would have expected a more reasoned response from readers of The Times - but what a diatribe.
I don't think myopic Chris Dee, from London, took time to draw breath in his scathing critique of Manchester's famous pensioner from Glasgow, nor it would seem did correspondents M Madden and Simon.
Hasty Chris apparently believe Ferguson should not spend millions in pursuit of titles to keep up with Europe's top Italian and Spanish clubs and seemingly believes it's appropriate only for Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea to buy championships.
Disgruntled M Madden, meanwhile, has forgotten Manchester United's and Chelsea's contribution of the homegrown Neville brothers, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes to the England cause, not to mention potential future No 1 Ben Foster – or England’s Chelsea youth system product John Terry.
And I suppose Spurs' £1.5-£2m for net minder Paul Robinson doesn’t count?

Sean Murphy, Strabane, Co Tyrone

sean murphy, strabane, ireland

Londoner Simon accurately recalls Ferguson’s past troubles with UEFA’s previous veto of teams’ international configurations, such as the 4-0 drubbing in 1994 at Camp Nou as Messrs Cantona and Schmeichel watched from the stands.
However, he fails to acknowledge how that policy has influenced Ferguson ever since: no top level club has provided more England internationals during the decade just gone than Ferguson’s football club.
Take this XI for example: Ben Foster, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Pallister, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves, Lee Sharpe, Wayne Roooney and Andy Cole, plus subs Paul Parker, Wes Brown, Mike Phelan, Paul Ince, Michael Carrick, Teddy Sheringham and Alan Smith to rattle off a few.

Sean Murphy, Strabane, Co Tyrone

sean murphy, strabane, ireland

To the disillusioned Manchester Utd fan Nick. We didnt even play to 50% of what we are capable on Saturday. Personally I think that you got really lucky..........again as we outplayed you with our passing game but were unlucky in the last half of the park. What comes of interest to me is that your manager hasn't stopped moaning about the referee since Saturday afternoon and has made dirty insinuations about our team. And as for the presentation you can visit the 'unsafe' Emirates stadium.

Costas, London, Uk

What’s more, Ferguson is the only manager of the big four who has never fielded an all foreign English club XI.
The single, outstanding accuracy that Chris Dee, M Madden and Simon managed is the fact that the most successful manager in the Premiership’s short history spectacularly polarises opinion among football fans.
Long may it continue.

Sean Murphy, Strabane, Co Tyrone

sean murphy, strabane, ireland

LOL! Fergie never fails to make me laugh!!

The fact the England team is under achieving is NOT because of Arsenal..

It’s because average/talented English players cost and get paid too much.

Because England's grass roots football is non existent. When some of the best nations have established “centres of excellences” which teach young boys to play football .. (i.e. France!!!) instead of hoofing it from one end of the pitch to the other to players like Peter Crouch.

Because English players are more concerned with living the high life than working hard week in, week out on improving their game. etc the list could go on!!

And Fergie.. ha, ha, ha ha.. Are you rattled my old red faced/nosed chum?

That 40-year old man that attacked you outside London Euston station earlier this year clearly knocked you clean of your senses!

Whilst I personally do not condone this sort of behaviour, I can see why he gets the usual reaction and response to his pointless, contradictory and worthless comments in the press.

And another thing... Why Fergie has chosen to rant about Capital city clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea and their ticket prices being considerably higher than at Manu's beggars belief! Now, I cant speak for Chelsea, for very obvious and recent reasons, but every Arsenal game.. whether it be Premiership, Champions League, Carling Cup or Pre Season is a sell out, there is such a high demand to see our team play the best football in the league. In fact I think it is fair to say that a ticket to see The Arsenal is ..."the hottest ticket in town!.." . SAF should be more concerned with his own policy in conning his own “foul mouthed” season ticket holders to go to every game!

So as Euston stations finest said on the day he met the great Sir Alex Fergusen..

" ..Fergie.. Shut your mouth... Fergie, Fergie.. Shut your mouth!!.."

Classic

Kevin V, London,

The only problem with this is because we have part time thinkers running and managing the game. who benefits when the premiership is being watched by over 1Billion people world wide?. Who ever thinks Arsenal stand to loose is mistaken. Thats the problem with being jealous without thinking about the consequences of what you say or what your about to implement. Blatter is jealous that the money earned by the premiership is not like in other leagues. Because of the shift in balance of power there is attraction of the best players in the country which is happening. people like fergie are jealous about the brand of football Arsenal play. They always moan about lack of english talent. England should have won the world cup in the last decade when Arsenal was full of english talent. The day Wenger leaves the English premiership, people will realise his contribution to the english game as well as the economy. we shall instead be watching rugby because other teams cann't offer any much.

herberto, London, u.k

The sheer hypocrisy of this man is amazing.
Firstly, there are very few (if any !) English world class footballers.
Secondly, until Abramovich arrived with his zillions, no other club in England could come anywhere near Man Utd's spending power, so the few good English players were snatched by Utd before anyone else could get a look in.
All the other Premiership managers could do was to buy abroad. Now that people like Wenger are getting true world class players for a "song", Ferguson complains that this is unfair.

Sorry, Sir Alex - you brought it on yourself. It is sad to see such a truly great manger as him resorting to such sour grapes.

AND - your outburst on Sunday really took the biscuit ! Open your ears during the next game at Old Trafford and listen to the abuse thrown at visiting managers there.

John Newbury, calne, UK

fergie is just a bitter old man!!

Maxi, london,,

Oh dear, fallen for it again have we ?
Fergie dangles the carrot and the brainless Arsenal fans cant help themselves. No English players in your team, you know its wrong, but like Chelsea, you dont care as long as you win.
You were lucky on saturday and you know it.

Eugene the red, Norwich,

Silly Fergie. Actually, maybe not so silly. Surely this is just his way to have a sly dig at Arsenal and Liverpool?

Whatever next? Only players born within 2 miles of Anfield can get a game for Liverpool?

His comments are somewhat of the 'Little Englander' brigade -and this from a Scot, for Donald Duck's sake! This is 2007. The world is shrinking, Fergie. I can remember when Liverpool sent out a team made up entirely of Scots, Welsh and Irish! Who cares.

Not me.

David Robinson, Liverpool, UK

it was 2-2 draw, not 1-1.

Bob Johnson, London, UK

Let's take a look at United's Englad players: Rooney, Ferdinand, Neville, Scholes, Hargreaves, Carrick...Did I miss any? Let's take a look at Arsenal's: Walcott...um...Walcott. And how about Liverpool: Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, any others? Those thinking that SAF is speaking hypocritical here need to re-exmine their thinking. He has and has had more England-based players than either Arsenal or LIverpool, hands down.

Danny, Eagle, Idaho

Roy Perks is dead right, but then you expect good sense from New Zealanders. Wenger couldn't care less about English football because he's French. Our Australian friends here couldn't care less because they're Australian, have a desperate inferiority complex they pretend doesn't exist and enjoy anything which causes discomfiture to the mother country (a historical link I understand they've now busily re-writing to give all the credit to Ireland, such are the shallow, fashion-conscious, egalitarian times we live in). Dump the money-grubbers with divided loyalties and stand or fall with our own people, on our own merits. What an outrageous idea......

Edward, Lincoln, England

i guess it's high time for the FA to ban scottich manager from the english premier league

jesse, London, England

Forgive 'Sir Alex Ferguson' , uneducated people cannot think with their heads they use their hearts. let us have a serious debate which should encompass things like player recruitment, footbal finance in general, labour laws, racial relations, nationalistic views and we might come up with very surprising argument

Not all people who do not favour foreign players are xenophobic or racit but all racist/xenophobic people do not favour foreign players...the distinction is often difficult to discern, the boundary very thin.....

x, leeds,

Er wait a minute isn't this the manager of a team who's best players bar Rooney and Ferdinand are: Ronaldo, Tevez, Saha, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Anderson - nuff said!

SoFire, London,

I really appreciated the point made earlier that if English players were good enough (though maybe not good enough for the Premier League) then they would be plying their trade in the other (lesser?) leagues of Europe. That they are not means that there may not be that many of them. I have seen quoted this week by The Times that a billion people worldwide were watching the Arsenal-United match. Keep things how they are and let us all see splendid teams like Arsenal and Man Unt compete with players from all over the planet in their sides. Then people from anywhere will be able to connect with these teams and help all rid us of racialism and national prejudices in football and life.
(Though I still want Arsenal to win)..

Dave, Dubai, UAE

Ok, why dont we have this absurd rule implemented? Then, when the interest payments get too high on the loans the Glazers' took out, we shall see exacty how many English players those lot from OT can actually purchase.

Rehan Ashraf, East Ham, London, UK

That's rich coming from SAF, no pun intended. If he couldn't have bought the ripest UK talent of the last decade, who'd be his most recent home-grown English star? Rooney, Ferdinand, and Hargreaves, transfered in at the combined cost of about GBP 80 million, hardly count for this argument.

AT, Vancouver, BC

M Madden: - "They (Man Utd) don't train them and bring them into the first team". How did did come to that conclusion?! Scholes, the Nevilles, Giggs, David Beckham??!!

Duncan, Bristol,

What is the matter with the man? It's all a clear sign of fear. Besides, since when has a Scottish Manager cared about the England Team?

Sorry but all this bleating is just making excuses for the inevitable.

First it's the prices at the gate. He doesn't like Arsenal generating too much revenue does he especially as they run within their means, unlike Utd.

Then we have biased Refs. How ironic? I'm surprised he wasn't moaning about the goal being given. After all Utd cheated Spurs out of a win in the same way without any mention of biased refs or bad decisions.

Scrappy Goals. Can't have Arsenal scoring scrappy goals can we. Not like Rooney's classic.

Now we have the assault on Foreign players.

The only thing left now is to complain about other teams wearing red I suppose. After all he is the only Manager with a red face !!!!!!!!!

Tony Simson, Chelmsford,

it's a terribly silly proposal. Firstly it's absolutely certain, that this idea will never get the approval from the EU. The free movement of labour is one of the founding principles of the European Union and is therefore construed with vigour by the EU-court.
Secondly Man Utd aren't really producing their own english talent, but are merely paying over the odds - which suggest there is a blatent lack of english top talent. Such regulation would only mean a league of lower quality.
If you look at arsenal, they are operating with an economically sustainable model and at the same time playing the most exiting football in england or maybe the entire europe!

Søren, copenhagen, denmark

Who cares I say. EU law will not permit this old fashioned idea anyways. If any player (regardless of nationality) is good enough then they should/could/would play. This is more of the so-called positive discrimination and I do not agree with it. Yes I am an Arsenal fan but that really has nothing to do with it. Its simple common sense, of which Fergie has very little (esp after dropping late LATE points at the w/e - LOL).

The EPL is the most attractive league in the world and if clubs are forced to field inferior teams then this will quickly change, the money comig into the game here will reduce, as will the quality etc etc. It can't be allowed to happen.

Also, Fergie is wide of the mark. How many english players have come through their ranks at MU of late? They bought Ferdinand, Rooney, Hargreaves, Carrick (all for over inflated £££). Their latest crop of "youthful" players were foreign (Tevez, Ronaldo, Anderson, Nani, Nimic, etc). So it would hurt them somehwat as well.

:

Andy, Staines, UK

Ferguson has conveniently forgotten the acrimony that greeted the coming of Teves to Man U? Why did he have to fight to get a bloody South American in his squad? The big question is, how many young Brit footballers has Ferguson nurtured to stardom in his 21 years at United? To execute the game on Saturday, he had nine foreigners lined up- Tevez, Anderson, Vidic,Nani, Saha, Ronaldo, Evra, Van Dar Sar, and Kuszczak . Please, practice what you preach, SAF.

Shamsi , Lagos, Nigeria, Lagos

also i believe if he thinks arsenal would be in trouble, he is mistaken. Arsenal has been consistently putting out quality english players from the youth and reserve teams for the last few years, but it gets little coverage because they end up playing for other teams.

so yes, i think we would be fine (though i hope it doesnt come to it - i thought we got rid of racism in the 90's), but i cant say the same for manu or chelsea.

also this would only increase the difference between the top 4 clubs and the rest. with the solid financial ability, the top 4 would be able to attract, and then buy all the good english players (wherever they are) and teams would then rely on sugardaddy russian oligarch's.

i for one am proud that arsenal are a team that has won things through developing good players, and an effective style of fair and creative play.

rich, bristol,

Wasn't it a 2-2 draw on Saturday?

Peter Rothnie, London,

All the Arsenal mugs are coming out of the woodwork... Hey remember Saturday when you celebrated a draw like you had won the treble!? Embarrassing. What is more, you were all getting so carried away because you peaked on Saturday, and the best you got was a lucky draw. United still have so much more to come and you know it... as do Chelsea. See you in april for the presentation at Old Trafford.

Nick, Manchester,

So, you all believe that the current non-english PL/CL is GOOD for the English team??

Sorry, just by your holier-than-thou comments I assumed you all had a clue about football, and were not subscribing to the popular belief in this and other papers that London teams = good, the rest = bad.

No doubt SAF aimed this comment towards Arsenal, so soon after the game. But to gloss over it, and to say that the over-expensive English talent situation suits united and the richer clubs (M. Madden, take a bow), that is just idiocy. Didn't Wenger have to shell out 12m for Walcott, and 8m for Jeffers? Do you think SAF wanted to spend 18m on Carrick? Proven players from abroad cost less than the next 'up-and-coming' English star with no PL experience.

On the other hand, if some proportion (read the quote) had to be english, it would force clubs to work on their domestic youth policies INCLUDING Arsenal, instead of relying on their Beveren supply line.

Bet this doesn't get printed.

D, Amsterdam,

Ahh ! diddums!
Ferguson still not over Arsenal's last minute equaliser,has felt the need to vent his spleen again against the club in his usual,nasty ,vindictive and obnoxious way.Ferguson cannot forgive Wenger for breaking up Fergusons cosy little relationship with the Premier League title,when other managers used to tug their forlocks to Ferguson and let them stroll to the title,and to do it without spending the millions that Ferguson spent,well thats to much to bear.
Of course if Uniteds team had no home grown players,Ferguson would come out against Blatters suggestion.But thats the nature of this unsavoury character.
But you can bet your bottom dollar if Wenger replies to Fergusons latest serial attack on Arsenal,the press will,as usual,fail to point out that it was Ferguson who nastily and deliberately started the feud as he has always done since Wenger came to this country and refused to accept being second best.

chris dee, london,

The only 2 clubs in England that can afford to buy what little English talent that there is are Man Utd & Chelsea. They don't train them & bring them in to the 1st team. They buy them when other clubs have done all the hard work. Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand etc. Even if the other clubs bring through young English talent - these two will buy them - as they have in the past - and the others will be forced to play inferior players. Another law to suit the rich.

M Madden, Belfast, N. Ireland

Has SAF forgotten the trouble he had in the CL when players like Giggs (Welsh) and Keane (Irish) counted as foriegners? Memory loss at his age shouldn't be a surprise, I guess.

Simon, London,

Whenever this debate arises, a question arises in my mind. How many English players play in other renowned leagues such as Spanish, Italian or for that matter French, German and Dutch leagues? Isn't this enough to prove that there is something horribly wrong with youth setup in England. The simple fact is that England is not producing youngsters good enough to play in the top leagues of the world. Why blame Wenger or Benitez for this when you can't produce quality youngsters only because your own youth system isn't good enough.

Aamir, Islamabad,

Shouldn't Grandpa Furgie retire soon?

Nick, Sdney, Australia

Every team should have at least 4 England players,
The only managers apposed would be forign managers
who dont care about English football

ROY PERKS, Napier, NZ

Typical Ferguson attempt to discredit any other teams acheiving success. Much has been made of the home grown talent within the united team. From the undoubtably great era of Beckam and Co the reality is SAF has done little to produce from within. Of the current 7 English players in their squad and discounting Neville and Scholes whose careers are in their swan song, only Wes Brown has come through the ranks. Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Carrick and Rooney have all been home grown elsewhere and then purchased by United for a figure in excess of 100M. Of course SAF wants to change the rules. United are prepared to pay inflated prices for the few English Players that are good enough. Interesting how many United players were in the recent Youth World Cup playing for England (there was one against the three from Arsenal).

SAF really needs to get over himself

Robert Yates, Currumbin Waters, QLD Australia

This Summer would be a good time to buy English players, as they will be well rested for next season after a long summer break.

Andrew, London,

It was a 2-2 draw on Saturday between Arsenal and Manchester United.

Jordan, Bangkok,

When you are a club with the financial backing to spend 20m on Rooney, 29m on Ferdinand, 18m on Carrick and 17m on Hargreaves, it's easy to come over all sanctimonious over this issue. The fact of the matter is, why should clubs such as Arsenal or Liverpool or Chelsea or whoever else fork out fortunes for overrated British players just because of their nationaility? Hargreaves may be an international but I just don't see a 15m difference between him and Flamini. Neither to I see the 28m difference between Toure or Agger and Rio Ferdinand. And I think the Carrick fee versus Fabregas or Alonso or Elano is plain for all to see.

The different ownership structures of all our clubs, sponsorships, marketing and fan bases render the nationality issue redundant. if we are willing to accept the billions of dollars on offer from China, Russia, the US, Israel, etc, we should also learn to accept that the responsibilities towards the common terrace man (if he still exists) have all but vanished.

Edward Martinez, Toronto, Canada

Man Utd are a very rich team. If you make people have a certain amount of english players mandatory the richest team will therefore have the best players and poorer players will permeate in from the bottom. Fergie can say he desires English players for the good of the country all he wants. At the end of the day he is Scottish and doesn't give a damn about the success of the England national team. Before everyone gets on their high horse about the English players that came through the golden generation please remember 1. That was at a time when foreign player limits were regularly killing United's chances in Europe and he needed English players 2. Do you think he scouted them in the first place? If United's scouting network and knowledge of players was anything like Wengers he would not make these rascist claims. Why not just face it mate. Wenger could win titles at United, but you would have fallen on your a$$ at Arsenal. 1 Arsene Wenger, the world's best.

Joe, Greenwich, UK

it was a 2-2 draw not 1-1.

jay, lagos, nigeria