Martin Tyler's Letter From The Gantry No 31

From The Joy Of Football podcast No 35 written on November 24th 2024, remembering an altercation with a firstly helpful, then fuming, Alex Ferguson

I pricked up my ears when I heard that the new Head Coach of Manchester United Ruben Amorim favoured the defensive system of three at the back.

It reminded me of a tricky couple of days with the manager whom every successor is still trying to emulate, Sir Alex Ferguson, who had a rare flirtation with that system and in doing so made my commentary of an FA Cup tie extremely complicated.

Let me take you back to January 1996. The great Scot was still plain Alex then – or Alec as he is known.

Manchester United had been drawn at home to Sunderland in the third round of the FA Cup – and the draw led to a draw: 2-2. Sunderland were then as now in the Championship. So it was an excellent result for their bright witty young manager, Peter Reid.

Reid was not yet 40 years old and had been in charge on Wearside for less than a year, but already had locked horns with Manchester United and their illustrious manager during a three year stint in charge of Manchester City.

The replay was ten days later at Roker Park, to be covered live by Sky Sports. Commentary from Andy Gray and myself. Always a diligent researcher, I managed to reach Alex on the phone on the day prior to the game. He explained that after the first match when it needed a goal from Eric Cantona with ten minutes to go to avoid defeat at Old Trafford, he was going to change his tactics.

He let me in on what the change was going to be, a switch from his usual four at the back to a three, with the experienced Paul Parker in the middle of the new formation. Paul surely was the right choice. He had most notably played in that shape for England in their progress to the semi-final of the World Cup at Italia90.

For me it was of course a golden nugget of information, something that I assured Alex that I would keep totally under wraps until I was on the gantry close to kick-off, when I would share it with my colleagues, especially Andy Gray.

Imagine my shock when I arrived at the ground the next day some three hours before kick-off to find Andy and Peter Reid in deep conversation about the United defensive change, which I thought was top secret. They of course were great mates from their highly successful playing days at Everton, winning the League title, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup.

I acted dumb and asked if Peter was sure of the United change, knowing inwardly that he had been very well informed.

In my whole career I never felt more between a rock and a hard place. I could not betray the trust put in me the day before and so I chose not to shed further light on a conversation between two people I liked enormously and would have loved to have helped.

Peter obviously had his own source to protect as well so the upshot was a compromised beginning to the broadcast which I have never seen before or since. Instead of two team line-ups there were four. Manchester United’s conventional system – and how Sunderland’s eleven would be deployed if that happened. Then the suggested – but actually known — alteration to a back three – and how Peter would alter his team’s shape to try and cope.

So that was how we started our commentary and sure enough Paul Parker adopted a sweeper’s role with Gary Neville and Steve Bruce either side of him as the other central defenders. However it didn’t really work. Sunderland took the lead through striker Phil Gray and United left the field at half-time a goal down.

Alex Ferguson was typically decisive. Off came Parker, replaced by Lee Sharpe, and the 4-4-2 was reinstated with Lee on the left. On the hour, with United still trailing, Paul Scholes came on for Nicky Butt and ten minutes later struck an equaliser. With extra time looming Andy Cole spared United’s blushes and took them through to Round 4.

So all had ended well for Manchester United and their high profile boss. I travelled home the next morning and had been back an hour or two when the phone rang. My wife Paula answered and said a Mr Ferguson wants a word with you.

I began cheerily: “Well done, last night. All the best for the next round.” Only to be on the receiving end of a blast as icy as any I had felt in the north-east the night before. “I trusted you. You told Sunderland about the way we going to line-up.”

I knew I was not guilty. Sunderland had already known but Alex had already come to his verdict. I protested strongly but not very successfully. My best line of defence was telling him that while listening to Peter and Andy pre-match it came out that their knowledge was gained from information that the system of play had been trialled in a practice match at United’s training ground earlier in the week. “Did you have a practice match?” I asked the Great Man. “Aye!” “You never told me this, but Sunderland knew when I arrived. I promise you I didn’t betray your trust. Look elsewhere for the leak.”

By then I did know how Sunderland got their intelligence. but that was another confidentiality so I kept it to myself, even though it would have totally got me off the Ferguson hook.

It is now time to tell – at least most of it. Sunderland were tipped off by a former Manchester United player who had moved to another club in the north-east of England. He had not severed his ties with his mates who were still at Old Trafford, some of whom had actually played in that practise game to work on the three at the back.

He also had friends at Sunderland. He let the cat out of the bag for the benefit of the Black Cats He, not me, was responsible for the leak.

Manchester United went on to the Final where they faced Liverpool whose own three at the back at the time had given the Red Devils problems in other encounters around that period.

I only found out this week — and I might add from an impeccable source – that switching to a back three was seriously considered by Alex Ferguson in the build up to that Final in 1996. Unlike at Sunderland he changed his mind before rather than during the game - and United posted a 1-0 win at Wembley.