[carlyluvsunited]

I heard so many United fans complain that Real
Madrid were 'tapping' The Slave up and trying to
lure him to Spain but they seem to forget Fergie
is worse than them for this !!

Fergie is a nightmare for hounding teams and
grabbing the youngsters for next to no money.
Nothing wrong with that either. As long as he is
within the rules then what can they do ? OK,
some of his methods are a bit close to the mark
but as United fans I'm sure WE don't mind.

He has now begun his pursuit of Darnel Situ AGAIN !!!

Back in May the Lens manager Pierre Dreossi said:

"The player wants to go to Manchester United,
and they have made us an offer.

"We will gather our thoughts and see whether we will
consider it or not, but we will defend our interests."

United have already made contact with the family of the
youngster, he was 15 years old in May so maybe now
he is 16, and his mother has confirmed her son is set
for Manchester after talks with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Lens are now battling to to get Situ to sign a pro
contract.

"There has to be gratitude shown for all the hard work
we have put into his education, Lens technical director
Daniel Leclercq told France Football.

"The players must be aware that they can't take advan-
tage of our facilities and coaching.

"Darnel will resume with the youth team at Lens. We
are even in talks to see him pledge his long-term future
here."

For the record, Situ is a central defender.

There was another French youngster Fergie was trying
to sign, Jeremy Helene, but I haven't heard anything
about this guy since May.

[mg91]

I'm not saying what Fergie is doing is completely agreeable, but I don't think you can compare it with Real Madrid's tactics in their ruthless pursuit of Ronaldo.

If a youngster who is part of another academy is not under contract, then other clubs are not acting illegally when they offer the youngster a contract. If the player had already signed a pre-contract deal then it's a completely different story but I am certain Situ hasn't and either had Davide Petrucci.

Real's pursuit of Ronaldo was different in the way that Ronaldo was under a 4 year contract and Real were powerless in their pursuit unless United accepted an offer. The way Real Madrid tempted Ronaldo with big cash offers and attempted to have him force his way out of Old Trafford was very different to what United has done with these youngsters. The whole situation of course wasn't helped by Ronaldo's failure to commit himself to United, and I am not suggesting he should not escape any blame.

But at the end of the day, these players are not contracted to their club at the moment and Fergie's PRIVATE pursuit of these players is perfectly legitimate. He is not coming out and saying day in and day out that he will sign this player and that player, like others *cough* Calderon *cough* have done in the past, and he is certainly not courting a contracted player.