It’s a mistake on Jaap Stam
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he was too quick to write off former defender Jaap Stam. In August 2001 Ferguson accepted the offer from Lazio for £16.5million for the then 29 years old center back, an offer Fergie insist he couldn’t refuse. Sir Alex also cited the reason for Jaap Stam exit from Old Trafford was due to Stam’s inability to regain top form following an Achilles injury.
However, many football pundits and I in particular assumed his book was the reason behind his departure. Prior to 2001-2002 season, Stam published his autobiography which he claimed that Ferguson had illegally tapped him up before buying him from PSV Eindhoven and revelaed blunt insights from the United dressing room.
The move initiated by Ferguson was one of his few errors during more than two decades in charge at Old Trafford. Following Sta’s departur, United failed to win a trophy in that 2001-2002 season which was meant to be Ferguson’s last in charge before he performed a U-turn on his scheduled retirement.
In contrast, Ferguson brought in Laurent Blanc, the French defender who was approaching his 36th birthday to fill the void. Blanc presence on the field was not a liability for United, his reading of the game and his experience do help the United young defenders.