Fergie: Double unlikely for English clubs

14 April 2012

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed it is harder for English clubs to complete a domestic and Champions League double than any other country in Europe.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho stated on Monday it was almost impossible for any team to achieve the feat Manchester United managed in 1999.

Though Mourinho, whose side last night beat CSKA Moscow 1-0 to progress to the second stage of the Champions League, completed the double with Porto only last season, the relative weakness of the Portuguese league helped enormously.

Ferguson has consistently complained English clubs get no help as they strive to be a success on the continent and has pointed to the absence of a winter break and a refusal to move Barclays Premiership fixtures to allow more preparation and recovery time as evidence to back up his argument.

And the United boss feels it will leave his club, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool at a disadvantage when the battle for European honours intensifies next spring.

"I make the point time and time again that it is very hard for Premier League teams to do well in Europe purely because of the programme we have got here," he said.

"When it comes to the crunch time in March when you need a little bit of help, you have internationals to contend with and if you have a run in the FA Cup and are doing well in the league, there is no respite.

"No one wants to change dates for teams who are in Europe and we end up faced with the same physical and mental battle we always have at a really important time of the season.

"I think we all recognise that it is harder for an English team to win the European Cup than anyone else."

United, who will take a major stride towards a place in the knockout stages of this season's competition if they defeat Group D basement dwellers Sparta Prague at Old Trafford tonight, played an incredible 20 times in the final three months of their treble campaign, winning 12 and drawing eight.

Ferguson believes his team were helped in no small part by a miraculous lack of injuries which meant he was able to make changes while maintaining an impressive unbeaten run.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said this season as United have fielded 26 different players in the Premiership alone after being dogged by injuries, suspensions and international calls.

"You can do a lot of things when you are playing well and in that respect, 1999 was a golden period for us because, apart from Henning Berg, we did not have any injuries.

"This season we have made as many changes but they have been forced on us, which makes things a lot more difficult."

Ferguson has confirmed his intention to make at least one switch this evening, with Ruud van Nistelrooy clear to play after serving the first two games of his three-match domestic ban.

Van Nistelrooy's phenomenal strike rate of 31 goals in 35 appearances since his £18.5million move from PSV Eindhoven in 2001 has established him as the most prolific marksman in United's illustrious European history.

And with the Red Devils currently suffering from a chronic lack of goals, Ferguson has no hesitation in drafting the Dutchman back into his side.
"I have high hopes of Ruud van Nistelrooy tonight," said the United boss.

"I hope every chance falls to him because his percentage of goals to chances is incredible.

"But it will come for the others eventually as well, I have no doubt about that because they are all scorers."

Ferguson was only half-joking when he suggested if he based tonight's team selection on the individual performances at Portsmouth last weekend, he would have been tempted to give himself a run against the Czechs.

However, his vast experience has taught him caution against knee-jerk reactions, so other than the return of van Nistelrooy, the likely inclusion of Roy Keane for Phil Neville and the possible introduction of Louis Saha for Wayne Rooney, the remainder of the side which lost at Fratton Park will be given a chance to redeem themselves.

"We have to use our experience," said Ferguson.

"The important thing is to pick a team we think will win tonight's game because if I was going to choose one on the evidence of Saturday, I might even get a game myself.

"What I would like is to see us creating as many chances as we did in the first half hour at Portsmouth. If we do that, I would expect us to take a higher percentage than nothing."

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