Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has ordered his players to be back home by 9pm from David Beckham's party for son Brooklyn this evening. Ferguson has reportedly come down hard on his illustrious stars after Sunday's Worthington Cup Final defeat by Liverpool.
Beckham has asked all his team-mates to join showbiz guests at Brooklyn's €15,000 pound fourth birthday bash, with Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Ole Solskjaer all accepting the invite. But Ferguson sees the risk of a second season with no silverware growing and wants his Premiership bid back on track Wednesday with a win over Leeds.
So he has ordered all the United party-goers home early, ensuring there is no temptation for the adults to continue enjoying themselves once the youngsters have left. If Fergie sees any pictures of the players defying his orders, they will lose a week's wages.
Today's Sun newspaper claims that if United finish another season without a trophy then Ferguson will not be manager next season. At the beginning of the season Ferguson said a second successive year without a title was 'unthinkable'. "I have to produce a winning team. Being at the top is a hard business. Only the very best can do it," he said last August.
But the Sun says if the unthinkable happens then the United board will be looking for a new manager. Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon hinted at possible changes. He said: "By our standards, it would not be good enough to finish runners-up in the Premiership and Worthington Cup and reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League."
Filed by Shane Murray
