Man Utd's Ferguson under fire
By CNN's Jim Boulden
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Ferguson: Business pressures rather than footballing ones
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MANCHESTER, England (CNN) -- Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has a right to smile.
His squad continues to do well in European competitions, in England's top flight and in its FA Cup competition. And the man known simply as "Fergie" is close to signing a contract extension.
But supporters worry that outside distractions could cut Ferguson's time short.
Says Oliver Houston of Shareholders United: "Ferguson is not just a footballing asset as the greatest manager there has ever been in British football. He is also a great business asset, in terms of the brand awareness of Manchester United."
Among the distractions, Ferguson is in a legal dispute with a major Manchester United shareholder over a horse. And the club has come under criticism for how it pays agents when it buys and sells players at will.
Says Ferguson biographer and Manchester United supporter Michael Crick: "United are different, they are a public company, with public shareholders in pension funds with money invested. They have got to be much more careful how they look after other people's money. I think they have got to be much more open about it and explain why all of this money needs to be spent."
To that end, Manchester United's board announced Monday it will look deeper into recent payments of fees to agents and said it will now detail all such fees in future stock exchange announcements -- though the club stressed that Ferguson does not get involved with agents.
Monday's announcement comes after Britain's tabloid press said Manchester United's biggest shareholder group -- Cubic Expression -- is so concerned about recent transfer deals that outside auditors might be called in, putting the powerful Ferguson under more scrutiny.
Says Richard Gillis of Sport Business magazine: "I think some of the questions put by Cubic Expressions' owners are really looking at the detail of running a public limited company, as opposed to the detail of running a football club, which obviously Manchester United are both.
"And they are looking for gaps, it appears to us, to try and find a weakness there, in terms of their point of attack."
Football has come a long way when one of the most celebrated coaches in history is feeling the heat over issues of corporate governance... not just goals.
