Richard Sutcliffe: Ferguson’s media blackout is an affront to the supporters

The manager forcibly making his point was Dennis Wise, then about three months into his reign as Leeds United manager. The occasion was his weekly Thursday pre-match briefing and only four reporters were present.

Wise was clearly on the warpath as, one by one, he fixed us all with the kind of stare Premier League referees had become all too familiar with down the years and delivered the same four words.

After having made his point, he settled back in his chair, folded his arms and then said, “Right, first question.”

I can not even remember the cause of Wise’s ire but, fair play to him, what followed was no different from any of his other press briefings and we all left 15 minutes or so later with our notebooks bulging with decent stories. Wise may not have been overly fond of the press but he was always great value, mainly because he did not care who he offended. A journalist’s dream.

I thought of Wise last Sunday when it emerged Sir Alex Ferguson had imposed a media blackout in the wake of his FA charge over improper conduct.

The charge related to his comments about referee Martin Atkinson’s performance in Manchester United’s defeat to Chelsea. Not only did Ferguson refuse to speak to the written press but also all the television and radio stations that pay handsomely for the right to cover Premier League football.

Coming on the back of a defeat to Liverpool, the ban smacked of sour grapes – though it is believed the blackout would have been in place even if the Premier League leaders had won at Anfield.

What it definitely did do, however, was once again underline the ivory tower that many football figures inhabit when the going gets tough.

By not talking to the media last weekend, Ferguson may have felt he was punishing the journalists whom he clearly blames for the charge that followed his questioning of Atkinson’s integrity. Instead, what Ferguson was really doing was refusing to speak to the people who pay his wages – the fans.

Whether it be those who consider Old Trafford their second home for 10 months a year or those of us who hand over £50 a month to Sky Sports, our desire to hear his take on a game that is always one of the highlights of the season clearly did not matter.

All Ferguson did was confirm what I have suspected for a long time – that the vast majority of people in football have lost sight of the fact that talking to the media is, basically, a way to speak to supporters.

How else are fans supposed to know what their manager or players think? And, by that, I do not mean the sanitised version of events that fill most – though, admittedly, not all – club publications.

Imagine a world where everyone plays well, no one falls out and every decision is correct, and you get the picture.

Having written for the Leeds programme in the season that culminated in relegation from the Premier League, I know all about the need to stay positive – so much so that by the Spring I felt dizzy from the number of times the club had, in the words of what felt like every player, “turned the corner”.

For some fans, this vision of utopia is enough. But, for the vast majority, it is not. That is why Ferguson was last week guilty of failing the one group whose views should matter – the supporters.