Former ManU Manager ALEX FERGUSON appeared on PBS' "Charlie Rose" Tuesday night to discuss his tenure as manager of the iconic club and the state of the game today. Ferguson said the "way the game has changed" is the amount of money coming into the sport from TV and "it gives clubs the opportunity" to acquire high-priced players and "even middle-level teams now are spending $20-25 million in players." Ferguson: "At United, we do buy players but we also have this great youth system where they produce their own players." Ferguson said, "I've never worried about teams who spend whatever they want to spend (and) at the moment, we're getting a lot Middle East owners, we have American owners and Russian owners and it never bothered me one bit. All I concerned myself with is how we can maintain our level of expectation, be competitive (and) be at the top part of the league." Ferguson said when the GLAZER family acquired ManU, "it changed nothing." Ferguson: "The misconception about the Glazers buying the club and it created a sort of hostility with different factions of Manchester United supporters because a single member was owning the club, they forget the minute it became a PLC someone was going to buy it. … The Glazers did that and in my time with them, they did nothing but support. [The Glazers have been] very strong, single-minded people but always supportive of the manager and the things that happened in the club. They've been very good … [and] very low-key" ("Charlie Rose," PBS, 10/1).
