Fergie backing for Big Sam - why talk is cheap...

Predictably and not for the first time, Fergie has backed one of his managerial mates who is coming under fire following a string of poor results. Newcastle have been punching well below their collective weight and their fans expectations for decades and in a somewhat patronising attempt to help his buddy, Fergie has stated that Newcastle have never recovered from the 5-0 thumping of Manchester United a few seasons ago when Keegan was their manager. The Geordies will just love Fergie for saying that.

Let us not forget that Fergie also backed another of his mates David "my young boys" O'Leary, who at the time was managing Aston Villa. Fergie's backing for O'Leary came at a time when the Villa boss was under fire following a run of poor results which led to abuse from their fans. It should also be noted that the Reds boss had sold Villa, Djemba-Djemba, of who some fans say he was so bad that they named him twice. Eric is now on loan at Burnley.

Fergie also sold Alan Smith to Newcastle and in doing so he recouped most of the £7m transfer fee that he'd forked out to acquire him from Leeds United. It was a decent piece of business from the Reds perspective, but one which Newcastle fans may well have mixed views on.

So while it's all very well Fergie talking the talk, it's not beyond him to offload unwanted stars when the need arises, because his actions have spoken louder than words when it comes to 'helping his mates' on occasion. So Fergie's platitudes should clearly not be taken that seriously.

Fergie has also gone on record telling fans of Manchester United that they should not expect any say in the running of their club, perhaps he should be told to keep his nose out of other clubs business.

On the wider point about sacking managers, as Fergie would no doubt concur, it's the club owners who have to make those decisions. These top-flight managers are in most cases multi-millionaires, no one should feel a grain of sympathy for any of them. On that note, what could be better than seeing Shearer fall flat on his face should he replace Big Sam?

One thing is for sure, Fergie cannot question the football knowledge of Mike Ashley the Newcastle owner, given that the Manchester United manager has expressed his support for the Glazers on so many occasions.