Adopting Fergie Time

source
Eddie Jones spoke with Ferguson and Pep getting their insights.

I have been reading Eddie Jones's autobiography. Yes some of us still read books, those things that are made out of trees. I watched the film ,Miracle at Brighton which was more about Eddie himself and forms a huge part of his book. If you haven't watched this I highly recommend you do as it is very close to the book in many instances.

One of the chapters deals with Fergie time which was named after Alex Ferguson the ex manager of Manchester United. It is nothing special or new ,but about focusing for short periods of time when others switch off. There are 4 crucial areas in a game that has two halves and why Eddie used Fergusson to speak to his team as part of the England training for the recent World Cup.

The kick off and the first few minutes,5 minutes either side of half time and the last 5 minutes going into injury time. These areas of time is when most games are won or lost as they are crucial periods when teams should be targeting to score.

If you can score in the first 5 minutes of a match you seize the initiative immediately forcing the other team onto the back foot. Scoring either side of the half time whistle is a bonus ,but not letting the other team score is also just as good. Concentration levels waver with players and most teams normally come out with all guns blazing in the first 10 minutes.
By containing them the intensity levels will drop off at some point and the level of the game does drop and goes into a second gear as such.

Players can be caught out before and after half time as they may be thinking of other things. Tired players are normally thinking of the whistle and the sanctuary of the changing room. I know we used to be happy to hear the whistle as you are tired and need a break,

Fergie time was more about the last 5 minutes of the game though and this period is probably the most crucial of them all. If you have controlled the other 3 periods then you should control this period as well. If your team is down at this point now is the time to increase the levels and really focus. Most teams will switch off allowing scoring chances at some point during this period.

Most goals are scored within 10 minutes of conceding a goal in football and when teams are at their most vulnerable. The mentality is you are leading and have scored your goal taking the pressure off thinking you control the game. That is down to lacking the mental edge and game management of the team.

source

Ferguson made this period of time his own by having the players target this period of play. He believed the last 5 minutes of any game was crucial and he made this period his own. There is talk that home teams losing get a little extra time making that Fergie time but that isn't the case as other sports like Rugby are not handled by the referee on the field. Fergie time is the last 5 minutes excluding injury time and it is what your team does with this period that makes or breaks you.

During Ferguson's reign at United 5 % or 81 of the 1627 goals were scored in the 90th minute or later. I can tell you now other teams had a higher record for injury time than United, but so much was made of this time from focusing on Fergie and his watch trying to get more minutes out of the official. It definitely worked as home teams all benefited with extra seconds.More seconds meant more opportunities to possibly score and he admits it was a tactic to put pressure on the officials. Over this period United are actually 5th on the table overall which Liverpool heads(1992-2013).

I think it was made more special when United scored two late goals in injury time to win the Champions League and a prime example of raising the tempo and staying focused. Most other teams would have been feeling sorry for themselves instead of fighting ,creating opportunities looking for the win. Fergusson believed in keeping your composure and not panicking looking at the time ,but being precise in what you do even if you are behind on the score line.