I'VE FELT THE WRATH OF FERGIE

NEW CHIEF UNITED REPORTER'S HISTORY WITH REDS

- By DAVID McDONNELL

David Moyes handed David McDonnell a press conference ban

TWENTY-FOUR years ago, almost to the day, I started covering United.

The 2001-02 season was to be the last of Sir Alex Ferguson’s illustrious reign, having announced his intention to retire at the end of that campaign.

A new manager would be installed and a new era would begin, for both the Reds and myself. That was until Fergie's retirement U-turn at Christmas 2001, which saw him stay in charge for another 11 years, and with it for me came numerous run-ins with and bans from the man recognised as arguably the greatest manager of all time. Since Fergie retired in 2013, another five permanent managers - David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag ~ have tried and failed to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim is the sixth permanent boss to try to restore United to the status of champions, a task that seems more onerous than ever following last season’s 15th-placed finish, the club's lowest for 51 years.

But one thing I have learned, over nearly a quarter of a century of covering United, following them all over the world - Europe, America, Asia and South Africa - is that their global appeal is as strong as ever, even if they have failed to win the Premier League or Champions League for more than a decade.