Mike Phelan: Ferguson’s consigliere and a vital cog in Manchester United’s engine room for almost 20 years
- Phelan first became assistant manager at Old Trafford 20 years ago
- He is back as Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s right-hand man after a foray into management
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was in and out of the press conference at Leicester last Sunday so quickly that many journalists missed him. The Norwegian had a flight to Lyon to catch where he was going to scout Paris Saint-Germain ahead of their forthcoming Champions League games with Manchester United.
“Just made it in time,” tweeted his companion Mike Phelan, along with some pictures from the Olimpic Stadium.
The pair were spotted by French television cameras at the match, both in woolly hats. Phelan’s had a peak and gave him the look of part-Bronx gangster, part-British colonial adventurer, a modern day Dr Livingstone looking to find chinks in PSG’s armour rather than the source of the Nile.
Lyon beat PSG 2-1 to inflict the latter’s first league defeat of the season. Better for morale that Phelan and Solskjaer saw that than the previous fixture at Parc de Princes where Lyon played well, but were hammered as Kylian Mbappe, playing alongside Neymar and Edinson Cavani in a stellar attack, scored four goals in only 13 minutes last week.
With almost 20 years of service, Phelan has long scouted for Manchester United. Sometimes he would travel alone for important missions, like a top secret assignment in Mexico to watch a young striker called Javier Hernandez. With no taxis, Phelan had to hitch a lift to the stadium, and afterwards was left alone to figure out how to get home. But mostly, Ferguson wanted him to travel with him around Europe.
Travel with Ferguson tended to be more streamlined. They would take a private jet after training to Madrid or Barcelona, go somewhere for dinner, watch a game, talk to a Mourinho or a Ronaldo and be back in Manchester by 1am. Phelan recognised that it was a great life, but he’d earned it.
