Ferguson Explains Why He Made Vida Captain Over Fletch and Scholes

Many Manchester United fans were hoping Sir Alex Ferguson would replace Gary Neville as captain for the upcoming season, given how rarely he played due to injuries and form.

Over the summer, a few players were tried out, including Darren Fletcher, but in the end, Fergie opted for Nemanja Vidic, surprisingly looking past England captain Rio Ferdinand.

Ferguson has explained his decision after being asked why he didn’t choose to go for a leader from midfield, like Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.

“The subject of picking the captain this year was pretty straight forward,” Ferguson said. “Over the past few years Gary Neville has been club captain and team captain, but as we know, Gary’s been subjected to an incredible amount of injuries, so the inconsistency of Gary in the team made us have to look elsewhere. So when you go to pick a captain you want to pick a captain who is going to be playing every week. Defenders normally come in to that, far easier than the likes of Darren Fletcher. Because we have so many selections in midfield, from time to time we change that around. Paul Scholes doesn’t want to be captain, then you’ve got Darren Fletcher who has leadership qualities of course, but we change the midfield so many times. So therefore I chose Nemanja Vidic, who signed a new contract. He’s going to be our most consistent player. If he’s fit, he’ll always play.”

Interview with CNN International.