福格森自然私下里多次找布朗谈心，希望后者留下来，不过，“假如他执意要走，我还是得尊重他的选择。”福格森在谈话中透露，布朗新近聘请了一位经纪人，显然福格森对这位经济人没有什么好感，他说，“我不明白那个经济人究竟是怎么想的。估计问题就出在经济人身上，而不在于布朗本人。”
Brown's demands anger United
Daniel Taylor
Saturday October 2, 2004
The Guardian
Sir Alex Ferguson broke the habit of a lifetime by criticising one of his own players last night as it emerged that Manchester United would reluctantly put Wes Brown up for sale in the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old England defender has turned down a new contract and will be a free agent next summer, leaving the club little choice but to seek a cut-price deal rather than risk losing him for nothing.
Although Ferguson has not given up hope of persuading Brown to change his mind, the defender has indicated he will leave unless the club significantly improve their offer. He is one of the lowest-paid players at Old Trafford, earning a weekly salary of £15,000, and his representatives have asked for a three-fold increase.
United's directors have refused to meet his requirements, mainly because of concerns about his susceptibility to injury. The two sides are described as being "poles apart" and Ferguson is bracing himself to lose the player he regards as "the best natural defender in the country". Newcastle United, searching for a replacement for Jonathan Woodgate, would be the favourites to prise Brown away.
"We've made the boy an offer and he's turned it down," said Ferguson. "It's his decision. He can please himself - there are no more talks planned that I'm aware of. We'd like to avoid the situation where he leaves on a free transfer. If he wants to stay we would love that. But if he wants to look elsewhere that's up to him - there's nothing you can do with modern-day footballers."
To Ferguson's irritation, Brown is no longer represented by Michael Kennedy, who has close links with the United hierarchy. Instead he has been recruited by Paul Martin of SFX, the same company that negotiated David Beckham's departure from Old Trafford.
"He has changed his agent - I don't know why," said Ferguson. "He's got an agent that has given him advice that I do not understand. I think the problem is with the agent, not the player."
The prospect of losing any player on a free transfer will appal Ferguson given that Sir Roy Gardner, the chairman of United's plc, has already informed him that by spending £27m on Wayne Rooney he has used his entire transfer budget until January 2006.
The United manager is also concerned that the club could lose Roy Carroll without getting a penny in return when his contract expires at the end of the season. Carroll is acutely aware that Ferguson does not regard him as a first-team player in the longer term and has rejected a new contract.
