Ferguson slaps booze ban on Beckham party

But Ferguson sees the risk of a second season with no silverware growing and wants his Premiership bid back on track tomorrow with a win over Leeds. So he has ordered all the United party-goers home early, ensuring there is no temptation for the adults to continue enjoying themselves once the youngsters have left. If Fergie sees any pictures of the players defying his orders, they will lose a week’s wages.

At Brooklyn’s first birthday party, thousands were spent on champagne. Beckham might be excused for feeling Fegruson is pursuing him. Last week Ferguson described the England captain as ‘flash’ and the week before he angrily kicked a boot across the dressing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal that hit Beckham in the face, cutting his eye.

The Sun claims that if United finish another season without a trophy then Ferguson will not be manager next season. At the beginning of the season Ferguson said a second successive year without a title was ‘unthinkable’. “I have to produce a winning team. Being at the top is a hard business. Only the very best can do it,” he said last August.

But the Sun says if the unthinkable happens then the United board will be looking for a new manager. Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon hinted at possible changes. “By our standards, it would not be good enough to finish runners-up in the Premiership and Worthington (League) Cup and reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League,” he told the Daily Mail.

Ferguson was reported to be mulling over off-loading a batch of his old Trafford stars – including Beckham and winger Ryan Giggs – if he finishes the season without a trophy.