Sir Alex Ferguson and Nemanja Vidic Win Barclays Awards

A month that saw Manchester United pick up maximum points without conceding a single goal has culminated in Sir Alex Ferguson and Nemanja Vidic taking the Barclays Manager and Player of the Month awards for January.

Ferguson guided Manchester United to the summit of the Barclays Premier League following a perfect start to 2009. The Red Devils began the year in style with a convincing 3-0 defeat of Chelsea at Old Trafford. Three days later, Wayne Rooney’s first minute strike was enough to see off in-form Wigan.

Dimitar Berbatov secured another three points for the defending champions at the Reebok Stadium as Bolton Wanderers were beaten in injury-time. United’s 5-0 demolition of West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns saw them make it a record 11 consecutive Barclays Premier League clean sheets before a penalty, courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo, proved enough to defeat a stubborn Everton side.

Advertisement - article continues below »

Rent DVDs by mail from GreenCine.com, As Low As $9.95 Per Month! Unlimited rentals, choose from 80,000 titles. Free Shipping!

Manchester United’s clean sheet record owed much to the presence of Nemanja Vidic, who produced a string of impressive displays in January. The Serbian international also proved a threat in the opposition area, scoring the vital opener in the win over Chelsea and heading the third goal in his side’s comfortable win at West Bromwich Albion.

The Barclays Manager of the Month award for January is Ferguson’s 22nd, while this is Vidic’s first monthly player award.

The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel, which includes representatives from football’s governing bodies, the media and fans.

( Mirror )