There is no doubt that my former manager Sir Alex exerted an influence over some referees. He was the master of dropping a comment into his Friday press conference - for instance, how long it had been since we had been given a penalty, or the treatment meted out to a player like Cristiano Ronaldo.
I do understand Chelsea are a big club, and there is always pressure on managers to win games and trophies. So I understand they might not be willing to take a chance on someone at a bigger club.
Three years without a Premiership title? I don't think I would still be in a job.
If things don't go well, the manager is on his way because it's such a blow if you drop into the lower divisions.
At some clubs success is accidental. At Arsenal it is compulsory.
The pressure of the Premier League is huge but so is moving your family across the world to a club where they had sacked the manager every year for the last five.
Wenger has been Arsenal's coach for 15 years but he hasn't won even a Carling Cup for six years. Benitez hasn't won a league title in six years but they continue to keep him as Liverpool's coach. This is not the Italian mentality. To stay here I must continue winning and do well.
I've seen managers come in and lose the first game, you're on the back foot straight away.
But I think the Champions League Final puts a massive pressure on every player and the manager, but we're enjoying the pressure and hopefully we can go there and win it.
Some days, I get overwhelmed and a bit breathless... I've probably cried at work, but I'm limited with my crying: I'm the boss; I'm not really allowed to cry at work.
I love the Premier League, the quality of the players, the quality of the coaches. There are great challenges. But there are arms and legs flying off managers down there.
Jose has managed at some big, big clubs, and at all of those clubs, there is pressure, it comes with the territory. But he has a wonderful way of dealing with that pressure, and when you manage these sorts of clubs, you've got to be used to that.
It is really difficult, after Jose Mourinho, to work at Chelsea. It could cause a problem for any manager because Mourinho had such a relationship with the players and the fans.
Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough . . . I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.
Of course David Moyes is going to come under scrutiny because he's taken over from a legend in Sir Alex Ferguson and they've made their worst start to a season in 24 years. But we mustn't take away credit from what West Brom did. Few teams go to Old Trafford and dominate the ball and carve out chances the way they did.
Liverpool had a lot of success under Rafa Benitez, and that is difficult for anyone to follow.
At headquarters, where everyone lived under the tremendous pressure of responsibility, probably nothing was more welcome than a dictate from above. That meant being freed of a decision and simultaneously being provided with an excuse for failure.
