Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has described his club's tour of Bermuda nearly 12 years ago as "an unmitigated horror story'' in his new book Managing My Life .

But according to some locals embroiled in the controversy of United's tour of December, 1987, Ferguson has produced a misleading version of events including two factual discrepancies.

Two incidents -- a rape allegation against former United player Clayton Blackmore and a head injury to goalkeeper Gary Walsh in a game against Somerset Trojans -- ruined the tour for the English club.

In his memoirs, Ferguson puts the blame on two women who lived in Bermuda at the time for Blackmore's arrest, claiming his player had been "set up'' by them.

Ferguson, who last season led United to an unprecedented treble of Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup wins, had been in the Old Trafford hotseat for just a year when they visited Bermuda.

In his book, Ferguson recalled that the mid-season tour "was supposed to give the players a break from the pressures of the League but proved instead to be an unmitigated horror story''.

One discrepancy in Ferguson's version of events comes when he writes about events following the arrest of Blackmore after an incident in the early hours in the ladies' washroom at the Oasis nightclub.

Ferguson described how a Detective Sergeant Wallace with a Scottish accent had called him from Hamilton Police Station with "a message to freeze my blood''.

The book continues: "Clayton Blackmore had been arrested on the strength of allegations that he had committed rape. Fortunately, Maurice Watkins, who was our club solicitor and a member of the board, was in our party...'' Ferguson went on to describe how he, Watkins and United secretary Les Olive had rushed to police headquarters to be briefed on the allegations and to meet with Blackmore.

But The Royal Gazette of December 2, 1987, reported Watkins had flown in to Bermuda on Tuesday, December 1, the day after the incident, to meet with Blackmore and club officials -- and therefore had not been with the original United touring party.

And the newspaper went on to describe that Blackmore had first been advised by local barrister Richard Hector.

After Watkins' arrival, American beautician and then-Bermuda resident Patricia Savoy, who had claimed to police she had been the victim of a sex attack, decided not to press charges.

Blackmore, 23 at the time, had been married just six months, and the story brought a flurry of reporters from English tabloid newspapers to Bermuda.

Savoy described the alleged attack in detail to The Sun newspaper and said she had withdrawn the complaint to "put the nightmare behind me''.

Her version of events was corroborated by a witness, Savoy's friend Cathie Sousa, who told The Royal Gazette at the time: "It's true. I did see what happened.'' No charges were made in the case and Blackmore was released after spending 32 hours in police custody.

Ferguson was convinced by the innocence of Blackmore and in the book appears to put the blame for his arrest onto Savoy and her friend.

The book states: "When we were allowed to see Clayton, he broke down in my arms, telling me a version of the circumstances that convinced us he had been set up by the two girls whose combined evidence was the basis of the charge.'' But one former member of the Bermuda Police Force, who worked on the case at the time and spoke anonymously to The Royal Gazette this week, was surprised by Ferguson's claim of a set-up.

He said: "As far as the police were concerned, this was a bona fide case.

Then the woman decided to drop her complaint.'' Miss Savoy has since left Bermuda. Her lawyer at the time of the Blackmore incident, Kim White, this week declined to answer questions on the comments made about his client in Ferguson's book.

The incident which resulted in the then-19-year-old Walsh being taken to hospital after suffering a kick in the head from striker Everett Wellman happened in a game against Bermuda's league champions at the time, Somerset Trojans.

Ferguson, then 45, actually played, coming on as a substitute for the last 21 minutes in United's 4-1 win.

In his book, Ferguson wrote: "Gary was kicked on the head so violently that the Bermudian striker responsible broke his ankle.'' But according to the Somerset skipper in that match, Dennis Brown, and the team coach Norbert Simons, Ferguson got it wrong.

"Everett Wellman certainly did not end up with any broken bones,'' said Brown. "In fact he played the rest of the game. My memories of the incident are a bit vague, but I think it was a 50-50 ball and it was not violent, as he (Ferguson) makes out.'' Simons had a more detailed memory of the incident, which happened two minutes from the end of the game, and agreed with Brown that Ferguson had exaggerated.

"The goalkeeper went out for the ball and the ball bobbled while he was on the floor,'' recalled Simons. "The striker (Wellman) was still going forward and took a swipe at the ball. The goalkeeper got caught on the head, but it was nothing intentional.

"And Wellman certainly did not break his ankle. He played the rest of the game.'' The match report in The Royal Gazette of December 2, 1987, stated: "Wellman's late stab at the ball caught the 19-year-old Walsh -- United's first-team goalkeeper since the retirement of Gary Bailey in the close season -- on the right side of his head.'' But there was no mention of Wellman, a second-half substitute, requiring treatment for injury and the report confirmed he played on to the end of the match.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette at the end of the tour, Ferguson was quoted as saying: "I thought the kid (Wellman) did go in too hard -- it could have been avoided -- but luckily Gary is alright....In fact, I understand the Somerset player went to hospital this morning to have his foot or ankle looked at, so it shows you just how hard he went in.'' Again, there is no mention of a broken bone.

Walsh was released from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after being held overnight for observation. He now plays for another English Premier League club, Bradford City.

Fergie and friend? Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson (right) poses with his then-assistant Brian Kidd after winning the league championship in 1966. But in his autobiography "Managing My Life'', in which he describes a tour of Bermuda as an "unmitigated horror story'', Ferguson is also critical of Kidd, who later left the club to manage Blackburn Rovers.

Cleared: Soccer star Clayton Blackmore is pictured leaving Hamilton Police Station after charges that he sexually assaulted Patricia Savoy (right) were dropped during Manchester United's tour of Bermuda in 1997.