A Legend Among Us

- Tom Thomas

In the modern game, it’s often difficult to find legends and heroes, perhaps because such things are better left to childhood sensibilities and nostalgic ruminations. The men of today often become the gods of tomorrow. In terms of football managers, we can look back on the likes of Sir Matt Busby, Johan Cruyff, and Bill Shankley, and call them legends of their world, masters of their time. But today, we’re in the presence of someone of the same ilk, Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager of the modern era. As Manchester United seem destined to complete a successful 2010/2011 Premiership campaign and possibly pick up the double later this month at Wembley, perhaps it’s appropriate to take a moment to look at his illustrious career, and consider life after Fergie.

The Scotsman began his managerial career briefly at East Stirlingshire in 1974 before moving to St. Mirren the same year. Lasting only three seasons before being sacked due to internal struggles with management, St Mirren would be the only club to sack Ferguson. Quickly recovering, Sir Alex took charge of Aberdeen in June of 1978, a club through which he rose to relevancy with three Scottish Premier Division titles, four Scottish Cup titles, and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup¹ which capped a successful treble campaign in 1982-83. He began his long and masterful narrative at Old Trafford in 1986, replacing Ron Atkinson, taking over a once glorious First Division side that had finished the previous season second from the bottom in 21^st.

The early days in Aberdeen

In today’s football climate, it’s likely that Ferguson would have been sacked before he saw any real success. He lifted United to 11^th in his first season, and the following year, with the addition of some heavy signings that included Steve Bruce, Brian McNair, and John Leighton, United surged to 2^nd, nine points behind a Liverpool side led by then player-manager Kenny Dalglish. The spending continued with the additions of Paul Ince and Gary Pallister, as well as a returning Mark Hughes after an unsuccessful stint in Barcelona. The 1988/89 season ended trophyless and saw United fall back to 11^th. The fans, as well as the British media, began calling for his sacking after only three years. The following season, United finished just outside of relegation in another year where lavish spending failed to bring about any real signs of success. “Three years of excuses and it’s still crap, Ta ra Fergie,” read a banner flying at United’s last home match of the season against Charlton Athletic. To their credit, the Board of Directors were supportive of the product Ferguson was trying to sell, agreeing to a thorough restructuring of the club that required a heavy overhaul, and gave Sir Alex complete control over team management. That sort of backroom support is hard to come by today, where the Roberto Mancini’s and Carlo Ancelloti’s of the world face the chopping block despite rescuing top four finishes for their sides in the Premier League.

The 1990 League cup final marked the first piece of silverware won under Sir Alex as United slipped past Nottingham Forest 1-0 after a late strike by Mark Robbins. The timely shot is one which many now say may well have saved Ferguson’s job in light of strong public pressure to send him packing. Few apart from Ferguson himself would have predicted 1990 to inaugurate a glorious era for Manchester United that saw them rise to new heights. Besides the League Cup, the 1990/91 season also saw a marked improvement as United finished 6^th in the table and added a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup to their long untouched trophy cabinet. The 1991/92 season brought more success, as United took home the League Cup and the Supercup, but ended just short of the real prize, the League Title. Jockeying with Leeds throughout the closing fixtures of the season, United finished 2^nd after losing to Leeds on the last day of the season. The glory years finally kicked off in 1992, when Ferguson brought in record £1.2 million signing Eric Cantona from France, who partnered gorgeously with Mark Hughes in the final third of the pitch to lead Manchester United to its first League title since the days of Sir Matt Busby, inaugurating the Barclays English Premier League in style.

Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona

The success continued as with FA Cup doubles in 1993/94 and 1995/96, after the additions of Roy Keane, Andy Cole, and Marc Overmars. Although the summer of ’95 was contentious after the unpopular departures of Paul Ince and Mark Hughes, Ferguson assured the public and the board that he was confident in hedging his bets on the young group of players coming through the United ranks. “Ferguson’s Fledglings,” as they were called, included Phil and Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and David Beckham.

While teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Newcastle United made strong moves in the transfer market to mount an attack on the titleholders, Ferguson turned inwards.

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With the addition of another Welsh youngster in Ryan Giggs, Ferguson’s Fledglings became the bedrock of United sides for years to come, and saw the club wrap up eight more premier league titles, two European championships, and eleven domestic cups. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes still feature effectively in the current United squad, nearly two decades later, a testament to the strength of Ferguson’s scouting philosophy.

Fergie's Fledglings- Keane, Giggs, Beckham, Gary Neville, Scholes, Phil Neville (front)

In 1999, after leading United in a memorable and successful treble campaign, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Ferguson for his contributions to the game of football. The last manger to receive such a title was coincidentally a previous United legend, Sir Matt Busby, who Ferguson effectively dethroned from his perch as the most successful manager in Manchester history. New adversaries have reared their heads in the form of Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal, the oil-saturated Chelsea FC under José Mourihno and Carlo Ancelotti, and even Roberto Mancini with cross-town rivals Manchester City. Some opponents have seen successes, but United have repeatedly returned to the top and maintained a strong grip over the competition with a constant influx of top tier transfers such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rio Ferdinand, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Although many of these players exited Old Trafford as quickly as they came, Ferguson continues to test the transfer market, continually working and molding the United squad into a dynamic team of parts and purpose, as opposed to the bells and whistles that often mislead lesser squads.

The Treble, 1999

Following the 1998/99 Treble, Manchester recaptured the premiership title in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, and the current 2011 season. Similarly, Ferguson has led Manchester to League Cup victories in 2006, 2009, and 2010, in addition to FA Cup wins in 2004 and the UEFA Champions League in 2008. With the exception of Arsenal’s marvelous undefeated squad of 2003/04 and Chelsea’s title challenges in 2004, 2005, and 2010, Manchester United has solidified itself as the undisputed powerhouse of English Football, and a force to be reckoned with in Europe. United now sits in the company of the historic greats of Europe such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United went from a struggling top tier team with a lost history of success, to the greatest English footballing side in history, having now surpassed Liverpool’s longstanding mark of 18 league titles. Under Ferguson, Manchester seem unlikely to relinquish their throne.

Managers today, often at the behest of upper management, make moves that make less sense and more copy to compensate for an inability to implement an effective system. With a constantly probing media and a fan base that demands quick, tangible results, many crumble under the pressure. At this point, one might say that his reputation eases his toil, but Ferguson has developed such a command over his own squad and public perceptions that he’s able to maintain a stubborn mastery of the game by using the same system he instated over twenty years ago. To Ferguson, it’s simply a case of not needing to fix something that isn’t broken; Ferguson simply replaces parts as he finds fit. The great American college basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It took me a while to figure out how to win, but once I did, it became very easy.” Such can be said of Sir Alex Ferguson and his United teams over the years.

The current United squad has been called one of the weakest teams with which Ferguson has won a title. To be honest, that’s as much a compliment as you can afford these days, as it observes the most relevant aspect of Ferguson’s genius. Cantona said it best when he said Ferguson was a good manager, but an even better psychologist. Ferguson’s locker room is a sacristy of managerial control, the envy of the footballing world. In light of the nature of Manchester’s early season form and struggles with an out- of-sorts Rooney and a knack for not finishing games, Manchester’s finish must be highly regarded. People today seem to forget the frighteningly stalwart start to the season, as impressive as their late season surge. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine Ferguson winning the title with any of the top four this season. That’s not to discredit Ancelotti, Mancini, and Wenger, but serve as a testament to the Ferguson dynamic. Ferguson’s 19^th title may not have been as glamorous as years past, but it will undoubtedly be crowned as his greatest title for precisely that reason.

New age, same result, 2009

The most devastating thought which stalks United fans is the consideration of life after Ferguson. There has been an air of confidence about the manager’s seat for far too long and the discomfort of that aspect of Manchester fandom is inevitable. He talked of retirement in 2002, 2005, and 2008, but more recently said he would manage at Old Trafford as long as health permits, which at age 69 means he’s on the clock. This week Ferguson actually came out and said that managing Manchester is vital to his own health and happiness, and that managing is what keeps him lively. For United fans, this is the best possible thing to hear, but the reality is that his departure at some point in the not too distant future is certain. Fans can only hope that Sir Alex leaves the club in good standing with a worthy caretaker.

Several names have been thrown around including Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, and David Moyes. A more appropriate replacement may have to come from within the organization itself. No matter how fantastic the successor is, there will be an uneasy period as no one could possibly recapture the power and grasp on the club that Ferguson’s tailored over the past quarter century. Promoting from within would grant the incoming manager more time to work, as a newcomer would be forced to show immediate results. And although results would be expected of anyone in the spot, choosing someone who has already won the hearts of United fans in the past such as Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Bryan Robson, or even Ryan Giggs, would assuage the pains of transition. The worst thing that the Manchester board could do, which I hope dearly they don’t, is to ignore Ferguson’s recommendations. The heir to the throne must surely need the blessing of the man himself. But we’ll revisit that sad day when it comes, and for now, relish in #19 and counting.

1. known today as Europa Cup [↩]