Sir Alex Ferguson - Twenty-Five Years On...

[SckizoBoy]

Huh... surprised no-one bothered with this... but oh well...

Don't expect a great response, the Escapist clearly doesn't have that many footie fans, but here goes:

So, SAF has been at Old Trafford for 25 years. He's won more trophies than any manager in the English league regardless of era and done so with at least four or five distinctly different teams. Therefore, your thoughts on the Glaswegian who took over at Man U on 6th Nov 1986. He's taken the club pretty far considering their first result was a league cup loss to Oxford United.

Oh, and predictions on when he'll hang it up and just how far Man U will tank in the season after he retires.

... FFC fan here incidentally (not the best weekend for us...).

 

[SeeIn2D]

Huh... surprised no-one bothered with this... but oh well...

Don't expect a great response, the Escapist clearly doesn't have that many footie fans, but here goes:

So, SAF has been at Old Trafford for 25 years. He's won more trophies than any manager in the English league regardless of era and done so with at least four or five distinctly different teams. Therefore, your thoughts on the Glaswegian who took over at Man U on 6th Nov 1986. He's taken the club pretty far considering their first result was a league cup loss to Oxford United.

Oh, and predictions on when he'll hang it up and just how far Man U will tank in the season after he retires.

... FFC fan here incidentally (not the best weekend for us...).

I think he'll hang it up once he literally get's too old to keep up with all the travel and such, or if/when the team just has a downturn. I can't say when either of these things will happen but I know he isn't going to retire just because he get's tired of it. At this point there's no getting tired of it IMO.

 

[Giest4life]

All kinds of respect to Sir Alex Ferguson for his commitment to the club, just wish his players would share the same kind of commitment to their spouses (zing!). I think this season, or the one after, might just be his end.

 

[The Unknown Stuntman]

yeah its easy to win things when no loss is ever your fault or your teams. Yes he has won more than any other british manager but for every 2 good signing he has made he made a bad one as well, now we have people complaining that chelsea and man city buying the league when the truth is that man utd have been doin it for yrs

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

(Slight bias here being a Man U fan) I think he's an absolutely spectacular manager, who has really done a lot for the club to bolster it's reputation to what it's become today; 12 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 Champions League victories really do speak for themselves. Not to mention all of the great talent he's brought in over the years or developed from the youth teams, most notably the likes of legends such as Giggs, Scholes and Beckham. As for when he's going to retire, he said he was going to have his last season 10 years ago...


...So basically that seems to be the situation, there's honestly a part of me that thinks he'll keep on going til he's dead. Or maybe 3-4 years from now he'll have had enough. Having gone on as long as he has, really is quite a feat in itself. Yeah he's also very stubborn, having basically left people like Stam, Keane and Beckham out to dry for trying to (or from his perception anyway) challange his authority, but I can't argue with the results. I think the season after he retires it'll be a rough one, but I'd still bank on us finishing in the top 3, we've got (or usually do depending on injuries) too good a squad to achieve anything less even with him gone.

 

[SckizoBoy]

(Slight bias here being a Man U fan) I think he's an absolutely spectacular manager, who has really done a lot for the club to bolster it's reputation to what it's become today; 12 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 Champions League victories really do speak for themselves. Not to mention all of the great talent he's brought in over the years or developed from the youth teams, most notably the likes of legends such as Giggs, Scholes and Beckham.

*initiating football nerdgasm routine...
*invoke memory of 1998-1999
*Villa Park FA semi-final
*Nou Camp 93rd min replays

LOL

yeah its easy to win things when no loss is ever your fault or your teams. Yes he has won more than any other british manager but for every 2 good signing he has made he made a bad one as well, now we have people complaining that chelsea and man city buying the league when the truth is that man utd have been doin it for yrs

See, where this argument can fall a little flat is that while that is true for all teams, they win now with loads of money spent on players, it was never really about what SAF won 'now', it was what he won in three or four seasons' time. Chelsea tried (and basically failed) as they got three titles in six seasons with what was essentially the same team and while they're still competing now, they're a shadow of what they were in 2004. (Note, I just like to hate Chelsea!) And it's also how the club does when they're not winning. Man U's never been out of the top 3 of the PL in all of its 20 years, that's not something that a single manager with several decidedly different teams can do with money alone.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Oh, and predictions on when he'll hang it up and just how far Man U will tank in the season after he retires.

The only way Fergie will leave Old Trafford is carried in a box, even then he'll probably get buried under his stand or the centre spot.

As for United's fortunes without him, I think they will be fine. Ferguson's strength (and the reason they'll be fine without him) is that he has always picked up staff and players young then promoted from within.
Man U is always fielding players who have come up through their junior programs, the whole team and (corporate) strategy is centred on it and it's hugely efective as Man U always has a large number of players either coming up or to sell to other clubs. If Fergie were to quit tomorrow there are plenty of people who've been working at Man U long enough to simply continue his strategy.

The only other club that seems to take such a long term approach is Arsenal with Mr Wenger (funnily enough, since the Premier League started Arsenal are the second most successful team in it's history). Ok they haven't won as much as Fergie's lot but Arsenal are so consistently there or there abouts too you would think all the other clubs would be abandoning the short term hiring and firing of staff, players and managers.

But apparently not.

 

[Zantos]

I reckon he's got some sort of bet on with Wenger on who'll retire first. Neither of those guys want to lose that bet. I bet it involved delicious cookies, or a really good curry.

 

[Pjotr84]

Nothing but respect for the man. He's done an awesome job in Manchester and he so didn't deserve that thumping against City.

Also, I think you'd be surprised how many football fans there are here.

 

[The Unknown Stuntman]

Fix the spade u say they always promote from within but only Giggs in the current team has come up through the ranks every other player has been bought

 

[The Unknown Stuntman]

fix the spade u say that they promote from within but only giggs in the current team has come up through the ranks every1 else has been bought

 

[The Unknown Stuntman]

sorry about the double post laptop playing up

 

[Fooz]

Ferguson is an absolute legend, I just hope Man U can keep up their amazing form when he eventually retires, but I think he a has at least 2 more seasons in him

 

[fenrizz]

Not a huge fan of Man Utd (Bayern Munich fan I am), but I've got to hand it to Ferguson.
What a fantastic manager, he deserves all the praise he gets.
25 fantastic years, with success that other managers can only dream of.

Though I do wonder what will become of Man Utd after he retires.
But that is for another day, today I'll just say this:

Congratulations Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, well done!