Alex Ferguson


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This is the reason why I think Fergie is the best manager of all time. He built 3 different teams that dominated, managers usually get a bit in the lime light but rarely if ever do they repeatedly do it by reinventing one team.
100% this.
The season after he left, it was pretty much the same team he won the league with. Either Moyes fucked it up so bad or SAF had them punching above their weight. Most of them players went on to do fuck all. It's amazing he won the title with them
 
100% this.
The season after he left, it was pretty much the same team he won the league with. Either Moyes fucked it up so bad or SAF had them punching above their weight. Most of them players went on to do fuck all. It's amazing he won the title with them
I thought the moyes appointment was stupid cos I never rated him as high as some plaudits did. But the planning of the whole thing was a disaster. Man Utd was the greatest job in the land... any manager worth his salt who wanted to carry that mantle for ten years should've been SAF's assistant for a number of reasons before a gradual handover was made. He should've taught him, showed him how to get through the bad times and how to emulate what he's done. The plan was stupid, the manager was overrated and thus they haven't won the prem since
 
Fergie's achievements with Aberdeen incredible and did hit lucky with the kids at United however managed to rebuild again and again. As has been said earlier Man Utd were already the biggest club in England however he did make them the dominant club also.
Clough however managed to cobble together a team of average players and turn them into double European Cup winners. An achievement which is unlikely ever to be matched.
I wouldnt say he hit lucky with the kids. The youth system ge put in place took years of building, it wasnt all a stroke of luck. He got to know their familes took an interest in the young kids lives. He had the balls to sell top stars and replace them with kids , thats not luck
 
I wouldnt say he hit lucky with the kids. The youth system ge put in place took years of building, it wasnt all a stroke of luck. He got to know their familes took an interest in the young kids lives. He had the balls to sell top stars and replace them with kids , thats not luck

What i meant, but admittedly failed to convey, was he got lucky with a crop of youngsters arriving with that much talent at the same time.

Obviously cultivating that luck and ensuring the potential talent is realized is a rare skill.
 
Eh?
Man Utd are the biggest club in England, they were when he took over and still are.
No they weren't. Liverpool had dominated English football for the previous 10 years when Fergie took over. Man Utd were a big club, but well behind Liverpool and hadn't won the title in 20 years

But clough managed clubs punching above their weight twice.
He did, but only for a short spell with each. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Cloughy, but he was Mourinho-like in his ability to achieve almost immediate
success at a club, but only for a short spell.
Derby - took over in 1967, got them promoted in 1968, won the league in 1972, resigned in 1974
Forest - took over in 1975, got them promoted in 1977, won the league in 1978, won the european cup in 1979 & 1980, then had a relatively fallow period from 1981-1993.

Cloughy was a genius, but he was a short-term improvement manager, not one who would build team after team that could compete. Of course, you could argue that Forest were punching way above their weight in 1978-1980 and the mid-table obscurity that they returned to in the 80s and 90s was more "their level"

Hard to compare Fergie with Cloughy as they were 2 very different managers.
 
What i meant, but admittedly failed to convey, was he got lucky with a crop of youngsters arriving with that much talent at the same time.

Obviously cultivating that luck and ensuring the potential talent is realized is a rare skill.
I disagree, he had these young players scouted, its not like they just turned up on his doorstep.
 
I disagree, he had these young players scouted, its not like they just turned up on his doorstep.

To have Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs & Nicky Butt on the doorstep, all at the same time, is luck. Indeed having Eric Harrison at the club when he arrived could also be regarded as a stroke of luck.

I can't argue that Fergie certainly cultivated his luck to the maximum though.
 
To have Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs & Nicky Butt on the doorstep, all at the same time, is luck. Indeed having Eric Harrison at the club when he arrived could also be regarded as a stroke of luck.

I can't argue that Fergie certainly cultivated his luck to the maximum though.
Its only luck if you didnt know about them
 
Don`t forget he won the Scottish league and cup with Aberdeen when Scottish football was totally dominated by Celtic and rangers and a European Cup Winners Cup too so his success as Man Utd wasn`t a one off.
 
I wouldnt say he hit lucky with the kids. The youth system ge put in place took years of building, it wasnt all a stroke of luck. He got to know their familes took an interest in the young kids lives. He had the balls to sell top stars and replace them with kids , thats not luck
Beckham says in his book how SAF would make the youth players watch a certain player (who plays their position) even years before they were near the first team
 
Won't see a better manager in my lifetime. Re-invented team more than once, and always seemed to be bringing young lads through. Phenomenal talent
 
No they weren't. Liverpool had dominated English football for the previous 10 years when Fergie took over. Man Utd were a big club, but well behind Liverpool and hadn't won the title in 20 years


He did, but only for a short spell with each. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Cloughy, but he was Mourinho-like in his ability to achieve almost immediate
success at a club, but only for a short spell.
Derby - took over in 1967, got them promoted in 1968, won the league in 1972, resigned in 1974
Forest - took over in 1975, got them promoted in 1977, won the league in 1978, won the european cup in 1979 & 1980, then had a relatively fallow period from 1981-1993.

Cloughy was a genius, but he was a short-term improvement manager, not one who would build team after team that could compete. Of course, you could argue that Forest were punching way above their weight in 1978-1980 and the mid-table obscurity that they returned to in the 80s and 90s was more "their level"

Hard to compare Fergie with Cloughy as they were 2 very different managers.

Yes they were. Utd were bigger than Liverpool then and still are. Bigger has nothing to do with success.

If Hartlepool were to tear up the leagues then win the pl for thirty consecutive years with crowds of 9,000 plus dozens of empty seats would that make them bigger than a Man Utd averaging 50,000+ while winning a few FA and League cups in Hartlepool shadow? No it wouldn’t.
 
100% this.
The season after he left, it was pretty much the same team he won the league with. Either Moyes fucked it up so bad or SAF had them punching above their weight. Most of them players went on to do fuck all. It's amazing he won the title with them
Fergusons best appointment, according to Man City, Liverpool and Leeds fans.
 
Bought the league ? Beckham, Scholes , Giggs, etc all came through their youth set up did they not ?

He bought his first few titles.

Schmeichel, Bought. Danish international of 4yrs and Brøndbys best player.
Irwin, Bought. Irish international of 4yrs and Oldhams best player.
Parker, Bought. England international of 2yrs and QPRs best player.
Pallister, Bought. England international and Boros best player.
Bruce, Bought. Norwich’s captain.
Sharpe, Bought. Torquay’s best player. Then record fee for a YTS player.
Kanchelskis, Bought. Soviet Union 8nternational and Shakhtar best player.
Paul Ince, Bought. WHUs best player.
Brian Mclair, Bought. Scottish international and arguably celtics best player.
Eric Cantona.....
Mike Phelan......
Dion Dublin......
Danny Wallace......
Mark Hughes........

Then once he’d won his first:
Roy Keane......

Fergie had a great record for bringing kids through but don’t let that cloud the fact he bought his first few league titles in a Blackburn, City, Chelsea style.
 
Just curious but where do people rank Matt Busby?

Ended a 41 year title drought, built the Busby Babes with Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor etc and won back to back league titles in 56 & 57, set for long term English domination.

Team gets completely wiped out in 58 with Munich air disaster, and then rebuilds a second team from scratch, this time with an older Charlton, Best and Law and wins two more league titles and a European cup!

Does make you wonder if half his team wasn't wiped out in 58 how many league titles he would've racked up, wouldn't be suprised if it was close to Fergie's 13.
 
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