Sir Alexander Chapman 'Alex' Ferguson born 31st December 1941 was appointed manager of Manchester United, led them for the first time on the 8th day of November 1986 and remained at the helm till 2013. In those 26 years with Manchester United, he won an unprecedented 38 trophies, which included 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions League titles amongst a host of other trophies but his magnificent trophy haul does not even start to do him justice.
It was not smooth sailing, fair to say United were in dark times, rooted in the bottom three and in all sorts of problems. Over the course of the season results and performances improved and Manchester United eventually finished in a respectable 11th place. The next season he made a few signings and his team was beginning to take shape. Manchester United finished in 2nd place behind Liverpool. The next 2 seasons were low points with United finishing Mid-table and just outside the relegation zone respectively. There were calls for him to be sacked and Sir Alex Ferguson later described it as the darkest period he had ever suffered in the game.
In the years that followed, League titles, FA Cups, the Champions League etc were all amassed. Sir Alex Ferguson had successfully reorganized the club's coaching and scouting system from top to bottom. Arguably the high point of his Manchester United career came in the treble triumph of the 1998/1999 season. The manner in which it was attained was what made it all the more pleasing, the players never gave in and history was made. He would later go on to be knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to the game. But beyond the obvious allure of trophies won, what made Sir Alex Ferguson's reign standout was the professionalism instilled, mentality of the collective over the individual and the ultimate never say die attitude. The youth academy and scouting system were such a great success under him and who can forget the great class of 92.
He just had the knack of transforming 'Good' into 'Great'. To fully appreciate his impact, one only has to look to the state of things at Old Trafford since he retired in 2013. Since then we have gone from David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Ryan Giggs somewhere in between as interim coach and now Jose Mourinho. Fair to say they have all relatively struggled to fill the void, but then again who wouldn't. To put the struggles in perspective, Manchester United never finished outside the top 3 in his 21 seasons in charge (Premier League was founded in 1992), since his departure United have not risen above a 4th place finish.
He really was consistency and longevity personified. The greatest manager Manchester United ever had and undoubtedly an all time great of this sport. Legend!
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| United could do with 'Fergie Time' nw! |
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