Sir Alex is without much argument he greatest British manager ever and the dominance of Manchester United as the top British team and one of the biggest clubs in the world is in great part down to him. Ferguson will be 71 on the final day of this year and I wonder how much longer Manchester United will have Sir Alex as their manager. For a good few years it looked to me as if a kind of succession process was being put in place with the appointment of Carlos Queiroz but that policy is seemingly redundant at Old Trafford. When the great man finally does call it a day what will the short, mid and long term future of United be and who will be the next man for the job ? Will Alex ride off into the sunset or will he hang like a cloud over The Theatre of Dreams like the previous knight Sir Matt Busby. I think this will when it finally happens be one of the most facinating spectator sports that British football has ever seen. I would be interested to see what the CL collective has to say on the subject.
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There have been so many 'reports' of who will take over.... Giggs, Solskjær, at one point Keane and even Bruce. I personally think that Moyes has a big shout for the job, he's doing a great job at Everton on a tight budjet and always improves. Then there is the fact they are both Scots and seem to have a respect for each other. The dealings between the clubs always seem to go under the radar and appear to suit both clubs too, almost like they have an unwritten club connection.
I've spoken to a few Everton fans and up north they seem to think it will be the case too. Anyone agree?
*Obvioulsy when i say i would not like .. I would love to take over from him, get sacked within days as they realise my CV about winning the world cup was made up and that I did not have a clue and a huge pay off to keep me quiet about how gullible they were.
I reckon he still has a couple of years yet. There's no way he will want to go out as the second club in Manchester.
Would put Chapman & Clough above him.
I think Moyesy will be the next manager if they want to have someone in charge similar to Fergie.
Man's a phenomenen
Moyes to replace him.
Who are the likely candidates? Jose wants to get back into the Prem, but he's not someone who'll stick around so I'm not sure he's what they want. Steve Bruce was the main candidate a few years back, but I'm not sure he's on the radar now. Alan Curbishley - nah - he'd probably turn it down if offered. Seems like Moyes has got some support on here. Di Canio - I bet he'll apply! Chris Powell???
Man U will need a strong character and will want a youngish manager with experience of the Premier League and playing in Europe and have a track record of winning things.
Mourinho has made enemies wherever he's coached - the teams he manages love him, but his opponents rarely do, he never loses an opportunity to stir the pot and yet with Man U/Ferguson he has nothing but praise and compliments. I think he has his eye on the job...
The one proviso being that if he can do a Premiership / Champions League double he may decide to retire at the top.
He strikes me as a bloke that lives to work rather than works to live but I could be wrong.
It's why he's not taking any other roles for the moment.
1. breaking the stranglehold of the old firm with Aberdeen (albeit more achievable then than now due to finances)
2. succeeding in Europe with Aberdeen
3. restoring Man United to title winners
4. mainaining Man United in pole position for so long
Clough took a provincial side (Derby), made them league champions and then did well in Europe, roughly comparable to Ferguson at Aberdeen. Clough then takes Forest to league and European Cup success. This for me slightly edges Ferguson at United, although Ferguson has of course, longevity of success, this is aided by the size of United & spread of money in premier league / champions league.
Chapman made Huddersfield the dominant team and then went to Arsenal and did the same. Not only that, but at Arsenal, he helped create a club (like Busby & Shankly did at their clubs).
Clough is more debatable I accept but the argument would be that he took a natural second division club without massive resources to win the top tier championship and European Cup. Man Utd in Ferguson's time have had massive resources in comparison to the Forest of Clough's time.
David Moyes
Pep Guardiola
Jose Mourinho
It will be very interesting! He's the best manager ever on paper although he has under performed in Europe. A lot of managers will do a Billy Davis and try to avoid it. It will be impossible to replicate what he's achieved and you'll always be in his shadow. On the other hand, what a challenge!
Man U board would probably see him as better long term prospect that Mourinho.
Almost £300m.
It is testament to the managerial genius of Fergie that they are able to compete with the outrageous spending habits of City and Chelsea. No other manager would be on the same level of those clubs with such small funds.
What a genuis...
The genius is that he does bring players in on big bucks and gets match winning performances out of them.
Have a look at the money that Liverpool have torched their way through over the years in expensive signings that flopped - the latest being Andy Carroll.
In the time that he's been at Old Trafford he's built several successful sides. Most managers who are considered successful rarely manage to sell a lot of talent or see players retire etc and then build another successful team. He's repeated that trick several times now, it can't be a fluke and neither is it about signing the best players.
You would imagine Ferguson has the trust of most, if not everybody at Old Trafford, as Curbs would have had after so long in the top job. Man Utd is Ferguson's empire, everything is set up how he likes it, and when somebody takes his place it will upset 20+ years of tradition.
Iain Dowie never stood a chance, did he?