Tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United fans love him. Everyone else especially Liverpool fans usually loathe him. But everyone respects Sir Alex Ferguson and what he has achieved in the game. And most people wouldn't dispute that he is the greatest football manager ever known, and probably even the greatest manager of a sports team ever.




25 years is a long time and it was a long time ago when Manchester United were a club struggling to reclaim former glories. Since the last triumph in 1967, the Red Devils had been relegated to the Second Division and then seen their bitter rivals, Liverpool win honour after honour at home and abroad while they languished in mid-table. Old Trafford was still one of the great arenas of the sport but despite the many stars that had come to play for them, the great stadium hadn't seen a team able to consistently challenge for honours.

Ron Atkinson and his then-record signing, Bryan Robson, got them close in the early 80s with wins in the FA Cup. But with the club facing relegation in 1986, Atkinson was dismissed.


Up stepped Fergie.

Ferguson had guided Aberdeen to European Cup Winner's Cup in 1983 and managed Scotland at the 1986 World Cup after the sudden passing of legendary manager, Jock Stein. He had job offers from the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur but eventually took the Manchester United job following the dismissal of Ron Atkinson.

Fergie guided United to 11th and instilled discipline amongst the likes of Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson. Manchester United continued to improve under Ferguson with the likes of Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes and Paul Ince signed for large sums.

Yet, they were still off the pace of their Merseyside rivals and lacked the consistency to push for the title; they still flirted with regulation as the 1980s drew to a close.

In 1992, the Premier League replaced the English First Division as the top league in England but Manchester United still lacked one final part in their quest to end their long title drought.

In came Cantona.

The enigmatic Frenchman was signed from Leeds United. Combining with Mark Hughes, Manchester United climbed up the table and eventually ended the long title drought by 10 points ahead of Aston Villa.

It was like a light switch had been flicked on.

The 1990s belonged firmly to Manchester United. They established themselves as England's no. 1 club and eventually one of the strongest clubs in Europe. At the same time, their success made them the world's most famous and followed football club.

It didn't matter that the likes of Cantona, Bruce, Pallister & Robson would be phased out and replaced by the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Neville brothers - those kids Mark Lawrenson claimed couldn't win the title in their first season. It didn't matter that those "kids" would be replaced by the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, etc. It also didn't matter that stars like Andy Cole, Yorke, Stam, Van Nistelrooy, Veron would also come and go.

United still kept winning consistently at home and even more so in Europe.

There were seasons when United weren't champions - 1994/95, 1997/98, 2001/02, 2009/10 when the likes of Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea interrupted United's championship runs. There was a barren period between 2003 and 2007 when Manchester United were definitely second best. The media speculated that Ferguson's time had come up then.

But to Ferguson's credit, he kept building teams with a mixture of established and upcoming stars, pulling them down when they weren't winning enough and then rebuilding them to achieve success for at least 2 seasons.

As a result, Manchester United are now statistically the most successful club in England with the most league titles, along with the most FA Cup titles. Europe is probably Ferguson's last frontier and conquering that great team called Barcelona led by one of the greatest players ever known, Lionel Messi, in a European Cup Final is now Ferguson's aim after firmly establishing themselves as champions of England.

Meanwhile, Old Trafford's North Stand was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand prior to Manchester United's league game at home to Sunderland. A fitting and thoroughly deserved tribute for Manchester United's greatest manager - even the late Sir Matt Busby would not dispute that fact. If there was one manager who deserved his name to be immortalised in some form, Ferguson would be the first name out of the blocks - a very rare accolade for a manager in any sport.

For non-Manchester United fans, the day Ferguson finally hangs up the boots will probably be a day to savour in some form; but I'd still imagine there would be plenty of tears shed for a truly glorious era and he would be dearly missed. Thankfully for United fans - and most football lovers - Ferguson seems set to carry on as long as his health allows him to.

Ferguson is a man who lives on seeing his "own" protege - football team or even horse of which he is keen on too - achieve success on the field. Success is his lifeline - he is so desperate for it that he oftens go overboard with referees and the media to achieve it. Even in his 70s, his hunger for success dwarfs that of his younger colleagues.

So here's to Sir Alex Ferguson. A true legend of the sport.      

Fergie's Greatest XI?
GK - Peter Schmeichel
DF - Denis Irwin, Steve Bruce, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville
MF - Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo
FW - Eric Cantona, Wayne Rooney