Kilimall

Friday, November 27, 2015

Sir Alex Ferguson

A four part series looking at some of the Best Managers in Football history. Is Alex Ferguson, Guardiola, Mourinho or Van Gaal my all time Favourite??
Sir Alex Ferguson
The most successful manager in the Premier League history and also in British Football. He started his career young,  32 years.
By the time he joined Manchester United in 1986 he had a well  proven track record. He had won the Scottish Premier League with Aberdeen, that's is 1980, 1984 and 1985. This was an achievement considering the Old Firm stronghold of the league in Scotland.

Ferguson Achievements in Scotland

Team
Title
Year
Aberdeen
SPL (3)
1980, 1984, 1985

SCOTTISH CUP (4), SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP(1)
1982, 1983,1984,1986,1986

UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP
1983

This achievement was unprecedented considering the team he was with. In winning the 1983 European Winners Cup he CV was greatly enhanced. The European cup didn't come on a canter, he had to beat Real Madrid of all teams in the final.


Manchester United
The early years were full of frustrations as the performance of Manchester United didn't match the fans expectations. This is the time Fergie first tried with a youthful team, the first of Fergie Fledglings. Success would eventually come starting in the early 90’s with the second Fergie Fledglings and dominance of the English Premier League. During these years, Ferguson had to rely on the Manchester United youth players,  the class of 92. This is what used to set him aside as compared to the other Managers. His ability to use home grown talent rather than buying established talent. This does not mean he didn't buy, notable players he bought included King Eric Cantona. Cantona revolutionized how Manchester United played and he is considered the man who brought Manchester United back to the map. Other notable signings include Andrew Cole, Dwight Yorke and Ruud Van Nistelrooy,  Peter Schmeichel.

As the game changed Ferguson had also to change. This started with the acquisition of Chelsea by Roman Abramovitch in 2003. This means Chelsea were buying more of the talent in the market. Ferguson experienced his first trophy drought from 2004 to 2006 winning only the FA cup during this season.
This means he had to change tactics snapping up Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon, Wayne Rooney from Everton. They were bought when still young and by the time they blossomed up in 2006-2007 Manchester United dominance had again started. This period is one of the most successful period in English football.
As well as winning the Premier League three times in a row, they won the champions league in 2008 and also lost to Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

Ferguson Achievements at Manchester United

Team
Title
Year
Manchester United
Premier League (13)
1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013

FA CUP(5)
1990,1994,1996,1999 and 2004

League Cup (4)
1992, 2006, 2009, 2010

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (2)
1999 and 2008

Is he the best Manager of all time? Next I will be looking at Pep Guardiola. 

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