Gigantic Purple Slug Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22447018 I remember a Spurs fan saying to me that he wasn't among the greats because he didn't win back to back European cups like Brian Clough ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I wonder how my triple accumulator is doing for 2013. 1. The Pope abdicates. 2. Ferguson abdicates. 3. The Queen does the hokey cokey at the state opening of Parliament (Can't believe how excited the BBC is about all this yawn, yawn, yawn Westminster village stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live Peasant Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I wonder how my triple accumulator is doing for 2013. 1. The Pope abdicates. 2. Ferguson abdicates. 3. The Queen does the hokey cokey at the state opening of Parliament (Can't believe how excited the BBC is about all this yawn, yawn, yawn Westminster village stuff). Thatcher dies, Fergie retires. Somewhere, there's a Scouser with a lamp and a wish remaining... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEATH Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I am a Liverpool fan and I am glad he is going. I guess that is a compliment to him! What next then, do they get shut of Rooney and bring Moyes in? They'd end up arguing if they were both there. Moyes no experience at the very top level so maybe Mourinho, but he'd probably go after 3 years. Maybe Moyes worth a gamble as a long term replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I don't understand this at all, unless there is some health or other issue that we are not privy to. I had presumed he would carry on until he was pretty much unable to carry on. Still, next season should be interesting now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I don't understand this at all, unless there is some health or other issue that we are not privy to. I had presumed he would carry on until he was pretty much unable to carry on. Still, next season should be interesting now! Best to get out when your are on top. Clough probably blemished his record by hanging in there too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEATH Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Thatcher dies, Fergie retires. Somewhere, there's a Scouser with a lamp and a wish remaining... Trying to decide whether to bring Shankly or the Beatles back from the dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22447018 I remember a Spurs fan saying to me that he wasn't among the greats because he didn't win back to back European cups like Brian Clough ! I think he's been a very lucky manager in the right place at the right time, in charge of the wealthiest club just as the premier league takes off, able to outspend everybody else for 10 years until Abramovic turned up and to top it all he was gifted the best midfield in Europe by his youth team. Tactically suspect, frequent and expensive recruitment mistakes, if he were in charge of any other club he'd most likely have spent the last 15 years making guest appearances on Sky Sports as a pundit. That said, you can't argue with the silverware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilf Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I think he's been a very lucky manager in the right place at the right time, in charge of the wealthiest club just as the premier league takes off, able to outspend everybody else for 10 years until Abramovic turned up and to top it all he was gifted the best midfield in Europe by his youth team. Tactically suspect, frequent and expensive recruitment mistakes, if he were in charge of any other club he'd most likely have spent the last 15 years making guest appearances on Sky Sports as a pundit. That said, you can't argue with the silverware. He is an excellent manager, but what you say pretty much sums it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Uttley Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 and to top it all he was gifted the best midfield in Europe by his youth team. Gifted? Hardly. Fergie was instrumental in developing the youth team. The likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, the Nevilles and Butt weren't even in their teens when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford. It's one thing having such potential in your youth team, but it takes skill to integrate them into the first team. In 1995 Fergie dumped Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis and brought in the youngsters (only Giggs was a recognised first team player then) and was criticised by fans and the press alike. Remember Hansen's "You'll never win anything with kids...." Man Utd went on to win their first domestic double that season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 I think he's been a very lucky manager in the right place at the right time, in charge of the wealthiest club just as the premier league takes off, able to outspend everybody else for 10 years until Abramovic turned up and to top it all he was gifted the best midfield in Europe by his youth team. Tactically suspect, frequent and expensive recruitment mistakes, if he were in charge of any other club he'd most likely have spent the last 15 years making guest appearances on Sky Sports as a pundit. That said, you can't argue with the silverware. A bit harsh I think. Signing players is always a bit of a gamble. You never know how they are going to turn out. Over that sort of career length there are going to be some errors, as well as some fantastic deals. Veron may have been a mistake, but how about Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo ? It seems to me like Ferguson has both bought players in and brought players through from the academy. His financial record may not be as penny pinching as Wengers, but then as you say, look at the silverware. Also look at what he did at Aberdeen without the financial backing that United had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starla Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Best to get out when your are on top. Clough probably blemished his record by hanging in there too long. He should have bowed out when Forest lost to Spurs in the FA Cup Final. Instead he hung in there and went slowly bonkers, then sold Sheringham right on the brink of relegation. The equivalent of Ferguson staying on to watch Man U slide to the bottom of the table, sell Van Persie for good measure and then do a lap of honour when Man U crash out of the Premiership. Sounds unlikely, but that's what Cloughie did, so with all the pressure I think Fergie is right to go out at the top. At least Cloughie had bags of charactar to semi get away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Gifted? Hardly. Fergie was instrumental in developing the youth team. The likes of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, the Nevilles and Butt weren't even in their teens when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford. It's one thing having such potential in your youth team, but it takes skill to integrate them into the first team. I don't think he's had even one player of that class out of his youth team since 1995 so for me it's still an extraordinary slice of luck to get 3 world class players from your youth team within the space of a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 He should have bowed out when Forest lost to Spurs in the FA Cup Final. Instead he hung in there and went slowly bonkers, then sold Sheringham right on the brink of relegation. The equivalent of Ferguson staying on to watch Man U slide to the bottom of the table, sell Van Persie for good measure and then do a lap of honour when Man U crash out of the Premiership. Sounds unlikely, but that's what Cloughie did, so with all the pressure I think Fergie is right to go out at the top. At least Cloughie had bags of charactar to semi get away with it. I suppose it was almost understandable letting a small team get relegated. And unlike Ferguson he managed to get the championship twice and the European cup twice with minnows in Derby and Forest. Only other manager to get a minnow to the top was Robson with Ipswich in the 1960s (unless you include MacKay on the back of Clough getting Derby there for a second time or Blackburn with tens of millions to play with). Guess Clough may not have been so successful with a top club though, as his experience at Leeds would suggest. The bonkers bit came in when he decided to start a fight with a Forest pitch invader who was celebrating a win after the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Uttley Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 . Veron may have been a mistake, but how about Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo ? .Schmeichel £505,000! Veron is often cited as Ferguson's worst signing. He wasn't a bad player, he just wasn't the player that United thought they were buying. They off loaded him to Chelsea for £15M. By the way, before Abramovich Utd were frequently outspent by Jack Walker at Blackburn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 . Schmeichel £505,000! Veron is often cited as Ferguson's worst signing. He wasn't a bad player, he just wasn't the player that United thought they were buying. They off loaded him to Chelsea for £15M. By the way, before Abramovich Utd were frequently outspent by Jack Walker at Blackburn. The test of a good manager is when you can get to the top with rubbish. A feat Clough managed with his signings in the late sixties that avoided Derby relegation to the old division 3. Queue forward three years to 71/2 and he wins the league with a forward line of Hector, O'Hare and an ageing Hinton and Mc Govern as his star midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 A bit harsh I think. Signing players is always a bit of a gamble. You never know how they are going to turn out. Over that sort of career length there are going to be some errors, as well as some fantastic deals. Veron may have been a mistake, but how about Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo? Cantona was a major slice of luck, star player for Leeds the season before, available for a knockdown fee supposedly because he'd been screwing one of the players/coaches wives. Beckham came out of the youth team. Ronaldo cost £12m in 2003 but fair enough he worked out. How's about: Bebe: £7mil and never anywhere near the first team. Forlan: £7mil, to be fair he was actually a damned good player, it's just that the club had no need for him at the time. Eric Djemba-Djemba: remember him? Me neither. Pretty much every goalkeeper he's ever signed (with the obvious exception). Also some of his big money signings, although they've generally worked out, look pricey and less than good value for money: Ferdinand: paid top money to a disintergrating Leeds United, could've probably got him at half price six months later. Rooney: top money again, has he really improved as a player? Van Persie: £24mil for a 29 year old plus £150,000 p/w looks like a risk to me. Good first season but time isn't on his side, it'll be interesting to see how well he performs next year, i'd say there's a fair to middling chance that he'll end up costing the club £50+mil for one good season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Uttley Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 The test of a good manager is when you can get to the top with rubbish. Like Aberdeen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Like Aberdeen? He did wonders with Aberdeen and Man Utd were a rubbish no-where club when he took them over - I think they had not won the league in almost 20 years? He is a heck of a manager and I suspect he has already lined up Mourinho (spelling) to take over from him. He seems to think ahead in years and not just in games. OK, the hip thing might have hurried along his retirement but I suspect he has been lining up Jose for a few years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Cantona was a major slice of luck, star player for Leeds the season before, available for a knockdown fee supposedly because he'd been screwing one of the players/coaches wives. Beckham came out of the youth team. Ronaldo cost £12m in 2003 but fair enough he worked out. How's about: Bebe: £7mil and never anywhere near the first team. Forlan: £7mil, to be fair he was actually a damned good player, it's just that the club had no need for him at the time. Eric Djemba-Djemba: remember him? Me neither. Pretty much every goalkeeper he's ever signed (with the obvious exception). Also some of his big money signings, although they've generally worked out, look pricey and less than good value for money: Ferdinand: paid top money to a disintergrating Leeds United, could've probably got him at half price six months later. Rooney: top money again, has he really improved as a player? Van Persie: £24mil for a 29 year old plus £150,000 p/w looks like a risk to me. Good first season but time isn't on his side, it'll be interesting to see how well he performs next year, i'd say there's a fair to middling chance that he'll end up costing the club £50+mil for one good season. I guess it depends how you regard it. You can regard everything as luck if you want to go down that route. For everything you point out there is a counter example. The profit that was made on the ronaldo transfer probably alone wiped out most of the mistakes. Luck, or having the vision/skill to identify the top player in the world at an early time in his career. You decide. Fergusons record speaks for itself. He has bought in quality players. Bought in players from the youth team. Bought in players that some people may have thought would be difficult to manage and got results out of them. Disposed of players that he has felt threatened the team, and yes, made a fair few mistakes along the way. And in the process won so many prizes people have lost count. Reminds me of the old Gary Player quote regarding luck really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosh Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 He did wonders with Aberdeen and Man Utd were a rubbish no-where club when he took them over - I think they had not won the league in almost 20 years? He is a heck of a manager and I suspect he has already lined up Mourinho (spelling) to take over from him. He seems to think ahead in years and not just in games. OK, the hip thing might have hurried along his retirement but I suspect he has been lining up Jose for a few years now. If Jose does fill the gap at Old Trafford he will lose his saintly position held by so many of my fellow Chelsea Supporters. They will see this as a massive **** teasing kick in the teeth. Fergie is a great manager. He has won the league with ordinary teams in years gone by. He has also created some wonderful footballing sides. I have respect for Fergie and Manchester United as a club. I think David Moyes is a good fit. He has proved to be a good manager on little money. He is loyal and if Man Utd are looking for more long term stability then Moyes is the right man. Plus he is Scottish and the players understand the accent.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Like Aberdeen? The bar is pretty low in the Scottish Premiership as Kilmarnock proved in 1964-5. Tbf he did break a Celtic/Rangers stranglehold which had set in from the 70s. Prior to that the likes of Hearts of Midlothian and Dundee had also competed and been successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 If Jose does fill the gap at Old Trafford he will lose his saintly position held by so many of my fellow Chelsea Supporters. They will see this as a massive **** teasing kick in the teeth. Fergie is a great manager. He has won the league with ordinary teams in years gone by. He has also created some wonderful footballing sides. I have respect for Fergie and Manchester United as a club. I think David Moyes is a good fit. He has proved to be a good manager on little money. He is loyal and if Man Utd are looking for more long term stability then Moyes is the right man. Plus he is Scottish and the players understand the accent.... I don't follow football so I only am guessing now - but didn't Jose get kicked out of Chelsea? Wouldn't it be a wonderful revenge to lead everyone in Chelsea, especially that Russian guy, up the garden path... and then at the last minute take over Man Utd? Alex and Jose seem very good friends indeed - don't they drink wine together after matches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I don't follow football so I only am guessing now - but didn't Jose get kicked out of Chelsea? Wouldn't it be a wonderful revenge to lead everyone in Chelsea, especially that Russian guy, up the garden path... and then at the last minute take over Man Utd? Alex and Jose seem very good friends indeed - don't they drink wine together after matches? I'm guessing he wont take it. He is fond of London , possibly identifies himself with the rich elite, and maybe Manchester wont have the same appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosh Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I don't follow football so I only am guessing now - but didn't Jose get kicked out of Chelsea? Wouldn't it be a wonderful revenge to lead everyone in Chelsea, especially that Russian guy, up the garden path... and then at the last minute take over Man Utd? Alex and Jose seem very good friends indeed - don't they drink wine together after matches? Yes and No... I think a deal with either Utd or Chelsea is already done. I am grateful to Jose for what he achieved when he first came to the bridge. I am on the fence as to if I want him to come back though. Many Chelsea fans see him as our saviour and hate Benitez so much that he would seem the only tonic to take away the bad taste left by Rafas appointment. I was one of the few in blue who found watching football under JM a bit tedious at times. I also found the media circus that followed him before, during and after every game frustrating. I would accept JM as new boss but would also be delighted if we ended up with David Moyes. Knowing the way my club is run, don`t be surprised if Dean Saunders ended up in the hot seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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