Alex Ferguson’s Retirement from Manchester United: So when’s the due date?
You are right. Anybody writing that this is going to happen anytime soon is only wasting some precious space. Sir Alex Ferguson is not going to step down as manager at Manchester United until the very perfect moment arrives. And the only person judging this criterion will only be himself.
One thing is for sure: Sir Alex would never leave the club when it is struggling in terms of competitiveness among the other league rivals. He would not like to be remembered as the one who bowed out of his duties at a crucial stage like the current one the club is passing through. Keeping this in view, Manchester United supporters can stay at ease for at least another two seasons.
There is a strong possibility that squad veterans Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Edwin Van der Sar will all be retiring at the end of the 2010-11 season, which will take the major chunk of experience out of the Manchester United squad. If this happens, then not only the Manchester United playing squad but the club as a whole will need Sir Alex to stay at the helm a little longer.
By the end of the 2011-12 season, Sir Alex will have completed his silver jubilee as manager of Manchester United (he joined the club in November 1986), and will enter in his 70s (which is the age mark he had set for retirement last year), which makes it the likely changeover period.
For the most decorated manager in the history of the English football, it will be very important to end his illustrious career on a high. Manchester United are currently levelled with the fierce rivals Liverpool on 18 league titles and it would be some achievement for Sir Alex to get one over for the Red Devils before calling it a day. Manchester United were trailing Liverpool with 11 titles when Sir Alex woke up the sleeping giant at the very start of the English Premier League era to draw level in only 17 years from then on. It would, however, be tricky for Sir Alex if he wins the 19th league title in the 2010-11 season and possibly a third Champions League in his reign, to keep going for another season just for the sake of the likely youthful squad of the club at that time.
The last but possibly the most important factor would be to hand over the club reigns in the safe hands of a mastermind. Manchester United owners The Glazer family (Malcolm Glazer) and Chief Executive David Gill have always stated that Sir Alex would be incharge of choosing his successor, so there is every possibility that he goes for a younger British manager instead of looking abroad.
David Moyes and Martin O'Neill have proved themselves to be worthy contenders for replacing Sir Alex and taking charge of the club. Mark Hughes was also considered to be in the running for this position, but his recent allegiance with local rivals Manchester City has somewhat made him inappropriate for the post.
One name that has circulated in the press recently is Jose Mourinho. He has achieved marvellous success in a relatively short career. His treble winning last season with Inter Milan has only made him an offer too good to turn down for replacing Sir Alex. Manchester United faithfuls may even forgive for his spell at Chelsea, which saw United losing two successive titles to The Blues, as they know the manager and self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ would only bring success to the club.
This is turning out to be one of the best kept secrets in the history of the sport, as Sir Alex is keeping everyone guessing on his intentions. He had once announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2001-02 season, which badly affected the team performance before he made a dramatic U-turn (in February 2002, he decided to stay on for another 3 years ‘at minimum’). Therefore, Sir Alex Ferguson, in all probability, will not be issuing any prior notices until the real moment arrives.
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