Sir Alex Ferguson: The Best Manager in the World?
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most successful managers in the history of the Premier League. He has the second longest streak of any manager in the League and has the longest streak of all the current managers. His profile has too many accolades to list here but his success at his job has made Manchester United one of the best football clubs in the world. The interesting thing about the club is that under Ferguson, it consistently performs; it is always in the top five clubs every season and has not been relegated for the longest time. The secret to his success seems to be that he is just very good at what he does and there is a certain quality to him that makes his team work just that much harder for him. Manchester United will keep winning with this man at its helm.
Alex Furgeson was born in Glasgow in 1941. He started out as a player, playing for different clubs in his early career, among them Queens Park Rangers, but then he moved on to team management. This is where he found his calling and his first stint as a manager was in 1974 with the club East Stirlingshire where he instantly became known as being a disciplinarian. That same year he moved to a manger position at St. Mirren where he stayed until 1978. It was at this club that he developed his skills as a manager and players admired him for his tactical decision making and his no nonsense approach to the game. Even then he was tough yet fair on his players and this endearing quality has stayed with him throughout his career.
He moved onto managing Aberdeen in 1978 where he got a taste of his first disappointment at managing. He was not that much older than some of the players and he had trouble winning their respect. The season did not go well for him but he then changed his tactics and found success at last. After a lot of wins at Aberdeen which saw them lift the Scottish Cup, he was offered the manager’s job at Manchester United. This is where his real success story starts.
Sir Alex joined the top position at Man U in 1986 when the club was in very poor shape. They were 21st in the League when he joined them and the club’s morale was in tatters. The player’s fitness levels were very shoddy and they were a very undisciplined bunch. With Sir Alex entering Manchester United, he turned around the club’s fortunes and worked hard on the player’s fitness and discipline. With the discipline fixed and their fitness improving, the club climbed up the rankings to 11th place to end the season at a much better position than when they started. A lot of people had their doubts about the new manager’s ability to lead the team to victory because the previous manager could not achieve a title win. He went on to major successes in the next few years and won the FA Cup title in the 1993-1994. The signing of Frenchman Eric Cantona, who led the league in goals, helped the club to its success that year.
Over the years his record has been unbelievably good and he has been in charge of Manchester United for 700 games. The manager’s success and legacy at Man U seems to be the way he deals with his players. He has a habit of not viewing any player bigger than the club and takes a very hard line with the discipline of his players. This harsh disciplinary style that he takes with all his players is seen as the major factor in his triumph at managing and many have said that his ability to control and keep in line players who have millions in the bank and a tendency to go off the rails from time to time is his major strength as a manager. He has been so good over the years that he was knighted for his services to the game in 1999.
There looks to be no let up in the victories that Manchester United are achieving at the moment and with this man controlling the club it looks like things will continue to go in favour of the Reds. When he eventually retires we will have to see if the club can continue with the same degree of success or will they crumble and fail. If the job goes to an assistant manager who has been trained by Sir Alex, the club will be alright in the future.
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