It's his Silver Jubilee, and Sir Alex Ferguson of Scotland will probably go down as one of the, if not the greatest manager to ever grace the game. On the 6th of November, it will be exactly 25 years since Sir Alex was appointed manager of what has now become the leading club in the UK. It will take a momentous effort to come anywhere near what the Scotsman has achieved, and I can safely say that the chance of it being repeated is second to none.
Upon his appointment, United were at that time, second from bottom in the league, then consisting of 22 clubs, and the he managed to lead them to an 11th place finish. United's first league title under Fergie came in the first season of the Premier League, the 92/93 season. Ironically, the previous season is the last time their main rivals, Liverpool, won a League title. Manchester United have won 12 since then, and have overtaken the Merseysiders as England's top dogs. Ironically, Liverpool were then managed by Kenny Dalglish, who went on to sit in the stands for 10 years or so, while his counterpart was still at it in Manchester. Added to the 12 League Titles, and you get a handful of FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 10 Community Shields, a couple of Champions League titles, (though a few runners-up medals), a Super Cup and a Cup Winners Cup each, and one Intercontinental Cup, alongside the sole FIFA Club World Cup United won in 08. A host of personal accolades followed and many out there know what he has achieved, so I will not waste more time on it.
The last quarter of a century, the world has witnessed the fall of the famous Soviet Union, the US being attacked in 01', the capture of Saddam Hussein, throw in the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and now Muammar Gaddafi and not forgetting the tragedy at New Orleans, the 2004 tsunami and a couple of other things which were significant enough to live a long lasting memory in most human beings. In the footballing world, the game witnessed the passing of one of the great managers of all time in Sir Bobby Robson, which was indeed a sad year for football as a whole. 6 World Cups has been played, and in that period, 'Fergie', as he is fondly known, has built 6 to 7 great teams in one club. Numerous United fans have tried naming 'Fergie's best 11', but there was hardly an identical choice among the supporters. That is a testament to his man-management skills, and his ability to spot players and rope them into the Theater of Dreams.
His teams have always had a trademark about them, going back to the days of the 'Cole & Yorke' partnership in the late 90's, before that the mercurial Frenchman in Eric Cantona, followed by the Golden Generation of Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, Keane and not forgetting the Nevilles. One of the things that have to be admired about Ferguson's teams is that they always play football the right way, though some may argue that there is no wrong way to play football, but there is no denying that fans would rather pay more to watch United in action than to pay chicken feet to get a ticket into the Britannia Stadium, no offense.
Another traits the great man has is his ability to pressurise his opposing managers and making them melt under the heat. Kevin Keegan comes to mind, and so do Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez. More often than not, he comes out on top, though I really miss the moments when he and the man in North London used to get it going, on and off the pitch.
That being said, whatever is written here or elsewhere will not be enough to sum up what Sir Alex has achieved over the years, and even he might not be able to put it into words. From an Arsenal fan's perspective, it will certainly be interesting to see what will happen when Fergie retires, and who takes over at the helm, because shoes will not be the only thing that will require filling. One thing is for certain, he will certainly have a hand in picking his successor, and I can only thing of one man who is capable of doing it, and his name needs no mentioning. But let Fergie enjoy his moment, and the whole of football just stand back and take into account what he has done for the game.
There will never be another Alex Ferguson, Sir, I would add.
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