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1986-90:
Dodgey beginnings
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Ferguson's
first job was to lift United away from the foot of the table after
Ron Atkinson
had
steered the club to trouble.This he accomplished, but problems
remained, United's reputation as a boozing club was not without
foundation and Alex tackled the situation head-on. In addition,
he revamped the youth team system, a decision that would repay a
hundred fold.He paid minute attention to every detail of club life,
first to arrive and last to leave was his attiude.
Mark Hughes
returned from Barcelona
Steve Bruce
,
Brian McClair
,
Gary Pallister
and
Paul Ince
arrived but United were adrift of champions Liverpool.
Though finishing an admirable second in 1988, 1989 brought dour
anti-climax as the reds finished 11th. The side was hard working,
methodical,and dull, while Fergie's cautious approach did not win
the fans over.There was doubt over whether Fergie had what it took
to be a United manager.
Popular
performers such as
Whiteside
,
McGrath
and
Gordon Strachan departed- but by January 1990 United were struggling
at the foot of the table and chants of 'Fergie Out' began to issue
from stands and terraces, especially after a 5-1 defeat to Man City.
Martin Edwards
always denies it, but Fergie's job was on a knife-edge and it all
came to a head in the 3rd Round FA Cup game away to Nottingham Forest.If
United lost Fergie would have been sacked, no question about it.
If the same situation had been in today's high pressure football
world Fergie would have gone long before then.However,luckily for
United, despite a disallowed Forest goal, Mark Robbins struck the
winner and United had a narrow 1-0 win. United went on to win the
FA Cup that season, playing every round away from home. Fergie had
now some breathing space with the fans and board alike.
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1990-93:
Two cups then the League
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He
then set about trying to end United's long wait for the League title,
however there was time for another European Cup Winners' Cup in
1991 with a great victory over Barcelona and the League Cup in 1992.
United began to play with the attacking flair the club was famous
for,
Ryan Giggs
and
Peter Schmeichel
arrived on the scene, yet Ferguson
still could'nt bring the title to Old Trafford. When it finally
seemed in their grasp after a successful run in 1992 which saw United
at the top of the table in mid-April,a late collapse handed it to
rivals Leeds United. Ferguson was criticised and many fans and pundits
thought United and Fergie would now never win the League after that
dreadful 2-0 Sunday defeat at Anfield.
Once
again they underestimated Alex Ferguson's powers and United soon
returned to form the start of the next season.The real turning
point came in November 1993 with the unplanned arrival of Leeds
hero
Eric Cantona
,
whom he signed after a chance inquiry, made when the Leeds chairman
telephoned on other business.That chance inquiry would shape English
football for 5 glorious years to come.The way the canny Scot capitalised
on that good fortune, realising that the brilliant French maverick
must be the centre of his team, was inspired. Adopting an approach
that, outwardly at least, was more relaxed, he finally secured
the prize for which Manchester United had pined so painfully.Surging
to the title over nearest rivals Aston Villa, and playing some
sublime football along the way, 26 years waiting ended on the
2nd May 1993 and United were the League Champions at last.
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1993-97:
The Double Double
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In
1993/94 Fergies red machine was all-conquering,stylish and unbeatable.
Future captain
Roy Keane
arrived at the start of the season from Nottingham Forest
for 3.5 million. By late autumn there was talk of an unprecedented
domestic treble as United swept all before them and looked head
and sholders above the rest. Fergie's seige mentality and public
criticism rained over a series of sendings-off and bookings threatened
to wreak the entire campaign as the League Cup Final was lost and
Blackburn reduced a 16-point lead to goal differnce.Yet, Fergie
regained his composure and United regained the League with 10 points
to spare and crushed Chelsea 4-0 to win the FA Cup, his first League
and FA Cup "Double".
1994/95
was anti-climactic, but did see the arrival of striker
Andy Cole
for £7 million.The title was conceded by one point and
the FA Cup Final by a single goal, though United would almost certainly
have won a second Double if Cantona had not been banned for attacking
an idiot 'fan' at Selhurst Park.Fergie handled the media storm brilliantly
and coaxed Eric to stay at United, showing his man management skills
at their best.
The
fans outcry surrounding the sales of Hughes, Ince and
Andrei Kanchelskis
in the summer of 1995 prompted more doubting of
Fergusons judgement but he dug in and replaced the departing stars
with boys from his youth team "Fergies Fledgelings" of
David Beckham
, the
Neville
Brothers ,
Scholes
,
Butt
and Giggs. After an 3-1 defeat on the opening day of 1995/96 and
Alan Hansen's "you'll win nothing with kids" United's glory years
looked finished. Eight months later his largely home grown side
had overhauled a 14 point Premiership lead by big-spending Keegan's
Newcastle with a superb run of victories between January and April
inspired by Cantona's brilliance. Then, having won the title, they
done the "Double Double" with a 1-0 FA Cup Final victory over Liverpool
seven days later.
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1997-2000:
The Treble and Kings of Europe
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Winning the League meant United were back in the European Cup, which
was becoming an obsession to Ferguson, like
Busby
before, to capture the "Holy Grail". 1996/97 brought a fourth Championship
in five seasons, comfortably won in the end, but United failed in
Europe at the semi-final stage to Borussia Dortmund. Eric Cantona
then shocked everyone by retiring and the following season United
never adequately replaced him.Eventually after a brilliant first
5 months, injuries meant the team ran out of steam, losing to Monaco
in the European Cup while Arsenal's late surge took the title to
Highbury.
Determined
to succeed, in 1998-99 Ferguson took a risk and spashed out a combined
£23 million on
Dwight Yorke
and
Japp Stam
. Playing a brilliant attacking, free-scoring style,
United swept all before them on the three fronts of League,FA Cup
and Europe.Ferguson's United had strength in depth like no other
team,with quality like
Solskjaer
,
Sheringham
,
Berg, Blomqvist sitting on the bench.In the league United took charge
after Christmas and set up a thrilling race to the finish with Arsenal
close behind.A superb run inthe FA Cup beating great rivals Liverpool,
Chelsea and Arsenal on the way put United in the FA Cup final.In
the European Cup Fergie's United, scoring goals everywhere beat
Inter Milan and Juventus to reach the final and set up an unprecented
"Treble".
United
clinched the first part of the treble by winning the League title
at Old Trafford on a final,nerve-wrecking day. A week later United
beat Newcastle 2-0 in the Cup final to complete an amazing third
"Double" in 5 years.Finally the one Ferguson most wanted ,the big
one, the European Cup.The final in Barcelona saw United take on
Bayern Munich.For most of the game United were 1-0 down,until the
90th minute when one of the greatest,if not
the
greatest
comebacks in sporting history saw them score two goals in injury
time to win 2-1.Fergies life-time ambition was achieved, he had
done something no British manger had ever done or will likely do
again, United were Champions of Europe at last, Champions of England
and FA Cup winners all in the one brilliant season. Alex Ferguson
soon became Sir Alex Ferguson, recieving a knighthood for his great
achievements in the Queens birthday honours list, a thoroughly well
deserved reward for his services to British football.
It was always going to be something of an anti-climax the following
season after the Treble year.The sheer number of games in the expanded
Champions League and the inaugral FIFA World Club Championship meant United could'nt defend the FA Cup.United had become the first British club to win the Intercontinental Cup winning 1-0 against Palmeiras in Tokyo but in the In the controversial Brazillian tournament United failed to get to the final. In Europe Real Madrid ended United's hold on the European Cup with a 3-2 defeat in the Quarter Finals however the new millenium saw United sweep away all domestic opposition to claim Ferguson's sixth Premier League title in a record breaking season. Scoring 97 goals and winning by a record margin of 18 points, no-one in England could touch United
as they played brilliant attacking football and scored goals by the truck load
in Ferguson's most emphatic championship win yet. Fergie himself won the Carling Manager of the Year award, the fifth time he has won the honour in the eight years of the Premiership.
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Why
is Fergie so succsessful?
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It
is hard to know exactly why Ferguson has been so successful,
but conclusions can be drawn from various aspects of his
personality.
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Personnal
Drive
|
Firstly,
Alex Ferguson hates losing, he is possessed with an almost
obsessive desire to win.The bitter taste of defeat only
fuels him to endeavor all the more to avoid it in future.Some
say he is a bad loser,ingracious in defeat ,but they don't
realise that this is why he he such a great manager.It shows
how much he wants to win, he always expects to win.Whenever
he has achieved a success he never rests, always looking
to the future for once the moment of victory has gone you
can't go experience it again, you must do it all again to
get back on that victory high.It is this drive and hunger
for success that keeps him at the top, and Ferguson acknowlegdes
that one day it will fade but he'll be long retired by then.
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Tactics/Stategy
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Ferguson
is a manager who while tactically brilliant is not afraid
to follow his instincts or take a gamble.His instincts wether
it be luck or some sort of intuition always seem to be right.
He seems to recognise that if you want to win things then
you need to take a chance, sometimes an unexpected risk
can swing things in your favour by off-throwing opponents.He
took risks buying Eric Cantona and Dwight Yorke,he often
dangerously manipulates his squad by resting key players.
He dismantled the Double winning side of 94, replacing them
with mostly youth players.Alan Hansen famously said "You'll
never win anything with kids" - how he was made to eat those
words.Many a time people have said "Fergie's lost his mind"
and yet he's proved them wrong time and time again, showing
his deeper insight and knowledge about football than the
rest of us.
In
both his upbringing and in the shipyards of the Clyde, Ferguson
was exposed to the Scottish Protestant work ethic of hard
graft and toil.He has instilled that same hard work ethic
into Manchester United.All members of his team have a high
work rate,even the Beckham's and Giggs' are made to earn
their money by backtracking to help out the defence,constantly
moving and slogging it out for 90 minutes.No team works
harder than Fergie's United.
Fergie
is one of the best tactical minds in the game.He has constructed
a United team that is very adaptable to all situations with
his favorite 4-4-2 formation.United were the first English
team in the 90s to use the lightning counter-attack as a
deliberate tactic, which Arsenal later copied.His best United
teams have been built on a solid defence, wingers on the
flanks and some sort of creative genius up front.When United
first played in the Champions League, Ferguson was having
to learn tactically how to play against European teams.In
1999, after four failed attempts he got it right.In the
end he always gets it right.
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Player
management/Psychology
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Alex
Ferguson is the greatest motivator in football.Player motivation
is a finely balanced art. Too much of it every day and eventually
and it can have no effect, or the constant pressure of it
can destroy players.Ferguson believes in using it every
so often at the optimum moments, when it has its most power.His
famous words of motivation during half-time in the European
Cup Final 1999 with United 1-0 down: "At the end of this
game, the European Cup will be only three feet away from
you and you'll not even able to touch it if we lose". He
undoubtedly honed his man-management skills in his early
pre-football management days as a shipyard shop steward.
He
will always get the best out of his players and demand
100%. His handling of United's young stars has also been
first class, protecting the likes of Giggs from frenzied
media attention. In both the Cantona "kung-fu kick" incident
and Beckham's 1998 World Cup ordeal, he stuck by his players
and supported them through the difficult times,which in
the end they repaid him with great comeback performances.
Alex Ferguson will never attack his players in public
or in the media, if they have underperformed or done something
stupid, he will leave his criticism to behind closed doors.
Fergie has also perfected the "seige mentality" at both
Aberdeen and United, telling his team the whole world
is against them and hates them. Its up to them to prove
all the United haters wrong and prove they are the best.Fergie
is the master of mind games, loving to wind up opposing
managers with subtle attacks and deception.Some like Wenger
can cope, others like Keegan and Dalglish, could'nt.
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Buying/bargins
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In
Ferguson's working class background there was economic hardship,
extravagant wasteful spending was avoided,and you can see
this in Fergie,even though United have a large transfer
budget he will often be reluctant to spend it unless its
absolutely neccessary. His most successful bargin buys must
be: Cantona,Schmeichel,Solskjaer,Johnsen, Irwin,Sharpe and
Kanchelskis. When he does spend big money he has always
bought wisely with players like Pallister, Keane,Cole, Yorke
and Stam.Perhaps it is no coincidence that he is the master
of the bargin buy and United's two greats of the 90's Cantona
and Schmeichel cost less than £2 million between them.
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Conclusion
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There
can be no doubt that Sir Alex Ferguson is a managerial genius,
a one man success machine who is a born winner.No matter
what this man had done in life, he'd have been a winner.In
modern football with its coaches and technical directors,
he is the last in a long line of the great managers like
Busby, Shankly ,Stein ,Clough,Paisley, Revie. Great personalities
who ruled the club and everydody knew it and they always
got what they wanted. Modern manager are slaves to the money
men, technocrats who do what they are told.Not Fergie, he
is the man at the helm of Old Trafford, the man that coordinates
this huge red machine.His personnal influence based on his
record and personality means he always gets his way.Martin
Edwards may talk of how good financial planning has made
United the richest club in the world, but everybody knows
that without Ferguson's six League titles, four FA Cups
and the European Cup, United would'nt even be half as rich
as they are now.
Sir
Fergie has said he will retire in 2 years from now, 2002.When
he does who can possibly follow in his footsteps? The
club's foundations are too strong for United to go the
way of post Busby years and the relegation of 1974, however
any future manger will be living in Ferguson's garguantuan
shadow with the fans huge expectations like a mountain
on his shoulders.Still, we have two more years of the
great Fergie era to go - enjoy it while you can because its like may never come again.The man who arrived in 1986 looking
up to Sir Matt Busby, today in 2000 has eclipsed even
his mighty achievements.When history looks back in 25
years time, Sir Alex Ferguson will be regarded as the
greatest ever manager of Manchester United. Up there with
the all-time immortals of the game, there will never be
another manager like him, that there can be absolutely
no doubt.
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