Fergie’s Managerial Graduates
In less than a month, new hymns will be sung in honour of Sir Alex’s 21 years in charge at Old Trafford.
It is an incredible achievement, given added impact by the likelihood that it will not be repeated. Ferguson will be feted for his successes, the great teams he has produced and the marvelllous players he has developed.
Also deserving of a mention are the numerous gifts Ferguson has given to the sport he loves. The former tool-maker and publican has been richly rewarded for his decision to make a go of professional football but he has been mighty generous too. What helps to make Ferguson incontestably the greatest manager produced by this island, is the number of players who he has nurtured and who have gone on to make their names as managers.
AbsolutelyUNITED looks at Fergie’s graduates and asks how much they learned from the noble legend and whether they have so far put that knowledge to good use?
Roy Keane: Sunderland
Of all of Fergie’s prodigies, Roy Keane, is tipped to have the greatest success. Backed by a hefty war chest from Irish investors, the Sunderland boss was top cat in the Championship last year and has guided the north east sleeping giant to 16th in the Premiership. Not great, Newcastle fans would chortle but with better established Premiership teams such as Spurs, Fulham andBolton all trailing in Sunderland’s wake, Keane would take 16th position next May.
Such is the value of the Keane stock in Sunderland, that he is unlikely to be shown the door even if Sunderland are dragged into a relegation dog fight. Keane shows up well on television, supervises a team with skills and heart and looks well placed to survive his first year in the Premiership, a feat that has proven too great for more experienced managers.
With the fan base and financial clout of Sunderland, Keane should then establish the club as a Premiership outfit before, as many expect, heeding a higher calling.
Steve Bruce: Birmingham
The next call Steve Bruce hears might be the one from the chairman giving him the bullet. Bruce’s team sit in 13 place in the league with a creditable draw against Liverpool already under its belt. Yet the former united centre half expects to be sacked when a Hong Kong consortium completes a take overof the Midlands club.
“It doesn’t look good at the moment,” he said. “I know where I stand, that’s for sure. I have got 19 months to run and I will just get on with it. I will see when the new people take over exactly what plans they have got but I don’t think at the moment there
is any talk of a further contract. I haven’t told anybody in the dressing-room. I found out from Mr Sullivan on Friday night that the vibes coming back from the Chinese were negative.”
Bruce’s future may not be at St Andrews but he will not struggle to find another job, having two promotion triumphs to his name.
Bruce has produced a team in his own image. It scuffles and competes and has grit and graft where others have more talent. Bruce took Birmingham down two years ago and was lucky to survive as the Blues boss. Promotion last year saved his neck and if given the chance, the jovial manager would still have a fair way to go to prove that he should be counted as successful Premiership manager.
Mark Hughes: Blackburn
Quite the opposite applies to Mark Hughes, most people’s idea of the best up and coming native manager. Whilst Blackburn were crashing out of Europe last week, blotting the ex-United centre forward’s copy book as a possible contender for Fergie’s job, Hughes was being touted as a possible Spurs boss.
In a classic tabloid managerial merry go round, the Sun splashed with a tale that Hughes would go to Spurs as the replacement for the sacked Martin Jol who would be appointed Ajax coach in place of the Chelsea-bound Henk Ten Cate.
Hughes’ career looks divinely managed and many observers tip him to move soon to a bigger club than Blackburn. But with the big four jobs either taken or likely to remain in foreign hands, the Spurs bed of nails may be the best available ‘big’ job and a logical step-up for the former Wales boss.
That said, Hughes may be better advised to stay at Blackburn where he is credited with some smart signings - Bentley, Rocha and Samba spring to mind - and building a side good enough to shock its betters and challenge for a Uefa cup place. Blackburn still can’t quite shake off the bruiser tag, just as the manager was once known for being a player who played fast and loose with the laws of the game. For all the good press that attaches to Hughes, he has yet to get his hands on any silverware. A Wembley final appearance or a top eight league finish would make Hughes a strong contender for a high profile move.
Bryan Robson: Sheffield United
Whilst Hughes bides his time and dreams of better days ahead, Bryan Robson is facing his final P45. Failure and the sack at Sheffield United could bring to a close the former England stalwart’s managerial career and continue the managerial curse on former England captains.
Robson spent his best years under Ron ‘Bojangles’ Atkinson rather than under Fergie’s watchful gaze. Does this fact show up in his management? Humiliated at Middlesbrough after Terry Venables was brought in to rescue a side deemed defensively naieve and given all the respect of a pub team, Robson salvaged his reputation somewhat by saving West Brom form the drop on the last day of term. He couldn’t repeat the trick a year later and was out on his ear.
The call to replace Neil Warnock at Sheffield United must have come from out of the blue. Despite the confident talk about experience and achieving promotion at the first attempt, Sheffield United are making heay weather of the task. Robson has been unable to halt the relegated team’s continued surrender and Sheffield United now sit a perilous 20th in the
Championship. The fans are growing restless with the manager’s excuses.
“A number of our players are not as good as I thought they were when Itook the job and we have a lot of work to do,” Robson ventured. “I’ll be hoping to make a couple of loan signings soon but we also need to get on the training ground and improve the players already here.
“I didn’t expect to be in such a lowly position after ten games, but we are where we deserve to be. It’s very disappointing for our supporters, but I don’t feel under pressure myself because the board understand I need time to make a difference.”
Time is a commodity every manager wishes for but should never demand publicly. As the Chinese advise, Robson should be careful for what he wishes. If results dont improve, the Sheffield United chairman may give Robson all the time he needs by replacing him with a more competent coach.
Paul Ince: MK Dons
Lower down the leagues, Paul Ince, the most ambitious man in Britain, has taken MK Dons to the top of League Two. The ‘Guv’nor’ a terrifi ccentral midfielder for Ferguson, tips himself to be a Premiership manager and after saving Macclesfield last term, couldn’t wait to jump ship.
His energy appears to have paid off, as under his stewardship, the team has zoomed to the top of the league in only his first full season as a manager. But Ince should beware the curse of Mark McGee, another Fergie high flyer from his Aberdeen days, who began well as a manager but slipped away from the big time with commensurate speed.
Darren Ferguson: Peterborough United
Ferguson’s son Darren is at the helm at Peterborough, a stroke of luck achieved by what some consider to be cold calculation on the club’s part.
If true, many would understand Peterborough’s reasoning. Sir Alex is a legend and has young talents he cannot use who could do a wonderful job at a lowly side. But how to steal a march on the dozens of clubs who covet United’s young lions? Answer. Get in the legend’s good books by giving his lad a first start on football’s ladder.
Perhaps, cynicism has triumphed over a fair acknowledgement of junior Ferguson’s coaching credentials and enthusiasm for the job. But nourishing these suspicions is the fact that before Peterborough turned to Ferguson, they had a boss who was much respected at lower league level. Club owner Barry Fry was certainly delighted to be able to bring in a coach of Keith Alexander’s calibre.
“He is the ideal manager for this football club, ” Fry said last May. “He performed miracles at Lincoln, getting them into the play-offs every year on a limited budget and he fits into our youth policy.”
But Alexander didn’t fit into the thinking of wealthy Irish businessman Darragh MacAnthony, 30, who bought the club from Fry. When Alexander’s team lost six games on the trot, he was out and Ferguson was in. Alexander managed Peterborough for 34 games and left the club after seven and a half months with the team in eighth place. Ferguson, after nine months in the post, has taken Posh to seventh in the league in his first full season.
Clayton Blackmore: Porthmadog
After just four months in the job, the sack has reunited Uefa A licensed coach Blackmore with his sun bed. Porthmadog won only one game this season and lost 7-2 to Port Talbot last week. That was enough for chairman Phil Jones. “The club would like to place on record its thanks for his efforts both as a manager and a player.”
Right!
