Sir Alex - 25 Years On
I was a mere six months old when the great Scot took over as manager of Manchester United in November 1986. United, were then struggling to come to terms with years of heavy investment and years of underachievement.
For the previous five years, Big Ron Atkinson was at the helm. Despite a number of cup successes, the league title remained elusive. During that time Ferguson was up in the highlands of Scotland bringing Aberdeen to unbelievable feats. He broke the monotony of Glasgow domination in Scottish football and defeated Real Madrid in a Cup Winners’ Cup final.
Hard to believe now, but his appointment was a risk. Success in Scotland is one thing, but it doesn’t always translate to English football. The task facing Ferguson was a straightforward one, win the league table, and if possible, unseat arch-rivals Liverpool as the top team in England.
The players available to Ferguson at the time were of undeniable ability, but the atmosphere of the club was more akin to a social club than a soccer one. Heavy drinkers like Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside were the core of the team.
Dismantling the team, was not without growing pains. The heavy drinkers, McGrath, in particular, were given chances but most failed (with the exception of Robson) and were shipped out. United finally made a run at the title in 1988 but were a distant second to Liverpool.
Relegation threats and mid table finishes were the end result of more spending and dismantling as the 1980s came to a close.
In January 1990, it’s believed and understood that Ferguson was on his last chance as United boss. An away match in the FA Cup to Nottingham Forest, and the expected defeat was going to be last straw. A defeat would United no better than when Sir Alex took over and after three and a bit years it was all set to end. But, this is the wonder of sport, an unknown striker, who never achieved anything else in the sport, Mark Robins, scored a narrow goal and United won 1-0.
That season United went on to win the FA Cup, while it wasn’t the League, it was a start. Ferguson replaced his loyalty in his Scottish players with the pragmatism of the best man for the job. In 1991, there was success in Europe as the Red Devils defeated Barcelona in a Continental final (yes, you read that correctly). 1992 brought the first proper league challenge from Old Trafford since 1988. Having led the way for most of the season, United threw it away with two defeats, most crushingly the first being at Liverpool, in their final two games. Leeds United pipped them to the title.
That was the final season of what we know as the First Division, in 1992/93 season, the Premier League was born. Ferguson, astutely, acquired the final piece of his team that he had been building since 1990. Leeds’ striker Eric Cantona arrived at United for the ludicrously low price of £1.2 million. His ability, charisma, skill and leadership, led the team of Paul Ince, Peter Schmeichel, Ryan Giggs and Mark Hughes to Manchester United’s first league championship in 26 years.
The following season, for the first time in their history United won the League and FA Cup “Double” for the first time in their history. This was the crowning point of Alex Ferguson’s first great team.
In the summer of 1995, after a rare trophy less season, Alex Ferguson sensationally sold three of his prized assets, Paul Ince (to Inter Milan), Mark Hughes (to Chelsea), and Andrei Kanchelskis (to Everton). As most predicted the end of the Ferguson era, Sir Alex brought through his next great team, based around David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, and Nicky Butt. In 1996, United won back their League and Cup “Double”. Another league title followed in 1997.
Bringing in more muscle and skill in Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke, Ferguson signalled his intentions to bring back the European Cup to Old Trafford. Having been the first English club to win the bigged prize in club soccer, United hadn’t won it since 1968. A dramatic final against Bayern Munich, which saw United score twice in injury time to win 2-1, as well as yet another domestic “Double”, saw Alex Ferguson become Sir Alex Ferguson. Two more league titles followed in the proceeding two years.
Between the years of 2002 and 2006, Sir Alex would have oddly barren years, as he added just one more title, in 2003. Big money was spent on Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney, yet little was delivered. Inspirational captain Roy Keane was released from the club after he ranted about his team mates’ under performance on the club’s official TV station.
Most Manchester United fans were wondering if Ferguson should now walk into the sunset with the memories of the good times still clear. Sir Alex will never walk away from a challenge. Finally, in 2007, he got it right, and Man United unseated Chelsea as champions, another European Cup came in 2008 along with the League title. Yet another League title came in 2009 but so did a heavy 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the European Cup Final. A barren 2010 was not dwelled upon, nor was the big money selling of star-player Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, as the League title returned in 2011.
This made it 19 League Titles, so Ferguson, has more than achieved his mandate, as Liverpool’s record is 18. Sir Alex Ferguson has been at United nearly as long as I’ve been alive, the second longest serving manager in European soccer is Thomas Schaaf at Werder Bremen, who’s been there a mere 13 years. As his will to win remains, Ferguson who had the North Stand in Old Trafford named after him on Saturday, must be thinking that just one more European Cup will be enough to see him ride off into the sunset.
