Sir Alex Ferguson Retires

On Tuesday night, Twitter was flooded with tweets linking Ferguson to the word 'retirement'. This reaction on the social networking site was triggered by a Mark Ogden report on the Telegraph. I thought the report was a load of crap. In Sunday’s match programme, Fergie said “I don't have any plans at the moment to walk away.”

Now, I have finished my dissertation on Tuesday and I planned on starting revising for my upcoming exams on Wednesday morning. So I set my alarm for 10am, which is quite early for my standards. Wednesday dawned on me and after hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I finally decided to get out of my bed and attack the day. I said to myself, “I’ll start revising Corporate Finance today.”

So I switched on my laptop to download the notes I needed for this subject.  As per usual, since my f*cked up priorities demand so, I first logged in to Facebook and Twitter to check whether the world is still revolving around the sun. And guess what? The world suddenly stopped.

One of my friends (an ardent United fan) on twitter wrote “Fucking hell...” I scrolled down and more tweets made it obvious that Fergie had made an announcement. The day I had been fearing since 2002, when I had produced enough cells in my brain to realise the excellence of Sir Alex, was finally upon us. I thought that this was just a rumour that was taken to another level, so I checked the official Manchester United website and there it was, written boldly on the front page “Sir Alex Retires”. My mouth fell open as I perceived the truth.

Online tabloids were dishing out tributes to the great man himself and some were even speculating on who will be the next Manchester United manager. Jesus, I have never ever read a report about a selection of managers who could take the Old Trafford hot seat. In my years of existence, I don’t know a footballing world without Sir Alex. It is almost impossible to digest this news.

What can I say about Fergie?

He’s a Legend in the footballing history. He’s a God in any United supporter’s books.  He hasn’t just built one successful football team after another; he has built Manchester United as we know it today. From a nation’s laughing stock, he produced teams that oozed brilliance. From a club living in the shadows of Liverpool, he produced a club that is the envy of many football fans.

It’s very sad to see him go but I’m happy he’s leaving the managerial post as a Champion. I always feared Sir Alex’s resignation would come after seeing his empire wane. That’s not a way I wanted this great man to bow out of the game.

He was a Champion countless time as he led Manchester United to one triumph after the other. His crowning moment probably came in 1999 when he masterminded Manchester United’s treble win. I was still an 8 year old back then but I remember fondly the euphoria that football team gave me. To be honest, Sir Alex’s boys rarely let me down ever since that day a 7 year old me watched United play for the first time (on the telly, of course). 

Surely there are great tacticians out there, some are even better than Sir Alex. But looking at things at the macro level, no one will ever come close to our manager.

I will surely miss:

• ·      the way he defended his players as if they were his own children,
• ·      the way he belittled anybody questioning his football team,
• ·      the way he instilled fear in opponents and journalists alike,
• ·      the way he introduced youth players to the senior squad and
• ·      the way he pumped his fists after a massive performance by the boys

For fans of my age, Ferguson is Manchester United. I have never seen a United match without Ferguson in the dugout. Next season will be strange, very strange, but I’m supporting anybody who decides to take on the daunting task of replacing the greatest manager of all time. Whoever replaces him knows that he’s got big shoes to fill.

Will Manchester United be the same without Fergie? 
No. But the Scot will have a say when choosing the next manager and I’m sure whoever takes on the job will be a manager capable of extending the success Ferguson achieved during the past two decades. It might take time for things to click again but Manchester United are too big a club to fail.

When Sir Matt Busby resigned from his post, he left an aging team.  That’s the reason our club crumbled afterwards. Fergie leaves us with a youthful team and the foundations required for a club to maintain its success.

So, its been 12 hours since I got the news and I still haven’t downloaded the notes to start studying. By the look of things, I’ll probably be hooked to the net until a new manager is announced. Whoever takes over will get my support because, after all, no man is bigger than the club, even if that man is the great Sir Alex Ferguson. I’ve drummed on and on again that Manchester United will never die and I’ll hold on to that belief.

Am I sad? Of course I am! But I’m glad I’ve lived to see the greatest manager of all time lead my football team to countless triumphs. This Sunday will be very emotional for the United faithful. All the best Fergie and thank you! 

(n.b. as long as Fergie chooses his successor, I don’t care who takes the Old Trafford hot seat for I know Ferguson will choose the manager who’s best suited for the club)

Some Interesting Facts

• Man Utd have won 304 of 404 Premier League home matches under Sir Alex Ferguson, a win rate of 75%.
• Sir Alex Ferguson has won 527 Premier League games, at least 161 more than any other manager
• Sir Alex Ferguson has enjoyed more wins over Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur (both 38) than any other teams (all comps).
• Alex Ferguson is one of three managers to average over two points per PL game