Sir Alex Ferguson – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

DIEGO SIMEONE sprinted off the pitch and down the tunnel, showered with water, beer and plastic cups. He knew exactly what to expect as his team knocked Manchester United out of the UEFA Champions League. United were disappointing, lacking the intelligence to deal with an Atlético Madrid team that knew exactly how to play their hosts. The Spanish champions made the most of every foul, every hold-up and every niggling challenge and were economical with their energy.

United enjoyed the greater percentage of possession, as they should have given their home status, but they did very little with it, especially in the second half. Atléti put on a classic two-legged away performance, the type that once characterised such ties in the days before the European Cup became the bloated Champions League.

How much longer can Manchester United remain on this greasy pole of existence? How much more disappointment can fans weened on multiple trophy wins and a stream of star players slotted into the system under Sir Alex, tolerate? The club is fortunate it has legacy fans who believe in the religion that is Manchester United, and a waiting list of eager fans longing to join the throng. Nothing dramatic is going to happen to United, but they desperately don’t want to become a heritage act.

Success is relative, so for United, that is measured by trophies, Champions League success and high-end squads playing a brand of exciting football the club’s reputation and DNA has been built upon. Those days have gone, United enjoyed not one but two long eras where style was allied to success. It has now gone and it will not return in a hurry, because United is now a multi-national sporting institution, owned by people who expect (not unreasonably) some form of financial return. Success has to be engineered to ensure the graph goes in the right direction.

The “style” that United always saw as a prerequisite, is no longer at the top of the list. Getting back to being title contenders (genuine contenders, not top four candidates), is now the priority. It’s not something that has to be achieved at any cost, United are not about to become a team of cloggers, but that’s why they have hired, in the recent past, Mourinho, Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Ronaldo. There’s no “class of ‘92” situation waiting to revitalise the club, firstly because nobody has the patience to realise it and secondly, coaches come and go rather quickly.

United’s golden age in Europe was not in 1968, 1999 and 2008, even though they won the top European prize in each of those years. Sir Matt Busby spent more than a decade trying to win the competition, Ferguson won it twice in a period when United stood emphatically astride English football. Some say he should have had more success, but 2008, when his United team beat Chelsea on penalties, was really the end of their time as a compelling force. In 2009 and 2011 they reached the final again, to their enormous credit, but they were way behind champions Barcelona. Since then, their record has been very disappointing and setbacks like their Atlético defeat are becoming all too frequent.

United’s decline and Ferguson’s departure are, to some extent, coincidental. But where United went wrong was inadequate planning around his retirement and then in expecting instant results from every appointment. It should be recalled that Ferguson was not an immediate success, he took over in 1986 and it was not until 1990 that he won his first trophy. There is not a top club in existence today that would give a manager that amount of time to get it right.

But it is not as simple as getting the coach right. United have been through a few since 2013 and they are still searching for the holy grail. They have a squad that has cost more than almost every other assembly of players in Europe – the players fielded against Atléti cost over £ 500 million – they have one of the top wage bills, they enjoy 70,000 crowds. They are still Manchester United.

There seems, however, no cohesion and a distinct lack of strategy around transfers and an ongoing erosion of the club’s culture. Hiring veteran players is something a lesser club would entertain, it implies a desperate need to give United a “lift”, a boost to morale. Admittedly, we are talking about big names who have been brilliant, but United are not a club that should be pinning its hopes on faded genius. The attitude of some players has to be questioned, as pointed out by pundits like Roy Keane.

The question is, if people believe the coach(es) are to blame, who do they want to manage the team? The blame doesn’t only rest with the coach, it is also with those employed in identifying new talent for Manchester United and how those players fit into the system. Until they become more rounded, more strategic and joined-up, the frustration will continue for England’s biggest club.

STEVE BRUCE has left the building and possibly the worst job he has ever endured. Hated by the Newcastle United fans, a servant to an owner who was equally disliked, and living on borrowed time after the club was taken over in somewhat controversial circumstances. It was probably a blessed relief for a man who is nothing more than an honest broker of a football manager. It was “mutual consent” and all that nonsense, a corporate phrase used to spare feelings and blushes, but what this catch-all term really meant was, “paid off, non-disclosure agreement signed and let’s say no more”.

Bruce lasted 97 games, which is below the average among current Premier League managers, which stands at 127. But take out Sean Dyche (401), Jürgen Klopp (330) and Pep Guardiola (301) and half of the Premier’s managers have been in charge for under 100 games.

Bruce had a win rate of 28.9%, a struggling team’s record, but Newcastle United have rarely been much better than underachievers. More illustrious names have struggled to bring success to the club – Rafa Benitez (42.47%), Chris Hughton (49.38%), Bobby Robson (46.67%) and Graeme Souness (44.83%), not to mention the first Kevin Keegan era (54.98%) have all done better, their records boosted, in some cases, by stints in the second tier. The bottom line is, many men have tried in vain to make Newcastle successful which leads one to assume the problem isn’t necessarily the managers, but elsewhere within the structure.

Very few managers win trophies, because very few teams win the big prizes, as evidenced in the records of current Premier bosses. Just five have won with their current sides: Mikkel Arteta (Arsenal), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea), Brendan Rodgers (Leicester City), Klopp (Liverpool) and Guardiola (Manchester City). The last manager to win silverware with Manchester United was none other than José Mourinho, which also underlines the small universe of success managers circulate within.

In the past five seasons, there have been nine winning managers, of which four (Wenger, Conte, Sarri and Mourinho) are no longer plying their trade in the Premier League. Of the remaining five, Tuchel’s one victory with Chelsea was in European football. That leaves four domestic winners: Guardiola (eight prizes), Rodgers (one), Arteta (one) and Klopp (one).

The chances of success are slim and getting slimmer as time passes due to the polarisation of big-time football. Guardiola’s record is outstanding whichever way you look at it. Since 2009, he has led his club to a league title in nine out of 12 seasons in which he has been working. In total, he has won 20 major trophies. His win rate at Manchester City is 72.64%. José Mourinho has also won 20, including eight league titles. These two coaches compare favourably with Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 34 across his time with Aberdeen and Manchester United. They both exceed the performance of Arséne Wenger, who won 14 overall, 10 of which were with Arsenal.

Ferguson and Wenger were unique in that they were employed by a single club for a very long time. They are both the most successful managers their respective clubs have ever had. Ferguson’s trophy haul dwarfs every one of his predecessors and successors – Matt Busby, for example, won eight trophies with United compared to Ferguson’s 25.

Similarly, at Arsenal, Wenger’s record is far more impressive than any of the men that came before him. Herbert Chapman, who contributed to the development of the modern game more than most, won just three prizes with Arsenal (two league titles in 1931 and 1933 and the FA Cup 1930). Chapman’s successors, George Allison, Tom Whittaker and later, Bertie Mee, all won three prizes apiece.

Chapman’s career was curtailed by his premature death, but his influence was actually far greater than his on-pitch success. Similarly, Bill Shankly’s record was not as comprehensive at Anfield as some people believe, although his legacy was effectively what became the modern Liverpool.

Shankly won six major trophies: three league titles, the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup. His successor, Bob Paisley, a more unassuming, humble figure, lifted 13 trophies, including six league titles, three Football League Cups, three European Cups and the UEFA Cup. Paisley’s win rate was 57.57%, compared to Shankly’s Liverpool figure of 51.98%. Kenny Dalglish, who took over as player-manager in the post-Paisley period and then had a second stint as manager, enjoyed a win rate of over 60% in his first spell and won five trophies, adding another in 2011-12.

Managers have their time and often they coincide with the best of times for their respective clubs, such as Brian Clough at Forest, Bobby Robson at Ipswich, Don Revie at Leeds United and Graham Taylor at Watford. In the modern game, there is a reluctance to acknowledge that the good times eventually come to an end. Wenger at Arsenal had run his course long before he left, Mourinho is still trying to be very relevant when his best days may just be behind him. It is hard to imagine any top manager admitting he’s no longer up to the role – such as Bill Nicholson did when he left Spurs in 1974 or even Matt Busby when he stepped down for the first time. Brian Clough, genius though he was in his prime, should have passed the baton on earlier than 1993. Great managers generally know when their time is up, but human nature being what it is, they can often be in denial.

Steve Bruce has said that he may never work again and it is likely that his recent experiences may deter him from stepping back into the firing line. Clubs do not have patience anymore, they are unwilling to build something over time and want instant gratification. It is often forgotten that Sir Alex Ferguson went from 1986 to 1990 before winning his first cup with Manchester United and then another three before clinching the league title. In today’s football, he would never have that kind of luxury.

Likewise, a club like Chelsea would not allow two seasons to pass without silverware. One barren campaign, maybe, but after that, no way. Chelsea went from 1971 to 1997 without a major honour. The exception to this contemporary rule was Arsenal and Arséne Wenger, who went from 2005 to 2014 without needing to break out the silver polish. In hindsight, Arsenal may regret allowing a stagnating system to prevail, but post-Wenger has hardly been a happy time at the Emirates Stadium.

As Newcastle United search for a new manager, they will not only be looking for someone with a track record, but also a figure that can match their lofty ambitions. They will want to make a statement, and not one as anodyne as the message accompanying the departure of Steve Bruce. Success can be measured in many ways, but the new owners will interpret it quite simply as, “trophies, please”.