ferguson

[tommy dickfingers]

He gets too much respect and credit and thinks everything that happens with manure is down to him, read this about liverpool.

[Sam Slater]

And yet in this article he gives credit to his assistant, Queiroz.

[Jonone]

I don't see what your issue is Tommy apart from him the Liverpool thing and that's old news. When he was at Aberdeen his job was to dismantle the Celtic/Rangers axis; at United it was initially to break Liverpool's domination. As a Liverpool fan obviously you would rather that he was more accepting of Liverpool's preeminence through the 70s and 80s - what do you expect him to do, just stand back and admire it like Arsene Wenger expects teams to do when they play at the Emirates ?

Ferguson has created a culture at Man Utd in the same way that Shankly, Paisley and Joe Fagin did at Liverpool. It's planned and deliberate, but Ferguson recognizes the contribution of others such as Queiroz, McClaren and Kidd, and the importance of good fortune and fate.

Clearly you don't like him Tommy and I wouldn't expect you to, but surely you can't be blind to the evidence that he's a great manager ?

[Ace]

I like Alex Ferguson, I like his record and how he conducts business at Man Utd, however, I think that along with good #2's and some excellent buys like Cantona, Van Nistelrooy and bringing the kids through like Giggs, Scholes and Beckham, he has been a tad lucky in cup runs and some dodgy referee decisions, including the usual 7 minutes added time when they are drawing an important match!!
How he rules the dressing room with a rod of iron must be congratulated, especially with some of those snot nosed players who seem to care more about image and wages than their shirt.........and before anyone berates me, we have our fair share of ponces/freeloaders at Stamford Bridge!
In the top 10 of managers in England, his record beats Cloughs and Paisleys, but they'll always have the edge over him for football purists like me.

[NeilUK]

I'm not his biggest fan but whats he said wrong in that article? He is critical of himself in that he feels they should have won as many Champions League's as Liverpool. Thats a brutally honest assessment I would say, some of his biggest let downs over the years have been in the Champions League. Its not easy for a Leeds fan like me to give credit to Ferguson but I have to. How can anyone not do? I wouldn't like to be the guy taking over when he finally does go thats for sure!

[Jonone]

The rod of iron and the hairdrier tend to be overemphasised in my view because they're easier to understand in terms of management, however it's only part of the story. What you hear less about is his nurturing side and how he develops players and engages with them as people. If it was about management by fear and intimidation I suspect his teams would have won .. very little. Ferguson also engenders trust and loyalty etc and leads his players as well as managing them, however I think this gets much less column inches because the emotional and intuitive side is more difficult to explain and doesn't have the same value as a story.

[tommy dickfingers]

In what way was HE responsible for the demise of liverpool,it was of their own doing and as for queiroz he doesn't get enough of the credit they were doing sod all until he came back,he is just a very arrogant man who allways gets an easy ride from the media who are scared do death of writing or asking a difficult question in case he ignores or bites their heads of.

[bigjossy]

what brian clough done with forest was amazing.imagine a club like forest winning and then retaining the champs league now, it could never happen. as for paisley well what can you say. a true great and the best in my opinion and all those trophies won in only nine years. as for fergie well you cant deny him his greatness but what a bitter sour person. man utd fans should give martin edwards great credit for not sacking fergie all those years ago because believe
me no manager would get that time now

[Jonone]

What's he bitter and sour about ? Are you mistaking it for competiveness? Yes Paisley was a great manager .. you can't argue with his record .. but if you're going to get obsessed with timescales what about clubs like Ajax and Bayern who won the European Cup in three successive years?

[Mike_CFC]

S.A.F deserves his place as a great manager.Where would Yahnited be today had of they sacked him back in 1986?,when Man U were flirting heavilly with relagation,and Fergie had just recentley replaced Ron Atkinson.

Fergie turned then average players such as Roy Keane,Cantona,Kanchelskis etc,into brilliant players.Fergie made Roy Keane into the hardman he is today.

You've got no case dickfingers.Man U would be fuck all without Ferguson.

My only dislike to Ferguson is his hypocrosy of accepting a Kighthood and meeting Tony Blair/Gordon Brown,when he is supposed to be an anti-royalist and a staunch socalist.

Paul Weller,another socalist said of meeting Tony Blair:"i don't want to share the same room,let alone shake hands with a warmonger".He also declined his offer of a kighthood.

Ferguson.A great manager?.Yes
A decent man?No