Who Will Replace Sir Alex Ferguson?

As a Manchester United fan there is a question I have been asking myself for the last five years, a question that I find very perplexing and one that fills me with sadness, frustration and leaves a sense of inevitability. One day in the not too distant future Sir Alex Ferguson will retire as the manager of Manchester United, and who can possibly replace him?

The day Fergie retires, a dark cloud will hang over Old Trafford and it will be an uncertain future for the club. Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t only the manager of the club, he is the very fabric of the club, he has helped develop a culture of champions at United and he is arguably the greatest manager of all time. When he took over at United they were struggling in the top flight and it was soon after Ferguson’s appointment that I became a fan myself. I come from a non-footballing family so the team I came to support was actually the first team I saw play on TV. That team was of course Manchester United, the first time I saw them play was on new year’s day 1989 where they beat Liverpool 3-1. Ever since that game I have been an avid United fan and was completely seduced by the footballing talents of the team. United only managed 11^th that season in the English First Division (Now the Barclays Premier League) but the success they have had since under the leadership of Ferguson is unprecedented. The list of silverware achieved at United under Ferguson’s reign is incredible, 11 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 2 Champion’s League Titles, 4 League Cups, 9 Community Shields, 1 Cup Winner’s Cup, 1 Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. That list doesn’t even include his individual honours which are so high in number it would take up too many words to list them all.

So, how do you replace the man that has helped build the greatest club on the planet? (I apologise for my bias here). I’m sure every United fan on the planet has an opinion on this and I’m sure the list of potential suitors is as long as the Great Wall of China, but let’s take a step back and really look at this problem sensibly. I’m going to start with the man probably expected by most United fans as being the most obvious successor to Ferguson:

José Mourinho – I’m sure all fans of Manchester United have read the newspaper reports of Mourinho already being lined up for the job and I’m sure you all take it with a pinch of salt. However, Mourinho has been an enormously successful manager, he knows how to win the Premier league and he knows how to win the Champions League. He has also made it no secret to the world that he’d like to manage United one day. There is also a deep mutual respect between Mourinho and Ferguson and we all have to expect that Fergie will play a big part in the recruitment of his successor. However, there are two key issues with Mourinho that I believe will work against him. One issue is his arrogance, any manager that classifies themselves as “The Special One” will have to make sure they deliver results. The second big issue is Mourinho’s tendency to play defensively. There has been a tradition at United under Ferguson’s management of beautiful attacking football, will a defence-minded manager really sit well with the fans. I’m not so sure. All that said though I do believe there is a strong possibility of Mourinho becoming the next manager because he ticks a lot of boxes, he is also one of the highest profile managers in the game.

Now that I have talked about the obvious I would like to explore some options closer to home. These aren’t necessarily managers talked about a lot by the United faithful but I see them as strong potential candidates:

David Moyes – This may seem like an odd selection but to me it is a very obvious one. I have always had a huge amount of respect for David Moyes and when you consider his achievements at Everton with the limited resources he’s had to work with, his ability as a manager has never been in question. Everton, under Moyes’ leadership are a strong club, they even managed to penetrate the top four in the 2004-05 season. I have always thought that with the right resources Moyes could take a club to Premier League and European glory. He has developed a strong culture at Everton and the club have been punching above their weight for a long time now. This is the main reason I would potentially pick a manager like David Moyes to succeed Alex Ferguson, Ferguson hasn’t based the success on United on importing foreign stars. The huge success of United is largely down to the development of home-grown talent such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and David Beckham. United fans would like to see a manager continue that tradition and I believe Moyes would manage United in a similar fashion.

Martin O’Neill – I have chosen Martin O’Neill for similar reasons to David Moyes. During O’Neill’s reign at Aston Villa the club became a force in English football that began threatening the top 4. O’Neill helped develop some extraordinary footballing talents, Gareth Barry, James Milner, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor. If provided with the resources I believe Martin O’Neill could achieve some amazing results among football’s elite. Will he get that chance?

Darren Ferguson – There is a growing number of United fans that believe Darren Ferguson could be in the running for the position of United manager. I have had a number of conversations with United fans from all over the country, even one in Thailand that believed Darren Ferguson will be the next Manchester United manager. A number of fans believe that the reason Fergie is carrying on into his advancing years is because he is prepping his son for the position and also waiting for him to build up enough experience to take on the post. However, with no top-flight experience and an up-and-down career thus far I see Darren Ferguson as a very unlikely candidate.

Mike Phelan – As Assistant Manager to Fergie Mike Phelan has to be considered as a potential candidate. Ferguson has always seemed to like Phelan and originally brought him into the club as a player back in 1992. Phelan has now been Fergie’s number one since 2008 and this looks like it will be a relationship that will continue. However, I’m not sure Mike Phelan would be high profile enough to manage one of the world’s biggest clubs.

Eric Cantona – I don’t expect to see Eric Cantona becoming manager at United any time soon, if ever. Cantona’s name has been mentioned in regard to the management of United but the chances of this happening are slim to none. I just had to include Cantona’s name because he is such a legend at the club and produced some of the best football ever seen at Old Trafford.

That may seem like a strange list of names and I haven’t covered all the obvious ones because they’ve been talked about time and time again. I could have included names such as Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Steve Bruce and Mark Hughes but none of these individuals are likely to succeed Ferguson. I’m sure one day we’ll see Giggs, Keane or Scholes managing United but it won’t be for a number of years yet and it will likely be long after Fergie has retired. The task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson is an impossible one and his successor will have a difficult time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fergie’s replacement only stays in the job for a short time because following the success of Fergie is an almost impossible task. One thing is for sure, when Ferguson finally does leave the dugout his legacy to the club is nothing short of incredible. Love him or hate him, Ferguson has achieved so much and completely reshaped the modern English game. 

Who do you think should be the next manager of Manchester United?