Sir Alex Ferguson to Retire

End of an Era

Sitting at my desk at university, looking over at the Manchester United scarf hanging above my bed, it is proving difficult to process the idea that the club I have grown up supporting will not be managed by Sir Alex Ferguson next season.

Having been born in 1992 Ferguson is all I have known. Childhood pictures show a toddler in a tiny red and white United kit, and some of my earliest memories involve travelling to Old Trafford for the first time as a six year old to watch the likes of Irwin, Keane, Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, the Neville brothers, and Schmeichel beat Southampton 2-1 in 1999. What followed that year, with the FA Cup final triumph over Newcastle and that famous last minute Champions League victory over Bayern Munich, was nothing short of magical.

When the likes of Neville and Scholes retired, or when players such as Schmeichel, Stam, Beckham, van Nistelrooy, Keane, and Ronaldo left for other clubs, the one constant presence was Ferguson. He was always there, chewing on the side of the pitch, calculating his next move, re-building teams. He has made sure that after his departure not much else will need adding to a squad left in fantastic condition. Younger players like De Gea, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Rafael, Kagawa, Young, Cleverley, Powell, Welbeck, and Hernandez provide balance to the experienced members of the squad like Carrick, Ferdinand, Rooney, van Persie, Valencia, Evra, Evans, and Vidic. But Ferguson has developed a club, not just a team. Manchester United is making record profits, continues to expand its fan base in new markets like Asia and America, and has continued to win trophies throughout the rise of different competitors from Liverpool to Arsenal and Chelsea to Manchester City. The structural growth and continued success over such a long period of time is something that has never been done by a manager in English football. The rise and fall of clubs seems to be cyclical, but the condition in which Ferguson has left the club suggests that United’s dominance might not enter its twilight years just yet.

With a genius like Fergie, who is able to constantly renew his squad and react to developments in the game, the only thing that could stop him was his health. At the age of 71 it seems this is what has happened, as his scheduled summer hip operation would have kept him out for the beginning of the season. This is a sensible, if premature and sorely disappointing move. As Barcelona will attest, losing your manager for a portion of the season can do great damage to a team.

It has since been announced that David Moyes will replace Ferguson. He was by far the most appropriate candidate for the manager’s position. Many point to the fact that he did not win a trophy with Everton, whereas Ferguson arrived at United in 1986 off the back of three Scottish league titles, four Scottish FA Cups, and one League Cup with Aberdeen in a league previously and subsequently dominated by Celtic and Rangers. On top of that, in 1983 Ferguson’s men beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Gothenburg; ideal preparation for the next 26 years. Moyes will have to learn his approach to big games and European nights on the job, but what he can provide United with is stability, having gradually transformed Everton from relegation-dodgers to European football contenders over a period of eleven years, all the while on a very limited budget. His appointment suggests a continuation of the culture Sir Matt Busby and Ferguson are renowned for. It is no coincidence that their two long reigns at the club were its most successful.

Manchester United fans have, over the last 26 years, experienced the rewards that patience with a new manager can bring. Moyes’ six-year contract suggests he will be granted the same patience. Then again, United are one of the few clubs that have the financial capability to pay off such a long contract should they plummet down the table, and Alan Pardew’s imminent emergency talks with Mike Ashley severely undermine the message of stability that accompanied last year's mammoth eight-year contract offer. This, then, marks the end of an era, as United fans look to the future with anxiety and unease. But with an encouraging precedent for success and a trophy-winning squad, the change of manager should breed a fresh excitement as well.