In the early weeks of 1990, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United tenure looked in doubt.
As the 1990s dawned United hovered just outside of the relegation zone, and it appeared to many that the great man had achieved little during his early reign at the club. Supporters called for him to be sacked, the media turned against him, and any sign of success appeared as a distant and unlikely dream, in an overwhelmingly bleak situation.
A banner from the Stretford End read “3 Years of Excuses and It’s Still Crap. Ta Ra Fergie!” and there was growing disenchantment as his managerial future seemed to hinge on the third round FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest. United were expected to lose, and Ferguson seemed destined to be handed the sack, yet as we all know the reality was so very different.
In 1990 United lifted the FA Cup, and since then 13 league titles, 4 FA Cups and 2 Champions League titles have followed, as Ferguson has reached the pinnacle of the management profession. His record is incomparable to anyone else in modern football, and despite his critics he can undoubtedly be proclaimed as the most successful manager to ever grace the touchline.
The aura of Sir Alex Ferguson has developed over the years, and he has overcome every challenge thrown in his way, emerging stronger and further developing the legend of the great man, so much so that you forget that 23 years ago his future was in serious doubt. 25 years ago the managerial profession was a much more stable one with managers given years rather than months to revive the fortunes of an ailing club, yet as the years passed by and Ferguson’s reputation expanded his managerial future never really seemed in doubt.
If Ferguson had endured the struggles of his early years at United now, then he would surely have been handed the sack. Football has moved on since the early 1990s, and become an impatient profession dominated by owners who demand instant success. In what must be labelled one of the most cutthroat industries in the world, Ferguson would have in all likelihood been out of a job long before he lifted his first trophy as United manager, and his legendary status would be eradicated.
Whoever steps into Ferguson’s shoes has an incredibly challenging job on their hands, with a massive void to fill within the heart of the club. Ferguson has achieved everything possible, and the pressure will be on his successor to emulate the meteoric victories that the fabulous Scotsman has achieved. Unlike Ferguson they are unlikely to be handed four or five years to settle into the job, and if the club struggle to replicate their current success then the pressure will quickly mount.
If the third round tie against Nottingham Forest had ended in defeat, rather than the victory that was inspired by a Mark Robins goal, the goal that arguably saved Ferguson’s job, and facilitated all of the monumental success that followed, then the legend of Sir Alex Ferguson might have been so much different. If circumstances had been different, Ferguson could well have been construed as a manager who failed to make his mark on English football, yet as it is Ferguson will be remembered as arguably the greatest manager of all time, a feat which may never be surpassed.