Wayne Rooney's sacking by Birmingham after just 15 games shows once again that Alex Ferguson's former players have largely failed in their transition into management.
Ferguson is the most successful manager in football history, with 49 major and minor titles with St Mirren, Aberdeen and Man Utd, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues. In addition to the titles, he has also inspired many players to become managers after hanging up their boots. Dozens of former Man Utd players under his management have coached a professional team, but none have reached world-class level.
Coach Alex Ferguson watches the match between Man Utd and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford, Manchester, in the Premier League on September 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters
Rooney began his managerial career at Derby County in 2020-2022, leading the team in 85 games with a win rate of just 28%. His win rate at DC United dropped to 26%, and at Birmingham it was 13%. Birmingham also dropped 14 places to 20th during Rooney's time in charge. The 39-year-old said it would take him some time to recover from the defeat and return to football.
Gary Neville did not fare much better, when he was unexpectedly invited to coach Valencia in 2015-2016, despite having no experience as a head coach. Despite them being a good team in La Liga, Neville won only 36% of his matches, and was sacked after less than four months. He was stripped of his coaching rights at the end of March 2016, when the team was only six points above the relegation zone.
Gary's assistant at the time was Phil Neville's younger brother. Neither spoke Spanish, and neither was popular with fans from the start. Phil, also a former Manchester United player, later managed the England women's team, Inter Miami and now Portland Timbers in the US. Under Phil, Miami finished 11th out of 14 teams in the MLS East in his first season, then bottom of the table in his second season and was fired by former teammate and now club owner David Beckham.
The Neville brothers are probably not as bad as Paul Scholes. The talented former midfielder tried his hand at Oldham Athletic in 2019, in the Fourth Division, but resigned after just seven games, with a win rate of 14%.
Gary Neville during his debut training session for Valencia in Spain on December 7, 2015. Photo: Reuters
Another Old Trafford legend, Ryan Giggs, has never been a full-time manager of a professional club, but has managed the Wales national team. Before he could make his mark, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Giggs is considered the most successful player of the Ferguson era, also with 13 Premier League titles, but has had many problems off the field.
Roy Keane was once expected to be a good coach, because he showed leadership qualities when he played for Man Utd from 1993 to 2005. Therefore, the Irish coach was appointed to lead Sunderland in the English First Division, immediately after hanging up his boots. He helped the team win the championship in this competition, earning the right to be promoted to the Premier League. But in his first season in the top flight, he only won 29% of his matches, as the team finished 15th. When Keane resigned, Sunderland fans took to the streets to celebrate.
Other managers who have had more success in the Premier League include Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Hughes was the first manager under UAE owner Mansour Al Nahyan at Man City, but his win rate was just 47% and he was sacked after just a year. He was sacked by fourth-tier side Bradford in October 2023.
Bruce has also managed mid-table clubs in the Premier League, with his best achievement being helping Hull City reach the FA Cup final in 2014. However, he has never been tested at a big club. Solskjaer is less experienced, but was given the reins at Man Utd in 2018-2021, helping the team reach the Europa League final. Since the post-Ferguson era, Solskjaer is the only manager to have helped Man Utd finish in the Top 4 for two consecutive seasons. This achievement has not been achieved by Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho or perhaps even Erik ten Hag.
Gabriel Heinze has spent nearly nine years as a coach since retiring, without winning a trophy in Argentina. The same is true of Jaap Stam with clubs in the Netherlands and the United States. Ruud van Nistelrooy won the Dutch Cup with PSV, but was not considered a success and resigned shortly afterwards. Michael Carrick is making his mark at Middlesbrough, helping them reach the semi-finals of the League Cup, but they are currently 12th in the First Division.
Ferguson's former player, Laurent Blanc, is considered the most successful coach. He was a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, played for Barca and many top European tournaments. After hanging up his boots, the former centre-back helped Bordeaux unexpectedly win Ligue 1 in 2009, not to mention the French League Cup. He repeated this achievement three times with PSG, but the 59-year-old coach's career is on the decline at Lyon.
Laurent Blanc (left) led Bordeaux to win Ligue 1 in France in May 2009. Photo: UEFA
Ferguson also had students from his time at Aberdeen such as Alex McLeish - who helped Birmingham win the English League Cup in 2011, or Gordon Strachan - who was the best manager of the month in the Premier League four times. But their success was limited to English football.
Not only his former students, Ferguson's assistants were also unsuccessful as "captains". Steve McClaren once caused England to lose their place in Euro 2008, and is now back as assistant at Man Utd. Carlos Queiroz failed when trying his hand at Real Madrid or the Portuguese national team, Mike Phelan only won 25% of his matches at Hull City, and Brian Kidd and Rene Maulensteen were both soon fired by Blackburn Rovers and Fulham.
Ferguson's influence on his successors is unmatched by other legendary coaches such as Johan Cruyff, Bobby Robson or Marcelo Bielsa. Pep Guardiola became a great coach thanks to his years as a student of Cruyff. Robson also shaped Jose Mourinho from an assistant translator into a two-time Champions League winning coach. Bielsa has taught many top coaches such as Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino. And although he never played under Bielsa, coach Zinedine Zidane went all the way to Marseille to learn from the Argentine strategist.
McClaren once suggested that the secret to Ferguson's success was his ability to adapt, saying: "Ferguson can destroy a team and rebuild it and still be successful, because he knows what type of player is needed." McClaren's view was shared by football expert Jonathan Wilson, who also said that Ferguson was "as good at developing football tactics as any other manager."
Before his success at Man Utd, Ferguson also went through four years without a trophy. He himself once said that his situation at that time was different from the current managers. "These days, owners come from all over the world, are ambitious and of course impatient," Ferguson told the Mirror in March 2017.
Ferguson is good at adapting, but he also needs time. Rooney himself mentioned this word, after announcing his dismissal from Birmingham on January 2. "Time is the most precious thing for a manager," said the former Man Utd and England captain. "And 13 weeks is not enough time for a team to change."
Perhaps a Ferguson player could have been as successful as him if given more time, but there are no guarantees. Many managers today can be successful in their first season, or even their first games. The number of Ferguson players still playing is dwindling, and among them, it is difficult to find a successor to the legacy he left over the past 10 years.
Xuan Binh
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