Sir Alex Ferguson became the longest serving Manchester United manager in the club’s history on Sunday. The Scot has spent a staggering 24 years, one month and 15 days in charge at Old Trafford since joining in November 1986. He surpassed Sir Matt Busby’s previous record, which was achieved over two stints from October 1945 to January 1969 and from December 1970 to June 1971.
Sir Bobby Charlton, who has witnessed the entirety of Ferguson’s reign at the club, could hardly contain his praises for him. ”He’s been sensational for United,” he told the BBC. ”When we first got him you could tell he had the work ethic, he wasn’t satisfied with second best, he wanted to be winning all the time. ”He’s been unique. I’ve never known anyone who works as hard as him or has the brains or who knows what’s expected of him.
“In our wildest dreams we couldn’t have expected Alex Ferguson to be so successful over all this time - especially when the average time for a manager to stay in any one place is just three and half years.” Charlton went on to highlight the 68-year-old’s attributes which has made his famous over the years, among which is his uncanny ability to judge players. ”He’s a great judge of a player and how to put a team together,” he added.
“He loves every minute of it and he’s going to be with us for quite a while yet - which is bad news for the rest of the league,” Joining in the chorus of praises for Ferguson is England manager Fabio Capello, who hailed him as the best manager of all time and even wished him another “20 years of management at top level”. ”In the history of football, the best manager is Sir Alex,” he told a Club Wembley members’ breakfast.\
“He changed the team, he changed the players, he has been really, really good for the club.” However, things would have been very different if Ferguson had not survived a tough spell during the start of his United career. He was believed to be facing the sack after failing to win a third round FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest back in 1990.
But Charlton was quick to dismiss such allegations. ”There was not a thought about the future of Alex Ferguson at this club,” he told the club’s official website.
“The media were the ones who were pushing. If Alex Ferguson had got sacked it would have been a really good story for them.” The man of the moment spoke of his reign and suggested that his shared nationality has enabled him to repeat the success of fellow Scot Sir Matt Busby despite their differences. ”Sir Matt was a lot calmer than me - we are different characters, with different personalities,” he told the club’s official website. ”Scottish people have a determination to do well no matter what.”
Ferguson has won 11 Premier Leagues, two Champions League and five FA Cup titles during his time as United manager.