Hit or miss? Ten of ex-Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial disciples

When your managerial genius has been the centre of a club for 26 years, surely some of that is bound to rub off on the players you manage?

Many players who made over 150 appearances during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester Unite thought this would be the case. But with Paul Scholes the latest to have his first spell in management cut short at Oldham, let’s look back to the rest of Sir Alex’s managerial disciples.

A few from this bunch spent their entire careers under Sir Alex whereas others were in his presence for just a few years. Either way, heading into management, many have had to break away from the great manager’s shadow to be successful and pave their own way.

Some have been more successful than others but where are they now and are they are still experiencing the peaks and troughs of management?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 366

Teams managed: Manchester United Reserves, Molde, Cardiff City, Molde, Manchester United

What better place to start than the man who’s currently at the wheel.

For many in the footballing world, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return to Manchester United in the winter was a shock. Having overseen Cardiff City’s relegation from the Premier League in 2014 and with his only other senior management experience coming with Molde in Norway there was caution about his appointment from opposition fans.

But having coached at the club before, his past experiences and connection with Manchester United has taken them a long way. They’re back in the hunt for the top four and in the Champions League quarter-finals. A great return to Old Trafford so far for Solskjaer.

Hit or miss? Hit

Ryan Giggs

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 932

Teams managed: Manchester United (interim), Manchester United (assistant), Wales

Give it Giggsy ’til the end of the season? That was the call was answered when David Moyes got the boot late in the 2013-14 season. Giggs took charge of four games, winning two.

He then spent the following two years as Louis Van Gaal’s assistant manager until he was sacked and took charge of Wales in January 2018. They finished 2nd in their Nations League group to Denmark, and Giggs is now looking to build a team around Wales’ promising youngsters.

Hit or miss? Hit

Gary Neville

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 602

Teams managed: England (assistant), Valencia

After four years coaching at England, Gary Neville was part of the mass exodus following the Three Lions’ Euro 2016 embarrassment against Iceland.

In this time, he had an unsuccessful stint at Valencia spanning just four months. Those four months saw Neville’s Valencia win just three of 16 league games and keep one clean sheet. Since then, he has returned to Sky Sports as a successful pundit.

Hit or miss? Miss

Phil Neville

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 386

Teams managed: England Women

Unlike his brother, Phil Neville has had an encouraging start to management since taking over as England Women manager in January 2018.

He currently boasts a 60% win record and led the Lionesses’ to SheBelieves Cup glory earlier this month. He’ll be looking to take the momentum from that tournament win into this summer’s World Cup.

Hit or miss? Hit

Paul Scholes

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 718

Teams managed: Manchester United (assistant), Oldham Athletic

Another member of the class of ’92, Scholes first venture into full-time management came to an end this week.

Having taken charge of League Two Oldham in February, he resigned just 31 days later after interference from the club’s owner, Abdallah Lemsagam, in first-team affairs. In his month in charge, Scholes won just one of seven games.

Hit or miss? Miss

Roy Keane

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 480

Teams managed: Sunderland, Ipswich, Aston Villa (assistant), Ireland (assistant), Nottingham Forest (assistant)

After a positive start to managerial life, Roy Keane has spent the last five years as an assistant more often than not.

He began his managerial career by taking Sunderland from the Championship’s relegation zone to the Premier League in 2007. He resigned as manager in 2009 before moving to Ipswich where he couldn’t repeat the same feat. Ever since he has been Martin O’Neill’s trusted assistant manager at Aston Villa, Ireland and now Nottingham Forest.

Hit or miss? Miss

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Steve Bruce

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 414

Teams managed: Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Hull City, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday

Bruce stands as one of Sir Alex’s most successful disciples in terms of longevity. He jumped into management in his final season with Sheffield United in 1999 and hasn’t looked back.

He has gone on to add a further nine clubs to his CV in a 20-year managerial career and currently finds himself at Sheffield Wednesday where he is yet to lose a game (four wins, five draws).

Hit or miss? Hit

Mark Hughes

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 352

Teams managed: Wales, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR, Stoke City, Southampton

Like Bruce, Hughes has gone on to make a 20-year managerial career. His first decade in the job went well, earning recognition with Wales and Blackburn but the past decade has been more turbulent.

Joining Man City at the time of their takeover, he was an early casualty and has been flirting with relegation-threatened teams since, most recently Southampton. Although he did have a decent five-year spell at Stoke City.

Hit or miss? Miss

Bryan Robson

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 257

Teams managed: Middlesbrough, Bradford City, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Thailand

A staple of Sir Alex’s early Manchester United sides, Robson went into management straight after his Old Trafford exit as player-manager at Middlesbrough.

He made a great start, winning promotion to the Premier League with former-United teammate Viv Anderson as his assistant. He then led the club to FA Cup and League Cup finals but both were lost. After a spell at Bradford, Robson made headlines again, this time when he performed the great escape to keep West Brom in the Premier League in 2005.

Following relegation the next year, Robson left the club, had a season at Sheffield United and didn’t return to club management.

Hit or Miss? Miss

Paul Ince

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 281

Teams managed: Macclesfield Town, MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers, MK Dons, Notts County, Blackpool

Like Roy Keane, Ince had a promising start to life as a manager. Appointed Macclesfield manager with the club at the bottom of League Two, he helped them to survival before moving to MK Dons, whom he led to promotion from the same division. In those two spells, he won League Two manager of the month four times.

Despite getting a Premier League job with Blackburn in the summer of 2008, he was sacked by Christmas, having won three of 17 games. After that, he bounced around clubs but hasn’t managed since 2014.

Hit or miss? Miss

Andrei Kanchelskis

Appearances under Sir Alex Ferguson: 162

Teams managed: FC Torpedo-ZIL Moscow, FC Ufa, FC Volga Nizhny Novgoord (assistant), FC Jurmala, FC Solyaris Moscow, Navbahor Namangan

Not a name that many would expect to see on this list but Andrei Kanchelskis did, in fact, make over 150 appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson.

After retiring in 2006, he became a sporting director with FC Nosta Novotroitsik before moving into management. His management career hasn’t been awfully successful and he has been a journeyman of sorts.

Hit or miss? Miss

The post Hit or miss? Ten of ex-Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial disciples appeared first on Squawka News.



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