Who are the greatest coaches to have learned their trade from one Sir Alex? And, as you might have guessed, Gary Neville is conspicious by his abscence.
While Fergie’s infamous fledglings reigned supreme at the top of English football for the best part of a decade, an alarming lack of former Manchester United stars have followed the greatest manager in the history of British football on the path to an esteemed coaching career.
Some have dabbled with mixed success, others have failed miserably, while only a chosen few have matched their on-pitch success with achievements off it. But who are the best of a surprisingly bad bunch?
5) Jaap Stam
While describing them as the English, second-tier equivalent to Barcelona might be taking it a step too far (Martin Allen, we’re looking at you), The Royals have served up performances fit for a king in recent weeks.
Jaap Stam, honing his trade as assistant coach at Ajax, has steeped his philosophy in the Total Football principles espoused by the great tactician Rinus Michels and, after a few initial teething problems, has guided habitual-strugglers Reading to third in the Championship with the highest average possession in the league. And it is possession with a purpose too. Are you watching LVG?
4) Gordon Strachan
That the Scottish FA were forced to resort to the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’ recently shows just how much pressure the temperamental Strachan is under right now. A 3-0 beating in front of a warbling Wembley is never likely to go down too well north of the border, but it’s a dismal start to yet another qualifying campaign that loaded the straws onto an increasingly lumbago-ridden camel.
Hounded out of Coventry and Middlesbrough, Strachan also guided Southampton to an improbable Premier League survival and then the FA Cup final before becoming only the third manager in history to guide Celtic to three consecutive SPL titles – it’s fair to say the 59-year-old has enjoyed a mixed career.
3) Steve Bruce
Promotion specialist, safe pair of hands, whatever the hyperbole, a newly svelte Steve Bruce fits the bill as far as Aston Villa are concerned. An inspirational captain in United’s dominance of the Premier League in the early 90s, Bruce may not have come anywhere near lifting the trophy as a manager but he remains respected in his own right for taking Birmingham and Hull, twice, up to the Premier League.
Transforming a Villa side in disarray into a solid unit in a matter of weeks, there’s no reason to suspect he can’t repeat the trick in the coming years.
2) Mark Hughes
Three consecutive ninth placed finishes might indicate a lack of progression but it’s always worth comparing Stoke’s comfortable present to their recent past. Just a few years ago, they were the neutral’s punching bag, characterised as boorish long-ball merchants lead by the elbow-swinging Robert Huth and leg-snapping Ryan Shawcross.
Now, they’re an urbane if susceptible unit inspired by the maverick charms of Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic.
A dismal start to the season had Hughes under pressure, but the former Blackburn and Man City manager is at his peak in the Potteries.
1) Laurent Blanc
When United endured an oddly fallible start to the 2001/02 season, one perceptive newspaper unearthed a particular shiny nugget of tabloid gold. Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea, the five teams to have defeated United early in the campaign, could be twisted into a rather crude abbreviation – BLANC.
15 years on, the sluggish centre-half who was well past his best when he arrived in Manchester was being handed his P45 by PSG. Unlike at United, however, such criticism appeared harsh. After all, it’s not often you guide your team to eleven, yes eleven, domestic trophies in three years and still find yourself clearing out your desk come May.
Yet, it was PSG’s inability to conquer Europe that left the club’s deep-pocketed owners unhappy, with a particularly downbeat performance against Manchester City putting pay to Blanc’s long-term future in the capital.
A former France manager, and title winner with unfancied Bordeaux; Blanc is now out of work, though surely not for long.
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