The end of the English Premier League season has the real feeling of an end of an era. Yes the Chelsea job is vacant again (though the strong rumors are of the second coming of Mourinio) and yes the Manchester City job is vacant again. However, while Wenger is still in his position despite debate a few months ago about his position, the reason for this feeling is the retirements of Michael Owen, David Beckham and above all the departure from Manchester United of their manager Alex Ferguson.
 |
| Alex Ferguson joins St Mirren, October 1974 |
Of all
the acres of print devoted to Danny Lennon’s most famous predecessor,
surprisingly few words were devoted to his formative years in management. The twelve years (four at Love Street and
eight at Pittodrie) in Scottish Football.
Nowhere
is this best illustrated than when Ferguson’s rebuilding work on United’s youth
set up is mentioned. His belief in
bringing through your own players has been a hallmark of all of Ferguson’s work
from the early days at Love Street. It
was here that Fergie originally set up his formula for the moulding of quality
young players, a formula that has since been refined with the high point
undoubtedly the 1992 FA Youth Cup winners that now read like a who’s who of
Manchester United legends. The Youth
systems that Ferguson put into place had initial success in bringing through
Fitzpatrick, Stark and McGarvey. After
Ferguson’s departure, the youth set up still produced players with potential
such as Frank McAvennie, Paul Lambert (yes that one) and (ironic given Ferguson’s
last opponents as Manchester United manager) Steve Clarke.
One criticism
that been made of Ferguson was the siege mentality be brought in to Manchester
United. I think that this facet of his
mental toughness was necessary if he was to have had the successes he has had,
even more so at Aberdeen. It is notable
that since Ferguson’s last championship at Pittodrie, Hearts (in 1986, in 1998
and arguably in 2005) and Aberdeen themselves in 1991 have all lost
championships in the closing weeks of the season. All suffered from the mental pressure of
going for the championship and imploded at key moments. Ferguson knew that the best teams had to be mentally
tough, particularly so if you are going to take on the Old Firm.
Early
on in his time Ferguson identified the key to winning silverware in Scottish
Football – win in Glasgow. As it turned
out, that’s what his sides did. His
Aberdeen side won a key League game at Parkhead on the way to his first
Championship in 1980, while his first three Scottish Cup wins came against the
Old Firm.
Ferguson’s
achievements have passed into folklore.
However his achievements here in Scotland were not just the foundations
for his 26 years at Old Trafford. They
were historic on their own terms. The
peak years of Ferguson’s team (probably 1982-85) saw all manner of barriers
come down. There’s that win in the
European Cup Winners cup that saw a quarter final win over Bayern Munch before
the final win over Real Madrid on a rainy night thirty years ago in
Gotherburg. Arguably more than that
though there’s the hat-trick of Scottish Cup wins – the fourth team to do this
(after Queens Park, Vale of Leven & Rangers) and the first since the early
sixties. There’s also the first league
and cup double by an non Old Firm team.
Both
of those landmarks came on 19 May 1984 with Aberdeen’s 2-1 cup final win over
Celtic, a side they finished 7 points ahead of to secure Ferguson’s second
championship. As if to underline the
quality of Scottish Football at that time, Aberdeen lost out on the last day of
the season the previous season to a Dundee United side that went on to be cheated
out of a place in the European Cup final by Roma.
While
tomorrow we should remember his achievements, all of them, we should also
remember those moments. His initial
calling card that was Fergies Furies (as the St Mirren side that won promotion
to the Premier League were dubbed) dismantling of Dundee United in the Scottish
Cup in 1977, his jig across the Easter Road pitch (with echoes of Willie Waddle’s
own jig when Kilmarnock beat Hearts to the championship in 1965) when Aberdeen
became Champions in 1980, the priceless television interview in the aftermath
of Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup win in 1983.
Oh and Aberdeen’s general trophy kleptomania during those peak years.
