He is extremely controlling. Wants everything his way. What Beckham should wear, how he should cut his hair, how many days he should spend on his honeymoon, who should he marry and who should he not be with … Is this OK for you? And he would get away after physically assaulting him? For SAF, everything was always about himself.
Arsene Wenger on the other hand is so different. He only controlled what people ate (and that too, through education and not “enforcement”). I never hear any such stories about him. He too was a winner, wasn’t he? But completely different style of management.
Seems Ferguson controlled through fear while Arsene Wenger coached through love.
Glenn Hoddle was the biggest prick in the series. All he had to do is say the rest of the team didn’t score their PKs. Score the PKs and the red card goes away. What an ass for not providing a complete picture of that game.
Capella also an ass for freezing out Becks at RM.
The boot incident was an accident.
There are many differences between SAF and Wenger, but the biggest is the amount of titles they each won…
Not really the point of the conversation. Just take a look at Keane’s view on SAF
Look at the countless players who have nothing but praise for him.
Roy Keane is hardly the best example of a sensible view either. The guy gets mad at quite literally everything.
But the point is Ferguson’s methods were more effective. He got better results. Was he more ruthless? Probably. But it was for a reason, and the reason is titles and trophies.
Not wrong either
He’s really trying to compare these two managers? “Through love” lmao
Idk… looking at Wenger on the sidelined, I’d have never thought he treated his people with love haha. But that is just coz Wenger has a resting bitch face
Both are wonderful managers nevertheless.
In one of Beckham’s interviews he said that once, when he scored a goal from halfway, Sir Alex told him to immediately go to the teams bus and avoid interviews. That is something you can understand and respect, as I can tell SAF was trying to protect David from the media. But, of course, being extremely controlling is definitely not OK.
I agree with you … That does sound like he was protecting Beckham from saying something “inappropriate” in the moment or something like that.
But man, that was his moment, wasn’t it? I can also see SAF not wanting the spotlight go away from him.
Guess we would never know his actual intentions.
I’m thinking positively - to protect David. The media has drained the confidence out of a lot of players and SAF is an experienced manager.
Beckham is a hypocritical wanker. Presented himself as a gay ally then took millions to promote the Qatar World Cup where being gay is illegal. Say no more.
Lmfao you thought this was gonna get so many upvotes didn’t you
The reason SAF was so controlling is because these are young men who have never experienced fame and money in the way football brings to them. Without proper discipline and structure the kids would go wayward, certainly not live up to the standards that he ended up getting them to. After identifying their potential at their pre-teens, SAF developed probably one of the most successful single group of footballers to ever play the game
The documentary never came across as him being irrationally controlling as much as him inculcating strict focus and discipline in the players while they developed into world class players. It is a small price to pay for the success that they achieved as a team
inculcating
I just learnt a new word - you’re never too old!
I think you’re 100% right that he was controlling but equally completely wrong about it always being about himself.
He was controlling because he cared - Beckham and other players were kids in an era where players were earning more and more than their counterparts and often away from home. Ferguson wanted them to not lose control, to have stable families to support them and be professional. He knew what could happen in his own playing career and the fall out from Rangers too.
In the documentary they said about how he contacted him directly after the red card and how he supported him. Would you not say that was love?
Fergie had his vices and he made mistakes with some players but by and large I think the way he handled players and the whole club was very positive and why so many players still think of him so highly.
Beckham and other players were kids in an era where players were earning more and more than their counterparts and often away from home.
Exactly. You just have to read any of the stories about what Cantona was allowed to get away with and you realise how ridiculous it is to say that he only cared about being able to control people.
I’m a Liverpool supporter. But even I can see that Ferguson managed to be a coach, manager and father for his players. The one ting that has striked me the most about him, is he’s a winner. And he will do whatever it takes for manu to win a match. Even though he fined Ole Gunnar Solskjær for his very proffesional foul against Castle which contradicts that. He would go at referees like we’ve never seen before or after. So much that he got what he wanted, some of them never refereed manu again. He was «old school» but I think he could show more love for his players then for example Rafa Benitez does. If he was such a bad person as you say, he wouldnt last 25 years+ there. With a team fighting for so many last minutes goal as they did. I believe he’s a 10/10 good man.
I don’t think many people would claim that Ferguson is some morally exceptional person. He was, quite simply, an exceptional manager. Quite possibly the best ever.
Wenger isn’t in the same conversation. And Wenger was an excellent manager himself. But his legacy isn’t on the same level as Ferguson’s.
Theirs was a function vs. form rivalry. Ferguson’s focus was entirely on what made Man Utd win. If it was ugly, so be it. If it was beautiful, that was a nice bonus. But ultimately, winning was all that mattered.
Contrastingly, Wenger would sacrifice a certain level of competitiveness for the sake of aesthetics. That 5-10% he sacrificed was a key difference between winning titles and finishing 4th so often in the latter years of his Arsenal reign.
A lot of players saw Ferguson as a father figure and by all accounts, he took many young players under his wing and nurtured them both as players and as people.
He was an absolute master at getting the best out of his players. But you cannot do that by ruling in fear - he didn’t demand respect… he commanded it.
He was also a ruthless mofo and would discard anyone who no longer suited his purpose or who got in the way of his vision.
Both of these things made him one of the greatest football managers of all time. Love him or hate him, that’s what it takes to achieve that level of success.
THE greatest manager of all time. I’m not even a united fan, but it’s a fact.
Liverpool in the 90s gave a good example of what happens when you don’t lay down the law with young players in the PL era. These were guys barely out of their teens who suddenly had more money and fame than their First Division predecessors ever had and left unchecked it went straight to their heads. Beckham at United would have been at more risk than any of them, too, since he basically became the poster boy for the league and the England team. Ferguson may not have been nice but he was damn effective and the fact that so many players chose to spend the best years of their career playing their hearts out for him suggests that even if they didn’t always like him there was always a mutual respect there. All great managers have a mean streak, some more obvious than others but inevitably there; it’s impossible to manage and motivate a squad full of superstars otherwise.
Yea, Spice Boys they were called.
Those fucking white suits, Ferguson would never have allowed that
Fergie being extremely controlling?
This is news to me, I cant believe it!
Arsene coaching through love. Now that’s an image.
looool - i think all great managers are … think Pep and Jose
You have to be
Nah look at klopp he isnt controlling, its more like a preference
Wait until you hear about how he treated the refs! Scandalous for sure!
You have to remember that it wasn’t like it is now. Managers today are just managers. Clubs are run by other people. But back then, Ferguson was such a huge part of the way United was run. He wanted his players to conform to certain standards and his role in the club meant he could demand it from them…fairly or unfairly. But he also adapted. He wasn’t like that with the later generations of player like Rooney/Ronaldo etc.
What most people are failing to understand was the 90s and 2000s was the largest growth and innovation in how media was consumed, and how the subjects of that media were treated.
Newspapers and radio had been a dominant for of media, but now the advent of phones and smaller cameras were coming into existence, mixed with the explosion of internet and eventually social media.
Honestly can’t imagine Ferguson was clairvoyant but his method was incredible for the time. Now young players are media trained and have grown up with the media being deployed. Back then, Ferguson kept young players from interviews and it protected them and the team.
Don’t you think there is a reason that all of those boy’s respect him the most out of anyone? It’s almost like 16-20 year old boys are fucking idiots and they had a person genuinely looking out for their best interest. I’m sure they talked shit behind his back when they were kids but you best believe it clicked for them when they were 25-30 and realized how much SAF did for them, not only on the pitch but off.
All you need to do is compare Beckham’s career post 2003 to Scholes and Giggs.
Beckham won one La Liga (in which he started 17 games) in an inconsistent spell at Real and was basically done as a serious top level footballer by 2007.
Scholes and Giggs won another 5 league titles and a Champions League.
If we’re only talking about football then Beckham leaving United so he can live his celebrity lifestyle was a disaster for his football career and he’s have been far better off staying at United.