Fergie’s Fledglings – the management reports are in!

25 years is an astonishingly long time in football. But that’s how long Sir Alex Ferguson has been in charge of Manchester United. His success is obviously well publicised, but something often missed amongst his pile of major trophies are the number of people who have graduated from Fergie’s players to Fergie’s opponents. Evidently their former mentor had a significant effect on their career paths, but to what success? Steve Bruce, an early Fergie fledgling, became the first managerial casualty of the new Premiership season and whatever you think of Sunderland’s kneejerk reaction to remove their manager, results at the Stadium of Light have just not been good enough. It is clear that Ferguson had a profound influence on his time in management. The pair have a strong relationship, something highlighted by Bruce’s use of the loan market, dipping into United’s reserves on a number of occasions, with Danny Welbeck providing the best example of the merits of this policy. Sir Alex has been publicly critical of Bruce’s removal from Sunderland, lamenting the lack of patience the Black Cats’ fans showed to his former captain. So what impact have Sir Alex’s protégées had on the managerial world?

Sir Alex has mentored a lot of current managers.

Steve Bruce

A regular on the managerial merry-go-round during his early days, taking charge of Sheffield United, Hudderfield, Wigan, Crystal Palace and Birmingham, all in 3 years. However, his time in charge of the Blues saw Bruce really prove his worth, guiding them back to the top flight in 2002 for the first time in 16 years, then finishing higher than city rivals Villa the following season, a feat no Birmingham manager had achieved since the 1970’s. Mid-table mediocrity, relegations and promotions kept Steve on his toes, until Wigan came calling after a fall-out with the board. A decent couple of seasons followed at the DW Stadium in the Premier League, before he stepped up the ladder again, replacing Ricky Sbragia at Sunderland in 2009. Although there were signs of promise, indeed at the turn of the New Year, Sunderland looked set to mount a European challenge, the loss of prolific strikers Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan left Sunderland short up front, prompting a shocking run of form that left them hovering precariously above the drop-zone. So poor Steve suffered the ignominies of modern football, as chairman Ellis Short took swift action in the wake of a brewing crisis as the supporters felt out of love with their adopted Geordie.

Fergie’s School Report Says: (B-) A lot of potential already, but still needs work. Should bounce back soon.

Roy Keane

The ultimate gladiator in Fergie’s all conquering Treble team, but aside from one decent promotion with Sunderland, his exploits with the Black Cats didn’t match the extravagant amount of money he spent. And the less said about his time at Ipswich the better. Being out of a job probably suits Roy better, as it gives him more time to walk those beloved dogs.

Fergie’s School Report Says: (D-) After one good result,Roy has declined beyond all recognition. Needs to control his temper.

Bryan Robson

Captain Marvel himself was one of Sir Alex’s golden boys, but he is a walking disaster at managerial level that teams have finally learnt to avoid. Fans of Middlesbrough, Bradford City,West Brom or Sheffield United will not be providing him with a decent job reference any time soon. He even resigned from that oh-so-difficult Thailand job this year.

Fergie’s School Report Says: (E)Bryan’s efforts are nothing but disastrous. Needs to think long and hard about whether he is up to the challenge.

Paul Ince

His larger-than-life personality ensured he and Ferguson never saw eye-to-eye during his spell at Manchester United and it seems such character traits have been transferred into management, lasting just 177 days in charge of Blackburn, ruining Ince’s hopes before they had even begun. Failure at MK Dons and Notts County has since followed.

Fergie’s School Report Says: (U) Expelled. Simply not good enough and never will be.