Safeguarding the future – Ferguson’s legacy?

By Mick Higgins

29^th May 1968 – A date with eternal significance for every Manchester United fan.  The date when a journey, one which had started ten years prior in the wreckage of Munich, ended in glorious victory at a packed Wembley stadium.  Manchester United were Champions of Europe.  A dream, some may even say an impossible dream given the circumstances, had been achieved.  Matt Busby had built a team with a fantastic mix of experience and youthful exuberance.  A team with the genius of George Best, the goal scoring prowess of Bobby Charlton and the steel of Nobby Stiles.  A team with an average age of 25. A team which could, and maybe should, have dominated football both domestically and on a European level. 

It didn’t. 

The 29^th May 1968 was the end of a fantastic journey but it was also the end in many other ways.  The creator of this team departed the year after the European triumph, handing over the mantle to Wilf McGuiness, safe in the knowledge a team with solid foundations was being passed on.  After briefly returning for the second half of the 1970/71 season after McGuiness was sacked, Busby finally left a Utd side that still included more than half the European Cup squad; a squad of winners, a squad with the blend of youth and experience (the average age was under 25), a squad with the fundamentals to succeed, right?  Wrong.  Manchester United finished 8^th, 18^th then 21^stin the three seasons after Busby fully relinquished the managerial reigns.  The latter league position resulted in the unthinkable for a club which had won the European Cup only 6 years previously - relegation.  The loss of experienced stalwarts like Charlton, Crerand, Stiles and Best proved tough to compensate for but without the architect of our rise from the ashes in Sir Matt, United weren’t the same team.  Leaving behind a good, strong squad wasn’t enough.  Sir Matt Busby proved almost irreplaceable. 

Passing the baton? Sir Matt welcomes Alex Ferguson

I say almost because on November 6^th 1986, Manchester United finally replaced the irreplaceable. Although not knowing it at the time, in Alex Ferguson the club had appointed a man who would take United back to the summit of English and world football.  The similarities between Alex Ferguson and Matt Busby are there for all to see.  Born and raised in Scotland, to working class parents, they were exposed to hard labour at an early age.  They sought escape from this work through football and they made their professional debuts as teenagers but both had relatively unsuccessful playing careers.  As managers they succeeded and at Manchester United they excelled; combining to make United the most successful club in English football.  Both men had an emphasis on developing youth, a trait that has become an inherent quality of the club.  Their teams played with flair, skill and a determination to ensure the crowd who came to watch Manchester United left entertained if not always happy with the result. 

Now, as we approach 25 years since Sir Alex was appointed, the time is nearing when once again we’ll have to say farewell to one of, if not, the greatest manager ever.  It is when this happens that every Manchester United fan is hoping the similarities between Sir Matt and Sir Alex come to an end.  Everyone will hope the club does not face the same situation it faced 40 years ago when Sir Matt stepped aside.  One believes there is cause for optimism and that this will not be the case.  When Sir Alex leaves he will leave at the top.  Like Sir Matt, he will leave a team of winners and a team with the foundations to succeed.  Unlike 40 years ago, this will be enough to see United continue to thrive and here’s why:

Manchester United will likely start season 2011/2012 with a registered squad, in line with Premier League rules, of 22 players (NB. This excludes Gibson and Kuszczak who are likely departures and any potential new signings i.e. Sneijder).  The average age of this squad will be 26.5 years.  Although if you include the other 5 players who do not have to be registered but will play a significant part throughout the season then the average age drops to just above 25 years.  Very rarely this season, if at all, will a United starting XI have an average age even close to 30.  Compare that to a year or two ago when it would not have been unusual to see the starting XI averaging 30 years.  The squad is in a very healthy position presently and is being set up to be just as healthy for the future.

The young guns showed their class at Wembley

With that said, having a squad brimming with youth is hardly an oddity for Manchester United.  As stated previously, emphasis on youth is a strong characteristic of the club.  However, it is no coincidence that as Ferguson’s reign nears the end; there is a greater prominence towards lowering the average age of the squad by signing young players and promoting from within.  It would be naive to suggest this is the only reason – debt being another massive factor – but it is clear Sir Alex is building a young squad which will have the required experience to succeed once he is gone.

Since David Gill made the statement in the summer of 2009 that Manchester United would no longer be signing players aged 26 and over for big fees, United have not only not signed players for big money that are 26 or over, they have only signed one player at all in that age bracket – Anders Lindegaard. The average age of the players signed is just below 22 years.  Of course the policy had been developing since the Glazers arrived with the likes of Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Vidic and Evra all under 26 when they arrived but there has definitely been a shift towards looking ahead, looking to the future, a future without Sir Alex.

As well as signing players to compete for a first team place there has been a greater focus on identifying the best young talents from around the world with the intent of bringing them to the United academy.  Paul Pogba, Davide Petrucci, Gyliano Van Velzen, Marnick Vermijl, Michele Fornasier and Alberto Massacci to name but a few have been brought to United in recent years from clubs around Europe.  This is another indication that the club is looking ahead, looking to develop the best young talent from around the world to ensure they have the best chance of making it at Manchester United.  It’s not just talent from distant shores though; there is also the home grown talent of Ravel Morrison, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Tom Thorpe to be excited about.

After a lull in the talent that was emanating from the United academy, there is a belief this more concentrated focus will reap its rewards in the not too distant future.  Already this squad of players are being bred as winners having won the FA Youth Cup in style last season.  They played with the skill, flair and never say die attitude that have become characteristics of Manchester United teams past and present.  Now they must kick on and prove they are the next generation of United stars.  Of course not all of them will make it but there is genuine belief within the club that a number of them have a very good chance.

When these players are ready to come in to the first team picture they will join a squad that is already very youthful but one which won’t lack experience.   By signing young players just now, under Sir Alex Ferguson’s tutelage they will become experienced and seasoned professionals by the time they are in their mid-20s.  That means when Sir Alex does leave, he will leave behind a squad capable of staying together for a number of years without the need for a drastic overhaul.  We already have a core group of players in their early 20s who could easily spend more than a decade at the club.

David De Gea will be ably backed up by Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos for many years. In Smalling, Evans and Jones we have three of the best young centre backs in the world, flanked by two of the best young full backs in the world - the Da Silva twins.  In Anderson and Cleverley  we have two central midfielders who have the potential to form an excellent partnership.  Hernandez, Welbeck and Macheda offer an array of attacking options and will only get better with maturity.  All these players are 23 and under (except Lindegaard).  They will be complimented by older heads such as Rooney, Fletcher, Nani, Young and Valencia who are all in their mid 20s.  These players will become the bedrock of United in the way Giggs, Scholes and Neville did.  They will provide the old heads needed when it comes to “squeaky bum time”. 

United's future in safe hands? The 2011 Youth Cup winners

That exciting squad of players will then (hopefully) be topped up by the likes of Tom Thorpe, Reece Brown and Marnick Vermijl in defence; Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison and Ryan Tunnicliffe in midfield and Will Keane, John Cofie and Josh King in attack.  Of course it may be a tad optimistic to think all these players will graduate from the academy but they have the potential.  This is what the work being put in at the academy hopes to achieve; a plethora of talented academy graduates bursting in to the United first team just like “Fergie’s Fledglings” did.  The last act of Ferguson’s managerial master class may be to oversee the development of these players and then leave Manchester United in a very healthy position.  His successor will inherit a squad brimming with experienced 20 something’s with sprinklings of youthful gems.  He will also inherit another youth/reserve team full of exciting potential.  Without getting too ahead of ourselves, names such as Jack Barmby, Jack Rudge, Mats Daehli, Luke Hendrie and Tom Lawrence are already ones to look out for.

So when the day comes for Sir Alex Ferguson to move aside he will leave Manchester United in the best possible state he can.  He’ll be as close to irreplaceable as you can get but the legacy he leaves will be enough to see us through the hard times we’ll inevitably face after his departure.  We’ll survive and then we’ll thrive because as we tip our hat to Sir Alex for one last time we’ll watch him ride off in to the sunrise rather than the sunset.  

Mick is a lifelong United fan from north of the border who was lucky enough to be born in to the Fergie era.  He cried in '99 and didn't watch the penalties in '08. He was a staunch defender of Darren Fletcher when everyone doubted him (it's a Scottish thing) and has unrequited love for Eric Cantona.  Away from United, he is a law graduate hoping to be the next Mitch McDeere.

Many thanks to Mick for this debut article on Written Offside. Hopefully this is the first of many of such quality.

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