11 Oct 2021 15:42:28
Genuine question. Not calling out our current manager but, what's everyone's opinion on how SAF would fare against the competition in the Premier league currently?

The teams around and above us have some truly world class leadership and I was just wondering if people think Sir Alex would be able to compete?

1.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 15:54:08
Absolutely yes. He would not tolerate slackers he would also be more tactically aware than Ole and his motivational powers would still be high.

2.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 16:09:42
I think so, with the money our managers have spent he would have kept us competing imo.

3.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 16:11:12
I know it took him a few years to get the juggernaut rolling, do you think he would have been given the time in this day and age?

4.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 16:35:49
Depends which version of Sir Alex were talking about, if its the one who came from Aberdeen with a huge point to prove or if its the Sir Alex post his 1st attempt at retirement when he revamped his tactics with Quieroz and muelensteen. Then i think he'd be right up there with the best in my opinion.

If its from his later years i think he'd struggle to compete with the likes of pep and klopp as i don't think he'd gel with the modern footballer and fall out with them like mourinho does.

5.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 17:37:31
SAF was really not very successful in Europe and the game has become far more international as far as tactics are concerned from when he was at his peak. Even his two European Cup final successes were hardly stellar. Totally outplayed by Bayern and a lucky penalties win against Chelsea when Terry slipped. His later signings were not very good, for whatever reason. I know this is not a popular view but RVP was a one season wonder who bought him his last championship against the backdrop of an aging team. He kept insisting there was no value in the market.

A great manager in his day, no question. But no guarantee that he would have been able to cope with the current tactical realities and a transfer market dictated by agents.

6.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 17:54:30
Shaw, I'd suggest you watch the 08 final again. We should have been 3-0 up at half time. I wouldn't call it "lucky" that we won, we were the much better team over 120 minutes.

7.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 18:33:59
Best Manager ever, lost his way with the ‘no value in the market’ nonsense but one of the best motivators of players we have seen. Would he be able to compete in the modern game? I don’t know but he was very clever at adapting and changing. My biggest issue was how poor we were in Europe, we should have dominated the Champions League but were often found wanting. I’m not talking about the 2 finals we lost, I’m thinking of Porto, Dortmund, Leverkusen, all games we should have won.

8.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 19:29:37
I think it's obvious that Sir Alex would have this squad performing better, whether there is enough in this squad to truly challenge I'm not sure, but at the very least he'd be a lot closer.

Shaw I think your post is slightly disingenuous for two reasons. Firstly as Mumbles says in the 2008 final we completely outplayed Chelsea for nearly all the 120 minutes. I remember thinking it was going to be "one of those" games where you should and normally would run out easy winners but fate it seems has a different plan. We had a similar game in an FA cup final against Arsenal where we played them off the park then lost on penalties.


The second reason I feel your post slightly misses the mark is that one of Sir Alex's greatest strengths as a manager was knowing his own limitations. He knew he was an average tactician and his strength as a manager was getting the most out of the players he had. He used to circumvent this limitation by hiring tactically astute assistants and coaches, he would listen to them and heed their advice. If he was our manager today I would expect that he would have some young, talented, tactically astute assistant manager working alongside himself.

That was the genius of Sir Alex and what contributed to his longevity, the ability to know his own limitations and plan accordingly.

9.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 20:08:10
SAF won the league with Cleverly, Welbeck, Anderson, Butner, Smalling, Jones, etc in his last season.
Imagine what he would do with players of much higher quality and squad depth.

10.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 21:24:52
TRD, this is the second disingenuous post on this thread. Of those players you mentioned Cleverly made the most starts in the league that year with 18 or half of the games. None were real regulars, good squad players at best.

He had many better players at his disposal than those mentioned, DDG, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes, Rooney and RvP to name a few.

Also truth be told the competition back then was much lower. City hadn't become the juggernaut they have since Pep took over in 2016. Liverpool were not a shadow of the team they are now. Chelsea started that season with Di Matteo as manager and ended it with Benitez as manager in one of their typical transition season's.

The league back then was not as strong as the league is now. In City, Liverpool and Chelsea we have 3 of the top 5 teams currently in Europe (probably the world) competing in our league. With only Bayern Munich and possibly PSG close to matching them on current form.

11.) 11 Oct 2021
11 Oct 2021 22:39:59
Yes, we did outplay Chelsea, however Chelsea being an English team it doesn't change my assessment about SAF's lack of success against Europe's best teams. He was a great motivator, no question. He was a demanding old fashioned British manager and he knew what was needed to win the Premier League. But he was not a modernist and his style did not translate into European success, especially given the number of times we were in the competition. In his later years he became more obstinate in his defiance at the evolving transfer system, and he left a team that had run its course with a new manager who was a poor version of himself. which kind of makes my point.

12.) 12 Oct 2021
12 Oct 2021 08:15:26
Great motivator but very different approach to Guardiola and Klopp.

Very shrewd and knowledgeable manager but maybe a bit too abrasive for today’s player.

13.) 12 Oct 2021
12 Oct 2021 09:55:02
Prime era Fergie would have this squad competing and winning.
And the psychological battles with Pep and Klopp would of been interesting/ entertaining.
Definitely agree about Europe. Could of and should of won more. Porto and Leverkusen results still rankle now.
The Magnier/ Rock of Gibralter shenanigans were a distraction and have impacted negatively on the club in hindsight.

14.) 12 Oct 2021
12 Oct 2021 14:26:11
While I agree to an extent that SAF could perhaps have done a little better in Europe than he did, I think it’s also worth pointing out that Barcelona only won four Champions League trophies during the eighteen years that Messi spent in the first team. Granted, that’s double what SAF won, but considering they had arguably the best player ever to play the game and one of the best teams ever assembled, I think it goes to show how difficult it is to dominate Europe consistently.

15.) 12 Oct 2021
12 Oct 2021 16:00:27
I think fergie could have win 2 more to be honest. The year we were beaten by The Herman's in the semi 97 I think with Cantona hurt the most.

16.) 12 Oct 2021
12 Oct 2021 16:01:34
What are we doing here, one of SAF biggest traits was getting the best coaches for the club and also not being afraid to adapt. Why do we think he would not be able to do that now.
Yes players are more prescious and the Mourinho approach is not so successful but I find it crazy to think the SAF would nor get so much more out of the players we have now and who would come in just to play under him.
Europe, I appreciate never materialised as much as it should have.