Players often have the sensational skill and will normally take the plaudits from the press for a major success.
However, to have a world class player and a team that is a winning success, you need to have a tactical genius, an approachable man-manger and a controlling influence within the dressing room.
There have been some fantastic managers in the last 50 years and Total Football’s Simon Wright has chosen his top ten.
It is time to reveal the greatest manager of all-time in my view.
He is a fiery Scot, who breathes and loves football and continues his success in sustained fashion.
At no.1 is the legend that is Sir Alex Ferguson.
1. Sir Alex Ferguson
TEAMS MANAGED: East Stirling (1974), St. Mirren (1974-1978), Aberdeen (1978-1986), Scotland (1985-1986), Manchester United (1986-PRESENT)
HONOURS: UEFA Champions League 1999, 2008, FA Premier League 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, FA Cup 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup 1983, 1991, Scottish Premier Division 1980, 1984, 1985, English League Cup 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010, UEFA Super Cup 1983, 1991, Intercontinental Cup 1999, FIFA World Club Championship 2008, Scottish Cup 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, Scottish League Cup 1986, Charity Shield 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, FA Community Shield 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, Scottish First Division 1977
The achievements of Sir Alex Ferguson will never be matched again, as the list of honours above shows.
He is the greatest manager of all-time and I don’t think any can argue with that viewpoint.
Now 70, he is still going strong at Manchester United, with another new challenge for the feisty Scot – defeat a stronger Manchester City side.
Ferguson (pictured) began management at just 32 with East Stirling in 1974 but his first success came in his four seasons at St. Mirren.
Mission accomplished in Scotland
He transformed the club from an average second division side, into first division champions in 1977. He was sacked a year later and claimed wrongful dismissal, which was rejected.
This was because he had agreed to take charge of Aberdeen, turning them into Scotland’s main force in the 1980s.
They won three Premier League titles, four Scottish Cups and the League Cup in 1986. There was also a famous success over the legendary Real Madrid in the final of the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Aberdeen became only the third Scottish side to win a European trophy and with mission accomplished north of the Border, it was time to head down to England.
He also led Scotland to the World Cup finals in Mexico in 1986, following the sudden death of manager Jock Stein in Cardiff in September 1985.
After the Scots made their predictable group stage exit, Ferguson stepped aside once the tournament concluded.
On 6 November 1986, he was appointed Manchester United manager, replacing Ron Atkinson as boss.
He had previously rejected job offers from the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham, showing his success in Scotland hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Although he got stricter on drinking habits and discipline, the early days at Old Trafford were difficult.
They finished second in the league in 1987 but still trailed north west rivals Liverpool by some distance.
Two years later, United suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat at Maine Road to Manchester City and many fans and journalists called for the board to sack him.
1990 began with the club just outside the relegation zone in division one and facing a tricky FA Cup third round trip to in-form Nottingham Forest.
Robins saves his job
Mark Robins scored the only goal at the City Ground, the game that is often referred to the one that saved his job.
The Red Devils went on to win the FA Cup that season, overcoming a determined Crystal Palace challenge in a final replay.
Another trophy followed in 1991, with two Mark Hughes goals beating Barcelona to win the Cup Winners’ Cup and the League Cup was added in 1992. Yet, the major league prize continued to elude Manchester United.
The formation of the Premier League concept in 1992 changed everything and in a tense first season, Ferguson ended the drought which had stretched to 26 years.
They won the title by ten points from Aston Villa and a great era of success began.
The club achieved the coveted league and FA Cup double in 1994 and 1996, with players from the youth ranks, like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers breaking through.
They joined the stars and experience in the form of Eric Cantona, Lee Sharpe, Andrei Kanchelskis, Peter Schmeichel and Paul Ince.
In 1999, all the dreams came true with the unique and unforgettable treble.
First, they resisted a tough Arsenal challenge to regain the Premier League crown they had lost to the Gunners the previous season.
A comfortable FA Cup final triumph followed against a shallow Newcastle United side and four days later came the ultimate prize.
Trailing 1-0 to an early goal from Mario Basler in the Champions League final in Barcelona, Ferguson brought on Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and they did the damage in time added on.
Both scored to break Bayern Munich hearts and win the coveted trophy in such dramatic fashion. Ferguson was knighted by the Queen after this sensational season.
More Premier League trophies followed in 2000, 2001 and 2003 but European success continued to elude the manager for at least another decade.
New challenges
The challenges got tougher, especially when Jaap Stam was controversially sold to Lazio for comments made in his autobiography about Ferguson and the selling of club icon David Beckham.
The pair had dramatically fallen out, following the midfielder being kicked in the face by a boot after an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal in February 2003.
The arrival of Jose Mourinho in the English game meant Sir Alex faced his toughest test, making the club’s Premier League success in 2007 very sweet for the Scot.
A new generation of stars was being formed, with the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, moulding brilliantly with the experience of Giggs, Scholes and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
In 2008, there was another Premier League title secured on the last day of the season and alongside it, the holy grail of the Champions League in Moscow.
Against Chelsea, they drew 1-1 after two hours of football but John Terry missed his penalty and Nicolas Anelka was denied by Van der Sar, ensuring a brilliant second European success for the greatest manager of his generation.
Liverpool’s overall total of league trophies was being rapidly closed down and in 2009, it was equalled with a third consecutive league title.
After narrowly missing out on four in a row in 2010, the 19th title was secured in May 2011 with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers.
Ferguson’s main aim when he came down to England was to end Liverpool’s dominance of the English game.
He has done this in style and Manchester United have become the most successful club again in the British game.
The league championship was lost in 2012, when his side threw away an eight point lead in April and Manchester City took the honours, in a sensational climax to the season but this defeat will give Sir Alex Ferguson more hunger than ever before.
He is the greatest ever and with no sign of stopping just yet, more honours are bound to be added before he does decide to call it a day.
NEXT TIME ON THE GREATEST: The players who stop those crucial goals, alongside a wealth of experience and physical strength as I start the individual countdown of the ten greatest defenders of all-time.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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