I don't think Ferguson's record as the greatest ever manager of a club football side can be doubted and only a fool would find it hard not to admire what he achieved with a team that had spectacularly under-performed prior to his appointment. Without doubt, he has surpassed both Shankley, Paisley and Clough combined and I would suggest was fortunate to produce a side that exploited the rise in quality of the game that stemmed from the EPL being created. Likewise, Liverpool's fall from form at the same point in the early 1990's is reason why the Merseyside club will never match Man Utd. Odd that no one has really pointed out that Ferguson's ahcievement in Europe is vastly more impressive than any other English club and at a time when the competition became of an increasingly high standard. There is no chance of a team like Malmo reaching the final of such a competition these days. However, in many respects I think he won't be missed. The constant harranging of officials at the touchline and the notion of "Fergie-time" are elements of the modern game which are not welcome. Man Utd have become all-conquering under Sir Alex and perhaps football is a little more boring now that provincial clubs stand little chance of making a lasting impact in the EPL. His support of his players when they have done wrong and reluctance to accept refereeing decisions which have gone against his team are a sad reflection of the way the sport has evolved and like Arsene Wenger who has also radicalised the football in this country, i think this has come at a cost. I feel that managers like Wenger and Ferguson have done a lot of damage to football and their reactions are not always the most sporting - and we should not forget that it is a sport that we are talking about. It will be a shame if Moyes leaves Everton although a possible replacement with Martinez would be interesting as has been pointed out above- I too am not convinced that the Wigan manager is quite as good as is believed. Hopefully we can all look forward to another team replacing Man Utd as the dominant football club in England. I doubt if a provincial club like Forest can ever replicate past glories but I would like to see the game open up a bit more so that teams like Saints can have a good stab at taking the top spot. Best Fergie moment? Beating Manure 3-1 at the Dell and him blaming the grey kit!
You sure? They definitely have limited resources, but I don't think all of their signings have been particularly good. Koné is probably their best, but I can't say much for the likes of Crusat, Henriquez, Jordi Gómez, Roger Espinoza. They've been a bit wasteful in the transfer market if you ask me.
1000/1 on Betfair. Fergie once said that apart from Fergie, Adkins was the best manager in British football. Vin
Certainly had their fair share of duds as any team does, although you missed the biggest one - Boselli. But there's also been Diame, Moses, McCarthy, Al-Habsi, Caldwell, Maloney and McCarthur for around £10m all together off the top of my head, which they almost recouped on the sale of Moses alone. I think he has been naive in his philosophy and has not even vaguely secured them defensively, which has ultimately cost them, but I don't think you can accuse him of being wasteful.
If Wigan go down I can certainly see Martinez returning to the Prem with whatever clubs happen to be struggling next Christmas. Has he done enough to go to Everton...well it's borderline. Although Everton are thrifty most managers would be very tempted whether they have a job or not. Problem is there are not many options out there.
I really don't get the love-in with Martinez, yes Wigan are a small club but they have always been right down at the bottom, every year once they'd survived he would say how next season they were going to be aiming for mid-table and what not. The truth is the past Wigan managers, Steve Bruce and Paul Jewell, did much better with the same resources available to them.
Diame and Moses are two particularly excellent players, but of course they sold both, and when you reinvest that transfer revenue into the team and still have such a poor defense then I believe you can only call that wasteful, even if they did get some good midfield and attacking players in. Caldwell, for me, is not a particularly good defender and has been caught out an awful lot, and though McCarthy and McArthur have come good now, it took them a while as they were young and inexperienced players. Look at their transfer activity this season: Diame, Moses, Rodallega, Gohouri, Thomas all out. They needed at least one new goalscorer and signed Koné, which was very smart, but they also clearly needed much strengthening at the back. The rest of their signings were: Miyaichi, Ramis, Fyvie, Henriquez, Espinoza, Robles, Scharner. That's surely wasteful. I'm sure fans were delighted to see Scharner come back, but must have ended up very disappointed with the role he's been made to play. Bryan Oviedo cost Everton £1.5m, Fulham got Sascha Riether on loan, Norwich got Sebastien Bassong for £4m, Sunderland got Carlos Cuellar for free, Swansea got Chico for £2.5m we got Maya Yoshida for £2.5m. I know Wigan don't have a lot of money, but clearly there were good, cheap defenders out there.
Pretty much the same here. Superb manager, not my favourite personality - but you can't help but admire what the guy has done in his life. I hope Old Trafford raises the roof and gives him a top send-off.
The rest of their signings were: Miyaichi, Ramis, Fyvie, Henriquez, Espinoza, Robles, Scharner. That's surely wasteful. I'm sure fans were delighted to see Scharner come back, but must have ended up very disappointed with the role he's been made to play. QUOTE] Fyvie was £400k from Aberdeen (he`s was Aberdeen`s youngest ever player)- he`s still only a youngster, whether he`ll ever establish himself remains to be seen.
Well he'll have to establish himself in the Championship now, because they didn't invest in currently good defenders.
Wigan aren't down yet. If Newcastle, Norwich, or Sunderland lose it goes to the last day and I don't fancy any of those teams to get anything on the last day.
Honestly I'll be shocked if they stay up. Considering what Arsenal still have to play for, I think they'll do a number on Wigan. Sunderland could well lose both of their remaining games, but because of their far superior goal difference Wigan will need 4 points to catch them. Norwich and Newcastle couldn't ask for much better games than the ones they've got coming up next - neither QPR nor West Brom have anything to play for. It's a real stretch.
