adminSIR Alex Ferguson has revealed that David Moyes, the man chosen as his managerial successor at Manchester United, was sixth on a list of ideal replacements headed by Pep Guardiola and four others, who were all “unavailable” at the time. In his new book Leading, United’s longest-serving manager outlines the selection process behind Moyes’ ill-fated appointment at Old Trafford, which lasted less than a year after he replaced the retired Ferguson in 2013.
“I asked Pep to phone me before he accepted an offer from another club but he didn’t and wound up joining Bayern Munich in July 2013,” Ferguson wrote.
“When we started the process of looking for my replacement, we established that several very desirable candidates were unavailable.
“It became apparent that Jose Mourinho had given his word to Roman Abramovich that he would return to Chelsea, and that Carlo Ancelotti would succeed him at Real Madrid.
“We also knew that Jurgen Klopp was happy at Borussia Dortmund and would be signing a new contract. Meantime, Louis van Gaal had undertaken to lead the Dutch attempt to win the 2014 World Cup,” he added.
Moyes was sacked after 10 months at United but Ferguson defended his fellow Scot’s record prior to joining the club.
“We chose David Moyes. He had been consistent in his job at Everton, had a good spell there – 11 years and showed appetite.
“Unfortunately, somehow it didn’t work out for David. The process was perfect. It was a good process,” Ferguson said.
Instead, the former United manager reserved his criticism for Moyes’ decision to overhaul his backroom staff after taking charge.
“I’m sure there are things that David would do differently if he had the opportunity to relive his time at Old Trafford,” Ferguson said.
“Such as keeping Mick Phelan (Ferguson’s assistant), who would have been the invaluable guide to the many layers of the club that Ryan Giggs is to Louis van Gaal today.
“There is no point suddenly changing routines that players are comfortable with. It is counterproductive, saps morale and immediately provokes players to question the new man’s motives,” he added.
I demanded pay rise
to match Rooney
Rooney was set to leave United before signing a deal worth £250,000 a week.
“I told them I did not think it fair that Rooney should earn twice what I made,” Ferguson says in a new book.
“(United co-chairman) Joel Glazer said: ‘I totally agree but what should we do?’ It was simple. We just agreed no player should be paid more than me.”
I only had four world-class players
The most successful Manchester United manager of all time says he only worked with four players he considered to be world class during his time at the club.
From those successful teams, he says midfielder Paul Scholes and attacking trio Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs were his best players.
“They made the difference and the evidence is there,” he told the BBC’s Dan Walker for Football Focus.
Ferguson described Cantona, who United signed from Leeds in November 1992, as “the catalyst”, for winning his first Premier League title.
He added: “The younger breed like Ryan and Scholes were just fantastic players and the thing about those two was longevity. “Are there players who have played right through the whole of the Premier League and performed at the level they have? There are none, absolutely none.
“Of course Ronaldo was just a complete genius of a player.”
England captains Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, Roy Keane, Carlos Tevez, Rio Ferdinand and Peter Schmeichel were all “great players” according to Ferguson.
“But these players elevated themselves above all that.”
Giggs appointment was a masterstroke
Ferguson believes current United manager Van Gaal pulled off a masterstroke by appointing Giggs as his assistant at Manchester United.
Giggs, 41, won 34 trophies under Ferguson, making him the most decorated player in English football history, before retiring in 2014.
Ferguson told BBC Sport: “Louis made a great choice because of Ryan’s knowledge, his time at the club and his ability.”
After Moyes was sacked before the end of the 2013-14 season, Giggs took charge for the final four games. And when Van Gaal was appointed at the start of the 2014-15 season, one of his first decisions was to make Giggs assistant manager.
Ferguson added: “I think Ryan seems to enjoy that he is learning off a man with great experience. It’s working. There is good communication, Ryan’s working very hard and picking up things from a foreign coach which is different from the way I operated so it looks as if it’s going OK.”
— SuperSport
Online Reporter