Who deserves manager of the year?
Tuesday, 08 May 2007 14:19
Just how good were Ferguson's achievements this season?
With the Premiership title now decided and on its way back to Old Trafford, pundits are turning an eye back over the season and looking at the key figures from the 2006/07 campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated the players' awards, scooping the players' player, young player and the football writers' player of the year awards. But what of the managers – who deserves the manager of the season mantle?
The obvious starting point is Sir Alex Ferguson, having now clinched his ninth Premiership title at Manchester United. However, let's first start with his rivals.
Jose Mourinho, the self-appointed 'Special One' at Stamford Bridge, has had a disappointing season by Chelsea's high standards of recent years. Injuries have blighted the reigning champions' season but unrest behind the scenes caused by the dramatic failure of the big summer signings – Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko – has apparently unsettled the changing room. Failure in Europe once more, coupled with the rumours that Abramovich is falling out of love with Chelsea, means that defeat in the upcoming FA Cup final would leave only the Carling Cup success in 2007 – and that would mean a season to forget for the Blues.
Chelsea's conquerors in Europe, Liverpool, have yet again failed to keep up with the top two in the domestic league, but few would bet against them beating AC Milan in Athens on May 23rd to take their second European title in three years – a truly remarkable feat and something that no other manager in the Premiership has come even close to. The inspiring confidence shown by Rafael Benitez leading up to the dramatic semi-final victory at Anfield, which was justified when he again claimed a tactical victory over Mourinho, means the Liverpool manager will have reason to see this as a successful season. However the continual failure in the league will be a worry for the fans. As early as October 22nd they were 11 points behind Manchester United, a problem that Benitez and his new American backers will hope to resolve next season.
The other member of the self-proclaimed "Big Four", Arsenal, have had a very disappointing season. Defeat in the Carling Cup final, failure in Europe, losing to Blackburn in the FA Cup and being a long way off the top two in the league means that Arsene Wegner's season has been the worst for a number of years. The Frenchman's excuse of a youthful, inexperienced team cannot paper over the cracks for much longer.
Elsewhere Harry Redknapp has again succeeded in leading one of the Premiership's lesser lights beyond many peoples' expectations, as Portsmouth continue to mount a serious challenge for European football next season.
Martin Jol would have hoped for better things having lead Spurs to the quarter finals of the FA Cup and the Uefa Cup.
And if Alan Curbishley can save West Ham from being relegated, with all their continual problems, it would arguably be the greatest achievement of his career.
The real success story, however, is that of Steve Coppell at Reading. In their first season in the Premiership the team are currently eighth and whilst Coppell maintains he doesn't want it to happen, there is still a chance that they will end up in Europe next season which would be an astounding success. Coppell has installed a terrific work ethic at the Berkshire club and it appears to be only the start of things to come for Reading and their manager.
Coppell's success is overshadowed by a much more seasoned campaigner, however.
At 65 the achievements of Sir Alex Ferguson this season have been extremely impressive.
It is frequently forgotten in the aftermath of a quite brilliant season for his young team that nearly everyone had written Ferguson off after a series of disappointing seasons. And with a lack of activity in the transfer market, many claimed he was no longer up to the task of winning a major title.
After England's massively disappointing World Cup in the summer, Ferguson was up against it before the season even began. Wayne Rooney was still unfit after being rushed back from the injury he sustained at the end of the previous campaign. There was also the Rooney versus Ronaldo saga which followed the England striker's dismissal against Portugal.
The media portrayed the situation as unsolvable and one that would lead to Ronaldo leaving Old Trafford, thus ending the young prodigy's emergence under Ferguson's tutelage. Then there was the actual departure of United's main striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid and the loss of captain Roy Keane at the end of the previous season.
And despite all these problems to overcome, Ferguson has gone on to achieve one of the greatest successes of his 20 years at the club. Having been so far off the relentless pace of Chelsea in the last two years the manner in which Manchester United have responded this season has been spectacular.
A number of key factors have lead to the success. The acquisition of Henrik Larsson was a masterstroke. The 35-year-old arrived in January, at a crucial stage of the season. His dedication and professionalism clearly rubbed off on others and Wayne Rooney's season, for one, improved immeasurably after his arrival. With players tiring and injuries building up, the impact Larsson had was priceless. How different would the result in Milan last week have been if the Swedish player was still available?
As he has consistently throughout his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson has brought out the best in his young players. This season it was the turn of Cristiano Ronaldo to fulfil his outstanding promise. Just as he did with David Beckham after the 1998 World Cup, Ferguson's skilled man-management has enabled Ronaldo to produce his best-ever season despite returning to England as the nation's hate figure – turning many people's opinion of him on its head.
The acquisition of Michael Carrick for £18.6 million was seen as ludicrous and over-priced, a poor replacement for the dominant Keane. However yet again Ferguson proved all doubters wrong – the midfield gelled almost instantly and the removal of Van Nistelrooy as the figurehead freed up United's forward line, who thus far have scored 20 more goals than Chelsea this season. The Premiership title has been won for the first time since 2003 and the FA Cup final promises to be an enthralling climax to the season.
And while the final could still prove to be Mourinho's last, despite the fact that he's now officially of retirement age, there's a very good chance it won't be the same swansong for Ferguson.
Richard James