owed their incredible run of success to one man - Ferguson. I know many don't like him but my God he was a great manager.

JK2006 wrote:
owed their incredible run of success to one man - Ferguson. I know many don't like him but my God he was a great manager.

He left them with a really fine squad, didn't he, that really great manager! Quite the opposite of Bob Paisley, who was a better man, as well.

In a less intense media era Alex Ferguson became Man Utd manager on Thursday 6 November 1986, and his first game in charge was a 2-0 defeat at lowly Oxford United on 8 November.

Followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted Norwich City, his only away win of that season was at Liverpool on Boxing Day 1986.

Ultimately, though his autocratic style alienated many great players, his Glasgow-grim attitude produced 49 trophies at the top level and is unlikely to ever be surpassed in British football.

Not forgetting an additional bonus. When his son was grossly misrepresnted by a BIG bent-Beeb TV & Radio in the 24/7 satellite age, Ferguson resolutely snubbed them all, for 7 years!

Way to go Fergie.

For all his many trophy's in a long and glorious career, Ferguson's Man Utd first League title (in the inuageral Premier League Season) took nearly 7-years to achieve, in May 1993.

And with just 3 non-Brit key players, the immense Dane keeper Peter Schmeichel, Ukranian wing-whippet Andrei Kanchelskis, and the alltime BIG personality French genius, Eric Cantona.

Instant success now in the English Premier League (er, sorry, BARCLAY'S Premier League) is now ever more difficult without BIG bucks foreign imports by BIG biz owners. Like the American Glazers who rarely, if ever, even watch Man Utd play.

While gawping global billions can't buy enough over-priced replica shirts of overpaid replacement foreign imports to Brit-brand 'Man U'.

Such sentimental global loyalty oddly based largely on a fatal plane-crash tragedy more than half-a-century past, in Munich on Thursday 6 February 1958.

Essentially, the purchase of ManU was paid for by their kit alone - a master stroke. Nike paid c£750m, over 10 years, to supply their kit.

And Chevrolet have paid c£350m for their logo to be on the front of the jersey; about £1.1b, in total.

The business was bought for c£700m - and the club is currently valued at c£2b.