End of The Ferguson Era?

As the 2009-2010 English Premier League comes to a close, many rumors surrounding the manager marry-go start to heat up the press. Will next season, 2010-2011, really be the end of The Ferguson Era at Manchester United?

Many seem to think that is the case. Mainly because the old guard; Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville are in their mid thirties and nearing the end of their marvelous careers. All three have agreed to sign one year contract extensions until the end of the 2010-2011 season. However with that, many feel that once the old guard decides to call it a day, that Sir Alex Ferguson will walk away as well.

I highly doubt that. Would he really leave Old Trafford? My simple answer to that is no. At least not yet. Once the old guard calls it a day there will be a significant transition at United that will need an experienced manager to lead the way. Such is why players like Anderson, Nani, and the Silva twins have been brought in.

Ferguson will not just walk away from something he has spent 25 years building. Even he states that he will be there for as long as he is healthy. At 68 years young, he still has a long way to go. I’ll go out on a limb and say that he will be there at least another 10 years. There is no way he could just walk away from his bread and butter. Do you really believe that he could just sit at home and watch television all day? No way, Ferguson is United through and through and will be there until he is truly incapable of moving.

Can you picture Sir Alex sitting at home watching the game or even somewhere in a fancy suite? No, it would drive him mad. He lives and breathes United, the legacy will continue.

With the sad day that he calls it quits I have a couple of names that might just fit the hot seat of Old Trafford. Eric Cantona anyone? Here’s a better one, is he maybe waiting for his son, Darren Ferguson to gain experience and then hand over the reigns of United to him? Possibly, Darren has held his own in the lower leagues, gaining promotions in back to back seasons with Peterborough. How about the surprise of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? He’s leading the United reserves and scooping every reserve league trophy there is.

Martin O’Neill is another well known, and proven figure. David Moyes, Alan Curbishley? Why have I picked such names? Because these are the managers that will hang around and won’t bail at the first sign of trouble or first sign of a bigger paycheck. As nice and well as it would be to have Mourinho trotting up and down the touchline, I can’t see him remaining at Old Trafford beyond 5 seasons. United will go with a manager that they see a long term future with, The Special One would be a max five year future, unless he really settles down, instead of changing clubs every 3-5 years.

In the end, when the day comes, which I hope won’t for at least another 10 years, that Sir Alex cannot manage anymore, who do you think will pick the next manager for the hot seat? Gill? No. The Glazers, if they are still around? No. The simple answer is Sir Alex Ferguson. He is United and he will decide who will take the reigns over from him and lead Manchester United on through a new phase in history.

Unfinished Business

With the end of the English Premier League just around the corner, many thought that the champion would have been decided with games to spare. False alert, the title is truly going to the wire. The winner will be decided on the last match day of the 2009-2010 season.

The two clubs battling it out for bragging rights? None other than Manchester United and Chelsea. A season of ups and downs for both clubs but still they managed to hang on at the top of the pile. With United’s defensive crisis in the beginning of the season and Chelsea’s slump after getting knocked-out from the Champions League, the top spot has gone back and forth between the two clubs, with even Arsenal getting a sniff.

The last round of fixtures:

– Manchester United vs Stoke (Sept 26, 2010: Stoke 0 – 2 Manchester United)

– Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic (Sept 26, 2010: Wigan Athletic 3 – 1 Chelsea)

The Wigan Athletic side won’t just roll over for Chelsea, it will be a hard fought match with all the pressure on Chelsea. Manchester United just has to keep on pushing and win vs Stoke and see what happens with Chelsea.

We can all remember that day in Moscow, with one spot kick left to take. You make it and you are crowned Champions League Winners of 2008 Chelsea. But no, John Terry steps up, referee blows his whistle, Terry runs up, fools Van Der Sar, and CLING! The ball fires off the post and the Champions League victory is blown.

Never count a Manchester United team out of anything, and this game, football, well it’s a funny old game isn’t it? Any team, no matter the transfer budget can beat any other team in the league. Just as Burnley beat Manchester United in September and how Wigan netter 3 on route to victory vs Chelsea in September.

The title really is there for the taking. A Chelsea loss or tie and a Manchester United victory would hand the title to United. A Chelsea loss and a United tie, with Chelsea’s superior goal differential would hand the title to Chelsea.

One of the best and most fascinating title chases in recent memory. Both matches will surely be viewed in millions of homes across the planet with many fans keeping one eye on their team’s result and the other glued to a computer or mobile phone screen following the action from the other match.

I myself will definitely be glued to the television watching last day drama unfold, will you?

City to splash £75 million?

Isn’t it just odd that before this came out, the two clubs that were actually chasing Angel Di Maria and David Luiz were Manchester United and Chelsea? I think so. 40 million for Di Maria? Someone who, has had success in the Europa League but, no offense, is rather unproven on the biggest stage?

Is this just a case of United’s rivals signing anyone and everyone that United is interested in bringing in? My opinion says yes. Guaranteed the next transfer target for Man City will be Simon Kjaer, David Villa, Gianluigi Buffon, or Marek Hamsik. If United went out and said “we want these four players” then its inconceivable that Manchester City would up the bid for say Hamsik, from 20 million to 40 million just to beat out United for his signature, even though he doesn’t even fit into the team and style of play of City.

But enough about transfer talk for at least another month. First lets watch who finishes 4th in the league. A place that will more than likely be decided this Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 on ESPN2. Can City’s 200+ million, 2009 summer spending beat the genius of Harry Redknapp? We shall wait and see. After all, it is a match that will decide who will end up where come next fall, with the prize being the champions league and a summer acquisition of some of the world’s best players to spearhead the challenge. Who will prevail?