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In the shoes of… Sir Alex Ferguson

Published by Ian John on February 11, 2010

Every football manager at every level faces some tough decisions in the next few months. Whether it is players to release or sell, players to try and buy, whether to change their formation or style of play for next season and to decide which is the best way forward for their club. In the first in a series of articles, we are going to have a look at some of the top managers in the game from across Europe and look at some of the issues that will face them in the coming weeks and months. First up is Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and if you were in his shoes, these are some of the issues you may have to concern yourself with in the next four months or so…

1. “THE OLD GUARD” : As great a players as the likes of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Edwin Van Der Sar and Gary Neville have been, there is a point when age will take its toll. Certainly for these four players that is an issue that the manager will have to address. Is it worth keeping the likes of Scholes and Neville on the books, if they are denying first team chances to players like Rafael, De Laet or Gibson?

2. CENTRAL DEFENCE : Nemanja Vidic has made little secret of his desire to leave England due to his family failing to settle in the country and he has long been linked with a move to Spain. Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems and lack of form must also be a worry for the manager and with John O’Shea and Wes Brown hardly the fittest central defensive pairing, that would only leave youngster Jonny Evans as a reliable and healthy first choice central defender. There are some tough choices to be made in this area of the pitch this coming off season.

3. OWEN HARGREAVES : A wonderful player and United have nowhere near seen the best of him since his big money move from Bayern Munich, but the England midfielder has been out two years injured and his recovery is progressing far more slowly than originally expected. Does Hargreaves have a mental block over returning to full action, as Sir Alex has suggested, or is there something physical underlying it? In either case, neither is a particulaly good situation to have for a talented midfielder and Hargreaves long term future will no doubt be discussed over the coming weeks and months.

4. MICHAEL OWEN : The 12 month pay as you play contract seems a good idea now. Owen needed a stellar season to forge his way into the England set up and United team. Unfortunately for him, it is Wayne Rooney who is showing world class striking form. Owen is, at best, third choice and with the likes of Macheda and Welbeck needing greater exposure and experience, is it worth keeping Owen on another year to play ostensibly in League cup ties, meaningless European encounters and to appear as a late sub in the occasional league game?

5. FINANCE : Just how much money do United have, or not have, depending on your view? Reports have been hugely conflicting, stating that the club are almost at crisis point because of the debt, only for another report to emerge a few days later stating that everything is fine and Ferguson has a war chest of £100m in the summer to spend on players. Where is the truth? Ferguson needs to know that before he can even begin to plan possible signings for the summer.

Certainly there are plenty of other issues the United boss will be considering, such as extending the contract of Wayne Rooney (particularly important just before the World Cup), trying to get the best out of the enigmatic, talented yet inconsistent pair Nani and Dimitar Berbatov, whether he actually needs a goalkeeper to replace Van Der Sar or not and not forgetting of course, the players he has targetted to bring into the club in the summer and the negotiations to ensure that eventually happens.

So Sir Alex has a busy few months and some critical decisions to make… even before we look at keeping United’s on field performances at their highest standards…

It’s a tough job isn’t it?

Image Courtesy of ***Quange Leminh*** at Flickr.com

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