Fergie to relish 2012 challenge

NO ONE in football is better at ringing out the old and ringing in the new than Sir Alex Ferguson.

Which is why when he celebrates his 70th birthday tomorrow it is a safe bet that along with the candle–blowing, the toasting and the first–footing there will be a few thoughts on who he might buy and sell at Manchester United in the January transfer window.

Does he need cover for long–term injury victim Nemanja Vidic?

Where is the midfield playmaker to fill the considerable boots of the retired Paul Scholes.

Is it time to release Dimitar Berbatov and back young gun strikers such as Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda?

Will the Europa League be a blessing or a curse after United’s exit from the Champions League?

What can he do to prevent moneybags neighbours Manchester City denying him a 13th Premier League trophy?

Those are the type of conundrums Ferguson has solved season after season in a 37–year career as a football manager since taking charge of East Stirlingshire in 1974.

Turning 70 would be a signal for many to take it easy, to pass on the fruits of their success to a younger man. You just know that will not have entered Ferguson’s head. Not with a young team in transition and the critics taking pot shots for results such as the 6–1 mauling by Manchester City earlier this season.

Not when there are more trophies to be won.

It is the energy, the determination and the buckets of sweat which went into the merry haul which are most impressive. Plus the swashbuckling way they were delivered.

Ferguson’s teams entertain. They have to. It is the United way, the legacy handed down by Sir Matt Busby and protected passionately by Ferguson.

His good fortune was being at Old Trafford when arguably the most prolific class of home–grown players in British football suddenly blossomed at the same time in the early 1990s.

Most top clubs produce one or two top–notch talents in a decade. Ferguson could have packed the team bus with the class which delivered David Beckham, Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers shortly after Ryan Giggs had already been introduced to the Old Trafford public.

They were to be the bedrock of his dynasty.

The genius of Ferguson, however, lies in being able to combine such rock–solid values while also accommodating the swagger which has become the club's hallmark.

It is the fire in the belly which defines Ferguson.

A fire which sees him relishing the battles ahead as he celebrates his 70th birthday a week before his side take on Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.

Such contests are what Ferguson lives for and why retirement is simply not on the agenda, even though his legacy as the best manager ever to grace the British game is assured.

Ferguson merely sees it as a fresh challenge. That is why all football lovers, regardless of allegiance, should raise a glass or two to Ferguson on New Year’s Eve.



HIS BEST XI
IT’S the dream that turns into a nightmare — name the best XI from Sir Alex Ferguson’s staggering 25 years in charge.

Rattling off the names is easy enough. It’s when you start to think about those you have omitted that the problems arise.

Here goes.

GOALKEEPER: Peter Schmeichel — Boils down to a choice between Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, with hardly anything between them. Schmeichel (five titles, one European Cup) gets the nod, but only because he came before Van der Sar (four titles, one European Cup) and broke the mould.

RIGHT–BACK: Gary Neville — He is the stand–out candidate. Loyal, brave — a bit of a pain sometimes. But committed and pretty good too. First–team career lasted 19 years and 602 appearances.

CENTRE–HALF: Jaap Stam — Ferguson has admitted to making one of his few mistakes in allowing Stam to leave in 2001. Only at United for three seasons but won the title in every one, in addition to the Champions League. Strong in the tackle and an excellent reader of the game.

CENTRE–HALF: Nemanja Vidic — The Serbian holds the rare distinction of being confirmed a United player on Christmas Day. Struggled at first but has gone on to become one of the world’s best defenders and is proving an outstanding captain.

LEFT–BACK: Patrice Evra — Few could quibble if this spot went to former Athletic player Denis Irwin, or even Phil Neville. Evra is slightly better though, especially in an attacking sense.

RIGHT–WING: Cristiano Ronaldo — Now the arguments begin. David Beckham is an obvious choice here and his efforts deserve due mention. But someone who was crowned the world’s best player during his time at United — and is still rated in the top two — has to have a place. Ronaldo scored 42 goals in a single season for United.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Roy Keane — The Irish colossus patrolled the United midfield as though it was his own personal fiefdom. His performance in the 1999 Champions League semi–final against Juventus in Turin, when he was already booked and out of the final, will stand comparison with any.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Paul Scholes — Sometimes decisions are so tough, it is best to let others make them. Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Michael Carrick even. But when great players such as Xavi and Edgar Davids are asked to name the man who made United tick, Athletic fan Scholes is the name they always come up with.

LEFT–WING: Ryan Giggs — Ferguson likened Giggs to “a piece of paper blowing in the wind” when he first saw him as a schoolboy. Nearly 900 appearances later, the Welshman is still going strong. Barring the first FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in 1991, Giggs has played a part in all Ferguson’s successes.

CENTRE–FORWARD: Wayne Rooney — Carried United into their post–Ronaldo season, scoring 32 goals before injury intervened and personal problems came to light. Now back to his best and ready to assume the mantle of greatness for which he was destined.

CENTRE–FORWARD: Eric Cantona — More than any single player, Cantona transformed United from nearly men to champions. Arrived with the swagger of a man destined to usurp Denis Law as the new king. Fifteen years after his departure, he is still adored.