He is extremely controlling. Wants everything his way. What Beckham should wear, how he should cut his hair, how many days he should spend on his honeymoon, who should he marry and who should he not be with … Is this OK for you? And he would get away after physically assaulting him? For SAF, everything was always about himself.

Arsene Wenger on the other hand is so different. He only controlled what people ate (and that too, through education and not “enforcement”). I never hear any such stories about him. He too was a winner, wasn’t he? But completely different style of management.

Seems Ferguson controlled through fear while Arsene Wenger coached through love.

  • SoccerGeekPhd@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Glenn Hoddle was the biggest prick in the series. All he had to do is say the rest of the team didn’t score their PKs. Score the PKs and the red card goes away. What an ass for not providing a complete picture of that game.

    Capella also an ass for freezing out Becks at RM.

  • Top-Rabbit-9898@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I agree klopp is also very controlling and so is pep The only manager who is not very controlling is carlo ancelotti

    • Sweeeet_Chin_Music@alien.topOPB
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      1 year ago

      Do they control who their players should date or marry?

      Controlling what they eat is one thing. Not allowing them to go skiing or doing any activity that can cause injury is reasonable.
      But literally controlling who you spend time with is crossing a line according to me.

  • 0100001101110111@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    The boot incident was an accident.

    There are many differences between SAF and Wenger, but the biggest is the amount of titles they each won…

      • Hyperion262@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        Look at the countless players who have nothing but praise for him.

        Roy Keane is hardly the best example of a sensible view either. The guy gets mad at quite literally everything.

      • 0100001101110111@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        But the point is Ferguson’s methods were more effective. He got better results. Was he more ruthless? Probably. But it was for a reason, and the reason is titles and trophies.

  • InsanicD72@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Sounds like a father from a different generation.

    In a football sense, whose record would you prefer SAF or Wengers?

    • Nels8192@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      It’s easy to look at the records at the end and compare, but when the respective club’s had somewhat similar resources Wenger’s first 1000 games were statistically better than Fergie’s, albeit only just. That gap was only created, and then widened after 2004 when Arsenal couldn’t give Wenger what he needed to compete with a free spending Utd and Chelsea.

      Both were absolute geniuses in different ways. But I do wholeheartedly believe if Wenger had the resources of Utd, Chelsea or later City after 2004 he would definitely have won more than just the 3 titles he did.

      • InsanicD72@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        I get what you are saying. Im just looking at it from the outside and the trophies have to be the gauge of the success of both.

    • gigibuffoon@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Idk… looking at Wenger on the sidelined, I’d have never thought he treated his people with love haha. But that is just coz Wenger has a resting bitch face

  • Nostalgic_Flexgang20@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Both are wonderful managers nevertheless.

    In one of Beckham’s interviews he said that once, when he scored a goal from halfway, Sir Alex told him to immediately go to the teams bus and avoid interviews. That is something you can understand and respect, as I can tell SAF was trying to protect David from the media. But, of course, being extremely controlling is definitely not OK.

    • Sweeeet_Chin_Music@alien.topOPB
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      1 year ago

      I agree with you … That does sound like he was protecting Beckham from saying something “inappropriate” in the moment or something like that.

      But man, that was his moment, wasn’t it? I can also see SAF not wanting the spotlight go away from him.

      Guess we would never know his actual intentions.

      • Nostalgic_Flexgang20@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        I’m thinking positively - to protect David. The media has drained the confidence out of a lot of players and SAF is an experienced manager.

  • AlanHuttonsMutton@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I think you’re 100% right that he was controlling but equally completely wrong about it always being about himself.

    He was controlling because he cared - Beckham and other players were kids in an era where players were earning more and more than their counterparts and often away from home. Ferguson wanted them to not lose control, to have stable families to support them and be professional. He knew what could happen in his own playing career and the fall out from Rangers too.

    In the documentary they said about how he contacted him directly after the red card and how he supported him. Would you not say that was love?

    Fergie had his vices and he made mistakes with some players but by and large I think the way he handled players and the whole club was very positive and why so many players still think of him so highly.

    • smcl2k@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Beckham and other players were kids in an era where players were earning more and more than their counterparts and often away from home.

      Exactly. You just have to read any of the stories about what Cantona was allowed to get away with and you realise how ridiculous it is to say that he only cared about being able to control people.

  • DrRushDrRush@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I’m a Liverpool supporter. But even I can see that Ferguson managed to be a coach, manager and father for his players. The one ting that has striked me the most about him, is he’s a winner. And he will do whatever it takes for manu to win a match. Even though he fined Ole Gunnar Solskjær for his very proffesional foul against Castle which contradicts that. He would go at referees like we’ve never seen before or after. So much that he got what he wanted, some of them never refereed manu again. He was «old school» but I think he could show more love for his players then for example Rafa Benitez does. If he was such a bad person as you say, he wouldnt last 25 years+ there. With a team fighting for so many last minutes goal as they did. I believe he’s a 10/10 good man.

  • forbiddenmemeories@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Liverpool in the 90s gave a good example of what happens when you don’t lay down the law with young players in the PL era. These were guys barely out of their teens who suddenly had more money and fame than their First Division predecessors ever had and left unchecked it went straight to their heads. Beckham at United would have been at more risk than any of them, too, since he basically became the poster boy for the league and the England team. Ferguson may not have been nice but he was damn effective and the fact that so many players chose to spend the best years of their career playing their hearts out for him suggests that even if they didn’t always like him there was always a mutual respect there. All great managers have a mean streak, some more obvious than others but inevitably there; it’s impossible to manage and motivate a squad full of superstars otherwise.

  • Diska_Muse@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    A lot of players saw Ferguson as a father figure and by all accounts, he took many young players under his wing and nurtured them both as players and as people.

    He was an absolute master at getting the best out of his players. But you cannot do that by ruling in fear - he didn’t demand respect… he commanded it.

    He was also a ruthless mofo and would discard anyone who no longer suited his purpose or who got in the way of his vision.

    Both of these things made him one of the greatest football managers of all time. Love him or hate him, that’s what it takes to achieve that level of success.

  • Chilli__P@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    I don’t think many people would claim that Ferguson is some morally exceptional person. He was, quite simply, an exceptional manager. Quite possibly the best ever.

    Wenger isn’t in the same conversation. And Wenger was an excellent manager himself. But his legacy isn’t on the same level as Ferguson’s.

    Theirs was a function vs. form rivalry. Ferguson’s focus was entirely on what made Man Utd win. If it was ugly, so be it. If it was beautiful, that was a nice bonus. But ultimately, winning was all that mattered.

    Contrastingly, Wenger would sacrifice a certain level of competitiveness for the sake of aesthetics. That 5-10% he sacrificed was a key difference between winning titles and finishing 4th so often in the latter years of his Arsenal reign.

  • FatWalcott@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Guess that’s why he has 13 prem titles and 2 Champions Leagues with them.

    As much as I love Arsene, he could have used a little more of a mean streak.

  • Hristianm@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Usually young football players havr to be told what they NEED to hear not what they WANT to hear. Im a Gunner since 2001 but Sir Alex is a Sir for a reason, he always got more out of his squad then the sum of its individual parts. Id still pick Wengers philosophy though, he revolutionized football, pioneered implementing Advanced Sports Nutrition, Advanced Statistics and was the first to suggest FFP. One was a winner, the other innovator.

    Also, id rather watch tiki taka football than crosses and long balls and Fergie time winners. My opinion.

      • Serious-Football-323@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        And the fact that wenger won 10 less pl titles and 2 less ucls than ferguson. They aren’t comparable as managers. Wenger was an innovator but he isn’t an all time great manager. Ferguson is an all time great manager.