Sir Alex Ferguson: A Great Manager and A Great Adapter

Football fans all around the world are still getting over Wednesday morning's stunning news that Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is retiring at the end of the 2012-13 season. There are varying opinions on Ferguson as a person. The fact is that winning breeds dislike and envy. However, no-one would argue with Ferguson's legacy. He is unquestionably one of the best managers that the game of football has ever seen.

Ferguson's record is impeccable. Since the 1991-92 season, Manchester United have never finished lower than third in the English Premier League. He has won 13 EPL titles, two Champions League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, one Cup Winners' Cup, one European Super Cup, one Club World Cup and one Intercontinental Cup.

Man Utd won the treble (League, FA Cup and Champions League) in 1998/99, another League and Champions League double and three League and FA Cup doubles.

Ferguson has shown fantastic managerial and coaching ability during a remarkable 26-year career with United. He has coached teams based on a stingy defensive set up, he has coached teams with dynamic attacking play and he has coached teams with just about every combination in-between. He has shown the ability to make good big name signings and make them a part of the squad and he has also brought younger players through Man Utd's academy ranks on a regular basis.

The real quality that sets Ferguson apart from just about every other manager in the history of football? Adaptability. It's hard to think of a manager who has adapted to so much on and off the field during a managerial tenure. Man Utd is now a big worldwide brand, one of the biggest in the entire world. Ferguson managed this team before that happened and while it was happening.

Ferguson adapted to the culture change in Premier League football from a fast flowing attacking league to one that embraced a more defensive outlook. He adapted to a league that has received tremendous amounts of investment and has become by far the biggest spender in the world of football.

He has adapted to the introduction and loss of several big name players and marquee players in the club's history. He has become synonymous with Man Utd and synonymous with success.

It's very difficult to describe and discuss the legacy of Ferguson. His name is in the history books, but he will forever be remembered for so much more than what has been recorded on paper. He may well be the last manager of his breed. We may never see anyone quite like him again.

United fans should cherish his farewell to Old Trafford this weekend against Swansea City, while football fans should do the same against West Brom the following weekend. The game is losing one of its greats this summer. Ferguson changed the game forever. It will never be the same without him.

Alex Ferguson Masterminds Another Manchester United Title

The English Premier League was formed ahead of the 1992-93 season. In the final year of the first division Alex Ferguson's Manchester United finished in second place. Since the change of name, branding, legal status and sponsorship, that combination has dominated English football's top league.

The 2012-13 season is the 21st season in the history of the Premier League. During that period Man Utd have never failed to finish in the top three. Ferguson won his first league title in that 1992-93 season and United have secured 13 titles during his tenure in total.

Recent seasons have seen new clubs emerge as serious league title contenders back by money from wealthy investors. Chelsea and Manchester City have both been boosted by healthy investment. Man Utd's in-city rivals benefited from that financial backing last season when they won the 2011-12 title. It was obvious to all involved right then and there that Ferguson and his team would be back and back with a vengeance.

It's very dangerous to bet against one of the finest managers English football has ever seen and it was a mistake for whoever did so on this occasion. The now 71-year old quickly re-tooled his squad adding one of the world's biggest targets last summer in Robin Van Persie.

Van Persie cost a healthy £24 million and a more than healthy sum in wages as well. It seems like he was worth every penny as his energy, game breaking ability and clinical finishing proved absolutely vital as United kept finding ways to win football games. Van Persie scored a fantastic hat-trick in the title sealing victory against Aston Villa stretching his league leading total to 30 goals.

There's more to Man Utd's success than Van Persie though. This was a team that frequently looked fragile defensively, especially early in the season. They were inferior defensively compared with their biggest rivals Manchester City. However, time and time again they found the ruthless edge. They found a way to outscore their opponents and produced their best defensive efforts against stronger opposition.

Ferguson's will and determination was clearly behind this team. It was clear from the moment of heartbreak on the final day of the 11/12 that the Scot wanted this year's title almost as much as he wanted his first one. He wasn't interested in allowing a new Manchester dynasty to emerge down the road from Old Trafford. He wasn't interested in his club's 20th top flight title being delayed one season longer.

Ferguson was only interested in one thing. This may not have been the most balanced or best United side during his historic reign, but just like 12 others during Ferguson's tenure, it will enjoy the taste of summer as English Premier League champions. That's nothing to be sniffed at.