FOOTY FAIR

5 of the Somewhat More Successful Managers Who Played Under Sir Alex Ferguson

2015-12-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

There were a few eyebrows raised in Spain this week when Gary Neville, currently employed as a successful Sky Sports pundit after an impressive career as a right back for Manchester United, was appointed the new manager of Valencia.

Although he has worked as an assistant coach with England, this is Neville's first foray into management and Valencia, despite their current struggles, are traditionally the third biggest club in Spain. (I don't really need to tell you who the two biggest sides are though, do I?)

Neville is the latest former charge of Sir Alex Ferguson who has gone into management and of the 29 of Fergie's players who have taken on the hot seat of a professional football club, there have been several of them that haven't had managerial careers covered in glory.

Neville though, will be hoping to at least match the progress of the following five:

Gordon Strachan - 1984 to 1989

The fiery Scottish international played for Ferguson at both Aberdeen and again at Manchester United. The two didn't always have the best relationship, but a bit of Fergie's approach to management seems to have rubbed off on Wee Gordon, as he has enjoyed good stints at Coventry City, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Celtic and now Scotland. His most successful stint was with Celtic where he captured three league titles, a Scottish Cup, and two Scottish League Cups.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 1996 to 2007

Manchester United's supersub supreme, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will always be remembered for his Champions League winning goal against Bayern Munich in 1999. Upon hanging up the boots, Solskjaer did some coaching work with United before moving back to his native Norway to lead Molde to two league titles and a Norwegian Cup. A disastrous spell at Cardiff City seems to have derailed his progress in England at least, but he's back at Molde again hoping to repeat his earlier success.

Steve Bruce - 1987 to 1996

The Manchester United captain when the club stormed to a league and cup double in 1994, Steve Bruce has had what you could call a nomadic managerial career. With stops at Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland and Hull City, Bruce has consistently turned out solid teams on small budgets. Although he hasn't captured any major silverware as a manager, he very nearly led Hull City to an upset win over Arsenal in the 2014 FA Cup Final.

Mark Hughes - 1988 to 1995

Mark Hughes, the man that United supporters used to call Sparky, was a popular forward for the club over two stints in the 1980's and 1990's, the second of which was under Ferguson. Hughes cut his managerial teeth with Wales and very nearly got them into Euro 2004, before falling in a playoff to Russia. He has since carved out a solid career at Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR and now Stoke.

Laurent Blanc - 2001 to 2003

Joining the Reds in the twilight of his storied career, United fans never really saw the best of Laurent Blanc, but he was at least part of the side that captured a Premier League title in 2002-2003. Since turning to management, Blanc has captured a Ligue 1 crown and a French League Cup with Bordeaux, enjoyed a decent spell with the National side, before leading PSG to two Ligue 1 titles, a French Cup and two French League Cups.

5 Great Welsh Footballers Who Never Played in a Major Tournament

2015-09-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

As a difficult night in Cyprus ground it's way into the last ten minutes on Thursday, with Wales still searching for an elusive breakthrough, you could perhaps forgive some of their more pessimistic fans for believing that more heartbreak was on the cards.

But for the nation that hasn't qualified for a major finals since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden a hero emerged in Gareth Bale, who powered in a wonderful 82nd minute winner to leave the Welsh one win away from France 2016 with three matches to play.

If they fail to capture maximum points against Israel in Cardiff on Sunday, or win away to Bosnia-Herzegovina on 10 October, then surely they'll put away lowly Andorra at home on 13 October. Andorra have lost all seven of their matches and have scored 3 goals while conceding a staggering 27 at this point after all.

So needless to say it would now take a disaster of epic proportions for Wales not to progress.

It's a great moment for the nation of roughly 3 million to finally see their side on the brink of a major finals.

Over the years Wales have produced many wonderful players, who sadly haven't had the chance like this current generation to play in a European Championships or World Cup and the following are five of the best:

Neville Southall (1982-1997, 92 Caps)

One of the best goalkeepers of his generation and Wales' record holder for most caps, Neville Southall kept goal for an all-conquering Everton side in the 1980's and was a part of the Wales sides that came agonizingly close to qualifying for both the 1986 and 1994 World Cups.

Gary Speed (1990-2004, 85 Caps)

The late Gary Speed, who managed his country from February 2011 until his tragic death in November of that year, was an inspirational midfielder who helped Leeds United to the League Championship in 1992, before later enjoying successful spells at Everton, Newcastle United and Bolton. He was a part of a strong Welsh side that finished second in their Euro 2004 qualifying group to Italy, despite beating the Italians on a thrilling night in Cardiff, but sadly lost out on a chance to qualify for Portugal after losing a two-legged playoff to Russia.

Ian Rush (1980-1996, 73 Caps)

The mustachioed sniper supreme Ian Rush, won every major prize in club football with Liverpool FC, on his way to becoming the Merseyside outfit's all-time leading scorer, unfortunately he missed out on the 1986 and 1994 World Cup's by a whisker, along with just missing out on Euro 88.

Mark Hughes (1984-1999, 72 Caps)

Manchester United hero Mark Hughes, who managed the aforementioned Wales side that nearly qualified for Euro 2004, was part of several talented Welsh squads that narrowly missed out on qualification for major tournaments across the 1980's and 1990's.

Ryan Giggs (1991-2007, 64 Caps)

Although his consistent ducking of friendlies didn't sit well with many of the Welsh support base, Ryan Giggs was always there when it mattered for important qualifiers. The flying winger, who would set the record for appearances for Manchester United on his way to winning more English league titles than any player in history, had the misfortune of never getting to strut his stuff on the international world stage.

My 5 Favourite Manchester United Kits

2014-07-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

With the new Premier League season only 30 days away and with most clubs releasing new kits this month, I took a moment to look back at my favourite kits put out by Manchester United, the club I support.

97/98-99/00 European Kit

I remember when this kit came out and my immediate reaction was, “Another red home kit that’s specifically for Europe? Those greedy bastards!” But I have to admit that I like it so much more than the domestic red home kits that came out during this era. It has a great pattern in the background of the shirt that gives a tip of the cap to the Champions League, a nice simple collar, and a nice shield-like United crest. Which United fan doesn’t look at this kit and immediately think of Ole Gunnar Solskjær breaking German hearts?

86/87-87/88 Third Kit

In the risk of appearing to be a football hipster, I simply must include this gorgeous and extremely rare blue kit from Adidas in my list. Used only a few times, this kit has a terrific collar, a vibrant colour with a nice pattern in it, and a perfectly sized club logo. When you think of some of the garbage Nike has put out in the past decade, they would have been wise to study this kit and perhaps bring its genius of a designer on board to recreate a similar effort. This terrific retro number brings back memories of Bryan Robson leading the charge for United in the 1980’s.

92/93-93/94 Away Kit

Fifteen years or so before the green and gold campaign to protest the Glazers, but a hundred years after United forerunners Newton Heath FC originally donned these colours we had the absolute wonder of this particular kit. With a fabulous collar, complete with retro lacing, a big and bold badge, with black trim this is a beautiful kit. I picture a fresh faced Ryan Giggs, with his curly mop of black hair, bamboozling defenders when I see this one.

1990/1991 European Cup Winners Cup Final Kit

It could be the lack of a sponsorship on the front, or just simply the memory of Sparky slamming home the second goal against Barcelona from a tight angle that makes me love this kit. But I think it’s more than that. I mean, just look at that United crest, the retro Adidas logo, the two subtle black stripes and the truly wonderful collar. This is a truly remarkable kit. I don’t want to lower the tone of this article, but I will probably make a mess in my pants if Adidas come out with something even close to this when they take over as our kit supplier next season.

93/94-94/95 Away Kit

At number one is a jersey that was reportedly woven on Mount Olympus by Zeus himself and simply handed down to Umbro. This black with gold and blue trim masterpiece brings to mind visions of Eric Cantona performing acts of wonder on the pitch and even taking time out to dropkick a racist thug up in the stands. This kit sets the standard for all future releases and it’s tough to see it ever being matched. It’ll be hard to recreate a kit of such beauty and power as this one.

I still have this black United away kit that I got for Christmas back in 1994, and although it’s seen better days due to a lot of wear, you’d have to tear it from my cold dead hands to see me part with it. In fact, to hell with it I’m going to get it framed for my basement. Problem solved.