Sir Alex Ferguson: Ranking all of his Man Utd players who became managers | OneFootball

Michael Carrick has taken his first step into management by becoming the new manager of Middlesbrough this week.

Carrick had previously been an assistant coach to both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United from 2018 until 2021, even becoming caretaker manager following the Norwegian’s dismissal last November. He had an unbeaten record, with two wins and a draw.

His decision to take the ‘Boro job makes him the 38th player to have played under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United to later try their hand at living up to his all-time legacy in the dugout. We have decided to rank the 37 previous from worst to best in managerial terms.

Ranking all of Fergie’s Man Utd players to become managers

37. Eric Cantona

The King’s last spot is due to the fact he only managed in beach football. The French national team, nonetheless. Ooh Ah!

36. Neil Webb

Webb’s managerial career consisted of 70 days as player-coach of Weymouth in 1997 and another short-lived spell at Reading Town in 2001.

35. Clayton Blackmore

Blackmore was a player-manager with Bangor City and Porthmadog. Glamorous.

34. Paul Scholes

The current BT pundit briefly left the studio to manage his hometown club Oldham Athletic in early 2019. His time in charge lasted just 31 says as he resigned due to issues with the chairman.

33. Teddy Sheringham

Teddy’s managerial career is made up of a few months with Stevenage in League Two in 2015 and 10 games in charge of Indian Super League side ATK in 2017. Quite the contrast in roles.

32. Mike Phelan

The long-time No.2 made the jump to management in 2016-17 but lasted just 82 days at Hull City in 2016-17.

31. Diego Forlan

Forlan won four of his 11 games in charge of hometown club Penarol before being sacked in September 2020.

30. Simon Davies

A lesser-known member of the “Class of 92”, Davies had a brief stint in charge of Chester in 2008 before becoming involved with the Manchester City academy. He then became Vincent Kompany’s assistant at Anderlecht, having a fleeting period as No.1 when the ex-City skipper decided to re-focus on playing.

29. Viv Anderson

Fergie’s first United signing spent the 1993-94 season as Barnsley’s player-manager before quitting to become Bryan Robson’s assistant at Middlesbrough.

28. Frank Stapleton

Stapleton spent three years as player-manager with Bradford City in the fourth tier from 1991 until 1994, and a further nine months at the New England Revolution in the MLS.

27. Andrei Kanchelskis

The former flying winger has had a series of short stints with a range of clubs, Russian sides Torpedo-ZIL Moscow, Solvaris Moscow and Ufa, Latvian side Jurmala and Uzbekistani’s Navbahor Namangan. A mouthful.

26. Paul McGibbon

The one-appearance wonder had spells in charge of Lurgan Celtic, Newry City and Portadown in his native Northern Ireland.

25. Jordi Cruyff

The current Barcelona Sporting director previously managed Maccabi Tel Aviv, Chongging Dangdai Lifan and Shenzhen (both Chinese) at club level and even had a short spell in charge of Ecuador in 2020.

24. Peter Davenport

Davenport managed Macclesfield Town, Bangor City, Colwyn Bay and Southport but has not managed since 2010.

23. Paul Parker

The ex-right back spent four years with non-league sides Chelmsford City and Welling United before focusing solely on media work.

22. Gary Neville

Neville famously stepped away from Sky to become Valencia’s manager in December 2015. It was a disaster, with just 10 wins from 28 games and no clean sheets in his 16 league games. He did not make it to April 2016. He is only this high due to the worse performances of others and Valencia being a big club.

21. Phil Neville

Phil assisted his older brother at Valencia, before becoming a manager himself with the England Women’s team in 2018. His uneven spell in charge ended in 2021, and now he is the manager of Inter Miami, the MLS owned by his good friend David Beckham. Coincidental.

20. Chris Casper

Casper was forced to retire aged just 24, and as a result became a manager at 30. He spent two and a half years in charge of Bury.

19. Chris Turner

Turner enjoyed stints as the manager of Sheffield Wednesday, Leyon Orient, Hartlepool United and Stockport County.

18. Henrik Larsson

The Celtic legend returned to his native Sweden after retiring, managing Falkenberg and his old club Helsinborg (twice) but left both times due to fan abuse.

17. Gabriel Heinze

Heinze had great success with Velez Sarsfield from 2017-2020 after shorter stints with Godoy Cruz and Argentino Juniors. He later moved from Argentina to the MLS but was sacked after just six months with Atlanta United.

16. David Healy

The Northern Irish legend has been an enormous success at Linfield, winning five league titles, the league cup and two Irish Cups since joining in 2015.

15. Henning Berg

The Norwegian had stints in his homeland before spending just 57 days with his old club Blackburn in 2012. He has since gone onto manage Legia Warsaw (winning a Polish title) and Omonia in Cyprus.

14. Michael Appleton

Appleton took over Portsmouth in 2011 but could not prevent their relegation from the Premier League. He then went onto have short stints with Blackpool and Blackburn and lengthier stays at Oxford United and Lincoln City. He returned to Blackpool last summer.

13. Wayne Rooney

Rooney performed a near-miracle at Derby County last season, fighting against all types of adversity. Following their relegation from the Championship, he returned to DC United, this time as a manager.

12. Jaap Stam

The big Dutchman is best known for his two-year spell at Reading from 2016 to 2018, where he lost a play-off final. After departing the Madejski, he has managed PEC Zwolle, Feyenoord and FC Cincinnati.

11. Mark Robins

The man whose goal allegedly saved Fergie’s United career in 1990 has managed a host of lower league sides including Rotherham United, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Scunthorpe United. He is currently in his second stint at Coventry City, with whom he’s enjoyed a lot of success.

10. Ryan Giggs

Giggs was briefly the interim United manager following David Moyes’ sacking in April 2014. He became the Wales National team manager in 2018 and brought them to EURO 2020 but left prior due to his ongoing court case.

9. Darren Ferguson

Fergie’s son followed his dad into management at an early age, becoming Peterborough United’s manager at just 35. This would be the first of three stints with the Posh, the last of which ended this summer. He achieved three promotions in this time. He has also managed Preston and Doncaster.

8. Roy Keane

Keane became Sunderland manager shortly after retiring as a player in 2006, performing spectacularly well and gaining promotion in his first season. He kept them up the following year before departing. An unhappy spell at Ipswich followed and he has not been back in the dugout since.

7. Paul Ince

The Guvnor is the current manager of Reading, returning to the dugout after eight years away. He previously managed Macclesfield, MK Dons (twice), Notts County and Blackpool. A 6-month spell with Blackburn also came in 2008, his sole Premier League experience.

6. Bryan Robson

Captain Marvel became player-manager and then manager at Middlesbrough after leaving United in 1994. His seven years in charge saw cup finals and big signings. His other great managerial achievement was keeping West Brom up on the final day in 2005. Bradford, Sheffield United and Thailand have also been stop offs for the United legend.

5. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ole might have been relegated from the Premier League with Cardiff in 2014 but he is the only ex-United player to manage the club, even if it was not to a high level. Two stints and a few titles also came with Molde in his native Norway.

4. Steve Bruce

You name them, and he has probably managed them. Bruce has managed over 1000 games in English football, with both Sheffield sides, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Newcastle, Sunderland and Hull amongst others. He most recently was the manager of West Brom.

3. Mark Hughes

Hughes revolutionised the Welsh National team in the early 2000s before taking over at Blackburn where he enjoyed several high-placed finishes. He later managed Manchester City, Fulham, QPR, Stoke and Southampton to varying degrees of success. He is the current manager of Bradford.

2. Gordon Strachan

Strachan had a famously tense relationship with Fergie but took on some of his managerial genius. He had strong spells with both Coventry and Southampton before becoming the Celtic manager in 2005, where he won three league titles. He went onto manage ‘Boro and Scotland.

1. Laurent Blanc

Arguably the pick of the bunch given the level of side and players he has managed in his career, as well as trophies won. Blanc has won four Ligue 1 titles amongst other silverware (3 with PSG, 1 with Bordeaux) and also was in charge of France for Euro 2012. He is currently the gaffer at Lyon.

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