David Moyes Would Make a Capable Successor for Sir Alex Ferguson

The Master and his Successor?

It’s easy to see why David Moyes is so highly touted as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor at Manchester United. No body comes close to comparing to the stature of Sir Alex, but Moyes probably comes the closest.

The two are almost identical. They both hail from the industrial town of Glasgow in Scotland and both bring a taste of the 'Old Firm' derby with them to Manchester: Sir Alex played for Rangers, Moyes laced up for crosstown rivals Celtic.

Now the word ‘legend’ gets used a lot in professional sports. But it’s a befitting word to describe 'legendary' Sir Alex Ferguson. The 71 year old Scotsman officially called it quits after almost 27 seasons in charge of the world’s biggest club, officially putting to bed months of speculation regarding his future. Wednesday put an end to one of the biggest sagas in professional football.

Well, all but one saga: Who is going to replace Ferguson at Old Trafford?

The club and CEO David Gill have made numerous references that it will be Everton boss David Moyes who gets the top job. But like a cliché that never seems to get old, there’s a lot of speculation out there regarding Ferguson’s eventual successor.

Will it be Jose Mourinho and his unique charisma behind the bench? Or perhaps Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, who’s almost single handedly turned around Dortmund’s fate, guiding them to successive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012. Perhaps you prefer Paris Saint-Germain bench boss Carlo Ancelotti?  Or outgoing Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes?

The list goes on.

David Moyes doesn’t appear to be everyone’s favourite candidate for the Old Trafford job. He may not be someone who's won major accolades with Everton. But that's partly because Moyes ran into the Ferguson juggernaut while he was in Merseyside. What that wily 50 year old Scotsman has done with Everton in over a decade with limited resources is a joy to marvel at.

When Ferguson arrived, he was just a 44 year old Scotsman waiting to make the jump onto the biggest stage.

It's safe to say he did.

Moyes is not much older that Ferguson when he arrived at the club back in 1986. The resemblance is almost uncanny one might say. The Everton boss has a proven track record in the transfer market and like Fergie, he makes good players better players through coaching: Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill immediately pop into mind.

Adding to Moyes' already impressive repertoire is his ability to know when to remain calm and when to lose his temper; and that, to use yet another cliché, is a list that goes on.

Now I wouldn’t mind Jose Mourinho taking over at Old Trafford. The 'Special One,' who’s indicating he might be leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season, has even flirted with the idea of wanting the Old Trafford hot seat. The thing about him though, he's too erratic and would probably mess the ethic Ferguson has created at Old Trafford. Mourinho wouldn’t be a manager to respect the ethic that the club is bigger than the individual: he hasn’t quite done that during his time at Chelsea, Inter or Real.

But Mourinho is a winner.

During David Moyes' 11-year reign, teams like Birmingham, Swansea and Portsmouth have all won major trophies, unlike Everton. That’s about the only thing that seems to be a disadvantage for Moyes: a gamble you could say compared to hiring someone like Mourinho or Klopp, who’ve won titles in the recent past. Make no mistake, it won’t be smooth sailing for Manchester United under Fergie's successor, whoever he maybe, as he tries to live up to the greatest manager the beautiful game has ever seen.

Back in Germany, Jurgen Klopp has worked marvels in Dortmund, but still remains inexperienced when it comes to the English game. If you watch and analyze the Bundesliga, you'll find numerous differences between the two leagues. Still, in Klopp's favour, his Dortmund side play a fast paced, attacking brand of football; something the red half of Manchester is more that familiar with.

Sir Alex Ferguson will definitely have a say in who replaces his at the club. It was always going to be that way. I'm not expecting that the club I grew up watching on television will end up as treble winners next season. No! That would be an added bonus if anything.

While the club will hire the candidate that they feel best fits the job description, there will always be people out there who seem to think they have a better idea. Opinions, like the fine wine we know Sir Alex tends to enjoy on occasion, vary.

It's an exciting time to be a football fan. For Manchester United fans, it's an exciting and nervous time moving forward. The world now awaits official confirmation on who will take up one of the most hallowed seats in football management.

It’s going to be David Moyes in the Old Trafford hot seat next season.

And you probably won't like it.

Do Athletes Deserve The Salaries They Make?

Alex Rodriguez

It is common human behaviour to want more. More money, more amenities, we all want more of everything. That is human nature, but not all of us are equally fortunate. Some of us get paid enormous amounts of money for little or no work while many others (in fact a huge majority of people) have to work very hard to earn their keep. This I can illustrate by a simple example. Alex Rodriguez is a thirty-six year old man of Hispanic descent who was born in New York but grew up in Miami. He entered the workforce directly out of high school. He currently has a job in New York City and has been living a comfortable life since the young age of eighteen. ^[1] What is his profession? He plays baseball. A majority of people from Rodriguez’s background have to struggle to make ends meet while Mr. Rodriguez is pocketing close to $27,500,000 per year, a figure that some of us can only dream about. Why the disparity? That is the question!

            Athletes have a number of reasons why they earn such large amounts of money. In today’s financially struggling world, people tend to lose their jobs and their livelihoods very easily. Ordinary middle class people might have to work for close to forty hours a week, mostly sitting behind a desk filing through stacks of paperwork and pocket something in the region of $50,000 to $100,000 a year I would say. People are paid for the value of the work they put in. There is huge demand for sports as a pastime so athletes are values very highly by a larger audience. However, such a statement often leads to a rather thought provoking follow up: With education such a vital field in today’s world, why do teachers get paid poorly? It’s quite an interesting question to put forth!

            The supply of athletes is very rare. The supply of outstanding professional athletes is still rarer. It is basic economic knowledge that when the supply of one commodity is very limited, the price for that commodity will be very high. Teachers are available in abundance; this is one of the main reasons why they get paid a lesser salary compared to a professional athlete. Of course this will lead to the argument regarding emergency workers – policemen, paramedics and firemen. Do they deserve a higher salary because of the nature of their work? Firemen and policemen are exposed to a huge number of risks each time they go out on call, while paramedics help save lives. Yet the average firefighter in America earns around $40,000 to $60,000 a year. ^[2]

            A professional athlete’s life is not just a bed of roses. It has its own thorns too. Young athletes hoping to make it to the big leagues sacrifice a lot of their teenage years training and preparing themselves for a disciplined life. They often tend to put in hours of hard work and sacrifice each day, something that ordinary people might not do on a daily basis. Injury is another demon. An athlete could suffer a career ending injury which could force them out of the game for good. Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann’s injury comes to mind. ^[3] An athlete could also suffer an injury that might heal but cause a massive dip in form. The case of Canadian born English soccer player Owen Hargreaves immediately comes to my mind. ^[4] Some athletes have even lost their life as a result of a horrific incident during a sporting event. Italian MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli, who was killed a month ago in Malaysia when he lost control of his motorcycle, is an example. The recent Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash which killed an entire team is another example. ^[5][6] There exists this high risk factor amongst most athletes. Economic policy usually indicates that a high risk means a high reward as well. This leads to athletes demanding such a high salary. In the case of Alex Rodriguez or LeBron James who were drafted right out of high school, a career ending injury could completely ruin them. Tiger Woods also comes to mind for different reasons. It wasn’t an injury of any sort that ruined his glowing reputation. It was a car accident and numerous allegations of marital infidelities that caused his downfall. A UC Davis study says that the Tiger Woods scandal cost shareholders of companies like Nike and Gatorade close to $12 billion. ^[7] This scandal cost us everyday citizens a lot of money but because of the ‘Tiger Woods’ brand name he amassed huge amount of money for himself, so technically he can still live a comfortable life with no real worry.

LeBron James

            Athletes are ‘skilled labourers’. As absurd as this may sound it’s true. There is only one LeBron James, one Peyton Manning and one Albert Pujols. The demand for such athletes is so high that their prices escalate to astronomical figures. There might be other youngsters who aspire to make it big in the professional leagues at some point in their lives but chances that they will be better than the best is rare. Hockey is still looking for the next Wayne Gretzky. A high paying salary does not guarantee success in a sport. This adds to the risk element I was talking about earlier. Team owners and officials put a lot of trust into big name players and pay them large amounts of money. However, the nature of sporting events does not guarantee their success each year. English soccer club Manchester City have spent millions of pounds in the last few years and have only managed to win one trophy, the FA Cup in 2011; their first trophy since 1976. ^[8] They have just announced a record £197 million loss, the biggest loss in English Soccer History. ^[9] Money can’t buy happiness and neither can it guarantee success.

Jokes Apart: We'll see money like this soon if it continues...

            I’m sure there are people who believe that being excessively skilled in a particular sport is not a good characteristic. Yet, it could be these very people who pay large sums of money to go and watch their heroes in action or spend even larger sums of money to dress the way their favourite athletes dress. Believe it or not, even a simple action like buying a ‘Maple Leafs’ or a ‘Blue Jays’ jersey contributes money to the coffers of the sporting franchise and a large sum of this money is often used to pay the high salaries of the players. Even watching the team play on television, sitting in the comfort of your living room with a glass of pop in one hand and a bowl of popcorn, contributes money to professional teams albeit in smaller amounts. Sporting franchises often sign huge television and radio deals with major sports broadcasting companies that bring in a lot of revenue to the sports teams. Much of this money is again used to pay salaries, so indirectly we pay athletes salaries too. Personally, I feel an athlete is entitled to earn as much they can provided they earn it legally. I love to play soccer and even though I always dreamt of playing professional soccer, I know I will never be able to make it to the level of goalkeepers like Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Kahn and Lev Yashin. ^[10][11][12] This is why they were professional athletes and I will never be one. They had the skills to make it big, which means that they were entitled to high paying salaries as a result. If as citizens we are against the high salaries of athletes citing them as a “ridiculous waste of money” the only suggestion I can come up with is for those individuals to completely boycott sports teams. This would include complete and total boycott of watching sports teams play and buying sporting merchandise. This is the only way I can see sports franchises and athletes losing a part of their revenue. ^[13]

Fire Fighters: Deserving a higher pay?

            As I mentioned earlier, it is often thought that noble professions like fire fighters, policemen, doctor’s even soldiers deserve more money than a rookie professional athlete who is just starting his career. The answer to this claim is the same: there is a larger demand for emergency workers compared to the demand for outstanding professional athletes. Because of the lower demand for noble professionals (in most areas of the world) they get paid less compared to professional athletes. This is completely fair in my opinion as every profession is unique in its own way. It is due to the rare supply of good athletes that a renowned doctor might earn $35,000 a year while a rookie sportsman might earn $250,000 a year. Every athlete is also aware of the fact that they are unique. If one franchise is unwilling to pay their demands (except in the case where it is outrageous) they know that someone else in the global market will be willing to meet their demands.

            In connection with the ‘Tiger Woods’ brand that I mentioned earlier, another way athletes can earn huge amounts of money is via their own brand name. The ‘Air Jordan’ range belonging to NBA superstar Michael Jordan is another classic example. Michael Jordan reportedly earned $40 million a year from endorsements alone. ^[14] It wasn’t Michael Jordan’s basketball skills alone that earned him huge sums of money; it was his economic potential that brought him a lot of wealth too. This merely proves the fact that fame sells, and sells big. Some people might call this outrageous, but Jordan was able to earn most of his money through his brand name and there isn’t much that any of us can do about it. David Beckham is another huge global name in world sport. He reportedly earns $40 million a year even though he is in the twilight of his career. ^[15]

Mr. Basketball Himself...

To summarize, I feel that most people will always be divided in their opinion whether or not athletes deserve such high salaries for the little work they do. Pros and cons to such an economic question will always exist. It is my personal opinion that an athlete is justified to earn as much as he or she can legally because it is their right to do so. Critics will always exist no matter where we go. It is basic economic principles that lead us to debate over this issue. In short, since the supply of outstanding professional athletes is very low and demand is high, their salaries tend to go up astronomically. Athletes endure huge sacrifices and take a lot of risks as well: such actions will cause their salaries to only go up higher. After all, ABBA puts it so eloquently:

“Money, money, money

Must be funny

In the rich man's world.”

References:

[1] Why Do Athletes Make So Much Money? (http://mcamp.hubpages.com/hub/athletesalaries)

MCamp, HubPages

[2] Do Professional Athletes Deserve Multi-Million Dollar Salaries? (http://wg.serpmedia.org/pdf_2ATE/WB2ATE_individual_units/full_color/WG2ATE_Part4.pdf)

Strategic Education Research Partnership 2010

[3] The Hit That Changed a Career

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701635.html)

Shapiro, Leonard, Washington Post Staff Writer. November 18^th 2005 

[4] Anxiety affected Owen Hargreaves - Sir Alex Ferguson. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/9163714.stm )

 BBC Sport, 7^th November 2010

[5] Marco Simoncelli's death was unpreventable, says MotoGP's safety officer. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/oct/24/marco-simoncelli-death-motogp-tributes)

 Weaver, Paul. The Guardian UK. October 24^th 2011

[6] Top KHL squad killed in passenger plane crash in Russia.

(https://rt.com/news/passenger-plane-russia-reports-005/#)

RT (erstwhile Russia Today). September 7^th 2011.

[7] University Of California Davis: Graduate School of Management. (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091228005221&newsLang=en) December 28^th 2009

[8] FA Cup final: Manchester City 1 Stoke City 0 Match Report. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/fa-cup/8514022/FA-Cup-final-Manchester-City-1-Stoke-City-0-match-report.html)

White, Duncan. The Daily Telegraph, May 14^th, 2011

 

[9] Manchester City announce biggest ever loss in English football. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/18/manchester-city-biggest-ever-loss)

Conn, David. The Guardian UK. November 18^th, 2011

 

[10] Peter Schmeichel.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schmeichel)

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[11] Oliver Kahn.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Kahn)

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[12] Lev Yashin.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Yashin)

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[13] The Coming Revenue Revolution in Sports

(http://www.willamette.edu/wucl/pdf/review/42-4/williams.pdf)

Williams, Jack F.

[14] A Multiple Product Endorser can be a Credible Source. (http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1999/cjsm/v3n1/redenbach31.htm)

Redenbach, Andrew. Cyber-Journal of Sport Marketing, February 2, 2009

[15] The World's Highest-Paid Soccer Players. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/04/20/the-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-players/) Badenhausen, Kurt. Forbes, April 20^th, 2011

Photo Credit:
Alex Rodriguez: http://jimssports.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/5111506200514821.jpg
LeBron James: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE22VtJH20VXoz_SSG61kxdYKfNCHvDo-EAE_aGVNr2lGc5BzxCpU1nmUU_RW1XUn9w1wDAmT2k5492F3vFouyrMAzqeaSwEEgpUZDcq1hNpWB68j5qSj-OlTs2bd2SZd61MKHxNUod8Y/s1600/highest_paid_athletes_11.jpg
Man City Money: http://www.sabotagetimes.com/wp-content/uploads/sheikh-mansour_1217186c.jpeg
Firefighters:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoKKjQoQqnCTcSYOZuslfjTTWUiMB7Y6u-b1GIDaRmVAQmSw5nnFuCxjFeXUPbyOxYRRFWC7_N09LC5R9w17B504Ktiys6C3Sx-Oug72yhzKIvq0Cnh7cqID-xMTo-ekaee3bQ5fclI5K/
Michael Jordan: http://thebestten.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/michael-jordan-xx3.jpg

Note: This piece was part of my economics term paper, which fetched me a grade on 83%. Feedback and comment are appreciated as always. I've only been studying economics for three months now and it isn't going to be by major in future either.
Also, excuse the faulty spacing of the references. For some reason I can't seen to fix it properly...

Sir Alex Ferguson: A Tribute...

25 and proud. Congrats Sir Alex!

Greatness they say is rare. Everyone wants to be great some way or the other. Everyone tries, most of them fail. Only a few people achieve true greatness. One such person is  Glasgow native, Alexander Chapman Ferguson, known better as Sir Alex Ferguson.

If completing twenty-five years in management is an achievement, completing twenty-five years at one club is even bigger. That’s what the modern world commemorates today. November 6^th, the date will forever be in the hearts of Red Devils around the world. The day the great man first said yes to Manchester United, the day the ball was set rolling. Today, that same man has a stand named after him at Old Trafford. Such is the respect people have for him in England and beyond. Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers who had consistently, to their supporters’ discontent, failed to break Liverpool’s domination. They were stuck in the bottom four of the Division. Without resorting to the transfer market, Ferguson guided United up the table to an 11th place finish: the first of many successes with United.

This first trophy came but not before a Mark Robin’s goal, which is widely remembered as the goal that "saved Alex Ferguson's job" in 1990. The European Cup Winners’ Cup was won the following season in Rotterdam; Barcelona was defeated 2-1 thanks to a brace from Mark Hughes. Then, in 1991/92, the League Cup was added to United’s list of honours. Sadly the title remained elusive. It was the Holy Grail to United fans, the 26 championships-free years being exacerbated by Liverpool’s dominance of the domestic and European game. It was a modest £1 million that was chiefly responsible for United winning their first league title – Eric Cantona was the player. That league victory inspired many more and the Ferguson won several trophies with ‘kids’, contradicting what former Liverpool legend Alan Hansen had once said about his decision.

Ferguson’s greatest achievement however was the Champions League Final in 1999. I don’t think I need to tell you people what happened then, its history and it will never occur again. Such was the drama and the emotions that Ferguson was knighted following that success and some suggested that he should retire, believing his desire would wane following the realisation of a dream. But that was not to be. Titles followed as United tightened the screws on football in England.

Though there have been several dark moments in the Ferguson era at Old Trafford (the humiliating defeat to Man City being the most recent one), United have always stood tall. Guided by a sprightly fatherly figure, they knocked Liverpool off their perch which Ferguson said they would do back in 2002: "My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you can print that." Those were his exact words a decade ago.

Today, Sir Alex set his eyes on the “Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.” Only he knows what went through his mind that moment. A flashback perhaps? No one but he knows. 1.409 games in charge of Manchester United so far, a feat no one will come close to matching. Even Arsenal’s great manager Arsene Wenger (who is the second longest serving manager in England with fifteen years at Arsenal) doesn’t feel he will come close to Ferguson’s feat. Only time will tell. “He talks of the drive that enables him, not far off turning 70, to get by with such an unfeasible lack of sleep: in bed by midnight, into Carrington before sunrise. Then he breaks off from the questions and directs his audience to the photographs on the walls before offering the most illuminating insight into why he does not want to let go so easily.”

Phillip Jackson will erect a statue for Sir Alex: it’s a fitting tribute for a man who says he has five years left in him. Such dedication in the modern game is rare. It’ll be quite something to enter Old Trafford and see statues of two true great managers: Ferguson and the late Sir Matt Busby. I end with nothing but praise for Sir Alex. Greatness is something he achieved and will continue to achieve. It’ll be a sad day when he finally calls it a day. I wouldn’t want to be the manager to replace Ferguson: the pressure would be immense. There is just one way I can think of summarizing the Ferguson dynasty at Old Trafford:

“Football, Bloody Hell!”

Remembered Forever! The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand at Old Trafford.

Image Credit: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/373942_303276363017728_100000060998228_1324397_1781472427_n.jpg (Ferguson Stand)
http://s1-02.twitpicproxy.com/photos/large/415961881.jpg (Mosaic)
Ferguson Quote: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/04/manchester-united-sir-alex-ferguson?newsfeed=true
Video Credit: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150388443388485

A Fans' Fan...

In United He Believes....

Derby day defeats are hard to digest. A derby day mauling is even harder to digest. Such was the scenario at Old Trafford today. Manchester City were rampant, Manchester United were shell shocked. Mario Balotelli was the centre of attraction just hours after setting his house on fire. “Why Always Me?” his t-shirt read; comic relief on an otherwise gloomy Sunday to United fans like me.

Needless to say, I expected the 1-6 jokes to start moments after the game. And start they did. Slowly they came in, one by one, some were funny and some were ridiculously poor attempts at mocking United. ‘Jokes’ apart, it was a day when one would be able to filter between Man U and United fans.

While City spent the rest of the day celebrating, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea fans joined the banter as well. Joke after joke, taunt after taunt. Chelsea fans would be reminded that though they played the most amazing 45 minutes of football I have seen, with nine men, at Loftus Road, they were beaten by a QPR side who won their first game at home this season. Cue the cliché, “Chris Foy is a retard.” These were the same set of fans who laughed when Ferguson has similar reservations about Mr. Foy’s skill on numerous occasions. Arsenal fans on the other hand needn’t be reminded about their own problems so I will not dwell on that for much longer. I will also mention here that this is no way a cheap shot intended at other fans. Respect is everything in the game, and it was great to see other fans console me after the game, while the general lot just fired away!

78,487 watched from inside Old Trafford. By the time the final whistle sounded, there were just a loud bunch of City supporters in their end and a sparse number of United faithful, who fought on to stay till the end. “Manchester is Blue” was heard around the stadium and I’m sure that was the chant on the streets as well. Call me biased, I don’t really care, but it was one of those days. Nothing went United’s way and City capitalized, just as any title ‘aspiring’ side would.

What left me shocked was the number of people who left as early as the 70th minute. True United were three goals down, but you don't desert the team like that. It was strange, nay bizarre coming from United 'faithful'. It touched me to see a fan sitting in his seat long after others had left. It warmed my heart to see him, gloomy as it was, sharing his disappointment with Old Trafford; sharing his disappointment with fans who would bleed for the club every single day. I know what I'm wearing to college tomorrow. Its red with AON in front and it bears the logo I grew up to love on the left. I end, humbly like that man pictured above, with a gloomy face, an optimistic thought and a never ending belief in United. Now and forever. Amen.

Picture Credit: http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294144_283461865009040_165684310120130_992930_573878079_n.jpg