Football
Associated Press 17y

Fire the coach? Just look at Alex Ferguson

LONDON -- Alex Ferguson's 19 trophies with Manchester United
are 19 great reasons not to fire a coach too soon.

Many soccer managers across Europe are clinging to their jobs,
with owners, fans and media calling for their heads barely a
quarter into the season. The pressure is so great some are urging a
moratorium on coaching changes until the one-month player transfer
period in January.

Because of poor results in the Champions League, Inter Milan's
Roberto Mancini is the biggest name under threat even with his team
on top of Serie A. While he should survive, top coaches in Germany,
France and England fear they won't be in their jobs much longer.

Before they get rid of the coaches, the owners should look at
what happened at Old Trafford 16 years ago.

Four years after Ferguson moved to Manchester United, the team
still hadn't won a trophy and the Scot was seemingly gone. Fans
chanted "Fergie Out!" in January 1990 with the Red Devils stuck
in last place. But the owners didn't bow to pressure, and what
followed was year after year of success.

An FA Cup final victory in 1990 led to a European Cup Winners'
Cup triumph a season later. Then United won the league title for
the first time in 26 years, starting a run of eight Premier League
championships in 11 seasons.

The 64-year-old Ferguson -- who marks his 20th anniversary in
charge Nov. 7 -- created a dynasty that made David Beckham, Roy
Keane, Peter Schmeichel, Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes and Paul Scholes
famous. His teams also saw the best of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona
and Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson led United to a sweep of the Champions League, FA Cup
and league title in 1999. The Red Devils have also collected five
FA Cups, two League Cups, the World Club Championship and European
Super Cup.

There could be more success this season. United leads the
Premier League -- on goal difference from Chelsea -- and is on the
verge of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League with
two games to spare.

After guiding the team to 19 trophies in 20 years, it's no
surprise Ferguson is leading the call for patience.

"There is good evidence that sticking with your manager
works," he said. "There are good examples such as Brian Clough,
Arsene Wenger and myself."

Clough led Nottingham Forest to promotion and two European Cup
titles during his 18 years there. Wenger, who arrived at Arsenal 10
years ago, has guided the Gunners to three league and four FA Cup
titles and a runner-up finish in last season's Champions League.

"You can't win every game, that is obvious," Ferguson said.
"But it strikes me more and more these days that there is less
patience in the game than there was even five years ago."

Ferguson's words reflect a time when many coaches are in danger
of losing their jobs before getting a chance to turn things around.

There was speculation in Italy that Mancini might be dismissed
after Inter lost its first two Champions League group games.

Monaco, a Champions League runner-up three seasons ago, is last
in the French league and fired coach Laszlo Boloni last week.

In the Bundesliga, Schalke is doing well in the league, but the
future of coach Mirko Slomka is in doubt because the club was
knocked out of the UEFA Cup and was upset 4-2 by division two
Cologne in the German Cup.

After eight losses in a row, West Ham's Alan Pardew seemed to be
on the way out, especially after Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano
failed to make an impact. With neither of the Argentine stars
starting and 40-year-old Teddy Sheringham scoring the first goal,
Pardew won a reprieve Sunday when West Ham beat Blackburn 2-1.

Glenn Roeder's struggling Newcastle team was held to a 0-0 tie
at home by Iain Dowie's last-place Charlton, and both those
managers are in danger.

Manchester City's Stuart Pearce, whose team is 15th in the
20-club league, suggests that coaches should be changed only at the
midway point of the season.

"At the moment we have a situation where one result can dictate
whether you're doing well, average or badly," the former England
left back said. "Over the last five or six weeks, I've seen X, Y
and Z manager being touted for the sack.

"Maybe somewhere in the future, if you move managers on, then
you're going to have to do it in the (January) transfer window and
then people can concentrate on their jobs a little more fully."

Coaches know they walk a fine line between success and failure
week after week. But the season is only 10 weeks old, and owners
and fans need to give them more time.

Just imagine if Manchester United had fired Ferguson in 1990.

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