Grant was right about Ferguson however, who took four seasons to win a trophy for United, not to mention their poor league table positions in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Unlike Newcastle, this was a club that, in its past incarnations, was used to plentiful success, but still, United’s owners – including Martin Edwards – did not flounder and they have been rewarded for their patience by virtually knocking Liverpool off their ‘perch’, which was the aim of Fergie all along. Edwards and co could certainly teach the new brand of millionaire owners a thing or two about how to run a club effectively, on and off the pitch. I doubt many owners in the modern game would have stuck by a younger Alex Ferguson had he started out in today’s game.
Sam Allardyce’s laying-off by the new consortium at Blackburn Rovers hinted at the lack of patience in the modern age. When Allardyce joined Rovers they were slumped rock-bottom of the table with Big Sam eventually leading them to 15th place. The next season, he guided them to a 10th place finish and a Carling Cup semi-final so it was an improvement on each season, but that was still not enough for his new employers.
Grant’s comments on Wenger and Ferguson sounded like that of a man who’s desperate to prove that time is needed to put together a team in transition and he’s right, but will he be next for the dreaded chop, replaced by Big Sam perhaps? We’ll see.
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