THE search is on for Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor.
The Manchester United manager dropped a bombshell after the Champions League triumph last week by announcing that he will step down in the next three years.
The 66-year-old Scot said: “I won’t be managing here any more than three years at the very, very most. Without question. I assure you of that.”
It will be an uphill task for the Red Devils to replace the most successful manager in the history of the English game: Fergie has won 22 major trophies during his 22-year reign at Old Trafford.
Who should replace him? So far, a few names have been bandied about.
His No. 2 Carlos Queiroz is the frontrunner for the Man United hotseat if the words of the club’s chief executive David Gill are to be believed.
Gill said: “We have an assistant manager in Carlos Queiroz who will be very much in the frame.
“He’s clearly a key part of our success. If you look at what Liverpool achieved in their very successful years during the 70s and 80s, that was through internal appointments.”
Also in the running are Man United old boys Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes and Roy Keane.
Bruce’s tactical nous was evident during his spell with Birmingham City and now Wigan, while Hughes has established a reputation for himself at Blackburn Rovers.
Not to mention he is a former coach of the Welsh national team.
Not many were convinced of Keane’s managerial ability until he took over at Sunderland, where he guided the Black Cats to promotion two seasons ago and then helped them stave off relegation in the Premiership last season.
The trio aside, there will be no lack of applicants for arguably the hottest managerial job in the world.
Who knows, maybe in three years’ time, we will see a Portuguese at the helm at Old Trafford.
By that, I’m referring to Jose Mourinho, and not Queiroz.
The Postman’s Question of the Week is: Who is the best man to replace Ferguson, and give the reasons why you choose him to be the next manager of Man United.
The word limit is 200 words and the deadline is 4pm on Wednesday.
The Letter of the Week wins a Philips digital portable media player worth $199.
The spread of chosen letters will be published in The New Paper on Friday.
We will also be selecting the Postman’s Male and Female Writers of the Year for the 2007/2008 season.
The Writer of the Month of May, who consistently responds to the Question of the Week and the Weekend Questions, wins a Philips Arcitec Shaver set worth $499.
The New Paper’s Postman blog site is currently undergoing reconstruction, so give your instant views to the temporary blog at http://post-man.blogspot.com/ (there’s a word counter there).
Alternatively, you can e-mail The New Paper’s Sports Desk at npsports@sph.com.sg under the title “Dear Postman”.
E-mailers and bloggers, please e-mail separately your full name (and blogging nickname if applicable), age, occupation, contact numbers and favourite teams, to be considered for prizes and publication of views.
Cheers
Lim Han Ming
The TNPPostman
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