Alex Ferguson "stayed too long" as Man Utd told it’ll take decade to catch up

For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter

Manchester United are suffering a severe hangover from the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson, and they are yet to win a Premier League title in his absence.

Ferguson will go down as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his legendary 27-year stint is unlikely to ever be replicated due to the demands of the modern game.

The Scotsman won an incredible 13 Premier League titles at United, and many fans have claimed that they would have Ferguson back at the club in a heartbeat.

However, former Sky Sports pundit Richard Keys suggests otherwise, and believes that Ferguson was "allowed to stay too long" at Old Trafford.

Ferguson has managed and developed some of the greatest players in the Premier League era at United, but it's fair to say that his final title winning side was far from the best squad that he ever worked with.

Robin van Persie helped fire United to the title as Ferguson bowed out, handing over the reigns to David Moyes in 2013 before he was subsequently sacked a year later.

United are still yet to find that winning formula in Ferguson's absence, but Keys believes that their former boss overstayed his welcome, which has led to their failure following his prolonged departure.

Keys took to his personal blog and slammed United, and singled out an article he disagreed with as he gave his own opinions on their downfall: "United return to action in the PL this week with even their most optimistic fan now realising that they're not very good – surely?

"I read a piece from Ollie Holt the other day arguing that United have been going downhill ever since Fergie left. Not so Ollie. They were on the slide during his last few years.

"I’ve said this many times – that last title team were eight short. They got over the line thanks to van Persie’s goals and the very timely return of Paul Scholes.

"Fergie was allowed to stay too long. He had the club in a vice-like grip – operating as he wanted – and while they stagnated, everybody else was moving forward. It’ll take them another decade to catch up."

United currently sit in fourth, but both Manchester City and Liverpool are a step up above the rest of the Premier League, with Chelsea not far behind, and Ferguson would never have settled for United to slip in this way.

But their FA Cup failure against Middlesbrough highlighted that their internal issues remain, and United are now facing a decade without a league title, and there's no telling how many more years they will be forced to wait.

  • Sir Alex Ferguson
  • Manchester United FC

Source: Read Full Article