Fergie's fledglings, managers that is.

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By Oliver Kay
23rd June 2008

The nature versus nurture debate is unlikely to be at the forefront of Sir Alex Ferguson's mind as he spends the final week of his holiday in the South of France wondering how to resolve the Cristiano Ronaldo conundrum, but as Paul Ince is introduced as the new man in charge of Blackburn Rovers today, the Manchester United manager may briefly contemplate the number of former pupils who seem determined to follow in his illustrious footsteps.

Ince becomes the fourth of Ferguson's United old boys to take charge of a Barclays Premier League team next season, joining Mark Hughes at Manchester City, Roy Keane at Sunderland and Steve Bruce at Wigan Athletic. Look down the leagues and you will see Darren Ferguson, Sir Alex's son, at Peterborough United, Mark Robins at Rotherham United and Simon Davies at Chester City. Take into account his time at Aberdeen and you can add Alex McLeish at Birmingham City, Gordon Strachan at Celtic, Mark McGhee at Motherwell and Neale Cooper at Peterhead.

Look farther afield and there is Laurent Blanc at Bordeaux and Henning Berg at Lyn Oslo. And when you throw in the coaches and those at or approaching the end of their playing careers who plan the jump into management (Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville), the numbers become more remarkable.

So are these men born to manage or does playing under Ferguson shape a managerial career? “In a lot of those lads you could see a manager - [Bryan] Robson, Keane, Bruce - so it's no surprise,” Darren Ferguson, who led Peterborough to promotion from Coca-Cola League Two behind Ince's Milton Keynes Dons last season, said. “He brought the right people into the dressing-room: winners, leaders. Paul Ince was captain of United. He was always going to manage.

“Probably the most surprising one was Sparky [Hughes] because he was so quiet, but he has probably been the most successful so far. He has a very calm persona. I'm sure my father is pleased that they've all come out. His advice and the way he went about the job has definitely rubbed off.”

For those who retain a hotline to Old Trafford, unlike Strachan, for example, the advice and bonhomie continues. Keane left United on bad terms in 2005 after falling out with the manager, but he, like Bruce, regularly exchanges text messages with Ferguson and, productively for Sunderland, he has also managed to plunder United's reserve team to sign players such as Jonny Evans (on loan), Phil Bardsley, Liam Miller and Kieran Richardson. Ferguson's relationship with Hughes has become more distant - and may become more so, given that they are in charge of rival clubs in the same city - but the Scot has much respect for what Hughes achieved with Wales and then with Blackburn.

Where Ince will fit into all of this is not yet clear. Accused of treachery upon leaving United for Inter Milan in 1995 and then described by Ferguson in a televised team talk as a “f***ing big-time Charlie” while at Liverpool three years later, Ince has never hidden the feeling that tensions remain between the sorcerer and this apprentice. There is also the likelihood, given his views on Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough and Glenn Roeder at Newcastle United in recent years, that Ferguson objects to an appointment that required special dispensation from the Premier League because of Ince's lack of coaching qualifications.

Sparks could fly in the technical areas when Ferguson takes United to Ewood Park on October 4, but afterwards you know that the managers will share a bottle of fine wine, impeccably sourced, impeccably nurtured and full of character.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle4200996.ece