seeing as Freds thread has run out of steam..
Was Ron Atkinson a successful manager for Manchester United?
In my opinion this is not a straightforward question. To answer it, you must evaluate the background of the club at that time and of the man in question himself.
Being the era that I grew up with (born 74 but started following footy early 80's), for me the ‘Atkinson’ years have always been interesting. A time when the two clubs from Merseyside were dominant in the league; Liverpool and Everton. A few years previously Nottingham Forest had picked up the European cup, and in 1981-82 Aston Villa had won the same competition. This was clearly a time when English sides could have an impact on Europe; but first Atkinson would have to fashion a side that could break that Merseyside dominance.
But, was the man himself strong enough to lead the club? To quote the man himself “Not for a single moment did I think of myself as a United manager destined to be in control for ten years, 20 years or even life. Nor did I ever want to. I had other plans, different ambitions” (thanks to ‘We are the Famous Man United by Andy Mitten)
Could one ever imagine the likes of Alex Ferguson or indeed Roy Keane uttering those words? Does it instil confidence?
At one time he had even encouraged approaches from Barcelona “Shortly after we knocked Barcelona out of the Cup Winners Cup, the feelers started to come my way from Barcelona. My answer, discreetly passed on, was simple. ‘Sure, I’m ready to talk; just name a place’.
So, he was ready to walk out on the club if a better offer came along. To me his appearance and attitude stank of a ‘Big Time Charlie’ out for himself and not the club.
However, to be fair to Atkinson, some of the circumstances were out of his control. For example when the board took the decision to sell Mark Hughes to Barcelona for £2m, Atkinson was told this money would be his for transfer funds. He lined up Terry Butcher for £750k to play alongside McGrath. What a partnership that would have been! He also lined up Kerry Dixon, a quality goal-scorer at the time, to replace Hughes. Neither ended up at Old Trafford, instead the board deciding to use the money to build a new club museum. On top of that some of the older players wanted out. Joe Jordan walked out on day 1 to join Milan.
At the beginning, Atkinson had been thinking big. The players earmarked were all quality players who would have made a difference. A swap deal was setup for Peter Shilton and Trevor Francis with Birtles and Bailey going the other way. It fell through when Atkinson changed his mind about Bailey and then fell out with Clough. Mark Lawrenson was approached but he went to Liverpool instead and became a success. Mickey Thomas who wanted out, was traded to Everton for John Gidman. Frank Stapleton was brought in from Arsenal. Then the big deal, Bryan Robson was brought in from West Brom for a record £1.5 million. A deal which caused Sir Matt Busby to resign from the board in disgust at the size of the fee. The likes of Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath were brought through from the youth team. Gordon Strachan was brought in to replace fans favourite Ray Wilkins. Overall, Atkinson had a decent record in the transfer market. He spent just over 7 million but recouped 6 million. Sometimes the board let him down for money. Lawrenson, who went to Liverpool was set to sign but United couldn’t release the money on time, likewise for Gary Lineker who went to Everton.
When I look at the team back then, it was a solid side which could have perhaps went the whole way had we had the services of a goalpoacher like Lineker. So for me, the board was as much to blame as Atkinson for our failings. However, the question has to be asked, where they not backing him fully because of the attitude I mentioned earlier?
Under Atkinson there appeared to be so much indiscipline with card schools and heavy drinking. Would the likes of Paul McGrath have sank so low if Alex Ferguson had been his manager when he was younger? Paper headlines such as when Remi Moses battered the face off Jesper Olsen in a training ground incident did not help.
Some weird times under Atkinson such as the time he injured Jonny Sivebeck at Anfield before the match. Getting off the bus, the players had tear gas thrown at them by Liverpool fans. In the confusion Atkinson threw what he thought was one of them against the wall, it turned out to be Sivebeck. (Clayton Blackmore couldn’t play that game because his eyes hurt so much).
During his team at United, the club won 2 FA cups. In 1985 they led the league by 10 points but blew it when Hughes was sold.
So, to answer the question, overall I do believe Atkinson was a short-term success but wasn’t strong enough to rebuild the club after the ailing 70’s. That much was clear, he has even admitted himself he didn’t want to be there long term. Thank God for Alex Ferguson.
Was Ron Atkinson a successful manager for Manchester United?
In my opinion this is not a straightforward question. To answer it, you must evaluate the background of the club at that time and of the man in question himself.
Being the era that I grew up with (born 74 but started following footy early 80's), for me the ‘Atkinson’ years have always been interesting. A time when the two clubs from Merseyside were dominant in the league; Liverpool and Everton. A few years previously Nottingham Forest had picked up the European cup, and in 1981-82 Aston Villa had won the same competition. This was clearly a time when English sides could have an impact on Europe; but first Atkinson would have to fashion a side that could break that Merseyside dominance.
But, was the man himself strong enough to lead the club? To quote the man himself “Not for a single moment did I think of myself as a United manager destined to be in control for ten years, 20 years or even life. Nor did I ever want to. I had other plans, different ambitions” (thanks to ‘We are the Famous Man United by Andy Mitten)
Could one ever imagine the likes of Alex Ferguson or indeed Roy Keane uttering those words? Does it instil confidence?
At one time he had even encouraged approaches from Barcelona “Shortly after we knocked Barcelona out of the Cup Winners Cup, the feelers started to come my way from Barcelona. My answer, discreetly passed on, was simple. ‘Sure, I’m ready to talk; just name a place’.
So, he was ready to walk out on the club if a better offer came along. To me his appearance and attitude stank of a ‘Big Time Charlie’ out for himself and not the club.
However, to be fair to Atkinson, some of the circumstances were out of his control. For example when the board took the decision to sell Mark Hughes to Barcelona for £2m, Atkinson was told this money would be his for transfer funds. He lined up Terry Butcher for £750k to play alongside McGrath. What a partnership that would have been! He also lined up Kerry Dixon, a quality goal-scorer at the time, to replace Hughes. Neither ended up at Old Trafford, instead the board deciding to use the money to build a new club museum. On top of that some of the older players wanted out. Joe Jordan walked out on day 1 to join Milan.
At the beginning, Atkinson had been thinking big. The players earmarked were all quality players who would have made a difference. A swap deal was setup for Peter Shilton and Trevor Francis with Birtles and Bailey going the other way. It fell through when Atkinson changed his mind about Bailey and then fell out with Clough. Mark Lawrenson was approached but he went to Liverpool instead and became a success. Mickey Thomas who wanted out, was traded to Everton for John Gidman. Frank Stapleton was brought in from Arsenal. Then the big deal, Bryan Robson was brought in from West Brom for a record £1.5 million. A deal which caused Sir Matt Busby to resign from the board in disgust at the size of the fee. The likes of Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath were brought through from the youth team. Gordon Strachan was brought in to replace fans favourite Ray Wilkins. Overall, Atkinson had a decent record in the transfer market. He spent just over 7 million but recouped 6 million. Sometimes the board let him down for money. Lawrenson, who went to Liverpool was set to sign but United couldn’t release the money on time, likewise for Gary Lineker who went to Everton.
When I look at the team back then, it was a solid side which could have perhaps went the whole way had we had the services of a goalpoacher like Lineker. So for me, the board was as much to blame as Atkinson for our failings. However, the question has to be asked, where they not backing him fully because of the attitude I mentioned earlier?
Under Atkinson there appeared to be so much indiscipline with card schools and heavy drinking. Would the likes of Paul McGrath have sank so low if Alex Ferguson had been his manager when he was younger? Paper headlines such as when Remi Moses battered the face off Jesper Olsen in a training ground incident did not help.
Some weird times under Atkinson such as the time he injured Jonny Sivebeck at Anfield before the match. Getting off the bus, the players had tear gas thrown at them by Liverpool fans. In the confusion Atkinson threw what he thought was one of them against the wall, it turned out to be Sivebeck. (Clayton Blackmore couldn’t play that game because his eyes hurt so much).
During his team at United, the club won 2 FA cups. In 1985 they led the league by 10 points but blew it when Hughes was sold.
So, to answer the question, overall I do believe Atkinson was a short-term success but wasn’t strong enough to rebuild the club after the ailing 70’s. That much was clear, he has even admitted himself he didn’t want to be there long term. Thank God for Alex Ferguson.
