Who is the greatest manager of all time?

Ahhh one of my favourite questions this.

I'm not going to be biased or bitter. I'm going to tell it like it is.

Firstly, in the modern era, it is far easier to remain competitive (at the top) due to the huge financial gaps between the top clubs and pretty much everyone else.

That's exactly why the same old names have been dominating leagues for 20 years. The only teams to have entered the picture are Chelsea and City and is it a coincidence that they have been the biggest takeovers in the British game.

The game has monopolised to such an extreme that United will likely be challenging for honours for the remainder of our lives.

But lets wind the clock back about 35 years. This was a time when yes, there were slightly richer clubs but not the kind of rich that squashes your competitiors. Most teams signed one player a year. You'd still get promoted teams with a fighting chance for the title.

Liverpool used to build teams out of lads from the British Isles. We didn't scour the globe for the best south americans or best french martial artist - no, it was pure management that got Liverpool to not only conquer its own shores but more importantly, Europe too.

For a club like Liverpool to come up from the second division and conquer football like we did in an age when money was nothing but a footnote.

Yes, Ferguson has worked wonders - but lets not forget that Fergusons title win ratio is less than 50%.

Lets not forget that the united fans still use the myth that United were poor prior to Ferguson taking over. For those of you who have done any research you may have found that in the 4 years before his reign, United were finishing in the top 4 for the previous 4 seasons.

Lets not forget that Ferguson manages the richest club in the world alongside Real Madrid and has done so for many years.

Lets not forget that for all the years at the club he still has yet to dominate Europe. Guardiola has shown that it can be done in the current era.

Ferguson is up there but nobody tops Bob Paisleys achievements in terms of the era and in terms of the timeframe in which he achieved it.

Bob Paisley was an ordinary man amid extraordinary achievements.

Regards

The Great and Always on Hand to Land the Knockout Blow in the Thread.... Metropolis

For me it is an impossible task to choose the best manager ever as there are so many different variables involved at clubs, that you don't know other managers would deal with.

I should have said, when I did my post, that Bob Paisley, despite the praise due to SAF, is my best manager of all times. jimmyTheRed

Metro I would wager that SAF achievements at Aberdeen surpass paisleys

Terry Connor

Rafa Benitez

Challenged the hegemony of Barca/Madrid and came out on top. That is like expecting Everton to win the league.

What happened at Milan? Or At the Pool?

posted 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
Metro I would wager that SAF achievements at Aberdeen surpass paisleys
......

Would you? Well hopefully nothing expensive - for your sake

Compare the size of Aberdeen to Real Madrid. Beating the old firm and the spanish royal family's team with a side filled with young scots is amazing and is comparitively a much more significant achievement considering the size of the clubs in question

Paul Jewel.

comment by The Verbal Jouster (U11370) posted 14 hours, 14 minutes ago

Terry Connor

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greatest player of all time being jason lee