Irish stars and commentators pay tribute
Unsurprisingly, given the club’s Irish link and huge following here, many of the tributes came from Irish sports stars and commentators.
Former golf world number one and double major winner Rory McIlroy is a fan of the club and he took to Twitter to pay tribute to the only United manager he has ever known.
“An end of an era today! Alex Ferguson, the greatest of all time! United will have a tough time trying to replace him!”
An end of an era today! Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest of all time! United will have a tough time trying to replace him!
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) May 8, 2013
Broadcaster Eamonn Holmes is such a keen supporter he was invited to open the eulogies at the funeral of George Best.
“Alex — how do you follow that? Thanks for the memories, the trophies, the spats, the entertainment, the passion and the chewing gum. But most of all, thanks for The Impossible Dream and Fergie Time!” he tweeted.
Radio presenter and former lead singer with Something Happens Tom Dunne, himself a lifelong fan, caught the mood of some Irish people who he said were describing the news as “our Diana moment” and the “biggest news story of the year”.
“It’s an incredibly emotive day and I think people thought it would never come... It’s going to be the most difficult transition in football I think. United is a juggernaut. It’s worth €3bn at the moment and to manage the change from a juggernaut that’s been driven by him for so long to being driven by somebody else is going to be one of the most challenging things for a corporation, which they are, ever,” he said.
Former United player and now pundit Eamon Dunphy said he was “surprised” by the decision and said Ferguson was a “giant in footballing terms”.
“It’s a major surprise and a very big decision which has huge implications. Manchester United is a corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. There is hundreds of millions of pounds, maybe more than £1bn at stake here.
“He’s been there nearly 26 years and he’s not just created teams, he’s recreated a club that was first created by Matt Busby.”
Former United defender Kevin Moran, who played for Ferguson for just under two years, said he could not have predicted just how successful he would go on to be.
“You’d have never exp-ected the success he would have afterwards. That’s just unprecedented what he’s done, but you knew there was something about this guy in terms of his commitment, his dedication, his will to win, all of that, but it took him a long time before eventually he got the first trophy over the line.
“It was possibly four or five years. If that was in today’s game, you wouldn’t be given that time.”
“It had to happen at some stage. It's sad. I've been a fan since the 1980s when the Irish lads were on the team. He was ruthless, like a party leader. He was the Haughey of football. If you stood on his toes, he'd take you down. I think we also have a soft spot in Ireland, him being Scottish and the whole Roy Keane thing.”
Sen Harte, who heads up the first ever Oireachtas branch of the FAI’s supporters club, said there was a “big swathe” of Man U fans among TDs and senators.
He said: “There never will be another Ferguson. Even though I'm for Liverpool, I've only admiration for him. He's a one-off. There wouldn't be a Man U without him. He took them from mediocrity to one of the top three teams in the world.”
“Alex Ferguson was one of the greatest managers of modern times. I was very surprised to hear that he’s going. What I liked about him was that he really was the manager. When he made a decision he stood over it. He was also a great friend of Ireland. There will never be another Alex Ferguson.”
The long-term Man U fan said: “I've been a fan since the Munich Crash, ever since I was a child. An entire generation now have grown up knowing Alex as the team's manager. There won't be his like again. He's up there with Matt Busby. I remember meeting him in Dublin airport when he was returning to Manchester after that horse court case. He autographed my boarding pass, which I still have.”
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said: “I was always a fan. He made a lot of important calls during his career on team selection and substitution. But the best call he made was to step down. He's achieved so much at this stage, he's nothing else to prove and he's going at the top of his success. In a way, he'll be irreplaceable with that X factor.”
The Leeds United fan, said: “He's achieved more than any manager. I remember bringing my son over to a game in Old Trafford where Ronaldo played and they won six one. But like any manager, when things don't go the way he wants, it is someone else's fault.”
Sir Alex Ferguson retires. #thankyousiralex
— MU Spokesperson (@MU_Spokesperson) May 8, 2013
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