Manchester United FC is one of the biggest and richest clubs, not just in wealth but also heritage, in the world. It is surely the greatest club in the history of English club football due to the highest number of top-flight titles. The Manchester club was set-up in 1878, which emphasizes on the great history of the club, and was initially named as Newton Heath LYR F.C.
The club played its first competitive game in 1886 and won their first Football League in 1908. The club has been managed by many great managers throughout the years who have done their best to take the club to where it is now. Manchester United have had a total of 26 managers over their history, and each manager had a distinct type of tactics.
Let us now have a look at the best managers Manchester United have had after 1986.
#1-SIR ALEX FERGUSON –
Games managed: 1500
Win%: 59.67
The greatest manager in English football and arguably the greatest manager the world has ever seen, Alex Ferguson took the reins of United in 1986. The Scotsman took over from Ron Atkinson in the middle of the 1986-87 season and remained at the helm till 2013. The sheer longevity, hunger, demand and man-management are the best qualities of Sir Alex that enabled him to reach the top and stay there.
In his 26 years at Old Trafford, he saw many superstars come and go to United but his hunger and zeal remained unaltered. Alex Ferguson was very intimidating which has served him well throughout his managerial career. His players loved him as he was one of the best man-managers in the history of football and knew how to get the best out of his players.
For most of his career, he used a flat 4-4-2 formation with quick wide midfielders and a couple of robust central midfielders. United were famous to score late goals under Alex Ferguson, out of which the most famous was there last-minute-winner in the Champions League final. Under Ferguson, United became one of the best clubs in the world and were known for scoring goals.
Sir Alex has won a whopping 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, 10 Community Shields, two Champions Leagues, a European Cup Winners’ Cup, a European Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup.
#2-DAVID MOYES –
Games managed: 51
Win%: 52.94
Taking over from the legendary Sir Alex was David Moyes, who had earlier managed Everton, and retained a title-winning squad for his predecessor. David Moyes had a monumental task of replacing Sir Alex and he failed terribly. David Moyes didn’t have prior experience of managing a club of United’s magnitude and couldn’t keep up with superstar players around him.
The board also didn’t give him much of a chance as they got him only one signing, of Fellaini, which was a panic buy. Moyes managed United for a total of 51 games only and didn’t even last an entire season at United. However, Moyes did win silverware with the Red Devils, as he won the FA Community Shield in his first game itself.
The United game under Moyes showed no distinct pattern, as players were for most parts of the season clueless of what to do. Moyes was sacked in the April of 2014, after being in the job for just 10 months because of an awful run in the Premier League.
#3-LOUIS VAN GAAL –
Games managed: 103
Win%: 52.43
In the summer of 2014, Louis Van Gaal replaced David Moyes as the manager of Manchester United, after managing the Dutch national team. Unlike Moyes, Van Gaal had the experience to manage a big club like United because of his prior experience and success at Bayern Munich and Barcelona. The club also got some blockbuster signings for Van Gaal, like Di Maria, Blind and Falcao.
The United side, under Van Gaal, played with a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 formation with emphasis given on possession. But the Red Devils were very slow and moved the ball sideways rather than moving it forward. The signings for Van Gaal also didn’t click as the likes of Di Maria found it hard to settle in England and Falcao never settled into the side.
Van Gaal was sacked at the end of the 2015-16 season after winning the FA Cup in his final game. The Dutchman’s sacking was a shock to the United fans as the team finally looked like clicking on the pitch with his tactics.
#4-JOSE MOURINHO –
Games managed: 144
Win%: 58.33
Arguably one of the greatest managers in the Premier League era, Jose Mourinho took charge of United at the beginning of the 2016-17 season. Mourinho was quick to bring in his type of players into the United side, as the Red Devils signed Pogba and Lukaku for mammoth fees and also got Ibrahimovich for free. The players took a little time to settle into his brand of football though.
But once they did, it was difficult to beat United on their day, as Mourinho set-up a very stout defence. Mourinho always relied on a 4-3-3 formation and generally used strong strikers who could run onto the ball and hold the ball up. With Mourinho’s help, United finished second in the Premier League, their best finish till date after Ferguson left.
Under Jose Mourinho, United won the Europa League, a League Cup and a Community Shield and he was United’s most successful manager after Sir Alex left. But in his third and final season, Mourinho lost the dressing room and was involved in issues with some senior players. And a thrashing against Liverpool sealed his future as he was sacked in December 2018.
#5-OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER –
Win%: 54
In December 2018, after the sacking of Jose Mourinho, United employed club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the care-taker manager. The Norwegian helped United to a great run in the Premier League, which got him the manager’s job permanent. Ole hasn’t looked back since then and made some great signings in the summer of 2019 with Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and Dan James.
Solskjaer led the Red Devils to a second-place finish in the 2020-21 Premier League season with the club also reaching the finals of the UEFA Europa League where an inspired Villarreal side handed them a defeat following a tense penalty shoot-out.
The league campaign finished on a positive note for the Old Trafford giants who claimed back-to-back top-four finishes for the first time since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson from the top job.
Solskjær penned a new three-year-long deal at the club ahead of the start of the 2021-22 campaign with the United board voicing hope for the club’s progress under the manager. However, things were off to a shaky start for Manchester United in the top flight and come November, on the back of defeats to bitter rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, United suffered a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Premier League’s new boys Watford.
Following an emergency meeting held by the United board in the aftermath of the Watford game, it was decided that Solskjaer would leave Old Trafford with mutual consent as Michael Carrick took over on an interim basis.
Read Our Exclusive Article – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wild journey with Manchester United
