Has Sir Alex Ferguson Already Set a Retirement Date?

As a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has few peers. The Scot, who has managed St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and Manchester United during an extremely successful career, is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers world football has ever seen.

He has won more trophies than any other manager in English football, and at Old Trafford, he is rightfully revered in the same way as club legends Sir Matt Busby or Sir Bobby Charlton.

In his 22-year stint at the helm, he has won 10 Premiership titles, five FA Cups, and two League Cup trophies. In Europe, he has added two Champions League crowns and a Cup Winner’s Cup to the Red Devil’s illustrious history.

Put simply, Ferguson has become synonymous with the club.

As such, fans have recently become more preoccupied with Ferguson’s retirement plans. The 66-year old has only fueled such concerns, having publicly admitted he does not plan on staying beyond 2011 (when he would be 70).

What will happen to the club when he leaves?

This is not the first time Ferguson has made retirement plans, however. In 2002, he infamously changed his mind about stepping down, barely months before he was expected to. As a result, many are not convinced the Scot’s words should be taken any more seriously this time around.

Ferguson, however, maintains that his intentions this time are clear—in his own mind at least. As he stated to Daily Mirror:

"I have a plan, there's no question about that."

The problem, however, is that only he knows what that plan is.

Indeed, many of those closest to the Scot refuse to contend such a concrete schedule really exists. As United’s Chief Executive, David Gill, commented:

"[Ferguson] hasn’t said to me that he has a timeline. We haven’t discussed that,” he told the Daily Mail earlier this year. “There have been some comments about being 70, but Alex’s guiding principle on whether he stays has always been about whether he is healthy and has the desire—I’m sure he will have that.”

"It’s still three-and-a-half years away, we will look at it at that time.”

It is very hard to identify what exactly motivates the Scot to continue working so diligently for Man Utd. With them, he has won more trophies, been more successful in Europe, and signed more quality players than almost any other manager in world football.

In terms of career progression, he is at the very pinnacle.

As such, he could be forgiven for losing his hunger for success. This obviously hasn’t happened.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, there must be a more fundamental reason driving him—an inherent desire that is above and beyond his own self-interest.

That inspiration comes from an obvious source—the club and fans, whose hopes and fears have guided him for the last two decades. It is his rapport with the 75 000 that pack out Old Trafford every week that keeps him striving to bring them the success they crave.

The problem for the Scot, however, is that the other love of his life, his family, have different ideas. His wife, Cathy—who was so instrumental in convincing her husband to continue back in 2002—has recently spoken of  her desire for Sir Alex to retire in the near future.

Concerned by the stresses of management (which will have only been heightened by Carlos Queiroz’s departure), she wants him to be able to enjoy a healthy retirement and pursue some of his other interests—including horse racing.

As a result, she has been instrumental in “setting” the 2011 deadline, giving her husband just three more years to achieve any remaining career goals.

Fortunately for Ferguson, there is just one milestone that still eludes him.

At the moment, Liverpool are still England’s most decorated team—thanks to 18 championship titles. Manchester United lie second, with 17 to their name.

The Knight of the Realm must surely have targeted 19 titles as his final goal—conclusively snatching the status of “English football’s most successful club” from his archrivals.

The prospect is intriguing. Even when he joined United, way back in 1986, one of his first comments to the press was expressing his desire to “knock Liverpool off their f*****g perch.”

He later described the task as “my greatest challenge.”

If the Scot were to finally—and indisputably—manage this, drawing a close to his Old Trafford career, it would provide some fitting symmetry.

Ferguson has always had a barely-concealed hatred for Liverpool, as illustrated only last year when he responded to a question from The People, enquiring as to whether he would like to see the Anfield club end their title drought:

"You must be joking. Do I look as if I'm a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?"

Overhauling Liverpool’s record of 18 titles would be a perfect final career goal—it serves as a target for the Scot to strive for, while simultaneously offering reassurance to his family that he will not be dealing with managerial stresses for much longer.

He could achieve the goal in just two years time. More realistically, it should be fulfilled within the next four (although Chelsea, Arsenal, and, indeed, Liverpool might have something to say about that).

In his book, United We Stand, Kevin Ramsden noted that Sir Alex "goes to more funerals than anybody I have ever met.” As Man Utd.’s manager, perhaps Ferguson is planning on attending one last ceremony—to mourn the death of Liverpool’s reign as England’s greatest ever club.

It would be a fitting end to a remarkable career.