Fergie’s Fledglings: Who Will Be Next to Fly the Nest and Become a Manager?

Alex Ferguson has clocked up an impressive 30 years of football management. He has shaped and nurtured the careers of hundreds of players along the way, with quite a few of them moving in to management positions themselves.

"Fergie’s Fledglings" was a term given to Alex Ferguson’s youth signings in the late eighties, with such names as Lee Sharpe and Mark Robbins progressing through the ranks.

The title has also been credited to Fergie’s youth signings in the nineties, with around 15 players getting the infamous label.

Presently, there are four managers in the Premier League who have played under Ferguson at United—but are there any players currently playing for the Scot who have what it takes to move up the football ladder?

The Present Fledglings:

Ryan Giggs – Aged 34 — Manchester United

For some, the most obvious choice would be the player who has spent the last 21 years under the tutelage of Alex Ferguson—Ryan Giggs. The 34 year old is the most successful and awarded player in Premier League history and one of only two players to have played and scored in every single season since 1992. 

In 1987, Ryan joined the Manchester United youth academy at the age of 14. Ferguson was so impressed with his trial that he went to the youngster’s house personally with a contract asking him to sign. Giggs started his professional career in 1990, aged just 17.

Over two decades later, the Welshman has racked up an incredible 542 games and 146 goals for the club making him the longest serving United player ever—with an impressive 28 trophies to his name.

Gary Neville — Aged 33 — Manchester United

The Bury born player joined the United youth ranks in 1992 at the age of 16 and turned professional just one season later. Gary Neville is infamous for being fiercely loyal to Manchester United and was rewarded with the captain’s armband in 2005—United’s first captain to be born in Greater Manchester for 47 years.

Despite an injury limiting him to just one appearence last season, he has managed to reach 548 games and collected 16 trophies in his 17 years at the club—making him Manchester United’s 5th longest serving player.

Paul Scholes — Aged 34 — Manchester United

Another local lad, Paul was born a bit closer to home in Salford and is another of Fergie’s Fledglings to have only played for the one club.  His career started with the youth team in 1991 and was handed his professional contract by Fergie in 1993, although he never made an impact on the first team until the 94-95 season.

He started out as a striker and was considered a very worthy understudy to Cantona during his lengthy ban from football, but after a few seasons, he made a name for himself as an attacking midfielder and was a major contributor to United’s famous treble winning team in 1999. However, a suspension saw him unfortunately miss the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

Paul Scholes is one of the world's most admired and respected players, he does not have an agent, he very rarely gives interviews and scarcely accepts sponsorship deals.

Scholes is a very impressive 4th on the United all time appearance list with 578 games, 139 goals and 20 trophies in 17 years.

The Earlier Fledglings:

Phillip Neville — Aged 31 — Everton

Born in Bury, Greater Manchester, Phillip Neville joined the youth program at United before moving on to making his first team debut in 1994.

Neville was the understudy to Dennis Irwin at left back until he made the position his own. His time at Everton has seen his versatility as a player and his quiet maturity has meant he has earned himself the captains arm band.

Phil Neville managed 263 games in his 11 years for Manchester United and amassed 14 trophies before being sold to north-east rivals, Everton, in 2005.

David Beckham — Aged 33 — L A Galaxy

Probably the most famous of Ferguson’s youth players from the nineties, David Beckham was born in London in 1975 and grew up with fanatical Manchester United supporting parents. He signed for United’s schoolboys aged 14 with his first team appearance coming in 1992, at just 17 years of age.

He signed a professional contract in 1993 and his time at United saw him amount a decent stretch of 265 league games and 65 goals from his right midfield position.

David Beckham’s displays in a United shirt contributed to him becoming England captain in 2000, with a very respectful 107 games for the national first team.

After a reported falling out with Alex Ferguson, Beckham left the club to go to Real Madrid for around 25 million pounds, but will always be remembered for his contributions to a very successful period at United, achieving 15 trophies in his ten years service.

Nicky Butt—Aged 33—Newcastle United

Manchester born Nicky Butt signed his professional contract in 1993 but didn’t push for the first team until the departure of Paul Ince to Inter Milan in 1994.

He formed a solid partnership alongside Roy Keane during his first few seasons, but with Paul Scholes’ relocation to midfield, Butt become less involved in the first team.

Nicky Butt signed for Newcastle in 2004 and after 11 years service to Manchester United, he managed a commendable 269 games with 15 trophies to his name.

Other Notable Candidates:

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — Aged 35 — Manchester United Reserve Team Manager

The Norwegian signed for United in 1996 and was an instant success for Alex Ferguson. He contributed greatly to their dominance at the end of the nineties and will be forever loved for his winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, which saw the club finish a treble winning season in style by lifting thier first European cup since 1968.

Despite a serious recurring knee injury that kept him sidelined for well over a season, he still managed 91 goals in 235 games for the club, some of which was as stand in captain.

Peter Schmeichel — Aged 44 — Retired

The Danish keeper joined in 1991, at the start of a very dominant era for the club and spent eight years carving out a name as one of the best ever goalkeepers to grace the club and the sport.

He ended his glittering career at United in their treble-winning season of 1999 with 15 trophies and playing 292 games before moving abroad.

Who Would Be Your Choice?

After 30 years of finding and shaping some of the best footballers to have ever kicked a ball, there is no doubt that Alex Ferguson has contributed greatly to English football.

With the above list of players having spent a considerable amount of time under the most successful British manager in football history, who do you believe will follow in the footsteps of the Scot?

Or maybe you have a suggestion of your own as to who will be the next Ferguson-taught player to move in to management.