Even Alex Ferguson would struggle at Manchester United now: Ryan Giggs

SINGAPORE – Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson delivered many magical moments in his 27-year career at Old Trafford, but even the club’s most successful manager would struggle to haul the Red Devils out of the rut they are in now, says his former protege Ryan Giggs.

Legendary winger Giggs, a one-club man who played 963 matches for United and won 13 English Premier League titles under Ferguson, delivered the damning verdict in an interview with The Sunday Times on Feb 22.

“Any coach would struggle because the recruitment hasn’t been great over the last 10 years,” he said.

“When Sir Alex left in 2013, everyone recognised United might be a little bit different. But to not compete for the Premier League for more than 10 years now, I couldn’t envisage that at that time.”

The 51-year-old Welshman is in town for the BYD Football Fiesta, where he and former Singapore internationals Fandi Ahmad and V. Sundramoorthy managed teams in a friendly futsal tournament at ARFC Woodleigh on Feb 22. There was also a football clinic for kids conducted by Aerion Academy, led by players from Women’s Premier League side Still Aerion, including Thailand’s Women’s World Cup player Sunisa Srangthaisong.

As part of the initiative, BYD will donate $1,000 for every car it sells in February, as well as the entry fees from the fustal tournament, to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

Sporting a full, grizzled beard, Giggs was in a chirpy mood during the session as he signed autographs and posed for wefies with fans.

However, he was less cheery when asked about United’s spending and performances in recent times. His former club have spent over €2 billion (S$2.8 billion) in the last 12 seasons under six full-time managers, but find themselves nearer the relegation zone than winning the league, as they languish in 15th position.

He said: “With the amount of money we’ve spent, we should be seeing better results. But this is what happens when there’s a turnover of managers, and each manager has a different philosophy and likes different players. It’s just been a cycle of players coming in, not really cutting it.

“With what we are left with at the moment, we are far shorter than our competitors in terms of players and the quality within the team and the squad. You need strength and depth, and we haven’t got that. It’s not just quality that is lacking, as United are also missing leadership figures in the dressing room who understand what it means to represent the club.”

Noting that “recruitment isn’t always just about how skilful a player is”, he added: “You need that nucleus of players who know what Manchester United are about, and unfortunately it looks like in the dressing room, there might be only a couple who do. When I came into the team as a 17-year-old, we had Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, they all knew the culture of Manchester United.

“They were all talented, but also hardworking winners. Whether it’s vocal leaders like Roy Keane or Paul Scholes who did his talking on the pitch with his skill, we’re short of that at the moment.”

However, Giggs backed manager Ruben Amorim to take United back to the top, but only if he is given the time to implement his philosophy that has helped him win the Portuguese league twice with Sporting Lisbon.

It has been a rough start for the 40-year-old, whose 43 per cent win rate since taking over in November 2024 is the worst of any United boss post-Ferguson in their opening 21 games.

Giggs said: “Of course, Manchester United are a different beast... I like his personality and his ideas, and when you bring someone in like this, you have to give him time.

“But in this day and age, what is time? Is it a year, two years? The problem is he has to look after the short term, with an eye on the long term. At the moment, in the short term, the results aren’t great, but we have to trust him to come good in the long term and the success will come back.”

Just as the former wing wizard hopes time will heal United, he is also looking to turn around his football fortunes. As a coach and manager, he had helped Wales qualify for Euro 2020, but was forced to stand down following his arrest in November 2020 on suspicion of assault. He formally resigned in 2022.

He was

cleared in 2023

after the charges were withdrawn and took time off to travel the world.

Eighteen months ago, he was appointed Salford City’s director of football on top of being the League Two side’s co-owner. In October 2023, he returned to the dugout to assist club manager Karl Robinson in their quest for promotion.

While he declined to comment on the scandals, Giggs said: “It’s great to be back involved and trying to make a difference. It’s amazing when you come back and realise how much you’ve missed it.”