Ruthless Alex Ferguson would shake up Manchester United, says ex-assistant Mike Phelan

SINGAPORE – Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson would have shown no mercy to the Red Devils responsible for the club’s worst top-flight season since 1974 if he were still in charge, says his trusted lieutenant Mike Phelan.

Phelan – who was first-team coach and then assistant manager over a 12-year spell, until the legendary Scot’s retirement in 2013 – delivered a withering assessment of the team’s 2024-25 season, which saw them record their lowest-ever English Premier League placing of 15th in a trophyless campaign.

When asked what Ferguson would have done, Phelan said in an interview with The Straits Times on June 17: “By now, Sir Alex’s list of players that he wanted to keep and let go would have been presented to the chief executive. He was pretty cut-throat when it came to that.

“So the planning would be pretty serious, it would be heavy-handed. It would be a very clean-cut, lots of clarity and it would be ruthless.”

Phelan, 62, is in Singapore this week to give a talk at The Workshop Tour Asia, a coaching and sport science seminar co-organised by the Football Association of Singapore’s football science and medicine department and the Aspire Academy. He is also conducting coaching sessions for local coaches and youth players under his consultancy, Mike Phelan Coaching.

Like many of the managers who came after Ferguson – whose nearly 27-year career at Old Trafford yielded 38 trophies, including 13 English Premier League and two Champions League titles – current boss Ruben Amorim is having a rough time.

The Portuguese was appointed last November and managed only seven wins in 27 league matches, with more than half of those ending in defeat.

The rebuild has already started with the signing of Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers for an estimated £62.5 million (S$108 million). The 26-year-old registered 33 goals and 15 assists in 2½ seasons at Wolves.

United’s performance last season proved that a major overhaul is necessary, said Phelan.

“The evidence is there, the proof is in the pudding. There are a few players there, they’ve been there a long time now, and it really hasn’t progressed for different reasons,” he said.

Before joining Ferguson in the dugout, the Englishman had a successful spell as a player with United from 1989 to 1994, winning the FA Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup, League Cup and Premier League.

After hanging up his boots in 1995, Phelan transitioned to coaching and returned to United in 1999 as the reserve-team coach, and he was promoted to a first-team coaching role two years later. He was appointed assistant manager of United in 2008.

In his time there as the second in command, the team won three Premier League titles, two League Cups and reached the Champions League final twice.

Following the highs of Ferguson’s tenure, Phelan also experienced the lows with United. He was the assistant manager under former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from 2018 until the latter’s dismissal in November 2021. Phelan left United in 2022.

The list of manager casualties post-Ferguson include David Moyes, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and Erik ten Hag.

While some observers have said that even Ferguson would struggle in this era,

Phelan disagreed.

He said: “Could Sir Alex manage at this level now? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt... his methods would be adaptable, he was just a very intelligent and demanding guy. I think that’s all strengths that are needed within Manchester United.”

Adaptability does not appear to be one of Amorim’s strong suits, judging by last season’s results. Having inherited a squad built for variations of a 4-3-3 formation, he has insisted on his favoured 3-4-3 and United have lacked any consistency or identity.

Amorim may need to channel some of Ferguson’s famed qualities or trouble could lie ahead, warned Phelan.

He said: “I think he will have to reflect and just think about flexibility a little bit, because you can go down one path, but if it doesn’t work, it’s not going to be in the best interest for him.

“I think you have to know what you want and how you want it, but you have to produce it and on the back of a poor end to the season, he’s got to hit the ground running.”