More has probably now been written about the depature of Sir Alex Ferguson than that of Margaret Thatcher and it is difficult to say anything fresh or new. Yet The Economist has managed to do so in its Bagehot column, named after the weekly’s editor from 1861 to 1877.
More has probably now been written about the depature of Sir Alex Ferguson than that of Margaret Thatcher and it is difficult to say anything fresh or new. Yet The Economist has managed to do so in its Bagehot column, named after the weekly’s editor from 1861 to 1877.
To be discussed there is a signal honour, as it is usually reserved for reflections on political leaders. The Economist does run quite a few stories on football as it recognises its importance as an economic and cultural force. But this is the first time I can remember it being discussed in the Bagheot column which is the most prestigous in the paper.
Football, it is noted, has changed completely from a ‘clumsily contested, sometimes violently followed national game into a global industry, in which Manchester United is the most recognised brand.’ Elite managers are more like management consultants these days at the top level of the game and in that sense Sir Alex represents a disappearing, grittier era.
Football management is seen as ‘about squeezing out incrementally more performance per salary pound. This Sir Alex has done, season after season. Manchester United routinely spends a lower proportion of its revenues on wages than any other Premier League club.’ I would add that having a large turnover helps.
It was well known that under New Labour Sir Alex enjoyed ready access to ministers. He once phoned Tony Blair to complain when he had been upset by something said by the sports minister. He also expressed concerns about the Iraq war. Under New Labour being interested in football was a blokeish sign of being one of the gang. Even the Cabinet Secretary was a United supporter.
Bagheot asserts, ‘English football has become the world’s best because it pays the most.’ Fans of the Bundesliga would dispute that. But it is striking that the average weekly wage in the premiership went up by 1,500 per cent between 1992 and 2010.
Reflecting its political stance, The Economist states, ‘Sir Alex’s success was based on his enthusiastic embrace of globalisation, something too many people in Labour are still uncomfortable with.’ Some would argue that the Blair Government used globalisation as an alibi to justify what it wanted to do anyway.
But there is no doubt that the United squad has internationalised. Sir Alex inherited a squad that contained two Danes, four Irishmen and 18 Brits. He leaves a squad with players from a dozen countries, including Ecuador and Japan.
Across the city, Sir Alex’s counterpart at Manchester City is about to pay the price for coming second. Globalisation can be a hard task master. Competition becomes intense, but money needs to be spent wisely to secure success. How to spend that money wisely often needs intuition and innate skill, as much as appropriate training. Football is a globalised world, but still a very different one.