He is extremely controlling. Wants everything his way. What Beckham should wear, how he should cut his hair, how many days he should spend on his honeymoon, who should he marry and who should he not be with … Is this OK for you? And he would get away after physically assaulting him? For SAF, everything was always about himself.
Arsene Wenger on the other hand is so different. He only controlled what people ate (and that too, through education and not “enforcement”). I never hear any such stories about him. He too was a winner, wasn’t he? But completely different style of management.
Seems Ferguson controlled through fear while Arsene Wenger coached through love.
I think one part that got brushed over is the face Ferguson fell out with him for not using an agent he wanted. Wonder how many brown envelops fergie received bullying other players into agents
Liverpool in the 90s gave a good example of what happens when you don’t lay down the law with young players in the PL era. These were guys barely out of their teens who suddenly had more money and fame than their First Division predecessors ever had and left unchecked it went straight to their heads. Beckham at United would have been at more risk than any of them, too, since he basically became the poster boy for the league and the England team. Ferguson may not have been nice but he was damn effective and the fact that so many players chose to spend the best years of their career playing their hearts out for him suggests that even if they didn’t always like him there was always a mutual respect there. All great managers have a mean streak, some more obvious than others but inevitably there; it’s impossible to manage and motivate a squad full of superstars otherwise.
The reason SAF was so controlling is because these are young men who have never experienced fame and money in the way football brings to them. Without proper discipline and structure the kids would go wayward, certainly not live up to the standards that he ended up getting them to. After identifying their potential at their pre-teens, SAF developed probably one of the most successful single group of footballers to ever play the game
The documentary never came across as him being irrationally controlling as much as him inculcating strict focus and discipline in the players while they developed into world class players. It is a small price to pay for the success that they achieved as a team
SAF was father who many as father don’t want, but definitely father they need. Everyone, if they have little brain, would thank him when they mature… otherwise they would end up like sancho, dele, balotelli … list goes on…