ROY Keane has returned to football last night (Singapore time), after being appointed manager of Championship side Ipswich.
The former Manchester United captain will now attempt to repeat with Ipswich what he did as manager of Sunderland at the end of the 06/07 season – to bring the club to the glittering lights (not to mention the financial riches) of the Premier League.
With the appointment Keane rejoins the ranks of former United players or coaching staff who have played under Sir Alex Ferguson and then went on to manage their own clubs.
Among them are Mark Hughes, Carlos Queiroz, Steve Bruce and – who can forget – Steve McClaren.
Who is the best manager among all these ex-United men who have learned under arguably the most successful British club manager in history?
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
Personally, it would be a toss up between Steve Bruce or Mark Hughes.
Roy Keane is too unpredictable and authoritative for his own good. Then again, he does have the making of a great manager which only time can tell.
Carlos Queiroz maybe a great coach but definitely not a good manager. Steve McClaren can only be considered average.
Steve Bruce has done wonderfully well with clubs like Birminham and Wigan on a shoe string budget. By any standard, he has achieved well beyond expectations.
Mark Hughes’ work with Wales and Blackburn cannot be overlook, even though his current masterpiece with Man City is still a long way off. As this is only the first season taking over, i can only see Man City improving and producing the results.
Both of them have proven to be rather clam and collected under pressure. They are also respected by their players which ultimately translate into good performances on the field.
Comment by Charles Cheng — April 24, 2009 @ 12:40 pm
Despite learning under one of the greatest manager in football history, it is sad to say that none of the managers have been exceptionally outstanding. They are live examples to prove the statement- “Great players do not necessary make good managers”.
In my opinion, Mark Hughes would have to be the best out of the lot, and was on his way to scaling greater heights until he jeopardize his career with a risky move to Man City. In his 5 years as the Wales manager, he brought the international squad through their tough times and took them to the verge of Euro2004 qualification. The retired forward enjoyed his most successful reign at Ewood Park, moulding the relegation candidates into a strong force in the Premiership. Under his capable leadership, the Rovers avoided relegation and reached their first FA cup semis in 40 years. Hughes set out on an evolution scheme with some of the best signings and bargains in the transfer market. McCarthy, Bentley and Cruz are just some of the successful players that Hughes brought to Ewood Park at a low price. With a stronger and larger squad, the Rovers broke into the European stage by qualifying for the UEFA Cup and have performed consistently well in the FA Cup. Mark Hughes brought the best out of the Blackburn squad. Following his departure, the Rovers have since experienced failures and are once again stuck in the relegation battle.
Unfortunately, the promising manager has encountered a career low with Man City. The pressure is boiling up at the Eastlands, as the team failed to meet expectations despite the large war chest and quality players available.
Carlos Queiroz was no doubt a successful assistant at Old Trafford. However, it seems a different story when the Portuguese took charge himself. The manager was known for his work with the Portugal under 20s where he uncovered several talents. However, when he inherited a star stubbed squad at Sporting, he failed to deliver similar successes as his preceder. Similarly, Carlos did not have much luck with the Galacticos, although it was rumoured that the Real Madrid management limited his control over transfers and tactics.
Steve Bruce, on the other hand, has a good amount of experience with smaller teams. He spent most of his time either fighting for promotion from lower leagues or engaging in relegation battles. The English did not really have a chance to lead a strong team; neither did he manage to build up a strong team of his own like Hughes. However, Bruce has done well in his team managements.
Steve McClaren must be well known for his failure to bring England to Euro2008. On the club level though, he has enjoyed some good times at the Riverside Stadium. Having led the team to European qualification and bringing in some proven players, McClaren spent two relatively impressive seasons at Boro. However, things changed for the worse after that, while the team continued to perform in cup competitions, they failed to replicate the same form in the domestic front. Middlesbrough has been fighting for survival since then. McClaren though, has found success with FC Twente.
As for Roy Keane, the retired midfielder general is still a youngster in the managerial field. I think he has done a pretty good job at sunderland and only time will tell if he can emerge as one of the top managers around.
Comment by Suen Chun Lung — April 24, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
Mark Hughes:
– A relative success coaching the Wales national team.
– Enhance his reputation when managing Blackburn and made that team extremely hard to break down.
– His hair never seem whiter as the pressure of managing the richest club in the world in Man City got to him.
Grade: B+
Carlos Queiroz:
– Enjoyed a good time during his first spell at United.
– Flopped badly taking over an uncertain Real Madrid side.
– Continued his fine work during his second spell at United.
– Currently coachng the Portugal national team, there are already calls for his head after a disastrous World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Grade: B-
Paul Ince:
– Was pretty successful when managing MK Dons. But it was MK Dons after all, even i would have won the championship if I were the manager!
– Must be held responsible if Blackburn were to get relegated. His sacking was well-deserved.
Grade: E
Steve McClaren:
– Enjoyed a good time at United before realising he is better off as No.1, not No.2.
– Took over Middlesbro and surprisingly took them all the way to the final of the UEFA Cup before losing 0-4 to Sevilla.
– Took charge of England national team and when he is most famous for being known as the man hiding under the little red umbrella, you know something is wrong!
– Decided to abandon English football and found a club that wanted him in FC Twente. Doing surprisingly well, even better then Ajax and PSV!
Grade: C+
Roy Keane:
– Did a marvelous job in bringing Sunderland up to the top before fizzling out when his strict ways in dealing with the players made him unpopular. Sacked as a result.
– Took over Ipswich Town and the players there must be feeling the worst. No more holiday mood for them!
Grade: B
Steve Bruce:
– Establish a tough reputation when he was boss of Birmingham.
– Excel in Wigan even though he has seen some of his best players leave him for bigger clubs. Using only a fraction of Hughes’ budget, his side is doing better than Man City.
Grade: A
Steve’s the man! Not Steve McClaren of course, but Steve Bruce!
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — April 24, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
None of these old boys did well
They manage the teams like hell
Mark Hughes thinks he can be like Jose Mourinho
But his trophies as manager is zero
Carlos Quieroz screwed Real Madrid
How he gets the Portugal job is a puzzle indeed
Paul Ince may be the governor
But ask Blackburn they say,’Hell no, sir’
Steve McClaren can’t manage England
David Beckham sure agree with my statement
Roy Keane is like an old-fashioned school headmaster
Ipswich and him will be a disaster
Steve Bruce is just plain average
He will never be MU manager in any age
So that’s my thoughts on these old boys
Hope it brings you some joy!
**This poem is created by Qyaerus-Syahrein. Any infringement of copyrights will be dealt with severely.
Comment by Alex Hart — April 24, 2009 @ 8:00 pm
None of these old boys did well
They manage the teams like hell
Mark Hughes thinks he can be like Jose Mourinho
But his trophies as manager is zero
Carlos Quieroz screwed Real Madrid
How he gets the Portugal job is a puzzle indeed
Paul Ince may be the governor
But ask Blackburn they say,’Hell no, sir’
Steve McClaren can’t manage England
David Beckham sure agree with my statement
Roy Keane is like an old-fashioned school headmaster
Ipswich and him will be a disaster
Steve Bruce is just plain average
He will never be MU manager in any age
So that’s my thoughts on these old boys
Hope it brings you some joy!
**This poem is created by John. Any infringement of copyrights will be dealt with severely.
I couldnt resist doing that. lol, Sheesh as if gets you money. Wana get it patent instead!
Comment by John — April 24, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
You insult me who write in everyday. You can’t even write you own nice poem. Your talents are an inch and mine a mile. If people cheer for you than for me, that’s why the whole world is in recession.
Comment by Alex Hart — April 24, 2009 @ 8:18 pm
enlgish plz
Comment by max — April 24, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
Of course Carlos Quieroz! At least he does not suck like Mark Hughs!Mark Hughs,Steve McClaren and Steve Bruce? All hopeless!! But, at least all of them are better than Alex the Fergusen Lion!!!!LMAO!!
Comment by Daryl — April 25, 2009 @ 2:12 pm
Mark Hughes just cannot manage a high profile team and so I guess he managing Manchester United will not be ideal.
Paul Ince does not have much experience in this field. He was sacked halfway managing Blackburn Rovers. Rovers’ current EPL standing is highly caused by him.
Roy Keane is not bad but his temperament is even greater than his bosses and sometimes he just cannot control it and I think this has worsened his relationship with his players and the result always end in negative way.
Steve Bruce has seen the rise and fall of Wigan. Being a defender for years before, he loves to start his team with a good and stable defensive foundation. The forwards he recruited are also quite marvellous such as Zaki and Valencia. Though his job experience may not be as much as Fergie’s but his recent years at Wigan should make his the top contender for United’s job.
However, if Roy keane can bring Ipswich town to EPL next season or after, he should be chosen to take over Fergie at Old Trafford.
McClaren is just average calibre of a manager. Carlos Queiroz should be welcomed to take over completely if he would like to. At least he has much more better credentials than any other managers mentioned above.
Lastly I feel everyone would love to see Jose Mourinho replacing Fergie soon because no one hates Chelsea more than Jose Mourinho. A high profile manager for a high profile job at Old Trafford.
Why not do a survey here on ”
who would you like to replace Fergie for Manchester United in the near future” We may see some surprising result.
Comment by Jack — April 25, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
If people cheer for you than for me, that’s why the whole world is in recession.
So ur justifying that the its a recession now cause people cheer for me means they like me more then u, of cos thats not the reason you ding dong, go read up on economics 1O1 before commenting. Silly boy.
Comment by John — April 27, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
I’m silly? You’re more silly than me. You can’t even write anything about football and you want to copy and paste my masterpiece poem?!
Comment by Alex Hart — April 28, 2009 @ 11:05 am
Masterpiece? What a big ego you have! Go read up more about economics 101 to find out how a recession comes about! Silly Ding Dong.
Comment by John — April 28, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
I always go Central Lending Library. Maybe I’ll check out economics 101. But then I go there to check out chicks. And they love my ding dong.
Comment by Alex Hart — April 28, 2009 @ 12:47 pm