Why Alex is the Greatest

"If greatness is defined by what you leave behind then Sir Alex Ferguson's trophy cabinet is as good a place as any to start.

It's a long list but stick with it.

Ten Premier League titles, one Champions League trophy, one Cup Winners' Cup, five FA Cups, two League Cups, one European Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and seven Charity Shields.

Twenty eight trophies in a shade less than 22 years with another European Cup perhaps on the way when United meet Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow a week on Wednesday.

Ferguson intimated amid Sunday's title celebrations that his current team would be his finest if they bring back that cup.

Well, let's say it now. Minus conditions and without qualification.

Ferguson is the greatest-ever football manager in Britain.

Some might disagree.

Liverpool supporters, for instance, who have always bemoaned the fact that Matt Busby and Ferguson were made knights for winning the European Cup once while Bob Paisley was overlooked for the highest honour after bagging Europe's most prestigious trophy three times.

Others might point to Brian Clough's unique management style which brought back-to-back European Cups for unfashionable Nottingham Forest or Jock Stein's success at Celtic.

Those with short memories might go for the charisma of Jose Mourinho who bought back-to-back titles for Chelsea with the cash of Roman Abramovich.

Then there is Arsene Wenger, who gave birth to the Arsenal 'Invincibles,' who delivered the most eye-pleasing football the Premier League has witnessed and whose nose for a bargain is without compare.

All worthy, but none comes close to Ferguson and here's why.

Greatness cannot be measured purely by medals or by mere longevity or even by the manner in which success was achieved.

It is a mixture of all three and Ferguson, having built three great teams, scores highly on all fronts.

But it is the style with which all Ferguson teams have delivered their trophies which is so impressive.

Not as pretty as Arsenal at their most prosaic, but football is not about weaving meaningless patterns. It is about winning and not once in 22 years has Ferguson diverted from his belief that adventure, creativity and style, albeit built on solid defence, is the best way to win.

In short, he has protected the legacy handed down by Busby and the famous 'Babes' with a ferocity he also demonstrates to reporters who might cross him.

The 2007-2008 season was the perfect example of what might be termed Fergusonism - football played with pragmatic foundation but a swashbuckling nature.

Rio Ferdinand finally came of age as arguably the best defender in Europe and his partnership with Nemanja Vidic was key. So was the work of Patrice Evra, the rejuvenation of Paul Scholes and the scampering energy of Carlos Tevez.

But undoubtedly what makes Ferguson's team stand out as his best-ever is the twin menace of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney should score more goals but his industry and creativity, if not his language, is an example to every schoolboy in Britain.

Then there is Ronaldo for whom every superlative has already been used but whose 41 goals this season really say it all about a wide man who is currently comfortably the world's best player.

In Ronaldo you have another of Ferguson's most accomplished managerial traits. The ability to man-manage, to polish and protect the precious jewel.

He did as much with Eric Cantona in volatile circumstances more than a decade ago. In the past two years he has done so with Ronaldo, repairing the damage caused by the Portuguese winger's part in Rooney's sending off at the World Cup in 2006.

Many predicted Ronaldo would never grace Old Trafford again after that infamous sly wink.

Ferguson dismissed the incident, if anything using it to forge an unbreakable link between his two most destructive attackers.

That is the true art of management, the ability to turn obstacles and adversity to your advantage, one which Wenger and Rafael Benitez and Avram Grant have still to master.

Ferguson is far from the warmest or most likeable of characters but when it comes to producing football teams with a musketeering mentality and a winning ethos the game has no peer.

All things considered, he is the greatest. "