Great work by the folks of Sporting Intelligence today examining the incredible run of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United on the eve of his 1000th game against Southampton this weekend. The nub?
No other football manager – with full control of team selection – has ever managed the same club in the top division of English football for 1,000 league games in an unbroken run.
Only three other men have had unbroken runs in senior positions for 1,000 games or more in England with the same club, but all them operated in an era when committees picked the team.
They were George Ramsay of Aston Villa, who ‘managed’ them until 1926 and was also a Scot, like Fergie; Frank Watt, another Scot, at Newcastle from 1895 to 1935; and John Nicholson, at Sheffield United from 1899 to 1932.
The chart below maps out Fergie's 1000 games:
