Ron Atkinson: Right time for Sir Alex Ferguson
Ron Atkinson today declared Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has pulled off another masterstroke by catching world football on the hop with his retirement.
'Big Ron,' whose exit from United in November 1986 triggered the most successful management era in English football, believes Fergie's decision is his alone.
Atkinson said today: "I only spoke to him a couple of days ago and he never gave me an inkling that anything like this was around the corner.
"But then I always felt he would catch everyone off-guard with his retirement, after what happened when he first announced plans to step down 10 years ago.
"I think he felt some of his players took their eye off the ball that year and he wasn't going to let it happen again.
"It was a complete surprise to me because I thought he would go on for another couple of years, at least, and certainly try to win the Champions League one more time.
"I could also be mischievous and suggest he will enjoy blowing Manchester City's FA Cup final plans off the back pages! That would be typical of him, too."
Atkinson can see strong merit in both the early favourites to step into the Old Trafford challenge, Everton's David Moyes and the charismatic gun-for-hire at Real Madrid, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
The 74-year-old said: "You have got the two different types of manager there, haven't you?
"One is the solid professional who knows the Premier League like the back of his hand and its players.
"In Mourinho, you have one of the game's most explosive characters. I like him – but whether he is the right type for United I am not quite so certain."
But Atkinson accepts the football legacy is second to none after a career which, from its earliest days at St Mirren to the Old Trafford glory years, has brought him 49 trophies.
Atkinson said: "He will always regard his team of 1994 as his best but the treble team of 1999 will always go down as his most successful.
"It was packed with strong characters like Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Peter Schmeichel and more. They were like-minded souls.
"That was the year the 'Class of 1992', the generation of young players led by David Beckham, came to the fore."
