5 Lessons from Sir Alex Ferguson that could rescue Jose Mourinho

#2 The right blend of Youth and Experience in the team

Sir Alex has repeated built teams during his lengthy career at United and this is because he knew that it is only the perfect mixture of youth and experience that makes a great football team. There was a time when Ryan Giggs tore apart opposition through the wings when Paul Scholes hammered home stunners after stunners when Roy Keane scared the opposition away.

But with time, Sir Alex brought in talents to ensure that the veterans had enough young legs around, who would not just take the mantle from them, but also learn the core values and attitudes of the club first hand. Sir Alex’s teams were heavily built on exciting young players, but he also had the experience around to rein in that adrenaline and nurture them into Manchester United players.

Mourinho’s desire for change is detrimental for a club with the heritage of United. His habit of bringing in players who are reduced to being members of the squad in a few month’s time has hampered the club the most. The Portuguese never tried to blend in youth with experience, he always tried to bring in proven winners who were not given time to flourish and this has caused major problems.

Also, it is clear that his use of youth in his team is forced, which is why they do not have the impact, and neither do they develop as they are supposed to. He does not build, he does not care for the future and this is one of the biggest lessons he can learn from Sir Alex – foresight in team building.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sripad