God retires

[Daz]

Sir Alex Ferguson will step down as Manchester United manager at the end of the season after 26 years in charge.

[Scotty]

BBC Sport - Sir Alex Ferguson to retire from Manchester United

[Andy_Bangle]

Worse kept secret of the day .... Lots of Southerners will be crying in their pie n mash at lunch.

[Mook]

Yawn...

He's 71. Maybe he should have a word with Bernie :D

[Cuprabob]

Would be funny if "The Special One"is lined up as the replacement.

[garcon magnifique]

He's timed it well. At 71 he's just young enough to win everything in horse racing too.

[Andy_Bangle]

To mark Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, all trains to Surrey that should be delayed by 2 minutes will actually be delayed for 7 minutes.

[cruiser647]

Mancini will DEFINITELY be staying on now.

It also means he will HAVE TO win the title, as if he doesn't, he'll be branded a (bigger) failure after spending so much cash.

[m4ttm4son]

At bl00dy last! Let's hope a MUFC old boy gets in - Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes...

I think it'll be Moyes.

[cruiser647]

Forgot to add, do you reckon Mourihno will work with Fergie?

[m4ttm4son]

I think Mourinho is still a mercenary. He's not ready to stay at a club for the long haul and MU will not want all the mess Maureen brings.

[Tipex]

You'd think it was the end of the world listening to all the tw@ts whinging on the radio this morning.

It's utterly pathetic that fully grown men get so worked up about something of no importance.

[Calm Chris]

You'd think it was the end of the world listening to all the tw@ts whinging on the radio this morning.

It's utterly pathetic that fully grown men get so worked up about something of no importance.

In football it's huge. You don't do football.

As a comparison, the Queen abdicating would possibly be less news worthy since Man Utd have a bigger fan base.

[m4ttm4son]

Yeah, look at the news when the Pope stepped aside.

[Tipex]

In football it's huge. You don't do football.

As a comparison, the Queen abdicating would possibly be less news worthy since Man Utd have a bigger fan base.

It's still only football, it's still pathetic to hear fully grown men talking about it like it's the end of the world, it's not important.

Who says I don't do football? I just don't live my life by it like some people.

The Pope isn't important either though, in fact even less so i'd say, I definitely don't do religion as it's an outdated concept that only belongs in the past.

[m4ttm4son]

The Pope isn't important either though, in fact even less so i'd say, I definitely don't do religion as it's an outdated concept that only belongs in the past.

Oh good, so you do understand that to millions it is important

[Mook]

Here's one for you Matt - I get that Ferguson has been fundamental in getting MU to where they are today. But is it just the manager, or is it a combination of the manager, the club, the owners and everything else, as well as the supporters - it seems that everyone wants to play for Man U. As I understand it a load of good players go to Chelsea, because they get paid a shed-load of money.

With Ferguson gone, do you reckon they'll fall down the tables next year?

[Tipex]

Oh good, so you do understand that to millions it is important

No, it's relevant to millions of people, but not important.

[m4ttm4son]

There's no doubt that Ferguson is a Football Management genius. Look at some of the squads he's had over the years, the different players he has made into a team to win. He hasn't just bought 11 proven World Class players and dumped them into a team. He's made a few too, not to mention the Jonny Evans' and Danny Welbecks he's had to fit in between them. The football they've played over the years has adapted too. He wins and that's all he cares about. That's all new players joining care about too. Would Van Persie have gone to Man Utd if they weren't guaranteed to be fighting for the League? Apparently Man City offered slightly more money.

The club have done well to raise the (shedloads of) money and then hand it over for him to get on with it. That's what Abramovich needs to learn to do if he wants Maureen or any other top manager to come in to sort that club out. It's hilarious watching all the managers hide from the press whenever the Chelski job is talked about. No one wants to go there because they know the conditions are horrible.

If they give the job to the wrong person, I can see Man U being a ''Top Four contender'' rather than the usual top two guarantee. I can't see them doing a Liverpool just yet, though. And if Fergie is in the board room, then they will probably get the right person.

I hope they feck it all up and get relegated though

[m4ttm4son]

No, it's relevant to millions of people, but not important.

Do you not think that ''What's important'' is subjective?

For a simple, but horrible example; Your health is important to you, but is it important?

[Cuprabob]

Forgot to add, do you reckon Mourihno will work with Fergie?

Good point, Moyes it is then.

[Tipex]

Do you not think that ''What's important'' is subjective?

For a simple, but horrible example; Your health is important to you, but is it important?

It's important to me, my family, my friends and the people that work for me, i'd not expect anyone else to be overly worried though.

As an example, it doesn't really work though does it, as the result of my poor health could potentially be death, which is quite serious, no one is going to die because SAF has resigned, football isn't important in the grand scheme of life.

This is why I don't ever get involved in general football talk, because you will never, ever, get a sensible, unbiased argument from someone who describes themselves as a football fan, you might as well bang your head against a wall, football just isn't important.

[Mook]

football just isn't important.

It isn't important to you. It's important to a load of other people.

You don't seem to be able to accept that people are allowed their views. It's fine to disagree with them, but you're not right in saying "it's not important". You're starting to sound like David Starkey.

[Tipex]

I must have my priorities all wrong then, what's important to me?

My family, my job, my friends, anything else is just stuff.

I fully understand people being football fans, following a club, being happy/sad in agreement or disagreement with how that club is run etc etc, but I just don't understand how it is 'important'?

That's a big word to attach to something that is simply a game, nothing more, nothing less, something can be important within the game or the club of course, and SAF resignation is important in that respect, but that doesn't mean it's important in general life terms.

Some of the people on the radio sound like they are about to commit suicide, is it really that important?

[m4ttm4son]

Empathy isn't really one of your skills is it, Tipex?

All different kinds of things can be important to many different people That's what makes the world go round. I agree with you that 'important' is a strong word, but it's how strongly some people feel about football. That may be sad, but doesn't make it any less true.