Alex Ferguson speaks on ‘best Man Utd skipper’ amid United’s captaincy row
3 min readAlex Ferguson has given his views on the best Man Utd skipper ‘amid latest Manchester United’s captaincy row.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has come under increased pressure in recent weeks, with suggestions that he may be deprived of his captaincy before the season’s finish.
As the debate over Manchester United’s new captain rages on, Sir Alex Ferguson is adamant about the attributes that a captain must possess.
In recent weeks, there have been calls to replace Harry Maguire’s armband, amid speculations that Cristiano Ronaldo could be ready to take his position.
The talk of a captain change has arisen as a result of Maguire’s poor form leading up to the game against Leeds United.
The central defender went into that clash with the backing of interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who confirmed that he had held no talks about a change of captain.
“I have never spoken with any player about a change of captaincy. This has never been an issue. It is me who decides who is captain,” he explained, ahead of the win over Leeds.
“Harry is our captain and he will stay captain until the end of the season.”
The former United defender Paul Parker has urged Rangnick to take the armband away from him.
“I don’t think Harry Maguire should be captain of Manchester United,” Parker told Betfred last week. “I think he’s got too much going on in his own game to worry about rather than trying to lead a team which he’d only just joined and in a few seconds gets the captaincy.
“I think that was more off of his price tag rather than the side of him as a person, as a leader of men.”
Ferguson has a knack for selecting United captains, with five of his selections winning Premier League titles during his storied rule.
Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, and Nemanja Vidic have all won titles, but when asked to name his favorite captain, he chose Bryan Robson, aka ‘Captain Marvel.’
Between 1982 and 1994, the midfielder held the role for 12 years, and Ferguson felt he was “certainly the best” he had during his time in charge.
The Scot explained what set Robbo apart from the rest during a 2021 Q&A for a film about the ex-England star.
“The players loved him,” he began. “They responded to him and he was the longest-serving captain in my time anyway.
“It’s difficult for a captain because sometimes he has to tell the truth to players, you know? The encouragement he’s got to give them sometimes can be quite volatile and he was like that, but the players did love him.
“They appreciated the time he took on them and another thing, he’s the only captain I knew who could make a decision on the pitch. He didn’t need to look over to me.
“He would do that and that’s unusual. In fact it’s very unusual because he had the balls to do that.”
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