Sir Alex Will Always Drink At The Top Table

A column by Steven Howard of The Sun UK

Some 25 years, 1,409 games, 12 Premier League Titles, 5 FA Cups, 2 Champions League trophies and one rod of iron.

And 1,000 hand-picked guests at a gala dinner at Lancashire Cricket Club last night. Plus an exceedingly acceptable bottle of 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild winging its way to Fergie Towers from the Manchester United Supporters' Trust. Though don't mention the record 6-1 dousing at Old Trafford by the Unmentionables the other week. The statistics, like the wine, have been flowing in recognition of Alex Ferguson's quarter of a century at Old Trafford. But there is one stat in particular which is quite spooky.

The top four clubs in the Premier League at the moment are Manchester City (sorry), United, Newcastle and Chelsea. And the bottom four on November 6, 1986 when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford? — in descending order, United, Chelsea, City and Newcastle. What does it all mean? I'm not quite sure but it looks good. Even better for United fans was that City were relegated while the rest escaped. On the day of Ferguson's accession, Nottingham Forest were top followed by Arsenal, Liverpool and, blimey, West Ham. By the end of the season, though, it was Everton's title followed by Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal.

United would eventually finish 11th.

But it's the identity of the clubs who finished between them and Arsenal which is the real eye-opener and shows just how cyclical football is. Norwich were fifth and then came Wimbledon, Luton, Forest, Watford and Coventry. Of those six clubs, only Norwich remain in the top strata — and they have had to do it via Delia and, very recently, what would have been the old Third Division. Wimbledon have been mugged, disenfranchised, forced to start again in the Combined Counties League, won six promotions in nine years and, astonishingly, returned to the Football League where they are now performing well in League Two.

They have also been the template for other similarly displaced and dissatisfied customers like, er, FC United. Luton have also been through the wringer, including huge points deductions that have taken them out of the league — where they still lie in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Forest, post Brian Clough, have also sunk as low as the old Third Division, the only former European Cup-winners anywhere to suffer this seeming humiliation. They, like Watford and Coventry, can only dream of the days of wine and roses and parachute payments. Other members of that inaugural Ferguson First Division included Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, QPR, Charlton, Oxford, Aston Villa and Leicester. Villa aside, it was a totally different landscape. Charlton remain in the third tier while Wednesday are now with them in League One and Saints have just been promoted from that division.

As for Oxford, they like Wimbledon have been out of the League and back in again. Only one thing has remained constant. The boss of Manchester United. While Ferguson has completed his 25 years, the other members of that 1986 First Division have had a total of 271 bosses give or take a few caretakers. The most? Leicester and Southampton with 19. The least? Arsenal with just three. Dave Bassett has had seven clubs as has Ron Atkinson — Ferguson's predecessor at Old Trafford. Of the others, Graham Taylor has been in the hotseat at Watford, Villa, England, Wolves, Watford and Villa again while David Pleat can count four clubs plus Tottenham caretaker on three separate occasions.

And Kenny Dalglish has returned to Liverpool after Blackburn, Newcastle, Celtic and 10 years watching in the Anfield stands. No doubt they will all be raising a glass to the greatest survivor of them all. Are you listening, Kenny?