Rio Ferdinand Named British Manager Who Was a Better Training Ground Coach than Fergie

Sir Alex Ferguson is often considered to be the greatest football manager of all time, having lead Manchester United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League titles, amongst other accolades, in a 27-year reign.

But management consists of many different components, and while Fergie excelled to a world-class degree in some areas, he was unspectacular and even underwhelming in others.

Fergie’s defining strength laid in his man-management skills. He once explained in one of his many books that he learned everything about management while working as a landlord at a pub – not only how to attract and take care of punters, but also how to make sure they paid off their tabs.

Tactically, Ferguson was much more an adopter than an innovator, incorporating trends developing elsewhere. And although he had a great eye for talent, his record in the transfer market is filled with plenty of misses as well as hits. Developing players on the training pitch wasn’t his forte either – in fact, Ryan Giggs once revealed that in the 23 years in which he played under the Scot, he never saw him actually lead a training session.

Indeed, Fergie’s genius was his ability to get the best out of every player at his disposal, whether it was a seemingly untameable maverick like Eric Cantona, or a bit-part player like John O’Shea, who wouldn’t get to start every game but was vital on select occasions.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising, then, that Rio Ferdinand, one of the Red Devils’ greatest ever players, named a different British manager as the best coach he ever worked with on a training pitch.

Rio Ferdinand Named Former England Boss as Best Training Ground Coach

‘Mesmerizing’ attention to detail

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast back in 2020, Ferdinand named the manager who gave him his first ever England call-up, Glenn Hoddle, as the best gaffer he’s ever seen on a training ground. He said…

Glenn Hoddle’s Methods Initially Split Opinion

He’s now seen as being ahead of his time

Hoddle’s methods weren’t to everybody’s taste at the time and created divisions within the England camp following his appointment in 1996 as Terry Venables’ replacement.

Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman, two of the Three Lions’ best players on paper, seemingly became marginalised because of their scepticism towards his practices, which included walking around a pitch anti-clockwise to create positive energy, using a faith healer and applying performance-enhancing (but completely legal) injections. Ray Parlour has even claimed that he lost his place in the squad because he poked fun at England’s designated faith healer, Eileen Drewery.

Gary Neville has since questioned the effectiveness of Hoddle’s methods too, although he also affirmed Ferdinand’s assessment of the former Tottenham and Chelsea midfielder being an excellent coach in the purest sense of the word. He said:

And while Eileen Drewery’s role as faith healer was once a point of great contention, the modern-day equivalent – sports psychologists – are now common practice at professional football clubs. The focus on nutrition and what substances go into the body is greater than ever before, although the somewhat superstitious walks around the pitch sadly haven’t stood the test of time.

Hoddle’s footballing mind is one of the greatest England has ever produced. It’s just a shame it never lead to success for him as a player or a manager.