Ten Hag the latest to wilt in Ferguson's shadow

LONDON – Alex Ferguson may have been stripped of his Manchester United ambassadorial role, but his managerial legacy remains a stifling benchmark for those who have followed in his footsteps.

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LONDON - Alex Ferguson may have been stripped of his Manchester United ambassadorial role, but his managerial legacy remains a stifling benchmark for those who have followed in his footsteps.

Results under Erik ten Hag were disappointing from the start, and the temporary lifts gained from winning the League and FA Cups were never going to satisfy the modern cohort of fans or the club's new co-owners.

Ferguson's extraordinary 26-year tenure enabled United fans to gorge on trophies - an incredible 39 of them. However, it is often conveniently overlooked that his first four years were totally barren and that he was given far more time to turn things around than any of those who succeeded him.

United, who had last won the league in 1967, finished 11th, second, 11th, 13th and sixth in Ferguson's first five seasons and did not get their hands on the title until 1993 after he had been trying and failing for seven years. He did win the FA Cup in 1990 and League Cup in 1992.

But their subsequent total domestic dominance and two Champions League triumphs utterly changed the expectations of supporters who grew to know only success.