Phelan, the prodigal son returns
Former deputy back at his old haunt to pull strings with incoming manager and club idol, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Mike Phelan is expected to be the more influential presence in Manchester United’s caretaker set-up, with a greater knowledge of coaching and man management than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose role may turn out to be more symbolic.
With Phelan’s return from have corrected David Moyes’s as United manager.
When he assumed command from Ferguson in the summer of 2013, Moyes removed Rene Meulensteen, Phelan and Eric Steele from the coaching staff and brought in Steve Round, Jimmy Lumsden and Chris Woods, as well as appointing Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville.
The former Everton manager was advised not to fire Phelan, who won a Premier League medal as a United player in 1992-93 and had worked on the coaching side since 1999, rising to become Ferguson’s assistant and confidante. For many at Old Trafford, Phelan’s return marks the righting of a wrong that removed the best hope for continuity.
Already, there are signs that Mick Phelan, as they knew him, will be involved not only in training-ground work but managing the firstteam squad, though Solskjaer is expected to pick the team and will be the front-of-house leader.
As an idol to United’s fans, and a hero of the 1999 Champions League miracle in Barcelona, Solskjaer has enough credit to see him through a five-month caretaker spell before a full-time manager is appointed.
But Phelan, who lacks Solskjaer’s fame, has the superior qualifications, and reconnects today’s demoralised side to the dominant Ferguson era.
His CV covers all bases, from an England cap (just one, against Italy in 1989) to a place in a United squad where he had to fight Bryan Robson and Paul Ince for a starting place, and was forced out of the reckoning by the socalled Class of ‘92.
Solskjaer, who left Manchester in 2011 (he managed the reserves for three years), is often said to possess “a deep knowledge of the club”, but today’s United are unrecognisable from seven years ago.
The training ground he walked into Thursday contained few faces he would have recognised. Nor does Solskjaer’s ignominious spell at Cardiff lend him the authority to impose himself on a new generation of exile, United first big mistake United players. Phelan, though, will help Solskjaer navigate these obstacles. He has served at United as reserve and first-team team coach and assistant manager from 20082013, earning promotion when Carlos Queiroz left.
He has experience of dealing with superstars and maintaining harmony. He was Ferguson’s right-hand man. For example, in 2002, he accompanied the United manager to the German Cup final to scout Shinji Kagawa, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels.
After Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney clashed at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Rooney texted Ferguson to suggest the two conduct a joint-interview to show they were still friends. Ferguson asked Phelan for his opinion and Phelan thought it would look contrived, so Ferguson ruled against it.
Contrary to popular belief, Ferguson liked to be challenged by his No 2s, and Phelan, like Queiroz, was always willing to express a view.
Less well-received was him popping a balloon next to Ferguson on the bench, a famous clip of which shows the boss jolting with shock and telling his number two where to go. Phelan also played for United’s greatest manager.
“Mike was a totally honest journeyman whose work was given extra value by the remarkable buzz of energy he took on the field and his ability to fill a number of positions in defence and midfield,” Ferguson wrote in his first autobiography. Later, he regretted leaving Phelan out of his Rumbelows Cup (or League Cup) final team against Sheffield Wednesday, in which Neil Webb, Ince and Robson were chosen ahead of him. Eleven appearances in 1992-93 were sufficient to earn Phelan his title winner’s medal.
Since Moyes fired him, Phelan has been first-team coach at Norwich and won a Premier League manager-of-the-month award at Hull before the team fell away and he joined a growing list of managers who have been replaced by Marco Silva.
He drifted into media work but was appointed sporting director of Central Coast Mariners in Australia before Mourinho’s dismissal prompted his repatriation to United.
His record as a number one in management and coaching fell short of making him a candidate for the post Solskjaer now holds, but he has the look of a strong back-seat driver. If United had a boot room, Phelan would be ahead of Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and others in knowing all sides of coaching and management in the red half of Manchester.
Solskjaer, despite appearances, is not being asked to stabilise the club on his own. – The Daily Telegraph
Phelan is ahead of Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs in knowing all sides of coaching