England icon Wayne Rooney has singled out how the world of football management has “changed slightly” since Sir Alex Ferguson was Manchester United manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson lifted 13 Premier League titles with the Red Devils during his incredible Manchester United reign at Old Trafford before he retired in 2013.
The 84-year-old ex-United manager was well-known for his stature at the Premier League club and his influence on different areas of the Red Devils’ operations.
Wayne Rooney, who enjoyed a successful period under Ferguson, has insisted that the role of a ‘manager’ is no longer the same as it once was at clubs like Man Utd.
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Wayne Rooney attends the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first-leg match between Newcastle United and Barcelona at St James’ Park in Newcastle, England, in 2026.
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Wayne Rooney on Sir Alex Ferguson as a Man Utd manager vs Ineos’ structure featuring a Red Devils head coach
Ineos’ arrival at Old Trafford as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s part-ownership saw a change to the Manchester United managerial role since Sir Alex Ferguson.
Erik ten Hag was hired as a ‘Man Utd manager’ pre-dating Ineos’ control of football operations, but Ruben Amorim was appointed under the role of ‘head coach.’
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Former Man Utd and Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim even took issue with being labelled a head coach ahead of being sacked by the Premier League club in January.
Speaking on his podcast, Wayne Rooney said that the role of manager that Sir Alex Ferguson had at United is no longer the case with the direction of travel in football.
“Yeah, it’s changed slightly, hasn’t it? Because if you go back to Alex Ferguson, and he was the manager of the football club, he was the boss of the whole club, basically,” he explained on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“Where now it’s changed to head coach. They don’t want managers no more, you’ve got all the sporting directors, they want coaches, and that’s fair enough.
“And as long as that relationship is right with the head coaching, in my opinion, I prefer where you’ve got a manager who’s boss, but now there’s different bosses all over the place and it can become complicated again off the pitch.
“So, I prefer the old school way, but fortunately, it’s gone the other way.”
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United have seen a shake-up of their club hierarchy since the arrival of Ineos, including Jason Wilcox currently serving as director of football at the club.
Rooney added that head coaches are now left exposed due to their roles and less accountability is placed on sporting directors when things end up going wrong.
“And when it doesn’t go well, with all these sporting directors who’ve picked these players, they don’t get punished,” he explained.
“Manager goes and they’re still there.”
Man Utd will play their first Premier League match in the post-March international break on Monday evening, with the Red Devils hosting Leeds United at Old Trafford.
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