Bravehearts

Beginning with Sir Matt Busby, who managed Manchester Utd from 1945 to 1971, there is a long line of Scottish managers who have been impressive in their tenure managing some of the most famous clubs in the history of British football.

They also have some similarities in their early lives and in the expectations they have from those in their employ, which comes from the working ethos they were brought up on.

Matt Busby was born in a the mining village of Orbiston, Bellshill and used football to escape the expectation of following his father in working down the mine.

Jock Stein managed Celtic from 1965 to 1978 and he also was born in a mining village, Burnbank, South Lanarkshire and also used football to escape from going down the mines.
Bill Shankly joined Liverpool in 1959 and was the foundation for the unprecedented success that followed for the 30 years.


He was born in the Ayrshire mining village of Glenbuck and his tough upbringing was the basis for his own brand of humanitarian based socialism, and he would joke in later life that he never had a bath until aged 15, and that the poverty brought about a good sense of humour.

Football, for him as well, was a way of getting away from the mine shafts and was such a part of his life that was immortalised in the famous quote - 'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

Sir Alex Ferguson was born to Alexander Beaton Ferguson, a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry, and was born at his grandmother's home on Shieldhall Road, Govan, on 31 December 1941, but grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road (which has since been demolished). He was once quoted “I’m privileged to have followed Sir Matt because all you have to do is to try and maintain the standards that he set so many years ago.”

One recurring theme of Ferguson's management has been his view that no player is bigger than the club and that has been shown on numerous occasions during the most successful and longest reign of any Manchester Utd manager.

The belief that the club always comes first is an opinion that all of these managers truly believe.

The latest in this list is David Moyes who has been at Everton since 2002 and was quoted on his first press conference - "I am from a city that is not unlike Liverpool. I am joining the people's football club. The majority of people you meet on the street are Everton fans. It is a fantastic opportunity, something you dream about. I said 'yes' right away as it is such a big club."

Moyes does appear to be a descendant of Ferguson and the other great Scottish managers. ‘Alex and I are from areas of Glasgow that are not too far apart,’ he says.
‘He’s from Govan and I’m from Partick, which is like being from the other side of the Mersey. And the Mersey is wider than the Clyde. We’re from opposite ends of the Clyde tunnel.
‘There are other connections, too. Alex’s father worked as a shipbuilder in Govan, mine was a draughtsman at the shipbuilders.

‘And my father ran one of the teams at Drumchapel Amateurs, the under 16s and then the under 18s, and Alex played for Drumchapel Amateurs as a boy.

Joe Jordan once said of Moyes"He had a love of the game that went beyond his own ideas about how he might progress as a coach or a manager. He wanted to know everything. I've known some great football men like Jock Stein and Dave Sexton and they were like that.