Odds Paint Picture of Sir Alex Ferguson's Career

Sir Alex Ferguson will leave an enormous legacy when he departs Old Trafford at the end of this season, and the William Hill odds from his early days at Manchester United show just what a legend he was.

Odds tell the story

On January 6 1990, William Hill (then just a land-based bookmaker) offered 5/2 odds on Manchester United being relegated and 2/5 that Ferguson would be replaced as manager. Fergie survived and went on to win 38 trophies in his 26 years at the club, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League titles.

In fact, the turnaround was so quick that by the start of the first ever Premier League season in 1992/93, Ferguson's United were 6/1 fourth favorite behind Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool. United were 8/1 when Eric Cantona signed on November 27, 1992, and went on to win their first of many titles.

Who will replace him?

When Fergie announced in 2001 that he was going to retire (before backtracking), Hill installed Martin O'Neill as 9/4 favorite to succeed him, ahead of Otmar Hitzfeld, Fabio Capello and Steve McLaren.

Fast forward to 2013, and William Hill collected more than £70,000 worth of bets in the first six hours after it released its odds on who will replace Sir Alex as the Red Devils' manager. The odds are as follows: David Moyes, 1/7, Jose Mourinho, 4/1, Jurgen Klopp, 20/1, former Man Utd striker Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, 25/1, and all other contenders 66/1 and up.