By Andrew McKenzie

Sir Alex Ferguson's 20 years at Manchester United have brought him more trophies than any other manager in the history of English football.

But do his achievements make him the greatest boss of all-time?

With the help of former England coach Don Howe and ex-England skipper Jimmy Armfield - with over 100 years of combined experience in the game - BBC Sport attempts to pick out 10 of the best.

Herbert Chapman

Sir Matt Busby

Stan Cullis

Sir Alf Ramsey

Bill Nicholson

Bill Shankly

Bob Paisley

Brian Clough

Sir Alex Ferguson

Arsene Wenger

Who is the greatest?

Clubs: Northampton (1907-1912), Leeds City (1912-1919), Huddersfield (1920-1925), Arsenal (1925-1934)
Major trophies: 4 league titles (1924, 1925, 1931, 1933), 2 FA Cups (1922, 1930)

Pros: A pioneer of new formations, tactics, numbered shirts and floodlights to name but a few. Dominant with Huddersfield but made Arsenal the most successful club in England and literally put them on the map by changing the name of Gillespie Road tube station to Arsenal.
Cons: Reputation was somewhat sullied by his time at Leeds City, who were kicked out of the League for financial irregularities.

606: DEBATE Liverpool fans will no doubt push the claims of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley 606: Have your say

Jimmy Armfield: "They were different times back then - the manager did not usually go down the training ground like they do now - where they virtually live down there.

"From what I have read he was more of an executive director than just a manager.

"But he helped Arsenal become England's glamour club and he brought in great players like Alex James, who people still remember now."

Don Howe: "When I first came to Arsenal and walked into the marble halls there he was in front of me.

"Then you read about him and the things he did and won he must have been a truly fantastic manager."

Club: Manchester United (1945-1969 and 1970-1971)
Major Trophies: 1 European Cup (1968), 5 league titles (1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967), 2 FA Cups (1948, 1963)

Pros: United's standing as one of the biggest clubs in the world owes much to Busby's time. He almost died in the Munich air disaster in 1958 but survived to rebuild a team that would go on to become the first English side to win the European Cup.
Cons: Little wrong with his reign but while Bill Shankly laid the foundations for years of success, Busby's exit saw United go into decline and they suffered relegation only six years after their European Cup win.

JA: "He was the man who laid the foundations for Manchester United with the Busby Babes.

"Back in the 1950s they had to overcome losing most of their players in Munich. A lot of people felt for them and out of the ashes came the phoenix of the flames of Manchester United under Busby."

DH: "He was phenomenal. He not only brought in players and let them play but he introduced a lot of young players.

"The Busby babes were innovative and he really knew how to nurture the likes of Duncan Edwards. He was interrupted by the Munich plane crash and then he went and did it again.

"He did it under circumstances that no-one else has had to do before or since. He had to completely start again and then led them to the European Cup. He was a wonderful, wonderful man."

Club: Wolves (1948-1964), Birmingham (1965-1970)
Major Trophies: 3 league titles (1954, 1958, 1959), 2 FA Cups (1949, 1960)

Pros: The Master of Molineux was one of the few great players to go on to be a great manager. He spearheaded Wolves' glory days of the 1950s and is attributed with raising morale in English football by beating some of the best sides in Europe.
Cons: Not everyone was a fan of the direct style of his teams and he failed to find success during his time at Birmingham.

DH: "He went from being their ball-playing centre-half to their manager and when he did the club really took off.

"Every year it seemed they were winning the Cup or the league.

"They were an outstanding team and he was well-known as a very intelligent man and a very disciplined manager who got players to play well for him.

"In Wolverhampton, as well as England, he was a hero in many respects."

Club: Ipswich (1955-1963), England (1963-1974), Birmingham (1977-78)
Major Trophies: 1 league title (1962), 1 World Cup (1966)

Pros: Took Ipswich from the bottom to the top in only seven years - and there is the little matter of a World Cup trophy on his coaching CV.
Cons: Has the big one in his cabinet but his silverware collection is otherwise pretty sparse in comparison.

DH: "He didn't get the England job because he was Alf Ramsey - the fine defender, who played for Tottenham and England.

"He got it for what he did with Ipswich - taking over a team in the Third Division South and guiding them to the very top of the English game.

"He was then given the England job and went on to win the World Cup. There isn't anyone that has done anything better than that in the English game."

Club: Tottenham (1958-1974)
Major Trophies: 1 European Cup Winners' Cup (1963), 1 Uefa Cup (1972), 1 league title (1961), 3 FA Cups (1961, 1962, 1967), 2 League Cups (1971, 1973)
Pros: Enjoyed an almost unbroken 68-year association with Spurs. His side were the first to do the League and Cup Double in the 20th century and the first British side to win a European trophy. More than anything, Mr Tottenham's sides played with style.
Cons: A fine collection of trophies but only one League title in 16 years as manager.

DH: "I was lucky enough to work with him in 1958 when we went to the World Cup.

"He was Walter Winterbottom's assistant and I found him to be an absolutely brilliant man.

"Bill had a terrific knowledge of the game and his Tottenham sides were so attractive to watch."

Club: Carlisle (1949-1951), Grimsby (1951-1953), Huddersfield (1956-1959), Liverpool (1959-1974)
Major Trophies: 1 Uefa Cup (1973), 3 league titles (1964, 1966, 1973), 2 FA Cups (1965, 1974)

Pros: One of the most regularly quoted managers is remembered fondly for his time at Liverpool, turning them from Second Division strugglers to champions of England. A true inspiration, he laid the groundwork for nearly two decades of dominance.
Cons: Little success at his first three clubs, where he often fell out with the board. His successor Bob Paisley also took the side he built on to three European Cup wins.

JA: "He was one of the old school. He was a bit brash in his way but a lovely man.

"I think it was his enthusiasm and commitment that took him on to such great things."

DH: "He had this Scottish way - they seem to make very good managers - if you look at Shanks, Busby and Ferguson.

"The thing about Liverpool before Bill went in was they were just an ordinary club and an ordinary team.

"He got a grip of them and got them to play the way he wanted them to and they started to be hugely successful."

Club: Liverpool (1974-1983)
Major trophies: 3 European Cups (1977, 1978, 1981), 1 Uefa Cup (1976), 6 league titles (1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983), 3 League Cups (1981, 1982, 1983)

Pros: Turned the club from one of the best in England to the best in Europe. A player, physiotherapist, coach and director during 53 years with the club, he enjoyed unprecedented success in the English game.
Cons: Never had to build a side from scratch, while the FA Cup somehow escaped him.

DH: "When Shankly went everyone in Liverpool was moaning and groaning. They said what are we going to do without Shanks?

"But Bob Paisley took the job on and became even better.

"Tactically he was better, he was great with the players and he was good at buying them, which he showed in the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen."

JA: "Bob was a shrewd, old devil. He had been the trainer and he was steeped in the club's history having worked alongside Bill Shankly.

"He was a very good manager but he had good players as well. If you've got good players you have got a chance."

Clubs: Hartlepool (1965-1967), Derby (1967-1973), Brighton (1973-1974), Leeds (1974) Nottingham Forest (1975-1993)
Major Trophies: 2 European Cups (1979, 1980), 2 league titles (1972, 1978), 4 League Cups (1978, 1979, 1989, 1990)

Pros: One of the game's greatest characters took Derby from the Second Division to the League title and then repeated the trick at Forest. His successive European Cup wins with Forest alone would place him alongside any manager in the history of the game.
Cons: His brash style cost him friends and the chance to manage England, while relegation in his final season was no way to end his illustrious career.

JA: "In his generation he was a one-off. He had his own style and he did what he believed in. He had ups and downs, he had difficulties at Leeds and Brighton.

"He was another shrewd manager who understood players and how to handle them."

DH: "I played with him for England and got to know him well. He was just very natural and his discipline was good.

"Players knew not to mess about with him and when he wanted to he could tell people off and make it quite funny.

"I remember Forest star Trevor Francis being on TV after he signed and in front of millions of viewers Cloughie told him to take his hands out of his pockets.

"You can't copy people like Brian Clough - and he was a great man."

Club: Manchester United (1986 - present)
Major trophies: 1 European Cup (1999), 1 European Cup Winners Cup (1991), 8 league titles (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), 5 FA Cups (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004), 2 League Cups (1992, 2006)

Pros: His trophy tally is unsurpassed in England. He took over a struggling Manchester United side and 20 years later they are arguably the biggest club in the world.
Cons: Has had the benefit of huge financial backing and aside from 1999, has struggled to transfer United's domestic dominance to Europe.

JA: "He's come through the university of life. He's been a footballer, owned a pub, worked down the docks in Glasgow and then came into football.

"He's a bit of a streetfighter but he's put all that into good use as he's had to dig in at times.

"He's handled people with very high profiles and handled them very well. That really is his strength. He knows what makes people tick."

Club: Arsenal (1996 - present)
Major trophies: 3 league titles (1998, 2002, 2004), 4 FA Cups (1998, 2002, 2003, 2005)
Pros: Only Ferguson can match his two League and Cup Doubles. A brilliant spotter and developer of talent, he has created some wonderful sides on a limited budget.
Cons: Still has time on his side but needs a European trophy and continued domestic success if he is to challenge the other all-time greats.

JA: "He has proved himself very good at signing young players - he must have very good agents or spies, who bring him all these good young players from around the world.

"He develops them and his teams play a passing game similar to Manchester United.

"They probably pass the ball better than anyone else."

DH: "He is a manager who wants his teams to play quality football. He hasn't been lucky.

"And he has done it all so quickly - in just 10 years he has achieved so much.

"Arsene has won all the things but he has also done it with quality football, which puts him with the Alf Ramseys and the Matt Busbys."

JA: "Sir Alex Ferguson has been the best manager in my lifetime.

"People like Bob Paisley were of a slightly different generation. Nowadays you have to deal with agents, TV and high-profile footballers. It is a different ball game.

"The modern-day manager has also had to handle foreign players and agents, who all have families that have to be dealt with and will have a yearning to go home.

"He has seen both eras and been able to make the changes."

DH: "I think Ferguson because of his stamina for the job.

"Managing a football club is a draining job, it drains your body and your brain.

"I read that Manchester United defender Gary Neville says Ferguson could go on for 10 years. I hope he does and does it well because he has done a super job and he has been at a great club where there is such demand.

"What he has won in the face of those demands - they don't come any better than that."