Alex Ferguson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson,
CBE (born 31 December 1941) is a former
Scottish football manager and
player who managed
Manchester United
from 1986 to 2013. His time at the club has led to Ferguson being
regarded as one of the most successful, admired and respected managers
in the history of the game.
[4]
Ferguson managed
East Stirlingshire and
St. Mirren before a highly successful period as manager of
Aberdeen. After briefly managing
Scotland following the death of
Jock Stein, he was appointed manager of
Manchester United in November 1986.
Ferguson is the longest serving manager of
Manchester United, overtaking
Sir Matt Busby's
record on 19 December 2010, eventually completing more than
26-and-a-half years as the club's manager. He has won many awards and
holds many records including winning
Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the
European Cup on more than one occasion. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the
Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.
[5][6]
On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced his retirement as manager of
Manchester United. During his 26 years at the club, he won 38 trophies,
including 13
Premier League and two
UEFA Champions League titles.
[7]
Early life
Born to Alexander Beaton Ferguson, a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Hardie),
[8] Alex Ferguson 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 where he lived with his parents as well as his
younger brother
Martin.
[9]
He attended
Broomloan Road Primary School and later
Govan High School,
[10][11] and supported
Rangers.
[12]
Playing career
Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with
Queen's Park, where he made his debut as a
striker aged 16.
[13] He described his first match as a "nightmare",
[14] but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against
Stranraer. Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park was the 7–1 defeat away to
Queen of the South on
Boxing Day 1959 when ex-England international
Ivor Broadis scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer.
[15]
Despite scoring 20
goals in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to
St. Johnstone
in 1960. Although he continued to score regularly at St. Johnstone, he
was still unable to command a regular place and regularly requested
transfers. Ferguson was out of favour at the club and he even considered
emigrating to Canada,
[16]
however St. Johnstone's failure to sign a forward led the manager to
select Ferguson for a match against Rangers, in which he scored a
hat-trick in a surprise victory.
Dunfermline signed him the following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer.
The following season (1964–65), Dunfermline were strong challengers
for the Scottish League and reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson
was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game
against St. Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic, then
failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson
notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with
Joe McBride of Celtic, he was the top goalscorer in the
Scottish League with 31 goals.
[17]
He then joined Rangers for £65,000, then a record fee for a transfer
between two Scottish clubs. He was blamed for a goal that they conceded
in the
1969 Scottish Cup Final,
[18] in a match in which he was designated to mark
Celtic captain,
Billy McNeill, and was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side instead of for the first team.
[19] According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away.
[20] There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers after his marriage to a Catholic, Cathy Holding,
[21] but Ferguson himself makes it clear in his autobiography
[22]
that Rangers knew of his wife's religion when he joined the club and
that he left the club very reluctantly, due to the fall-out from his
alleged cup final mistake.
The following October,
Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Ferguson,
[23] but his wife was not keen on moving to England at that time so he went to
Falkirk instead. He was promoted to player-coach there, but when
John Prentice became manager he removed Ferguson's coaching responsibilities. Ferguson responded by requesting a transfer and moved to
Ayr United, where he finished his playing career in 1974.
Early managerial career
East Stirlingshire
In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of
East Stirlingshire, at the comparatively young age of 32. It was a part-time job that paid £40 per week, and the club did not have a single
goalkeeper at the time.
[24] He gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward
Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start."
[25]
The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage
St. Mirren. While they were below
East Stirlingshire
in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt a
degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join
St. Mirren after taking advice from
Jock Stein.
[26]
St. Mirren
Ferguson was manager of
St. Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the old
Second Division watched by crowds of just over 1,000, to
First Division champions in
1977, discovering talent like
Billy Stark,
Tony Fitzpatrick,
Lex Richardson,
Frank McGarvey, Bobby Reid and
Peter Weir while playing superb attacking football.
[27] The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20.
[28]
St. Mirren have the distinction of being the only club ever to sack
Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an
industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According
to a Billy Adams
Sunday Herald
article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was
sacked for various breaches of contract including unauthorised payments
to players.
[27]
He was counter-accused of intimidating behaviour towards his office
secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax free. He
didn't speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated
only through a 17-year-old assistant. The tribunal concluded that
Ferguson was "particularly petty" and "immature".
[29] It was claimed during the tribunal by St. Mirren chairman,
Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability".
On 31 May 2008,
The Guardian
published an interview with Todd (then aged 87), who had sacked
Ferguson many years earlier. Todd explained that the fundamental reason
for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having
agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the
Daily Mirror
that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen
with him. He told the St. Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed
regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his
club to discuss compensation.
[30]
In 1977, Ferguson turned down the manager's job at Aberdeen. The role went to
Billy McNeill, who returned back to Celtic after only a year, leaving the role available for Ferguson once again.
[31]
Aberdeen
Late 1970s
Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing
Billy McNeill who had only managed the club for one season before he was offered the chance to manage
Celtic. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in
1955 under
Dave Halliday.
The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost a league
match since the previous December, having finished second in the league
the previous season.
[32]
Ferguson had now been a manager for four years, but was still not much
older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of
some of the older ones such as
Joe Harper.
[33] The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the
Scottish Cup and the
Scottish League Cup Final, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.
Aberdeen lost the
1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final, this time to
Dundee United after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay.
[34]
1980s and silverware
Aberdeen had started the
1979–80 season
poorly but their form improved dramatically in the new year and they
won the Scottish league that season with a 5–0 win on the final day. It
was the first time in fifteen years that the league had not been won by
either Rangers or
Celtic.
Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, later saying
"That was the achievement which united us. I finally had the players
believing in me".
[35]
He was still a strict disciplinarian, though, and his players nicknamed him
Furious Fergie. He fined one of his players,
John Hewitt, for overtaking him on a public road,
[36] and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half.
[37] He was dissatisfied with the atmosphere at Aberdeen matches, and deliberately created a '
siege mentality' by accusing the Scottish media of being biased towards the Glasgow clubs, to motivate the team.
[38] The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982. Ferguson was offered the manager's job at
Wolves but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble
[39] and "[his] ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled".
[40]
European success
Ferguson led Aberdeen to even greater success the following season
(1982–83). They had qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as a
result of winning the Scottish Cup the previous season, and impressively
knocked out
Bayern Munich, who had beaten
Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. According to
Willie Miller, this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition,
[41] which they did, with a 2–1 victory over
Real Madrid
in the final on 11 May 1983. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish
team to win a European trophy and Ferguson now felt that "he'd done
something worthwhile with his life".
[42] This was followed up with victory in the
European Super Cup in December 1983, when
Hamburg, the reigning
European Cup
champions were beaten 2–0 over two legs. Aberdeen had also performed
well in the league that season, and retained the Scottish Cup with a 1–0
victory over Rangers, but Ferguson was not happy with his team's play
in that match and upset the players by describing theirs as a
"disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match, a
statement he later retracted.
[43]
After a sub-standard start to the
1983–84 season,
Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and
retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was appointed an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1984 honours list,
[44] and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers
[45] and
Arsenal[46]
during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85
season, but had a disappointing season in 1985–86, finishing fourth in
the league, although they did win both domestic cups. Ferguson had been
appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April
he told Dick Donald, their chairman, that he intended to leave that
summer.
Ferguson had been part of coaching staff for the
Scottish national side during qualifying for the
1986 World Cup, but manager
Jock Stein had
collapsed and died on 10 September 1985 – at the end of the game in which Scotland qualified from their group for a play-off against
Australia.
Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side
against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him
to fulfil his international duties he appointed
Archie Knox
as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to
progress past the group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down
as national team manager on 15 June 1986.
[47]
Around this time,
Tottenham Hotspur offered Ferguson the chance to take over from
Peter Shreeves as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to
Luton Town's David Pleat instead. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace
Don Howe as Arsenal manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot
George Graham took the post instead.
[48][49] That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from
Ron Atkinson at
Manchester United, who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a ten-match winning start had made title glory seem inevitable.
It was not the first time that Ferguson had been linked with a move to England. In February 1982,
Wolverhampton Wanderers had approached him about succeeding
John Barnwell as manager as they were heading for relegation from the First Division.
[50]
He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial
stability, as they were more than £2 million in debt at the time and
narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1984–85
season, it was reported that Ferguson was being considered for the
Liverpool manager's job after the retirement of
Joe Fagan was announced, but the job was quickly accepted by Liverpool striker
Kenny Dalglish.
[51]
Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did
eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November
1986.
Manchester United
Appointment and first years
Ferguson was appointed manager at
Old Trafford on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as
Norman Whiteside,
Paul McGrath and
Bryan Robson
were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness,
but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up
the table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second
from bottom) when he took over.
His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at underdogs
Oxford United on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted
Norwich City, and then his first win (1–0 at home to
QPR)
on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by
the time they recorded what would be their only away win of the league
campaign at title challengers and deadly rivals Liverpool on
Boxing Day, it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over
Newcastle United
and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season,
with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the
final table. Ferguson's mother, Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64,
three weeks after his appointment. Ferguson appointed
Archie Knox, his assistant at Aberdeen, as his assistant at Manchester United in 1986.
In the 1987–88 season, Ferguson made several major signings, including
Steve Bruce,
Viv Anderson,
Brian McClair and
Jim Leighton.
The new players made a great contribution to a United team who finished
in 2nd place, nine points behind Liverpool. However, Liverpool's points
lead had been in double digits for most of the season and while United
had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games and there
was clearly still some way to go before United could be a match for
their north western rivals.
United were expected to do well when
Mark Hughes returned to the club two years after leaving for
Barcelona,
but the 1988–89 season was a disappointment for them, finishing
eleventh in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in
the FA Cup Sixth Round. They had begun the season slowly, going on a
nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat
and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to
third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February.
However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of
the season saw them fall down to mid table.
During the season, United played in friendly matches against the
Bermudan national team and
Somerset County Cricket Club
as part of the Bermudan team's tour of England. In the match against
Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant, Archie Knox, took to
the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match remains
Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team.
For the 1989–90 season, Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders
Neil Webb,
Mike Phelan and
Paul Ince, as well as defender
Gary Pallister and winger
Danny Wallace.
The season began well with a 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal
on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In
September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against
fierce rivals Manchester City.
Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in
eight games, a banner declaring "Three years of excuses and it's still
crap ... ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many
journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked.
[52][53]
Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had]
ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the
relegation zone.
[54][55]
However, Ferguson later revealed that the board of directors had
assured him that they were not considering dismissing him. Although
naturally disappointed with the lack of success in the league, they
understood the reasons for the sub-standard results (namely the absence
of several key players due to injury) and were pleased with the way that
Ferguson had reorganised the club's coaching and scouting system.
Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to
Nottingham Forest in the third round of the
FA Cup. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running,
[56]
and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would
consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 due to a
Mark Robins
goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as
the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career, even though it has
since been stated that his job was never at risk.
[56][57][58] United went on to win the FA Cup, beating
Crystal Palace
1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving
Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's
defensive frailties in the first match were unilaterally blamed on
goalkeeper
Jim Leighton, forcing Ferguson to drop his former Aberdeen player and bring in
Les Sealey.
The first league title
Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990–91, they were
still inconsistent and finished sixth. There were some excellent
performances that season, including a 6–2 demolition of Arsenal at
Highbury, but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted
Sunderland, a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by
Everton in early March (the game where 17-year-old hot prospect
Ryan Giggs made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go.
Even after the FA Cup Final victory in the previous season, some
still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other
managers since
Busby had failed — to win the league title.
[58] They were runners-up in the
League Cup, losing 1–0 to
Sheffield Wednesday. They also reached the final of the
European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions
Barcelona
2–1. After the match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league
the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the
last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job.
[59]
During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to
Glasgow Rangers to become assistant to
Walter Smith, and Ferguson promoted youth team coach
Brian Kidd to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel and defender
Paul Parker
– to bolster his side. There was much anticipation about the
breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored
once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another
impressive young winger in the shape of
Lee Sharpe,
who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging
into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the
disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added the
Ukrainian Andrei Kanchelskis to the right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older right footed midfielders
Mike Phelan and Bryan Robson.
The 1991–92 season did not live up to Ferguson's expectations and, in
Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that [his] mistakes had
contributed to the misery".
[60] United won the
League Cup and
Super Cup for the first time, but lost out on the
league title to rivals
Leeds United
after leading the table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and
being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the
second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United
side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson
felt that his failure to secure the signing of
Mick Harford from
Luton Town
had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to
the team if they were to win the league the following season.
[61]
During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign
Alan Shearer from
Southampton, but lost out to
Blackburn Rovers. He also made at least one approach for the
Sheffield Wednesday striker
David Hirst, but manager
Trevor Francis rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old
Cambridge United striker
Dion Dublin – his only major signing of the summer.
After a slow start to the 1992–93 season (they were 10th of 22 at the
beginning of November) it looked as though United would miss out on the
league title (now the
Premier League) yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker
Eric Cantona from
Leeds United
for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's
position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed a strong
partnership with Mark Hughes and fired the club to the top of the table,
ending United's 26-year wait for a League Championship, and also making
them the first ever
Premier League Champions. United had finished champions with a 10-point margin over runners-up
Aston Villa, whose 1–0 defeat at
Oldham on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association.
1993–95: Double win and loss
The
1993–94 season brought more success. Ferguson added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder
Roy Keane
to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75 million as a long term
replacement for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career.
[62]
United led the 1993–94 Premier League table virtually from start to finish.
Ferguson was the very first winner of the
Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the accolade for August 1993.
Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being
sent off
twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the
League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's
predecessor,
Ron Atkinson. In the FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against
Chelsea, winning Ferguson his second
League and Cup Double,
following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with
Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he
had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with
Aberdeen in 1983.
Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying
Blackburn Rovers £1.2 million for
David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker
Chris Sutton from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn Rovers instead.
1994–95 was a harder season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a
Crystal Palace supporter in a game at
Selhurst Park,
and it seemed likely he would leave English football. An eight-month
ban saw Cantona miss the final four months of the season. He also
received a 14-day prison sentence for the offence but the sentence was
quashed on appeal and replaced by a 120-hour community service order. On
the brighter side, United paid a British record fee of £7 million for
Newcastle's prolific striker
Andy Cole, with young winger
Keith Gillespie
heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the
breakthrough of young players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes,
who provided excellent cover for the long periods that United were left
without some of their more experienced stars.
However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with
West Ham United
on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them the a
third successive league title. United also lost the FA Cup final in a
1–0 defeat to
Everton.
1995–98
Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of
United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not
bought. First
Paul Ince moved to
Internazionale of Italy for £7.5 million, long-serving striker Mark Hughes was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and
Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton.
Ferguson made an approach for
Tottenham Hotspur winger
Darren Anderton, but the player signed a new contract with the
North London club. He then made a bid to sign
Dutchman Marc Overmars from
Ajax (the
European Cup
winners), but the player suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled
out for months. Media reports suggested that United were going to make
an approach for
Juventus and Italy forward
Roberto Baggio, who was generally regarded
[by whom?] as the best player in the world at that time, but the player remained in his homeland and signed for
Milan instead.
It was widely known
[by whom?]
that Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were
ready to play in the first team. The youngsters, who would be known as
"Fergie's Fledglings", included
Gary Neville,
Phil Neville,
David Beckham,
Paul Scholes and
Nicky Butt,
who would all go on to be important members of the team. And so the
1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes
of Arsenal, Liverpool and
Newcastle United were making the headlines with big-money signings.
A youthful United team lost 3–1 in their opening league game of the
1995–96 season, against Aston Villa.
[63] On
Match of the Day, pundit
Alan Hansen criticised their performance, ending his analysis with the words: "You can't win anything with kids".
[64]
United won their next five matches and were boosted by the return of
Cantona, who made his comeback against Liverpool in October 1995. For
much of the season, the team trailed league leaders Newcastle United and
found themselves 10 points behind by Christmas; this later was narrowed
to seven points after defeating them on 27 December 1995. The gap
increased to 12 points, but a series of wins, coupled with Newcastle
dropping points, meant by late March, United moved to the top of the
table. A hard-fought win against Leeds United in April prompted Ferguson
to accuse his opponents of "cheating" their manager:
I'm saying to myself these guys have put their manager in trouble and
after seeing how they played against us I can only say they're cheating
their manager. You think for some of them it's more important to get a
result against Manchester United, who are top of the League, than
anything else. It's pathetic. No wonder managers get the sack. Of
course, when it comes to Newcastle you wait and see the difference. It
will be interesting.[65]
In a televised outburst after his team's win against Leeds, Newcastle manager
Kevin Keegan
responded angrily to Ferguson's comments: "We're still fighting for
this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough ... I would love it if
we beat them, love it."
[66]
A win against Middlesbrough on the final day sealed the title for
United and the team beat Liverpool by a goal to nil to win the
1996 FA Cup Final;
this was their second double in three years. A week after the cup
final, Ferguson agreed a four-year contract to remain at United.
[67]
United won their fourth league title in five seasons at the end of the
1996–97 campaign, made easier by the fact that their rivals were "not up to the job".
[68]
Under Ferguson, the team made a better go in the Champions League and
reached the semi-final stage for the first time in 28 years.
[69] United did not advance any further, after defeat to
Borussia Dortmund of Germany.
[70] Norwegian signings
Ole Gunnar Solskjær and
Ronny Johnsen
were the notable additions to the squad, with the former ending the
season as the club's top goalscorer. In May 1997, Cantona informed
Ferguson his decision to retire from football.
[71]
The player "felt exploited by United's merchandising department" and
questioned the ambition of the club, reasons which Ferguson understood.
[71] Striker
Teddy Sheringham was signed as Cantona's replacement from Tottenham Hotspur, with Blackburn defender
Henning Berg the other significant purchase that summer.
[72][73]
In the close season, United appointed Keane as their new captain.
Ferguson described him as "the best all-round player in the game" after
the team's
1997 FA Charity Shield win and believed Keane had "all the right ingredients" to succeed from Cantona.
[74]
Defeat to Leeds United in September 1997 was the team's first league
loss in seven months; Keane during the match injured himself and was
subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage.
[75]
Schmeichel was placed as captain in his absence. By November, United
opened up a four-point lead in the league, which prompted talk of
whether any team could catch them.
[76]
After Arsenal's defeat of United in the same month, Ferguson
acknowledged a one-horse race was "not good for the game" and admitted
his opponents "... deserved to win on their second-half performance".
[77]
The fallibilities of Liverpool, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers as league
challengers allowed United during the winter to extend their lead by 11
points, albeit with Arsenal having games-in-hand.
[78] This was enough for Manchester bookmaker
Fred Done to pay out on punters who backed the champions retaining their title.
[79] United in other competitions fared poorly; they went out of the FA Cup in a replay to
Barnsley and were eliminated in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League against
AS Monaco on away goals.
[80]
Arsenal closed the gap on United in March and a winning goal from their winger
Marc Overmars when the two teams met at Old Trafford handed them the initiative.
[81]
Ferguson was bullish of his team's chances despite the setback and
insisted that Arsenal "... will find that they start dropping points
towards the end of the season – there's no question about that".
[81]
Arsenal however collected maximum points, sealing the title with a win
against Everton on 3 May 1998. Ferguson congratulated his opponent
Arsène Wenger,
who in his first full season at the club, later completed the double:
"I think it's good for my young players to lose on this occasion. I
wholeheartedly acknowledge what Arsenal achieved between Christmas and
the end of the season."
[82] United straight after paid £10.75 million for PSV defender
Jaap Stam, a new club record fee.
[83] Ferguson wanted to strengthen the squad's attacking options and identified Aston Villa's
Dwight Yorke as his main target.
[84]
Attempts to sign Yorke were rebuffed at first, before Ferguson
persuaded Edwards to increase United's initial offer of £10 million.
[85]
A £12.6 million deal was reached a week into the league campaign; Yorke
signed minutes before the deadline to submit United's squad for the
Champions League.
[85]
1998–99: Treble success
United opened the
1998–99 season with a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in the
1998 FA Charity Shield.
[86]
The beating did not concern Ferguson, though he described his team's
defeat to Arsenal in September 1998 as "a lot less tolerable." In
December 1998, Kidd left his role as assistant to become the manager of
Blackburn Rovers. Ferguson instructed
Eric Harrison and
Les Kershaw to find suitable replacements, "in terms of coaching ability and work ethic." Both recommended
Steve McClaren, the assistant to
Jim White at Derby County. McClaren was Ferguson's initial choice and appointed him in February 1999. His first game as assistant was
United's 8–1 victory over Nottingham Forest.
[87]
Ferguson felt United's bid to regain the Premier League began
indifferently because of their commitments to other competitions. He was
willing to "pay for the progress" made in the Champions League; the
team finished second in their Champions League "group of death", behind
Bayern Munich and ahead of Barcelona. United's win against Liverpool in
the FA Cup fourth round was a portent for the remainder of the season. A
goal down after three minutes, the team equalised only until the 86th
minute and scored the winning goal through Solskjær in stoppage time.
[88]
On reflection, Ferguson said it was "a demonstration of the morale that
was to be every bit as vital as rich skill in the five months that lay
ahead of United."
[89]
Under Ferguson, United acclaimed a treble of trophies in the 1998–99 season.
In the final weeks of the league season, Arsenal emerged as a
creditable challenger to United. Both clubs were also paired together in
the semi-final of the FA Cup, decided by a replay as the original game
finished goalless. Keane was sent off in the second half and United
conceded a penalty late into the match with the score 1–1.
Dennis Bergkamp's effort was saved by Schmeichel.
[90]
Ferguson hoped his team "could at least take it to a penalty
shoot-out," but instead the match was settled in extra time: Giggs ran
the length of the pitch and evaded several Arsenal players to score the
winning goal.
[89] United went on to beat Newcastle United in the
1999 FA Cup Final and completed the double – a week earlier the team defeated Tottenham Hotspur to regain the Premier League.
[89]
United's progression in the Champions League was promising compared to previous seasons. The team eliminated
Inter Milan
at the quarter-final stage and faced Juventus in the last four of the
competition. A late goal scored by Giggs in the first leg earned the
team a 1–1 draw, but in spite of conceding an away goal, Ferguson was
adamant of United's chances of reaching the final: "... something tells
me we are going to win. The nature of our club is that we torture
ourselves so much that the only way to get relief is by winning over
there."
[91] At the
Stadio delle Alpi, striker
Filippo Inzaghi scored twice to put Juventus 3–1 up on aggregate.
[92] Keane headed in a Beckham cross to halve the deficit, but was later shown a yellow card for a foul on
Edgar Davids, which prevented him from playing in the final.
[92] Yorke equalised, before Cole added a third to win the match outright.
[92] Keane's performance merited praise from Ferguson:
It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a
football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he
would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I
felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player.[89]
Days after the FA Cup final, United travelled to Barcelona, the setting for the
1999 UEFA Champions League Final.
Ferguson contemplated his team selection against Bayern Munich;
suspensions to Scholes and Keane ruled both players out of the match.
[89]
Beckham was positioned in centre midfield, while Giggs moved to the
right ring and Blomqvist started on the left – changes the manager felt
would prevent the opposition from playing narrow.
[89] United conceded in the first six minutes of the final, from a
Mario Basler's
free kick. Sheringham, who came on for Blomqvist, equalised from a
corner in the first minute of additional time. McClaren told Ferguson to
get the team organised for extra time, to which he replied "Steve, this
game isn't finished."
[89] Three minutes into added time, Solskjær scored the winner, which for United completed an unprecedented
treble.
Ferguson interviewed moments after said: "I can't believe it. I can't
believe it. Football, bloody hell. But they never gave in and that's
what won it." He and Schmeichel, the stand-in captain, jointly lifted
the cup during the trophy presentation.
A crowd of over 500,000 people turned out on the streets of
Manchester to greet the players, who paraded through the city in an
open-top bus.
[93] As European champions, United were invited to play in the
Intercontinental Cup. The club also entered the inaugural
Club World Championship, which was held in Brazil. This brought about a potential
fixture congestion so United accepted the FA's recommendation of withdrawing from the FA Cup, the first holders to do so.
[94]
In later years, Ferguson elaborated on the club's decision: "We did it
to help England’s World Cup bid. That was the political situation. I
regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for
not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn’t our fault."
[95]
1999–2002: Title hat-trick, retirement plan
Schmeichel's decision to leave United after eight seasons prompted Ferguson to bring in replacements:
Mark Bosnich from Aston Villa and Italian
Massimo Taibi.
The latter featured in four matches, the last of which a 5–0 defeat at
Chelsea in October 1999; he was not selected again by Ferguson. United
ended the
1999–2000 league season as champions, with just three defeats and a record points margin of 18.
[96] In December 1999, the club beat
Palmeiras in Tokyo to win the Intercontinental Cup, but a month later exited with apathy at the Club World Championship.
[97]
United failed to retain the Champions League, out in the quarter-final
stage to eventual winners Real Madrid. Ferguson sought to strengthen his
squad and signed
Fabien Barthez from Monaco for £7.8 million.
[98] He also monitored the progress of
Ruud van Nistelrooy, "a striker of the highest calibre".
[99] He met the player and his agent in Manchester to discuss formalities and was informed of Van Nistelrooy's troubled right knee.
[99] Ferguson was not agitated by this; he recalled from experience a similar niggle that did not stop his playing career.
[99] Van Nistelrooy however failed his medical, but Ferguson reassured him that "we might yet find a way out of the nightmare."
[99] The deal was resurrected in April 2001, for a British record transfer fee of £19 million.
[100]
In the
2000–01
season, United retained the league title for a third season, becoming
only the fourth side in history to do so. The achievement was
overshadowed by reports of a rift between the club's board and Ferguson.
[101] He told the club's television channel
MUTV
that he was prepared to sever all ties with the club, once his contract
ended the following year: "The decision has been taken. I'm going to
leave the club. I'm disappointed with what has happened because I was
hoping something would be sorted out. It hasn't happened as I thought it
would and that's all there is to it."
[102]
Both parties eventually reached a compromise which pleased Ferguson: "I
am delighted we've settled this. When you have been at the club as long
as I have it gets in your blood."
[103]
Ferguson's decision to retire came about because he perceived his
chances of winning a second European Cup as "imponderable." Age was
another factor: reaching 60 acted as a "psychological barrier ... It
changed my sense of my own fitness, my health."
In May 2001 McClaren left to become Middlesbrough manager;
Jimmy Ryan was named assistant to Ferguson for the duration of the campaign.
[104] United once more broke their transfer record with the purchase of
Juan Sebastián Verón from
Lazio for a reported £28.1 million.
[105]
In August 2001, Stam was transferred to Lazio for £16 million. The
player reportedly moved because of claims in his autobiography
Head to Head; Stam implied that Ferguson illegally contacted him about a move to Manchester United, before informing PSV.
[106] Ferguson said he sold the player because the club needed to cut back on its "massive wage bill".
[107] He replaced the defender with
Laurent Blanc, a long sought after target.
[107] In an interview with
Alastair Campbell eight years after, Ferguson described his biggest mistake at the club was "letting go of Jaap Stam. No question."
[108]
The club endured a poor first half to the season and languished in
ninth position after a home defeat to West Ham in December 2001.
[109]
On the night of Christmas Day, Ferguson shelved his retirement plan.
His family convinced him to remain in charge of United; Cathy bluntly
listed her reasoning: "One, your health is good. Two, I'm not having you
in the house. And three, you're too young anyway." Ferguson informed
Watkins of his u-turn the following day and resumed work at once.
Once Ferguson publicised his decision to remain in February 2002,
United's form improved. The team won 13 out of 15 matches, though
finished third in the league behind Arsenal and Liverpool. United was
unsuccessful in Europe, losing their Champions League semi-final on away
goals to
Bayer Leverkusen.
Early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant they ended the season
trophyless. Ferguson himself admitted that the decision to pre-announce
his retirement had resulted in a negative effect on the players and on
his ability to impose discipline.
[110]
2002–2005: Rebuilding and transition
In June 2002, Ferguson appointed
Carlos Queiroz as his new assistant.
[111] The recommendation came from
Andy Roxburgh,
at a time when United began scouting for southern-hemisphere
footballers and wanted a multilingual coach. Ferguson was so impressed
with Queiroz after their first meeting, he offered him the job “right
away”. In July 2002 United paid £29.3 million for Leeds United defender
Rio Ferdinand.
The club broke the British transfer record once more, though this did
not concern Ferguson: "We have the right to try and improve ourselves
and there's nothing wrong with that."
[112]
The
2002–03 season began rather poorly for United; the club made its worst start to a league campaign in 13 years.
[113] In a column for
The Daily Telegraph, Hansen said Ferguson "will recognise this difficult start to the season for what it is: the greatest challenge of his career."
[114] Ferguson's response was typically bullish:
I don't get paid to panic. We have had plenty of stuttering starts.
My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment. My greatest
challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you
can print that.[115]
Several players were sent away for surgery in this period, a "minor
gamble" Ferguson took in the hope they would return energised. Defeats,
such as the one to Manchester City at Maine Road in November 2002,
forced United to change their playing style. The team "moved the ball
forward more and quicker rather than concentrating on possession
ratios," and the coaching staff tried accommodating Forlán with Van
Nistelrooy, before settling with Scholes. United's league form improved
as the season went on despite defeat to Liverpool in the
2003 Football League Cup Final and they overhauled Arsenal to win the Premier League for an eighth time in May 2003.
[116]
The team was eliminated in the Champions League quarter-final to Real
Madrid over two legs; Ferguson described the second match, a 4–3 win at
Old Trafford as "epic".
After a season at United, Queiroz left to manage Real Madrid in June 2003.
[117]
Ferguson anticipated his deputy would return – “Three months later, he
was wanting to quit Madrid,” and for that reason did not appoint a
replacement. In the summer, Beckham also moved to Real Madrid, while
Verón joined Chelsea. United in the meantime rebuilt their team;
Tim Howard replaced Barthez in goal and
Kléberson,
Eric Djemba-Djemba and
Cristiano Ronaldo came in to bolster the squad.
Ronaldinho
might have also joined "had he not said yes, then no, to our offer."
Ferguson admitted the signings the club made did not work out in
hindsight: "We rushed down the path of buying in proven players – who we
thought would match our standards right away."
In December 2003, Ferdinand was banned from playing football for
eight months after he failed to present himself at a drugs test.
[118]
Ferguson in his autobiography ten years later blamed the drug testers,
who "...didn’t do their job. They didn’t go looking for Rio." The
absence of Ferdinand hampered United's defence of the Premier League in
the
2003–04 season; the team finished third behind Arsenal's "
Invincibles" and Chelsea. In Europe they experienced defeat at the hands of eventual winners
Porto.
Ferguson felt it was possible "not because of the performance of the
players but because of the referee," who disallowed a legitimate Scholes
goal that would have been enough to progress. United ended the campaign
as FA Cup winners, beating
Millwall 3–0 in the
2004 final.
[119]
At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, teenage striker
Wayne Rooney (the world's most expensive teenager at more than £20 million) and Argentine defender
Gabriel Heinze
joined United while Cristiano Ronaldo continued where he had left off
the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances. But
the lack of a striker after van Nistelrooy spent most of the season
injured saw the club finish third for the third time in four seasons. In
the
FA Cup they lost on
penalties to Arsenal. A second round exit from the European Cup at the hands of
A.C. Milan
and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual
winners Chelsea (who also clinched the Premier League title) meant that
2004–05 was a rare instance of a trophyless season for United.
Ferguson's preparations for the season were disrupted by a high-profile dispute with major shareholder
John Magnier, over the ownership of the racehorse
Rock of Gibraltar. When Magnier and business partner
J. P. McManus agreed to sell their shares to American business tycoon
Malcolm Glazer, it cleared the way for Glazer to acquire full control of the club. This sparked violent protests from United fans,
[120]
and disrupted Ferguson's plans to strengthen the team in the transfer
market. In spite of this, United looked to solve their goalkeeping and
midfield problems. For this, they signed the
Dutch keeper
Edwin van der Sar from
Fulham and
Korean star
Park Ji-Sung from
PSV.
The season was one of transition. On 18 November,
Roy Keane
officially left the club, his contract ended by mutual consent. United
failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions' League.
In the January transfer window
Serbian defender
Nemanja Vidić and French full-back
Patrice Evra
were signed, and the side finished in second place in the league,
behind runaway leaders Chelsea. Winning the League Cup was a consolation
prize for lack of success elsewhere.
Ruud van Nistelrooy's
future at Old Trafford seemed to be in doubt after not starting in the
League Cup final, and he departed at the end of the season.
Second European Champions League
In 2006,
Michael Carrick was signed as a replacement for Roy Keane for £14 million, although the figure may eventually rise in the future
[needs update]
to £18.6 million depending on appearances and results. United started
the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four
Premier League
games. They set the early pace in the Premier League and never
relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38–game season. The
January 2006 signings had a huge impact on United's performances;
Patrice Evra and
Nemanja Vidić came in to form a solid back line along with already existing players
Rio Ferdinand and skipper
Gary Neville. The signing of
Michael Carrick,
which was questioned and criticised by a large portion of the media,
brought stability and further creativity in the United midfield, forming
an effective partnership with Paul Scholes.
Park Ji-Sung and
Ryan Giggs both underlined their value to the first team squad by adding significant pace and incisiveness in attack with
Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as
manager of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes also came from
Ferguson's players, both past and present,
[121] as well as his old foe,
Arsène Wenger,
[122] his old captain,
Roy Keane, and current players. The party was spoiled the following day when United endured a single-goal defeat at the hands of
Southend in the fourth round of the
League Cup. However, on 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35-year old
Henrik Larsson on loan,
a player that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to
capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the
club's 2000th goal under the helm of Ferguson in a match against Aston
Villa.
[124]
Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title
but were denied a unique fourth double by Chelsea's Didier Drogba
scoring a late goal in the FA Cup Final at
Wembley. In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home win over
Roma in the quarter-final second leg, but lost at the
San Siro
to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 up
from the first leg. Still, it was a strong sign that United were on
their way back to dominance after a couple of years of being
overshadowed by Arsenal and more particularly Chelsea.
For the 2007–08 season, Ferguson made notable signings to reinforce United's first team. Long-term target
Owen Hargreaves joined from
Bayern Munich,
bringing an end to a year of negotiations. Ferguson further bolstered
the midfield with the additions of young Portuguese winger
Nani and Brazilian playmaker
Anderson. The last summer signing was of
West Ham United and
Argentina striker
Carlos Tevez
after a complex and protracted transfer saga. United had its worst
start to a season under Ferguson, drawing their first two league games
before suffering a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City. However,
United recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title.
After a good run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his time at
Manchester United, this was the best squad he had managed to assemble
thus far.
[125]
On 16 February 2008, United beat Arsenal 4–0 in an
FA Cup Fifth Round match at
Old Trafford, but were knocked out by eventual winners
Portsmouth
(a mid table side in the league) in the quarter final on 8 March,
losing 1–0 at home. United having had a penalty claim turned down,
Ferguson alleged after the game that
Keith Hackett, general manager of the
Professional Game Match Officials Board,
was "not doing his job properly". Ferguson was subsequently charged by
the FA with improper conduct, which he decided to contest. This was the
second charge Ferguson faced in the season, following his complaints
against the referee after United lost 1–0 at
Bolton Wanderers – a charge he decided not to contest.
On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier
League title, exactly 25 years to the day after he led Aberdeen to
European glory against Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the final round of
matches, but with an inferior goal difference – could only draw 1–1 at
home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United's
title win was sealed with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, managed by
former United captain
Steve Bruce.
On 21 May 2008, Ferguson won his second European Cup with Manchester United as they beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the
Luzhniki Stadium
in Moscow, following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the first ever
all-English UEFA Champions League Final. A penalty miss from Cristiano
Ronaldo meant that
John Terry's
spot-kick would have given the trophy to Chelsea if successfully
converted, but Terry blew his chance of glory and in the end it was
Edwin van der Sar's blocking of a
Nicolas Anelka
penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the second time
under Ferguson and for the third time overall. After winning the
2007–08 UEFA Champions League
Ferguson had stated that his intention to leave Manchester United
within the next three years, meaning that he would be gone by the summer
of 2011.
[126] Manchester United chief executive
David Gill moved quickly to calm the speculation about Ferguson's pending retirement.
Another two league titles and League Cups
Although the team had a slow start to the 2008–09 season, United won
the Premier League with a game to spare, making Ferguson the first
manager in the history of English football to win the Premier League
three times consecutively, on two separate occasions. Ferguson had now
won 11 league titles at Manchester United, and the 2008–09 season title
success put them level with Liverpool as league champions on a record 18
occasions in total. They also won the
Football League Cup on penalties after a goalless Wembley draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
They contested the
2009 Champions League final against
FC Barcelona on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0.
After the presentation ceremony, Ferguson conceded that he would stay
on at United for as long as his health permitted him and that he would
be glad to win the league title once more. This would make United's
total league wins one more than rivals Liverpool, becoming the outright
leader in total wins.
[127]
In 2009–10, Ferguson added another
Football League Cup
to his honours list as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the Wembley
final on 28 February 2010. However, his dreams of a third European Cup
were ended a few weeks later when United were edged out of the
competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals. And
their hopes of a record 19th league title were ended on the last day of
the season when Chelsea beat them to the Premier League title, crushing
Wigan Athletic 8–0 and rendering United's 4–0 win over
Stoke City
meaningless. Around this time, several newspapers carried reports that
Ferguson was due to retire at the end of the 2010–11 season, but he
denied these rumours and insisted that he wants to go out on a high and
will not retire during a time of struggle.
[128]
On 8 August 2010, Ferguson added another
FA Community Shield
to his honours list as United defeated Chelsea 3–1 in the final in
Wembley. On 19 December 2010, Ferguson became Manchester United's
longest serving manager in history, overtaking
Matt Busby's record of 24 years, 1-month and 13 days in charge of the club.
[129]
He ended the season by winning his 12th and Manchester United's 19th
league title and thus overtaking Liverpool's record of 18. Manchester
United faced Barcelona again on 28 May 2011 in the
2011 UEFA Champions League Final, their third in four years, but United lost 3–1. Analyst
Alan Hansen
stated that he believed Ferguson was "the key component" in United's
success that season, so key in fact that "[he] would have claimed the
crown with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them".
[130] With
Edwin van der Sar,
Gary Neville and Paul Scholes all retiring in 2011,
[131] Ferguson spent big by signing defender
Phil Jones from
Blackburn Rovers and winger
Ashley Young from Aston Villa for around £17 million each,
[132][133] and goalkeeper
David de Gea from
Atlético Madrid for around £19 million.
[134]
On 2 September 2012, Ferguson managed his 1000th league game with United against
Southampton. United won the game 3-2 thanks to a hat-trick from
Robin Van Persie. Two weeks later, he won his 100th game in the Champions League with a 1–0 win over
Galatasaray at Old Trafford.
Retirement
On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced that he was to retire as manager at
the end of the football season, but would remain at the club as a
director and club ambassador.
[135][136] The Guardian announced it was the "end of an era",
[137] while UEFA president
Michel Platini said that Ferguson was "a true visionary".
[138] British Prime Minister
David Cameron described Ferguson as a "remarkable man in British football".
[139] Former Manchester United players
Paul Ince and
Bryan Robson agreed that Ferguson would be "a hard act to follow".
[140] Manchester United co-chairman
Joel Glazer said "His determination to succeed and dedication to the club have been truly remarkable."
[141]
Ferguson revealed that he had in fact decided that he was going to
retire back in December 2012 and that it had been very difficult not to
reveal his plans.
[142]
Ferguson released his second autobiography in October 2013 called
My Autobiography.
[143][144][145][146]
Controversies
Gordon Strachan
In his 1999 autobiography Ferguson stated of
Gordon Strachan
"I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to
expose my back to him in a hurry". Strachan's reaction to the attack, in
is own autobiography,
My Life in Football, was one of being
"surprised and disappointed", but did not sue for libel, and more
recently they have "declared something of a truce".
[147]
David Beckham and draw fixing
In 2003, Ferguson was involved in a dressing room argument with United player
David Beckham,
[148]
resulting in an injury to Beckham, alleged to have been caused by
Ferguson kicking a football boot in frustration which hit the player in
the face. On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the
Champions League draw was fixed in favour of Spanish and Italian teams,
[148] resulting in a fine on 1 May of 10,000 Swiss francs (£4,600).
Rock of Gibraltar
In 2003, Ferguson launched legal action against the then major United shareholder
John Magnier over stud rights for race horse
Rock of Gibraltar.
[149] Magnier counter-sued Ferguson
[150]
by filing a "Motion to Comply" requiring Ferguson to substantiate his
claim for half of Rock of Gibraltar's stud fees. The legal issues were
further compounded by the request for "99 Questions" to be answered over
Ferguson's transfer dealings, including those of Jaap Stam, Juan Verón,
Tim Howard, David Bellion, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kléberson.
[151] The case was eventually settled out of Court.
The BBC
Ferguson refused to give interviews to the
BBC after a documentary called
Fergie and Son was shown on
BBC Three on 27 May 2004.
[152] According to an article in
The Independent
newspaper, the documentary had "portrayed his agent son, Jason, as
somebody who exploited his father's influence and position to his own
ends in the transfer market." The same newspaper article made it clear
that "Ferguson Jnr" was never found guilty of any wrongdoing, and it
quoted Ferguson Senior as follows: "They [the BBC] did a story about my
son that was whole lot of nonsense. It all [
sic]
made-up stuff and 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on. It
was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been
accused of that."
[153] Subsequent interviews on BBC programmes such as
Match of the Day were done by his assistant
Carlos Queiroz, and later
Mike Phelan.
Under new Premiership rules intended for the 2010–11 season, Ferguson was required to end his BBC boycott.
[154] However he refused to end his boycott and Manchester United confirmed the club would pay the resulting fines.
[155] On 25 August 2011, Ferguson met with BBC director general
Mark Thompson and BBC North director
Peter Salmon; the result of the meeting was that Ferguson agreed to end his seven-year boycott.
Recalling of loan players
Following the sacking of his son
Darren by
Preston North End, Ferguson immediately recalled loaned players
Ritchie De Laet,
Joshua King and
Matty James
from Preston under its new managerial system. He later explained that
it was the players' own request not to return to Preston after the
change of manager.
[156] Stoke City manager
Tony Pulis
followed soon after in recalling two former Manchester United players
from Preston as well, stating the need for the players to supplement his
team's intensive schedule.
[157]
Referees
Ferguson has received numerous punishments for abusing and publicly
criticising match officials when he has perceived them to be at fault:
- 20 October 2003 – Two match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards fourth official Jeff Winter.[158]
- 14 December 2007 – Two match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards Mark Clattenburg.[159]
- 18 November 2008 – Two match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after confronting Mike Dean after a game.[160]
- 12 November 2009 – Four match touchline ban (two suspended) and fined £20,000 for comments made about the fitness of Alan Wiley.[161]
- 16 March 2011 – Five match touchline ban (three plus the two
suspended for the above offence) and fined £30,000 for comments made
questioning the performance and fairness of Martin Atkinson.[162]
It has also been suggested that Ferguson's intimidation of referees results in "Fergie Time": that is, unusually generous
injury time being added in matches where Manchester United are behind. The phrase is at least as old as 2004,
[163] and a statistical analysis by
The Times
suggests that this comment might be valid, though the article points
out that other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between
extra added time and United being behind.
[164] Analysis by
Opta Sports
of Premier League matches played between 2010 and 2012 found on average
that 79 seconds more time was played in matches where Manchester United
were losing.
[165]
This was a greater figure than for other top clubs, although most of
these clubs seem to benefit from a "Fergie Time" effect, particularly in
their home matches.
[165]
Legacy
Sir Alex Ferguson statue installed at Old Trafford on 23 November 2012.
Many of Ferguson's former players have gone on to become football managers themselves, including
Tony Fitzpatrick,
Alex McLeish,
Gordon Strachan,
Mark McGhee,
Willie Miller,
Neale Cooper,
Bryan Gunn,
Eric Black,
Billy Stark,
Bryan Robson,
Steve Bruce,
Mark Hughes,
Roy Keane,
Paul Ince,
Chris Casper,
Darren Ferguson,
Ole Gunnar Solskjær and
Henning Berg.
[166]
The phrase "squeaky-bum time" coined by Ferguson in reference to the
tense final stages of a league competition has been included in the
Collins English Dictionary and the
Oxford English Dictionary.
[167][168]
A bronze statue of Ferguson, designed by Scottish sculptor
Philip Jackson, was unveiled outside
Old Trafford on 23 November 2012.
[169][170]
On 14 October 2013, Ferguson attended a ceremony where a road near Old
Trafford was renamed from Water's Reach to Sir Alex Ferguson Way.
[171][172]
Personal life
Ferguson lives in
Wilmslow, Cheshire, with his wife, Cathy Ferguson (née Holding).
[173] They married in 1966 and have three sons: Mark (born 1968); and twins
Darren (born 1972), current manager of
Peterborough United and former professional footballer; and Jason, who runs an events management company.
In 1998, Ferguson was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the
Labour Party.
[174] He is a self-described socialist
[175][176] and a lifelong Labour voter.
[177] In January 2011
Graham Stringer, a Labour MP in
Manchester and Manchester United supporter, called for Ferguson to be made a
life peer. If this happened, it would make Ferguson the first current or former footballer or football manager to sit in the
House of Lords.
[178] Stringer and fellow Manchester Labour MP
Paul Goggins repeated this call after Ferguson announced his retirement in May 2013.
[179] However, unnamed sources in the
Daily Mirror newspaper claimed on 1 August 2013 that Ferguson had turned down a peerage.
[180]
In 2009 Ferguson received a Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the
Manchester Metropolitan University.
[181][182] It was the second degree he received from the university, after receiving a honorary masters in 1998.
[183]
Ferguson has been a vocal supporter and funder of the all-party and non-party
Better Together campaign, in favour of Scotland remaining a part of the United Kingdom after the
independence referendum in 2014.
[184] He has criticised the
Scottish National Party, and its leader
Alex Salmond,
for their decision to exclude Scots who live outside Scotland but
within the rest of the United Kingdom from voting in the referendum.
[184] He has also objected to the self-imposed rule by the
Yes Scotland
group against accepting donations from people living outside Scotland
of more than £500, which they have urged the No campaign to also adopt.
[184]
Ferguson and
Eamonn Holmes won £50,000 for the Manchester United Foundation on a live celebrity version of the quiz
Who wants to be a Millionaire.
[185][186]
Honours
Player
- St. Johnstone
- Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1962–63
- Falkirk
- Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1969–70
Managerial
Ferguson was made an Inaugural Inductee of the
English Football Hall of Fame
in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager.
In 2003, Ferguson became an inaugural recipient of the FA Coaching
Diploma, awarded to all coaches who had at least ten years' experience
of being a manager or head coach.
[187]
He is the Vice-President of the
National Football Museum, based in
Manchester,
[188] and a member of the Executive Committee of the
League Managers Association.
[189]
In addition to being the only manager to win the top league honours,
and the 'Double', north and south of the England–Scotland border
(winning the Premier League with Manchester United, and the Scottish
Premier Division with Aberdeen), he is also the last manager to win the
Scottish championship with a non
Old Firm team, achieving this in the
1984–85 season with
Aberdeen. He is also the only manager in
English football to have managed to finish in the top three league places in 20 consecutive seasons, since the
1991–92 season (with a total of 22 consecutive seasons).
On 5 November 2011, the
Old Trafford North Stand was officially renamed the
Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in honour of his 25 years as manager of
Manchester United.
[190] He has won 49 trophies as a manager, making him the most successful British football manager in history.
[191]
- St. Mirren
- Aberdeen
- Manchester United[192]
- Premier League (13): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
- FA Cup (5): 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
- League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
- FA Charity/Community Shield (10): 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
- UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1990–91
- UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
- Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
- FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008
Individual
- LMA Manager of the Decade (1): 1990s
- League Managers Association Awards#LMA Manager of the Year (4): 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–13
- LMA Special Merit Award (2): 2009, 2011
- Premier League Manager of the Season (11): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
- Premier League Manager of the Month (27): August 1993, October 1994, February 1996, March 1996, February 1997, October 1997, January 1999, April 1999, August 1999, March 2000, April 2000, February 2001, April 2003, December 2003, February 2005, March 2006, August 2006, October 2006, February 2007, January 2008, March 2008, January 2009, April 2009, September 2009, January 2011, August 2011, October 2012
- UEFA Manager of the Year (1): 1998–99
- UEFA Team of the Year (2): 2007, 2008
- Onze d'Or Coach of the Year (3): 1999, 2007, 2008
- IFFHS World's Best Club Coach (2): 1999, 2008
- IFFHS World's Best Coach of the 21st Century (1): 2012
- World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (4): 1993, 1999, 2007, 2008
- Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year (1): 2000
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award (1): 1999
- BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award (1): 1999
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award (1): 2001
- BBC Sports Personality Diamond Award (1): 2013
- English Football Hall of Fame (Manager) : 2002
- European Hall of Fame (Manager): 2008
- FIFA Presidential Award: 2011
- Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 – 2001–02)
- Manager of the Decade
- Most Coaching Appearances (392 games)
- Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 – 2011–12)
- FWA Tribute Award: 1996
- PFA Merit Award: 2007
- Premier League Merit Award: 2012–13
- Mussabini Medal: 1999
- Northwest Football Awards: 2013
Orders and special awards
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