Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Personal information
Full name	Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson
Position(s)	Striker (retired)
Team information
Current team	Manchester United (manager)

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson CBE (born 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United F.C. He has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of English football and has been in charge of Manchester United for more than 1,000 matches. With 20 years under his belt, he is the second-longest serving manager in the history of Manchester United after Sir Matt Busby.

He has previously managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. He was briefly the manager of the Scotland national team, in a temporary capacity owing to the death of Jock Stein, before becoming the manager of Manchester United in 1986.

At Manchester United, Sir Alex has become the most successful manager in the history of English football, having guided the team to nine league championships. In 1999, he became the first manager to lead an English team to the treble of league championship, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. As well as being the only manager to win the FA Cup five times, he is also the only manager ever to guide a club to three successive league championships in the top flight in England (1998-1999, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001).

One recurring theme of Sir Alex Ferguson's management of Manchester United has been his view that no player is bigger than the club. He has consistently taken a "my way or the highway" approach in his dealings with players and the pressure of this management tactic has often been the cause of many notable players' departures. Over the years players such as Gordon Strachan, Paul McGrath, Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis, Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke, David Beckham and more recently, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy have left the club after varying degrees of conflict with Ferguson. This disciplinary line that he takes with such highly-paid, high-profile players has been mentioned as a reason for the ongoing success of Manchester United.

Playing career

Ferguson grew up in Govan and supported Rangers. He began as an amateur at Queen's Park, making his debut at 16 as a striker. He described his first match as a "nightmare" but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2-1 defeat against Stranraer. As Queen's Park were an amateur team he also worked in the Clyde shipyards as an apprentice tool-worker, where he became an active trade union shop steward.

Although he scored 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. Although he was out of favour at the club, their 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. He was a close friend of Michael Datnow.

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.

In 1967, he 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, and was forced to play for the club's junior side instead of the first team. According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away. There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers after his marriage to his wife Cathie, who was a Catholic but Ferguson himself makes it clear in his autobiography 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, 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.

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. He immediately gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with one of his players later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start." His players admired his tactical decisions, however, and the club's results improved considerably.

The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage St. Mirren. Although 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.

St Mirren

Ferguson was manager of St Mirren from 1974-1978. Despite having to look after the team with a small budget, he was able to achieve promotion for the side from the Scottish First division in 1977. However, following a dispute with the club's chairman due to Ferguson wanting to make significant changes to St. Mirren e.g. change the club's famous black and white kit to a new one, he was sacked the following year for "unpardonable swearing at a lady on club premises" alledgedly whilst under the inflence of alcohol and was not able to claim wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal. St Mirren have been the only club ever to sack Ferguson. It is rumoured that Ferguson had already agreed to join Aberdeen before his dispute with St Mirren, a rumour which probably had a good deal to do with his failure to claim wrongful dismissal.

Managing Aberdeen

Early disappointment

Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeill who had only lasted a season before he was offered the chance to manage Celtic. Although Aberdeen was one of Scotland's major clubs, they had not won the league since 1955. 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. 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 The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish F.A. Cup and the final of the league cup, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.

The following December (1979), they lost the league cup final again, 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.

Silverware at last

Aberdeen had started the 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".

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, and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half. 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, in order to motivate the team. The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982. Ferguson was offered the managers' job at Wolves but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble and "[his] ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled"

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, 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". 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 them as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match - a statement that he later retracted.

After a poor start to the 1983-84 season, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was awarded the OBE in 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur 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. After the death of Jock Stein he had also taken on the role of Scotland manager in preparation for the 1986 World Cup, appointing Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen during this time. There had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, who had been struggling badly that season after a good start. Although Ferguson remained at the club over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.

Managing Manchester United

First seasons at United

He was appointed manager at Old Trafford on November 6 1986. Ferguson was 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. His mother died from lung cancer in late 1986.

Ferguson made several major signings in the 1987-88 season, including Steve Bruce, Viv Anderson, Brian McClair and Jim Leighton. The new players greatly improved the team and they finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool.

United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes returned to the club, 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 quarter-final.

First trophy in England

During the summer of 1989 United signed two new midfielders to bolster their chances of success in the 1989-90 season: Nottingham Forest's Neil Webb and West Ham United's Paul Ince. Middlesbrough's 24-year-old central defender Gary Pallister also joined the club for a British record fee of £2.3million. On the opening day of the 1989-90 season, United beat defending champions Arsenal 4-1. But in September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against neighbours Manchester City. Things did not improve during the rest of the 1989, and in November 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. United went on a run of six defeats and two draws in eight games and Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game."

In January 1990, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. Forest were one of the most feared cup teams in that era, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match which saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career.

In the final United drew 3–3 with Crystal Palace. United's goalkeeper, Jim Leighton, was heavily criticised for two of Crystal Palace's goals, and his form over the whole season had been poor. Ferguson surprised many by replacing Leighton with Les Sealey for the replay, feeling that Leighton was "not in the right mental state" to play in the replay. United won the match 1–0 with a goal from defender Lee Martin. As FA Cup winners, United became England's representatives in the European Cup Winners Cup the following season. However, they had finished a disappointing 13th in the league.

European success, but a disappointment in the league

Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990-91, they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. They reached the League Cup final, but lost 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday, who were managed by Ferguson's predecessor at United, Ron Atkinson. They also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final. After the match, Ferguson announced to journalists that United would win the league the following season. It was a brave prediction, considering that the club had failed to do so since 1967.

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". They won the League Cup for the first time but lost out on the league title to Leeds United after leading the table for much of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to sign 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.

1992-93: Champions at last

After a slow start to the season (they were 10th of 22 at the beginning of November) it looked as though United would miss out on the championship again. But then Alex Ferguson paid Leeds United £1.2 million for their French striker Éric Cantona and the deal proved to be a turning point in the history of Manchester United. Cantona formed a strong partnership with Mark Hughes and fired the club to the top of the table, ending United's 26-year wait, and also making them the first ever Premiership Champions, after the league reform. Alex Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association.

1993-94: The Double

1993–94 brought more success. He added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder Roy Keane to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career.

United led the 1993–94 Premiership table virtually from start to finish. 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 Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa. In the FA Cup final Manchester United achieved an impressive 4-0 scoreline against Chelsea. United had become only the sixth club ever to win the League Championship/FA Cup double. Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn Rovers £1.2million for David May

1994-95: Trophyless season

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.

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 league. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1-0 defeat to Everton.

1995-96: The Double Double

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 Inter Milan 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. It was widely known 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.

When United lost their first league match 3–1 to Aston Villa, the media swooped upon Ferguson with undisguised glee. They wrote United off because Alex Ferguson's squad contained so many young and inexperienced players. Match of the Day pundit, Alan Hansen infamously proclaimed that "you can't win anything with kids". However, the young players performed well and United won their next five matches.

Cantona's return from suspension was a boost, but they found themselves fourteen points behind Newcastle. However a series of good results in early 1996 saw the gap close, and from early March onwards United led the table. This contrasted with a disastrous run of form for Newcastle, whose manager, Kevin Keegan, succumbed to the immense pressure of the title race, and the mind games Ferguson famously loves to play with opposing managers. His famous outburst on live television, "I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!" has gone down in football legend as Fergie's greatest personal victory over another manager. United's Premiership title success was confirmed on the final day of the season. They played Liverpool in that year's FA Cup final, winning 1–0 with a late goal by Cantona.

1996-97: Another title

1996–97 saw Alex Ferguson guide Manchester United to their fourth Premiership title in five seasons. In late October, they suffered three league defeats in a row and conceded 13 goals in the process. They also lost their 40 year unbeaten home record in Europe to unfancied Turkish side Fenerbahçe. But they still reached the Champions League semi final, where they lost to Borussia Dortmund of Germany. At the end of the season, Cantona surprisingly retired from football.

1997-98: Trophyless season

Ferguson made two new signings to bolster United's challenge for the 1997-98 season, 31-year-old England striker Teddy Sheringham and defender Henning Berg. However the season ended trophyless as Arsenal won the Premiership under French manager Arsene Wenger, who started a long-lasting rivalry with Ferguson. The summer of 1998 saw striker Dwight Yorke, winger Jesper Blomqvist and Dutch defender Jaap Stam join Manchester United.

1998-99: 'The Treble'

1998–99 saw Manchester United winning an unprecedented treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and Champions League. The season was characterized by highly dramatic matches. In the Champions League semi-final, United conceded two early goals away to Juventus in the second leg. Inspired by Roy Keane, who would later miss the final through suspension, United came back to beat Juventus 3-2 and reach their first European Cup final since 1968. In the FA Cup semi-final, United faced close rivals Arsenal and appeared to be heading for defeat when Keane was sent off and Arsenal were awarded a last-minute penalty. Peter Schmeichel saved the penalty, and in extra time Ryan Giggs ran, taking the ball past 5 players from the half way line to score what is widely considered to be the greatest goal in Manchester United's history. They then defeated Newcastle United 2-0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. The European triumph was the most incredible of all. After 90 minutes of play they were 1-0 down to Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in Barcelona thanks to a Mario Basler free kick, but in the 3 minutes of injury time allowed by referee Pierluigi Collina, Teddy Sheringham, a substitute, equalised and extra time looked certain. But with just seconds left on the clock, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, also a late substitution scored the winning goal and history was made. This dramatic finish prompted the famous words from Alex Ferguson, 'Football. Bloody hell.'

On 12 June 1999, Alex Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the game.

1999-2000: Title number 6

Manchester United ended the 1999-2000 season as champions with just three Premiership defeats, and a cushion of 18 points. The massive gap between United and the rest of the Premiership caused some to wonder if the club's financial dominance was developing into a problem for the English game.

In April 2000, it was announced that Manchester United had agreed to sign Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for a British record fee of £18million. But the move was put on hold when van Nistelrooy failed a medical, and he then returned to his homeland in a bid to regain fitness, only to suffer a serious knee injury which ruled him out for almost a year.

2000-01: Title number 7

29-year-old French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was signed from Monaco for £7.8 million - making him the most expensive goalkeeper to be signed by a British club, and United won the title again. During the 2001 close season Ruud van Nistelrooy joined, and soon after Manchester United again broke the British transfer record - this time paying Lazio £28.1million for Argentine attacking midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón.

Veron failed to live up to the high expectations his transfer fee suggested and he was sold to Chelsea for £15 million only two years later. Veron proved to be Ferguson's most expensive transfer mistake. Veron's career failed to recover at Chelsea, and his international career with Argentina also soon floundered.

2001-02: Trophyless season

Two games into the 2001-02 season, Dutch central defender Jaap Stam was suddenly sold to Lazio in a £16million deal. The reason for Stam's departure was believed to have been claims in his autobiography Head to Head that he had been illegally spoken to about a move to Manchester United by Alex Ferguson, before his previous club PSV Eindhoven had been informed. Ferguson surprisingly replaced Stam with Inter Milan's 36-year-old central defender Laurent Blanc.

On 8 December 2001, Manchester United were ninth in the Premiership - 11 points behind leaders Liverpool who had a game in hand. But then came a dramatic turn around in form. Between mid-December and late January, eight successive wins saw Manchester United climb to the top of the Premiership and put their title challenge back on track but in the end, United finished third in the Premiership.

They lost the semi-final on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League and failed in the domestic books. Ferguson's misery was compounded as rival Arsene Wenger clinched the Premiership title for Arsenal at Old Trafford with a 1-0 win in the penultimate game of the season.

Retirement?

The 2001-02 season was to have been Ferguson's last as Manchester United manager, and the looming date of his retirement was cited by many as a reason for the team's loss of form. 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. But in February 2002 he agreed to stay in charge for at least another three years.

Rio Ferdinand, who Ferguson broke the British transfer record to capture.

The close season saw Manchester United break the British transfer record yet again when they paid Leeds United £30 million for 24-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand.This season was also marked by the signing of Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy for record £19 million from PSV, who would go on to become one of the most prolific strikers in the history of Manchester United.

2002-03: Title number 8

Manchester United won their eighth Premiership title, yet just over two months before the end of the season they were eight points behind leaders Arsenal. But an improvement in form for United, and a decline for Arsenal, saw the Premiership trophy gradually slip out of the Londoners' grasp and push it back in the direction of Old Trafford. Ferguson described the 2002-03 championship as his most satisfying ever, due to the nature of a remarkable comeback.

Not for the first time, Ferguson had proven to be a master of managerial mind-games, successfully rattling the composure of Arsenal and their otherwise unflappable manager Arsène Wenger (the relationship with Wenger has always been difficult to judge through the glare of media hyperbole although since the emergence of Jose Mourinho the media obsession with the Ferguson-Wenger dispute has decreased). The end of this season also brought with it the end of David Beckham's career at Manchester United, who left for Spain to join Real Madrid.

2003-04: FA Cup glory

Ferguson guided Manchester United to their eleventh FA Cup at the end of the 2003-04 season, but it was a disappointing season which had seen them finish third in the Premiership and suffer Champions League elimination at the hands of eventual winners FC Porto. Rio Ferdinand missed the final four months of the season, as he served the beginning of an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test. New signings like Eric Djemba-Djemba and José Kleberson were disappointing, but there was at least one productive signing - 19-year-old Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

2004-05: Trophyless season

Wayne Rooney, a teenager Ferguson signed who would go on to become one of the team's best players in later seasons.

At the beginning of the 2004-05 season, Wayne Rooney 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 F.A Cup final they lost on penalties to Arsenal.

2005-06: League Cup triumph, European failure

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, 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 two crucial players, 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. To make matters worse, United lost at Liverpool 1-0 in the 5th Round of the F.A. Cup. 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 Carling Cup final, and he departed at the end of the season to rejoin former teammate David Beckham, who had left in similar circumstances, at Real Madrid.

2006-07 - Title number 9 - Ferguson's 20th full season in charge

Michael Carrick was signed as a replacement for Keane for £14 million, which could rise to as much as £18.6 million depending on appearances and results. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won the first four Premiership games. They set the early pace in the Premiership and never relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38-game season. The January 2006 signings have had a huge impact on United's performances this season. Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic have come in to form a solid back line along with already existing players Rio Ferdinand and skipper Gary Neville. Vidic has scored four goals this season, a large number for a centre-half. Also, the signing of Michael Carrick has brought stability in the United midfield, forming a great partnership with Paul Scholes, while Park Ji-Sung has added significant pace and incisiveness in attack along with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ferguson celebrated his 20th anniversary in charge of Manchester United on 6 November, 2006. Tributes also came from Ferguson's players, both past and present, as well as his old foe, Arsène Wenger, 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 Carling Cup. However, on 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35 year old Henrik Larsson, a player that Alex Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club's 2000th goal with Sir Alex as boss.

On the 28th April 2007, Manchester United were 3 points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Premiership. Both sides were playing at the same time and at half time Manchester United were 2-0 down to Everton at Goodison park. Chelsea on the other hand were 2-1 up at Stamford Bridge it looked as though Chelsea were on the verge of catching Man Utd until a sensational turn around of fortunes as Manchester United came back to win 4-2 and Chelsea then drew 2-2 handing United a 5 point lead wth 3 games to go. The following weekend meant that if the reds could win away in their derby against Manchester City and Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal the following Sunday at the Emirates then Alex Ferguson's men would clinch the title. United were 1-0 ahead via a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty until the 80th minute when City were also awarded a penalty however Van Der Sar sensationally saved to give the Red's victory and put United within touching distance. On the 6th of May 2007 Chelsea could only draw with Arsenal and subsequently handed Alex Ferguson's Manchester United their ninth Premiership title.

Managerial honours

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.

Aberdeen 1978–1986

• Scottish League: (3) 1979-80, 1983-84, 1984-85
• Runners-Up: (2) 1980-81, 1981-82
• Scottish Cup: (4) 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86
• Scottish League Cup: (1) 1985-86
• Finalists: (2) 1978-79, 1979-80

European competition

• European Cup Winners Cup: (1) 1982-83
• UEFA Super Cup: (1) 1983-84

Manchester United 1986-

Domestic competition

• FA Premiership: (9) 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07
• FA Cup: (5) 1989-90, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99, 2003-04
• League Cup: (2) 1991-92, 2005-06
• FA Charity/Community Shield: (5) 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

European competition

• UEFA Champions League: (1) 1998-1999
• European Cup Winners Cup: (1) 1990-91
• Intercontinental Cup: (1) 1999 (aka Toyota Cup since 1980)
• UEFA Supercup: (1) 1991-92

Notes:

• The 1990 Charity Shield Final was drawn 1-1 with Liverpool and each club kept the shield for 6 months. The penalty shoot-out decider was abolished in the 1980s and only reinstated in 1993.
  • As Football League Division One

Manager Awards

• FA Premier League Manager of the Year: (6) 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2002-03
• LMA Manager of the Year: 1998-99

1000 games at Man Utd Ferguson's 1000th game as manager of Manchester United was a Champions League match against Lyon on 23 November 2004. The breakdown of those 1000 matches is as follows:

• League games: 707
• Charity/Community Shield: 11
• League Cup: 65
• FA Cup: 78
• UEFA Champions League: 116
• European Cup Winners Cup: 13
• UEFA Cup: 4
• Super Cup: 2
• World Club Championship: 3
• Toyota Cup: 2

Trivia

• In 2005, the Collins English Dictionary included the phrase "squeaky-bum time", a phrase coined by Ferguson to describe the tense Premiership run-in in 2002/03.
• Sir Alex Ferguson has a notorious history for playing mind games with managers during close Premiership title races - notably with the likes of Kevin Keegan in 1995/96, and indisputably with Arsène Wenger all the way back since 1997/98 up until Arsenal's last Premiership trophy in 2003/04.
• There are several stories mentioned in relation to Ferguson's hot temper which have nearly passed into folklore. The most notable of these stories involve Sir Alex's kicking a football boot at David Beckham, his throwing of teacups during motivational halftime speeches, and his famed "hair-dryer treatment" in which he vents his ire (and often abuse) directly into a recalcitrant player's face. That these anecdotes have seemingly served to enhance Ferguson's popular appeal is evidence of the clear niche that the manager has carved out for himself within his profession.
• Ferguson has refused post-match interviews with the BBC since May 2004 after a documentary, Fergie & Son, was aired showing dealings between him and his agent son Jason.
• Ferguson is an outspoken supporter of the Labour Party.
• Sir Alex Ferguson is also a dotcom entrepreneur - he is one of the founders of restaurant booking site toptable.
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 2000th goal under Ferguson's reign (all competitions) away to Aston Villa on 23/12/06. Incidentally, the 1st goal was scored by John Sivebæk against Queens Park Rangers on 22/11/86 just over 20 years earlier.
• The british media has poked fun at his strange celebrations when his team scores a goal.

Managerial stats

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
East Stirlingshire		June 1 1974	October 20 1974	12	7	3	2	58.33
St. Mirren		October 21 1974	May 31 1978	12	3	8	1	25.00
Aberdeen		August 1 1978	November 5 1986	144	88	27	29	61.11
Manchester United		November 6 1986	Present	1147	661	211	275	57.63

External links

• Alex Ferguson management career statistics at Soccerbase
• A look back at 20 years in charge at Man United, includes video interview with Bryan Robson and Ian Rush
• Alex Ferguson celebrates 1,000th game with Manchester Utd
• Sir Alex Ferguson: A career profile with pictures
• English Football Hall of Fame

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