Alex Ferguson

scots association football director and musician
For other people named Alex Ferguson, see Alex Ferguson ( disambiguation )
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson ( born 31 December 1941 ) is a scottish early football coach and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest football coach of all time, [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and has won more trophies than any early director in the history of football. [ 8 ] [ 9 ]

Ferguson played as a forward for several Scottish clubs, including Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers. While playing for Dunfermline, he was the exceed goalscorer in the Scottish league in the 1965–66 season. Towards the end of his playing career he besides worked as a coach, then started his managerial career with East Stirlingshire and St Mirren. Ferguson then enjoyed a highly successful menstruation as director of Aberdeen, winning three Scottish league championships, four scottish Cups and the UEFA Cup Winners ‘ Cup in 1983. He briefly managed Scotland following the death of Jock Stein, taking the team to the 1986 World Cup. Ferguson was appointed coach of Manchester United in November 1986. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles. [ 10 ] He was knighted in the 1999 Queen ‘s Birthday Honours list for his services to the game. [ 11 ] Ferguson is the longest-serving coach of Manchester United, having overtaken Sir Matt Busby ‘s record on 19 December 2010. He retired from management at the end of the 2012–13 season, having won the Premier League in his final season .

early liveliness

Alexander Chapman Ferguson [ 12 ] was born at his grandma ‘s home on Shieldhall Road in the Govan district of Glasgow on 31 December 1941, the son of Elizabeth ( née Hardie ) and Alexander Beaton Ferguson. His father was a plater ‘s benefactor in the shipbuilding industry. [ 13 ] He grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road, which has since been demolished, where he lived with his parents and his younger brother Martin, who besides became a football player. [ 14 ] He attended Broomloan Road Primary School and late Govan High School. [ 15 ] He began his football career with Harmony Row Boys Club in Govan, [ 16 ] [ 17 ] before progressing to Drumchapel Amateurs, a youth clubhouse with a solid reputation for producing senior footballers. [ 18 ] He besides took an apprenticeship as a toolmaker at a factory in Hillington, being appointed a union workshop shop steward. [ 16 ]

Playing career

club

Ferguson ‘s playing career began as an amateurish with Queen ‘s Park, where he made his debut as a striker, aged 16. [ 19 ] He described his first match as a “ nightmare ”, [ 20 ] but scored Queen ‘s Park ‘s goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer. possibly his most celebrated game for Queen ‘s Park was the 7–1 kill away to Queen of the South on Boxing Day 1959 when ex-England external Ivor Broadis scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the hermit Queen ‘s Park goalscorer. [ 21 ] Despite scoring 20 goals in his 31 games for Queen ‘s Park, he could not command a unconstipated place in the side and moved to St Johnstone in 1960. Ferguson was on a half-time condense with St Johnstone, and he combined working in a Govan shipyard with education at night in Perth. [ 22 ] Although he regularly scored goals for St Johnstone, he was unable to command a reproducible locate in their team. He regularly requested transfers, and even considered emigrating to Canada. [ 23 ] St Johnstone ‘s failure to sign another forward led the coach 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 football player. In the follow season ( 1964–65 ) Dunfermline were potent challengers for the Scottish league title and reached the scots Cup Final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a hapless performance in a league crippled 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 peak goalscorer in the Scottish league with 31 goals. [ 24 ] Ferguson then joined Rangers for £65,000, which was a record fee for a remove between two scottish clubs. [ 25 ] He performed well in Europe during his two seasons with the club, scoring six goals in nine appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup including two against 1.FC Köln in the 1967–68 competition, and an crucial strike against Athletic Bilbao in the 1968–69 edition which helped Rangers into the semi-finals, [ 26 ] but on both occasions they were knocked out by english enemy. He was blamed for a goal conceded in the 1969 scottish Cup Final, [ 27 ] in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic captain, Billy McNeill, and was subsequently forced to play for the clubhouse ‘s junior english alternatively of for the first team. [ 28 ] According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers ‘ decoration away. [ 29 ] There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers due to his marriage to a Catholic, Cathy Holding. [ 30 ] Ferguson said in a 2021 objective movie about his animation and career ( Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In ) that he ‘assumed ‘ that his exclusion from the first team after the 1969 cup final was due to her religion. [ 22 ] His autobiography noted that Rangers had known of his wife ‘s religion when he joined the club. [ 31 ] In March 2021, he added that when he was signed, a Rangers director had questioned whether the Ferguson ‘s had been married in a ( Catholic ) chapel, and that the conductor had replied “ oh, that ‘s okay ” when told they had married in a register office. [ 32 ] Ferguson left Rangers reluctantly, as he had grown up locally and had dreamed of succeeding there. [ 33 ] He was upset by how newspapers would refer to him as an “ ex-Rangers player ” after he had left, and rarely attended gatherings of their early players. [ 33 ] The surveil October, Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Ferguson, [ 34 ] but his wife was not lament on moving to England at that time indeed he went to Falkirk rather. He remained at Brockville for four years gaining more league appearances than he had elsewhere ; in light of his experience he was promoted to player-coach, but when John Prentice became coach he removed Ferguson ‘s coach responsibilities. Ferguson ‘s time at Falkirk was soured by this and he responded by requesting a transfer and moved to Ayr United, where he finished his playing career in 1974. [ 35 ]

International

Ferguson ‘s only engagement with the Scotland national team was during an oversea enlistment in 1967. For many years none of the tour matches were recognised by the Scottish Football Association as full internationals, and thus Ferguson was deemed to have never played for Scotland. A BBC Sport article in June 2020 identified him as one of the best scots players to have never played a full international. [ 25 ] The SFA announced in October 2021 that some of the tour matches would be reclassified as full internationals, [ 36 ] which meant that Ferguson was late awarded an international cap. [ 36 ]

Managerial career

East Stirlingshire

In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed coach of East Stirlingshire, at the relatively youthful age of 32. It was a half-time job that paid £40 per workweek, and the golf club did not have a individual goalkeeper at the time. [ 37 ] He gained a repute as a martinet, with clubhouse forward Bobby McCulley later saying he had “ never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a terrorization asshole from the startle. ” [ 38 ]

St Mirren

The adopt 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. [ 39 ] Ferguson was coach of St Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the honest-to-god Second Division watched by crowd 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 brilliant attacking football. [ 40 ] The median age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20. [ 41 ] St Mirren have the distinction of being the lone club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed unlawful dismissal against the baseball club at an industrial court but lost and was given no forget to attract. According to a Billy Adams Sunday Herald article on 30 May 1999, the official interpretation is that Ferguson was sacked for versatile breaches of contract including unauthorized payments to players. [ 40 ] He was counter-accused of intimidating behavior towards his function secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax absolve. He did not speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated entirely through a 17-year-old assistant. The court concluded that Ferguson was “ particularly junior-grade ” and “ young ”. [ 42 ] It was claimed during the court by St Mirren chair, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had “ no managerial ability ”. [ 43 ] In 2008, The Guardian published an interview with Todd ( then aged 87 ), who had sacked Ferguson many years earlier. Todd said that the fundamental reason for the judgment of dismissal was a transgress of compress relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told diarist 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 sorrow over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his golf club to discuss compensation. [ 44 ] In 1977, Ferguson turned down the director ‘s subcontract at Aberdeen. The character went to Billy McNeill, who returned to Celtic after only a year, leaving the character available for Ferguson once again. [ 45 ]

aberdeen

late 1970s

Ferguson joined Aberdeen as director in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeill who had only managed the cabaret for one season before he was offered the opportunity to manage Celtic. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland ‘s major clubs they had won the league alone 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. [ 46 ] Ferguson had now been a coach for four years, but was placid not much older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of some of the older ones such as Joe Harper. [ 47 ] The season did not go particularly well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the scots 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. [ 48 ]

1980s and silverware

Aberdeen had started the 1979–80 season ill but their kind improved dramatically in the newfangled class and they won the Scottish league that temper with a 5–0 succeed on the final day. It was the first base time in 15 years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic. Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, late saying : “ That was the accomplishment which united us. I finally had the players believing in me ”. [ 49 ] He was distillery a stern martinet, though, and his players nicknamed him “ angry Fergie ”. [ 50 ] He fined one of his players, John Hewitt, for overtaking him on a public road, [ 51 ] and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half. [ 52 ] He was dissatisfied with the atmosphere at Aberdeen matches, and measuredly created a “ siege brain “ by accusing the scottish media of being biased towards the Glasgow clubs, to motivate the team. [ 53 ] The team continued their success with a scottish Cup winnings in 1982. Ferguson was offered the coach ‘s job at Wolverhampton Wanderers but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble oneself [ 54 ] and his “ ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled ”. [ 55 ]

european success and scottish national side

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, [ 56 ] [ 57 ] who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] According to Willie Miller, this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition, [ 60 ] which they did, with a 2–1 victory over real Madrid in the final on 11 May 1983. [ 61 ] Aberdeen became merely the third Scottish team to win a european trophy and Ferguson now felt that “ he ‘d done something worthwhile with his life ”. [ 62 ] This was followed up with victory in the European Super Cup in December 1983, when Hamburger SV, the reigning european Cup champions, were beaten 2–0 over two legs. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] Aberdeen had besides performed well in the league that season, and retained the scots Cup with a 1–0 victory over Rangers, [ 65 ] but Ferguson was not felicitous with his team ‘s dally in that match and upset the players by describing theirs as a “ disgraceful performance ” in a televised consultation after the equal, a statement he late retracted. [ 66 ] 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 1985 New Year Honours, [ 67 ] [ 68 ] and was offered the managers ‘ jobs at Rangers and Arsenal during the season. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] [ 71 ] Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85 season. In 1985–86, Aberdeen won both domestic cup, but finished fourth in the league. Ferguson had been appointed to the clubhouse ‘s board of directors early on in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald, their president, that he intended to leave that summer. [ citation needed ] Ferguson had been part of the coach staff for the scottish national side during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, but coach 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 external 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 home team coach on 15 June 1986. [ 72 ] Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur offered Ferguson the opportunity to take over from Peter Shreeves as coach, but he rejected this propose and the subcontract went to Luton Town ‘s David Pleat rather. There was besides an offer for Ferguson to replace Don Howe as Arsenal director, but he rejected this crack angstrom well, and boyfriend Scot George Graham took the post rather. [ 73 ] That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, who had slumped to fourthly in the English acme flight after a ten-match succeed start. [ citation needed ] 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 vitamin a director as they were heading for relegation from the First Division. [ 74 ] He rejected this put up, possibly concerned about the golf club ‘s fiscal constancy, as they were more than £2 million in debt at the clock 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 coach ‘s job after the retirement of Joe Fagan was announced, but the job was cursorily accepted by Liverpool striker Kenny Dalglish. [ 75 ] Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did finally join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986. [ 76 ]

manchester United

appointee and first base FA Cup title

Ferguson was appointed coach at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986. He was initially disquieted that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson were drinking excessively much and was “ depress ” by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players ‘ discipline and United climbed up the postpone to finish the temper in 11th position, having been 21st ( second from bottom ) when he took over. His first game in charge was a 2–0 kill at Oxford United on 8 November, followed seven days later by a scoreless draw at newly promoted Norwich City, and then his first succeed ( 1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers ) 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 rivals Liverpool on Boxing Day, it was acquit that United were on the road to recovery. 1987 began on a high bill with a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United and United gradually pulled together in the second one-half of the season, with relatively episodic defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the concluding table. Ferguson ‘s mother Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64, three weeks after his appointee. Ferguson hired Archie Knox, his adjunct at Aberdeen, in the lapp character at Manchester United in 1986. In the 1987–88 temper, Ferguson made several major signings, including Steve Bruce, Viv Anderson, Brian McClair and Jim Leighton. The new players made a positive contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. Liverpool ‘s points lead, however, 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 however some manner to go before United could be a couple for their north western rivals. During the season, United played two friendly matches in Bermuda against the Bermuda national team and the Somerset Cricket Club. [ 77 ] In the meet against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant Archie Knox took to the airfield, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match was Ferguson ‘s alone appearance for the Manchester United first team. [ 77 ] United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes returned to the cabaret two years after leaving for Barcelona, but the 1988–89 season was a disappointment for them, finishing 11th in the league and losing 1–0 at dwelling 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 get the better of and eight draws ) before a rivulet of broadly good results took them to third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February. however, another footrace of disappoint results in the concluding quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid-table. For the 1989–90 season, Ferguson far boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders Neil Webb, Mike Phelan, and Paul Ince, a well as defender Gary Pallister and winger Danny Wallace. The season began good with a 4–1 acquire over defending champions Arsenal on the opening day, but United ‘s league shape quickly turned dark. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away kill against cutthroat rivals Manchester City. Following this and an early temper run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declare, “ Three years of excuses and it ‘s distillery crap … ta-ra Fergie. ” was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. [ 78 ] [ 79 ] Ferguson later described December 1989 as “ the darkest menstruation [ he had ] always suffered in the plot ”, as United ended the decade good outside the delegating zone. [ 80 ] [ 81 ] Following a hunt of seven games without a acquire, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the one-third round of golf of the FA Cup. Forest were performing well that temper and were in the work of winning the League Cup for the second temper running, [ 82 ] and it was expected that United would lose the couple and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the bet on 1–0 due to a Mark Robins goal and finally reached the concluding. This cup succeed is frequently cited as the match that saved Ferguson ‘s Old Trafford career, even though it has since been stated [ by whom? ] that his caper was never at risk. [ 82 ] [ 83 ] [ 84 ] United went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace 1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 pull back in the first match, giving Ferguson his beginning major trophy as Manchester United coach. United ‘s defensive frailties in the first match were blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton. Ferguson dropped Leighton for the replay, bringing in Les Sealey .

United ‘s european firsts and Ferguson ‘s seconds

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 forge by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home kill by Everton in early March ( the game where 17-year-old talented prospect Ryan Giggs made his senior debut ) showed that United placid had some way to go. even after the FA Cup victory in the previous temper, some placid had doubts about Ferguson ‘s ability to succeed where all the other managers since Matt Busby had failed – to win the league deed. [ 84 ] They were runner-up in the League Cup, losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday. however, they won the european Cup Winners ‘ Cup, beating that season ‘s spanish champions Barcelona 2–1. It would be United ‘s only Cup Winners ‘ Cup entitle. After the couple, 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 about five years in the problem. [ 85 ] During the 1991 close season, Ferguson ‘s assistant Archie Knox departed to Rangers to become assistant to Walter Smith, and Ferguson promoted youth team bus Brian Kidd to the function of assistant coach in Knox ‘s set. He besides made two major signings – goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There was a lot anticipation about the discovery of the youthful 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 young had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappoint Danny Wallace on the leave fly. He had besides added soviet midfielder Andrei Kanchelskis to the right fly, giving him a more assail alternate to older 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 ”. [ 86 ] United won the League Cup and European Super Cup ; both for the foremost time, but lost out on the league style to rivals Leeds United after leading the mesa for much of the season. A dearth of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the irregular half of the campaign had proved to be the unmake of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the sign of Mick Harford from Luton Town had cost United the league, and that he needed “ an extra proportion ” to the team if they were to win the league the following season. [ 87 ] During the 1992 airless 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 besides made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst, but coach Trevor Francis rejected all offers and the player stayed put option. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old Cambridge United striker Dion Dublin – his only major sign of the summer. After a decelerate get down to the 1992–93 season by sitting 10th at the beginning of November, it looked as though United would miss out on the league title so far again. however, after the purchase of french striker Eric Cantona from Leeds for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson ‘s military position as coach, began to look bright. Cantona formed a firm partnership with Mark Hughes. On 10 April 1993, United were second in the league when they faced Sheffield Wednesday at home. United were losing with four minutes to go before Steve Bruce equalised. After 7 minutes of injury prison term – which was subsequently dubbed “ Fergie Time ”, alluding to extra minutes allegedly being granted to Ferguson ’ s teams to get a goal – Bruce scored the 97th hour achiever, with Ferguson celebrating the goal by running from his dugout canoe on to the touch line, while adjunct Brian Kidd ran on to the field. [ 88 ] Seen as being a decisive victory, it put United top of the league, where they remained. Winning the title ended United ‘s 26-year delay for a league title, and besides made them the first Premier League champions. United finished with a ten-point margin over runner-up Aston Villa, whose 1–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was late vote Manager of the year by the League Managers ‘ Association .

1993–95 : double winnings 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 substitute for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career. [ 89 ] United led the 1993–94 Premier League table about from start to finish. Ferguson was the first winner of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the award for August 1993. Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off doubly in the space of five days in March 1994. United besides reached the League Cup concluding but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson ‘s predecessor, Ron Atkinson. In the FA Cup final examination, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against Chelsea, winning Ferguson his irregular League and Cup Double, following his scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup concluding get the better of meant that he had not so far achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983. Ferguson made only one close-season sign, paying Blackburn £1.2 million for David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was besides going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn rather. 1994–95 was a hard season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a Crystal Palace athletic 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 examination four months of the season. He besides received a 14-day prison prison term for the discourtesy but the sentence was quashed on appeal and replaced by a 120-hour community service order. United paid a british record tip of £7 million for Newcastle United ‘s prolific striker Andy Cole, with young winger Keith Gillespie heading to the northeast in exchange. The season besides saw the breakthrough of young players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who provided excellent shroud for the farseeing periods that United were left without some of their more know stars. however, the backing slipped out of Manchester United ‘s grip as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United on the concluding day of the season, when a win would have given them a third consecutive league championship. United besides lost the FA Cup concluding in a 1–0 get the better of by 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 sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million manage, and Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton. Ferguson felt that United had a number of unseasoned players who were cook 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 crucial members of the team. And then the 1995–96 season began without a major sign language, at a fourth dimension when the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle were making the headlines with big-money signings. [ citation needed ] A youthful United team lost 3–1 in their open league game of the 1995–96 season, against Aston Villa. [ 90 ] On Match of the Day, initiate Alan Hansen criticised their operation, ending his psychoanalysis with the words, “ You ca n’t win anything with kids. ” [ 91 ] United won their following 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 and found themselves ten points behind by Christmas ; this late was narrowed to seven points after defeating them on 27 December 1995. The opening increased to 12 points, but a series of wins, coupled with Newcastle dropping points, meant by former March, United moved to the top of the table. In a televised outburst after his team ‘s win against Leeds, Newcastle coach Kevin Keegan responded angrily to Ferguson ‘s comments : “ We ‘re still fighting for this claim, and he ‘s got to go to Middlesbrough … I would love it if we beat them, love it. ” [ 92 ] 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 gear double in three years. A week after the cup final examination, Ferguson agreed a four-year contract to remain at United. [ 93 ] United started the following temper thrashing the previous year ‘s league runner-up Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield. They went on to win their fourth league deed in five seasons at the goal of the 1996–97 political campaign, made easy by the fact that their rivals were “ not up to the occupation ”. [ 94 ] Under Ferguson, the team made a better adam in the Champions League and reached the semi-final stage for the foremost time in 28 years. [ 95 ] United did not advance any far, after kill by Borussia Dortmund of Germany. [ 96 ] norwegian signings Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Ronny Johnsen were the noteworthy additions to the squad, with the erstwhile ending the temper as the club ‘s top goalscorer. In May 1997, Cantona informed Ferguson of his decisiveness to retire from football. [ 97 ] The musician “ felt exploited by United ‘s selling department ” and questioned the ambition of the club, reasons which Ferguson understood. [ 97 ] Striker Teddy Sheringham was signed as Cantona ‘s refilling from Tottenham Hotspur, with Blackburn defender Henning Berg the other significant purchase that summer. [ 98 ] [ 99 ] In the stopping point season, United appointed Keane as their newly captain. Ferguson described him as “ the best all-around player in the crippled ” after the team ‘s 1997 FA Charity Shield acquire and believed Keane had “ all the correct ingredients ” to succeed from Cantona. [ 100 ] frustration by 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 pillow of the temper with ligament damage. [ 101 ] Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was placed as captain in his absence. By November, United opened up a four-point tip in the league, which prompted talk of whether any team could catch them. [ 102 ] After Arsenal ‘s kill of United in the lapp calendar month, Ferguson acknowledged a jerkwater race was “ not good for the game ” and admitted his opponents “ … deserved to win on their second-half performance ”. [ 103 ] The fallibilities of Liverpool, Chelsea and Blackburn as league challengers allowed United during the winter to extend their lead by 11 points, albeit with Arsenal having games-in-hand. [ 104 ] This was enough for Manchester bookmaker Fred Done to pay out on punters who backed the champions retaining their title. [ 105 ] Arsenal collected maximum points, sealing the style with a winnings against Everton on 3 May 1998. Ferguson congratulated his opposition Arsène Wenger, who in his inaugural fully season at the club, late completed the double : “ I think it ‘s full for my young players to lose on this occasion. I wholeheartedly acknowledge what Arsenal achieved between Christmas and the end of the season. ” [ 106 ] United straight after paid £10.75 million for PSV defender Jaap Stam, a new club record tip. [ 107 ] Ferguson wanted to strengthen the squad ‘s attack options and identified Aston Villa ‘s Dwight Yorke as his main target. [ 108 ] Attempts to sign Yorke were rebuffed at first, before Ferguson persuaded Edwards to increase United ‘s initial offer of £10 million. [ 109 ] A £12.6 million deal was reached a workweek into the league campaign ; Yorke signed minutes before the deadline to submit United ‘s police squad for the Champions League. [ 109 ]

1998–99 : treble success

United opened the 1998–99 season with a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in the 1998 FA Charity Shield. [ 110 ] The perplex did not concern Ferguson, though he described his team ‘s defeat by Arsenal in September 1998 as “ a draw less adequate ”. In December 1998, Kidd left his function as adjunct to become the director of Blackburn Rovers. Ferguson instructed Eric Harrison and Les Kershaw to find desirable replacements, “ in terms of coaching ability and work ethic. ” Both recommended Steve McClaren, the adjunct to Jim Smith at Derby County. McClaren was Ferguson ‘s initial choice and appointed him in February 1999. His beginning bet on as adjunct was United ‘s 8–1 victory over Nottingham Forest. [ 111 ] Ferguson felt United ‘s bid to regain the Premier League began indifferently because of their commitments to other competitions. He was volition to “ pay for the progress ” made in the Champions League ; the team finished moment 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 omen for the remainder of the season. A goal down after three minutes, the team equalised in the 86th hour and scored the fetching goal through Solskjær in stop time. [ 112 ] On reflection, Ferguson said it was “ a presentation of the esprit de corps that was to be every snatch arsenic full of life as rich skill in the five months that lay ahead of United ”. [ 113 ]
Under Ferguson, United acclaimed a triple of trophies in the 1998–99 season. In the concluding weeks of the league season, Arsenal emerged as a creditable rival to United. Both clubs were besides paired together in the semi-final of the FA Cup, decided by a replay as the original bet on finished scoreless. 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 attempt was saved by Peter Schmeichel. [ 114 ] Ferguson hoped his team “ could at least take it to a penalty shoot-out ”, but rather the match was settled in extra time : Giggs ran the length of the pitch and evaded several Arsenal players to score the fetching goal. [ 113 ] United went on to beat Newcastle United in the FA Cup final and completed the double – a week earlier the team had regained the Premiership title. [ 113 ] 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 final four of the contest. A late finish scored by Giggs in the first branch earned the team a 1–1 draw, but in hurt of conceding an away goal, Ferguson was diamond of United ‘s chances of reaching the final : “ … something tells me we are going to win. The nature of our cabaret is that we torture ourselves so much that the entirely way to get easing is by winning over there. ” [ 115 ] At the Stadio delle Alpi, striker Filippo Inzaghi scored doubly to put Juventus 3–1 up on aggregate. [ 116 ] Keane headed in a Beckham hybrid to halve the deficit just before half-time, but was late shown a yellow card for a fetid on Edgar Davids, which prevented him from playing in the final. [ 116 ] Yorke equalised, before Cole added a third to win the equal outright. [ 116 ] Keane ‘s performance merited praise from Ferguson :

It was the most emphatic display of altruism I have seen on a football airfield. Pounding over every blade of eatage, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honor to be associated with such a actor. [ 113 ]

Days after the FA Cup concluding, United travelled to Barcelona, the plant for the UEFA Champions League final. Ferguson contemplated his team choice against Bayern Munich ; suspensions to Scholes and Keane ruled both players out of the match. [ 113 ] Beckham was positioned in center midfield, while Giggs moved to the correct fly and Blomqvist started on the left – changes the director felt would prevent the opposition from playing narrow. [ 113 ] United conceded in the inaugural six minutes of the final, from a Mario Basler ‘s release kick. Sheringham, who came on for Blomqvist, equalised from a corner in the first minute of extra time. McClaren told Ferguson to get the team organised for extra time, to which he replied, “ Steve, this game is n’t finished. ” [ 113 ] Three minutes into add meter, Solskjær scored the winner, which for United completed an unprecedented ternary. Ferguson, interviewed moments after, said, “ I ca n’t believe it. Football, bally 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. [ citation needed ] A push 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. [ 117 ] As european champions, United were invited to play in the Intercontinental Cup. The clubhouse besides entered the inaugural Club World Championship, which was held in Brazil. This brought about a potential fastness congestion sol United accepted the FA ‘s recommendation of withdrawing from the FA Cup, the first holders to do therefore. [ 118 ] In late years, Ferguson elaborated on the club ‘s decision : “ We did it to help England ‘s World Cup bid. That was the political position. I regretted it because we got nothing but stay and atrocious criticism for not being in the FA Cup when very, it was n’t our fault. ” [ 119 ]

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 get the better of at Chelsea in October 1999 ; he was not selected again by Ferguson. United ended the 1999–2000 league temper as champions, with barely three defeats and a read points allowance of 18. [ 120 ] In December 1999, the cabaret beat Palmeiras in Tokyo to win the Intercontinental Cup, [ 121 ] but a calendar month subsequently exited at the group degree of the inaugural Club World Championship, [ 122 ] [ 123 ] although Ferguson stated the tournament was “ fantastic ”. [ 124 ] United failed to retain the Champions League, as they lost in the quarter-final stage to eventual winners real Madrid. [ 125 ] [ 126 ] Ferguson sought to strengthen his squad and signed Fabien Barthez from Monaco for £7.8 million. [ 127 ] He besides monitored the progress of Ruud van Nistelrooy, “ a striker of the highest bore ”. [ 128 ] He met the player and his agent in Manchester to discuss formalities and was informed of Van Nistelrooy ‘s disruptive good stifle. [ 128 ] Ferguson was not agitated by this ; he recalled from experience a exchangeable fuss that did not stop his playing career. [ 128 ] Van Nistelrooy, however, failed his medical, but Ferguson reassured him that “ we might yet find a way out of the nightmare ”. [ 128 ] The conduct was resurrected in April 2001 for a british phonograph record transfer fee of £19 million. [ 129 ] In the 2000–01 temper, United retained the league deed for a third temper, becoming only the fourth side in history to do then. The accomplishment was overshadowed by reports of a rift between the golf club ‘s control panel and Ferguson. [ 130 ] He told the golf club ‘s television receiver groove MUTV that he was prepared to sever all ties with the club, once his abridge ended the comply class : “ The decision has been taken. I ‘m going to leave the club. I ‘m disappoint with what has happened because I was hoping something would be sorted out. It has n’t happened as I thought it would and that ‘s all there is to it. ” [ 131 ] Both parties finally reached a compromise which pleased Ferguson : “ I am delighted we ‘ve settled this. When you have been at the club deoxyadenosine monophosphate long as I have it gets in your blood. ” [ 132 ] Age was one of the factors in Ferguson ‘s decision to retire : reaching 60 acted as a “ psychological barrier … It changed my common sense of my own fitness, my health. “ [ citation needed ] In May 2001, McClaren left to become Middlesbrough coach, [ 133 ] with Jimmy Ryan being named adjunct to Ferguson for the duration of the campaign. [ 134 ] United once more broke their transportation record with the purchase of Juan Sebastián Verón from Lazio for a reported £28.1 million. [ 135 ] In August 2001, Stam was transferred to Lazio for £16 million. [ 136 ] The player reportedly moved because of claims in his autobiography Head to Head ; Stam implied that Ferguson illegally contacted him about a act to Manchester United, before informing PSV. [ 137 ] Ferguson said he sold the player because the club needed to cut back on its “ massive engage bill ”. [ 138 ] He replaced the defender with Laurent Blanc, a long sought target. [ 138 ] In an interview with Alastair Campbell eight years after, Ferguson described his biggest err at the club was “ letting go of Jaap Stam. No question ”. [ 139 ] The club endured a inadequate first one-half to the season and languished in ninth stead after a family kill by West Ham in December 2001. [ 140 ] On the night of Christmas Day, Ferguson shelved his retirement plan. [ citation needed ] His family convinced him to remain in charge of United and Ferguson informed Watkins of his u-turn the follow day. [ citation needed ] once Ferguson publicised his decision to remain in February 2002, [ 141 ] United ‘s phase improved. The team won 13 out of 15 matches, though finished third base in the league behind Arsenal and Liverpool. United were unsuccessful in Europe, losing their Champions League semi-final on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen. [ 142 ] early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant they ended the season trophyless. Ferguson himself said that the decision to announce his retirement had resulted in a minus effect on the players and on his ability to impose discipline. [ 143 ]

2002–2006 : rebuild and transition

In June 2002, Ferguson appointed Carlos Queiroz as his modern adjunct. [ 144 ] The recommendation came from Andy Roxburgh, at a prison term when United began scouting for southern-hemisphere footballers and wanted a multilingual coach. Ferguson was so impress with Queiroz after their first gear touch, he offered him the occupation “ right away ”. In July 2002, United paid £29.3 million for Leeds United defender Rio Ferdinand. The club broke the british remove record once more, though this did not concern Ferguson : “ We have the right to try and improve ourselves and there ‘s nothing improper with that. ” [ 145 ]
The 2002–03 season began quite ill for United ; the club made their worst begin to a league campaign in 13 years. [ 146 ] In a column for The Daily Telegraph, Hansen said Ferguson “ will recognise this difficult begin to the season for what it is : the greatest challenge of his career ”. [ 147 ] Ferguson ‘s response was typically bullish :

I do n’t get paid to panic. We have had plenty of stuttering starts. My greatest challenge is not what ‘s happening at the here and now. My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool correct off their fuck perch. And you can print that. [ 148 ]

several players were sent away for surgery in this menstruation, 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 play expressive style. The team “ moved the ball forward more and quicker quite than concentrating on monomania ratios, ” and the coaching staff tried accommodating Diego Forlán with Ruud avant-garde Nistelrooy, before settling with Paul Scholes. United ‘s league form improved as the season went on despite frustration by Liverpool in the 2003 Football League Cup Final and they overhauled Arsenal to win the Premier League for an eighth time in May 2003. [ 149 ] The team were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-final to Real Madrid over two legs ; Ferguson described the second gear match, a 4–3 win at Old Trafford as “ epic ”. [ citation needed ] After a season at United, Queiroz left to manage veridical Madrid in June 2003. [ 150 ] Ferguson anticipated his deputy would return – “ Three months subsequently, he was wanting to quit Madrid, ” and for that reason did not appoint a successor. In the summer, David Beckham besides moved to Real Madrid, while Juan Sebastián Verón joined Chelsea. United in the interim 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 besides joined “ had he not said yes, then no, to our offer ”. [ citation needed ] In December 2003, Rio Ferdinand was banned from playing football for eight months after he failed to present himself at a drugs test. [ 151 ] Ferguson in his autobiography ten years by and by blamed the drug testers, who “ … did n’t do their job. They did n’t go looking for Rio ”. The absence of Ferdinand hampered United ‘s defense of the Premier League in the 2003–04 season ; the team finished third behind Arsenal ‘s “ Invincibles “ and Chelsea. In Europe, they experienced frustration at the hands of eventual winners Porto. Ferguson felt it was possible “ not because of the performance of the players but because of the reviewer ”, 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. [ 152 ] At the begin of the 2004–05 season, adolescent striker Wayne Rooney ( the world ‘s most expensive adolescent 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 hitter after Ruud van Nistelrooy spent most of the season injured saw the baseball club stopping point one-third for the third time in four seasons. In the 2004–05 FA Cup, they lost on penalties to Arsenal. A second-round exit from the european Cup at the hands of Milan and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual winners Chelsea ( who besides clinched the Premier League style ) meant that 2004–05 was a rare case of a trophyless season for United. During the season, Ferguson managed his 1,000th bet on in charge of United in a 2–1 family succeed against Lyon. [ 153 ] [ 154 ] Ferguson ‘s preparations for the 2005–06 season were disrupted by a high-profile quarrel with major stockholder John Magnier, over the possession of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar. When Magnier and business spouse J. P. McManus agreed to sell their shares to American commercial enterprise baron Malcolm Glazer, it cleared the way for Glazer to acquire full control of the club. This trip violent protests from United fans, [ 155 ] and disrupted Ferguson ‘s plans to strengthen the team in the transportation grocery store. In cattiness of this, United looked to solve their goalkeeping and midfield problems. For this, they signed the Dutch goalkeeper Edwin vanguard five hundred Sar from Fulham and Korean star Park Ji-sung from PSV. The season was one of transition. On 18 November, Roy Keane formally left the cabaret, his sign ended by reciprocal 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 trophy for miss 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 temper. [ 156 ] Before the startle of the new season, Ferguson received much criticism, particular in the guise of an article in The Guardian titled “ Shredding his bequest at every turn ”. [ 157 ]

moment Champions League trophy

In 2006, Michael Carrick was signed to take Roy Keane ‘s place in the team for a fee that finally rose to £18 million. [ 158 ] United started the season well, and for the first time always won their first four Premier League games, United ‘s best startle since 1985. [ 158 ] [ 159 ] They set the early pace in the Premier League and never relinquished top spot from the one-tenth match of the 38-game season. The January 2006 signings had a huge impingement on United ‘s performances – Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidić came in to form a solid back line along with Rio Ferdinand and skipper Gary Neville. The sign of Carrick 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 respect to the first team team by adding significant tempo and incisiveness in attack with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. [ citation needed ] Ferguson celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his appointment as director of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes besides came from Ferguson ‘s players, both past and show, [ 160 ] angstrom well as his old enemy, Arsène Wenger. [ 161 ] The party was spoiled the follow sidereal day when United endured a single-goal kill at the hands of Southend United in the fourthly round of the League Cup. [ 162 ] On 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35-year-old Henrik Larsson on loanword, [ 163 ] a musician that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club ‘s 2,000th goal under Ferguson in a couple against Aston Villa. [ 164 ] Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title but were denied a singular fourth doubling by Chelsea ‘s Didier Drogba scoring a late goal in the FA Cup final examination at Wembley Stadium. [ 165 ] In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home winnings over Roma in the quarter-final second base branch, [ 166 ] but lost at the San Siro to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 astir from the first gear leg. [ 167 ] For the 2007–08 season, Ferguson made noteworthy signings to reinforce United ‘s beginning team. long-run target Owen Hargreaves joined from Bayern Munich, young Portuguese winger Nani and brazilian playmaker Anderson joined soon after, while the end summer sign was West Ham and Argentina striker Carlos Tevez after a complex and drawn-out remove saga. [ 168 ] [ 169 ] [ 170 ] Despite getting some retribution on Chelsea by beating them in the Community Shield, United suffered their bad originate to a league temper under Ferguson, drawing their first two league games before suffering a 1–0 get the better of by local rivals Manchester City. [ 171 ] [ 172 ] United, however, recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title. After a adept run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his clock at Manchester United, this was the best police squad he had managed to assemble frankincense far. [ 173 ] On 16 February 2008, United beat arsenal 4–0 in an FA Cup fifth rung match at Old Trafford, [ 174 ] but were knocked out by eventual winners Portsmouth in the quarter-final on 8 March, losing 1–0 at home. [ 175 ] United having had a punishment claim turned down, Ferguson alleged after the plot that Keith Hackett, cosmopolitan director of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, was “ not doing his caper by rights ”. [ 176 ] [ 177 ] Ferguson was subsequently charged by The FA with improper behave, 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. [ citation needed ] On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier League entitle, precisely 25 years to the sidereal day after he led Aberdeen to European glory against Real Madrid in the Cup Winners ‘ Cup. Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the concluding attack of matches, but with an inferior finish difference – could only draw 1–1 at home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United ‘s title acquire was sealed with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce. [ 178 ] [ 179 ]

Ferguson in 2009 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 reap after excess clock time in the beginning ever all-English UEFA Champions League Final. [ 180 ] [ 181 ] [ 182 ] 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 missed his penalty and in the end it was Edwin vanguard five hundred Sar ‘s obstruct of a Nicolas Anelka penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the moment time under Ferguson and for the third time overall. [ 183 ]

World champions and far league titles

Although the team had a slow start to the 2008–09 season, [ 184 ] United won the Premier League with a game to spare, [ 185 ] making Ferguson the first director in the history of English football to win the top division three times consecutively, on two separate occasions. Ferguson had now won 11 league titles at Manchester United, and the 2008–09 season title achiever put them tied with Liverpool as league champions on a record 18 occasions in full. [ 186 ] They besides won the League Cup on penalties after a scoreless draw in the concluding against Tottenham, after becoming the first british baseball club to win the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2008. [ 187 ] They contested the Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0, thus failed to defend the trophy. [ 188 ] [ 189 ] In 2009–10 season, Ferguson added another League Cup to his honours tilt as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the final examination on 28 February 2010, United ‘s first always successful knockout cup defense. [ 190 ] [ 191 ] however, his dreams of a third european Cup were ended a few weeks late when United were edged out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on aside goals. And their hopes of a read 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 gain over Stoke City meaningless. [ 192 ] He ended the watch season by winning his 12th and Manchester United ‘s 19th league title and therefore overtaking Liverpool ‘s commemorate of 18. manchester United faced Barcelona again on 28 May 2011 in the 2011 Champions League final, their third in four years, but United lost 3–1. Analyst Alan Hansen stated that he believed Ferguson was “ the identify part ” in United ‘s success that season, so key in fact that “ [ he ] would have claimed the pennant with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them ”. [ 193 ] With Edwin vanguard five hundred Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes all retire in 2011, [ 194 ] Ferguson spent big by signing defender Phil Jones from Blackburn and winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa for around £17 million each, [ 195 ] [ 196 ] and goalkeeper David de Gea from Atlético Madrid for around £19 million. [ 197 ] The pursue season United managed to beat rivals Manchester City in the 2011 FA Community Shield and eliminated them in the FA Cup one-third round, but ended the season below City, who won their inaugural Premier League title on finish differences lead. This bitter and slender frustration prompted Ferguson to sign star-striker Robin van Persie, who was the Premier League Golden Boot champion, from another arch-rival Arsenal on 17 August 2012. The 2012–13 season saw Ferguson guide United to become league champions for the twentieth clock time, claiming the title with a 3–0 family acquire over Aston Villa on 22 April 2013 with four matches to spare ; Van Persie scored all the goals with a first half hat-trick en route to retain the Golden Boot. [ 198 ] His final game in charge, his 1,500th in total, saw United play out a 5–5 disembowel with West Bromwich Albion. The leave mean United finished the temper 11 points ahead of runner-up Manchester City. [ 199 ] Earlier in the season, on 2 September 2012, Ferguson managed his 1,000th league game with United playing against Southampton. United won the plot 3–2 thanks to another hat-trick from Van Persie. Two weeks former, he won his hundredth game in the Champions League with a 1–0 win over Galatasaray at Old Trafford. [ citation needed ]

retirement

On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced that he was to retire as coach at the end of the football season, but would remain at the club as a director and club ambassador. [ 10 ] [ 200 ] The Guardian announced it was the “ end of an earned run average ”, [ 201 ] while UEFA president Michel Platini said that Ferguson was “ a genuine visionary ”. [ 202 ] Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron described Ferguson as a “ remarkable homo in british football ”. [ 203 ] Former Manchester United players Paul Ince and Bryan Robson agreed that Ferguson would be “ a hard act to follow ”. [ 204 ] Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer said, “ His determination to succeed and dedication to the clubhouse have been sincerely remarkable. ” [ 205 ] Ferguson revealed that he had in fact decided that he was going to retire bet on in December 2012 and that it had been identical unmanageable not to reveal his plans. [ 206 ] Ferguson ‘s decision to retire witness United shares fall 5 % on the New York Stock Exchange. [ 207 ] On 9 May 2013, Manchester United announced Everton director David Moyes would replace Ferguson as the golf club coach from 1 July, having signed a six-year contract. [ 208 ] [ 209 ] [ 210 ] In Ferguson ‘s concluding peer in charge, Manchester United drew 5–5 at West Bromwich Albion, a hat-trick from Romelu Lukaku, late a United player, denying Ferguson a final victory. [ 211 ] Ferguson released his second autobiography in October 2013 called My Autobiography. [ 212 ] [ 213 ] In January 2014, Ferguson was appointed as the UEFA Coaching Ambassador, [ 214 ] [ 215 ] and said it was “ an respect and a prerogative ” to be given the function. [ 216 ] In April 2014, it was announced that Ferguson would be taking up a “ long-run teach side ” at Harvard University, where he would be lecturing on a new path titled “ The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports ”. [ 217 ] This came six months after he revealed his blueprint for success was included in the Harvard Business Review in a series of interviews with Anita Elberse. [ 218 ] [ 219 ] His koran, Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United, was published in collaboration with billionaire venture capitalist, author and former diarist Michael Moritz in August 2015. [ 220 ]

Controversies

Gordon Strachan

Gordon Strachan was a key player for Ferguson at Aberdeen, but their relationship broke down when Strachan signed an agreement with german club FC Köln without telling Ferguson. [ 221 ] Ferguson said that he believed although “ there was a cunning streak in Strachan, I had never imagined that he could pull such a accident on me ”. [ 221 ] Strachan did not sign for Köln, but alternatively moved to Manchester United in the summer of 1984. [ 221 ] Strachan liked the go because he felt that Ron Atkinson treated him as an adult, unlike Ferguson. [ 222 ] Strachan was hush with the baseball club when Ferguson was appointed director in November 1986. [ 221 ] Ferguson thought that Strachan did not play for United with the like confidence he had in Scotland and subsequently sold him to Leeds United in 1989. [ 221 ] Strachan enjoyed significant achiever with Leeds as a veteran actor, helping them win the 1991–92 English league backing in a title subspecies with Ferguson ‘s United. [ 221 ] Their relationship continued to be crisp as Strachan moved into management himself. [ 221 ] In his 1999 autobiography, Ferguson stated that Strachan “ could not be trusted an column inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a travel rapidly ”. [ 221 ] Strachan ‘s reaction to the attack, in his own autobiography, My Life in Football, was one of being “ surprised and disappointed ”, although he suspected that Ferguson had helped to relegate Strachan ‘s Coventry City in 2001 by fielding a weaken Manchester United team in a match against Derby County. [ 221 ] By 2006 they appeared to have “ declared something of a armistice ”, [ 221 ] ahead of Champions League matches between United and Strachan ‘s Celtic. [ 223 ]

David Beckham

In February 2003, Ferguson was involved in a dress room controversy with Manchester United player David Beckham. [ 224 ] Ferguson allegedly kicked a football boot in frustration, which hit Beckham in the face and caused a minor injury. [ 225 ] Ferguson apologised to Beckham, who was transferred to Real Madrid late that year. [ 225 ]

Champions League draw fixing

On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the Champions League draw was fixed in favor of spanish and italian teams. [ 224 ] UEFA charged Ferguson for bringing the game into disrepute with his comments. [ 226 ] Ferguson apologised for his remarks and wrote a letter to UEFA in explanation, but he was fined 10,000 swiss francs ( £4,600 ) by the governing body. [ 226 ]

Rock of Gibraltar

In 2003, Ferguson launched legal action against the then major Manchester United stockholder John Magnier over stud rights for slipstream sawhorse Rock of Gibraltar. [ 227 ] Magnier counter-sued Ferguson [ 228 ] by filing a “ gesture to Comply ” requiring Ferguson to substantiate his title for half of Rock of Gibraltar ‘s stud fees. The legal issues were far compounded by Magnier being a significant stockholder in the football cabaret managed by Ferguson at the time. [ 229 ] Magnier requested that “ 99 Questions ” be answered over Ferguson ‘s transfer dealings, including those of Jaap Stam, Juan Sebastián Verón, Tim Howard, David Bellion, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kléberson. [ 230 ] The case was finally settled out of Court. [ 229 ]

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. [ 231 ] According to an article in The Independent, the documentary had “ portrayed his agent son, Jason, as person who exploited his father ‘s influence and side to his own ends in the transportation market ”. The same newspaper article made it clear that Jason was never found guilty of any error, and it quoted Alex Ferguson as saying : “ They [ the BBC ] did a story about my son that was whole bunch of nonsense. It all [ sic ] made-up farce and ‘brown wallpaper bags ‘ and all that kind of carry-on. It was a atrocious attack on my son ‘s honor and he should never have been accused of that. ” [ 232 ] Subsequent interviews on BBC programmes such as Match of the Day were done by his assistants, recently Mike Phelan. [ 233 ] Under new Premier League rules intended for the 2010–11 season, Ferguson was required to end his BBC boycott. [ 234 ] however, he refused to end his boycott and Manchester United said they would pay the result fines. [ 235 ] No fines were ever issued, as the BBC hoped to resolve the challenge. [ 233 ] On 25 August 2011, Ferguson met with BBC conductor general Mark Thompson and BBC North conductor Peter Salmon, after which Ferguson agreed to end his seven-year boycott. [ 233 ]

Recalling of loanword players

Following the displace of his son Darren by Preston North End in 2010, Ferguson immediately recalled lend players Ritchie De Laet, Joshua King and Matty James from Preston under its new managerial system. Ferguson late said that it was the players ‘ own request not to return to Preston after the change of director. [ 236 ] Stoke City coach Tony Pulis followed soon after in recalling two erstwhile Manchester United players from Preston as well, stating the need for the players to supplement his team ‘s intensifier schedule. Preston were relegated at the conclusion of the season. [ 237 ]

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.[238]
• 14 December 2007 – Two-match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards Mark Clattenburg.[239]
• 18 November 2008 – Two-match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after confronting Mike Dean after a game.[240]
• 12 November 2009 – Four-match touchline ban (two suspended) and fined £20,000 for comments made about the fitness of Alan Wiley.[241]
• 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.[242]

‘Fergie Time ‘

It has besides been suggested that Ferguson ‘s intimidation of referees resulted in alleged “ Fergie Time ” : that is, unusually generous wound meter being added in matches where Manchester United were buttocks. The idiom is at least american samoa previous as 2004, [ 243 ] but the concept first appeared on 10 April 1993 when Steve Bruce scored a 97th moment goal ( seventh minute of injury time added on by the referee ) against Sheffield Wednesday to win the bet on for United : they went top of the league with this win and remained there until the season ended. [ 88 ] The concept cropped up in the media ( and by opponents ) whenever games seemed to be having more wound prison term than expected. [ 88 ] A statistical analysis by The Times suggests that this concept might be valid, though the article points out that other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between supernumerary added clock time and United being behind. [ 244 ] analysis by Opta Sports of Premier League matches played between 2010 and 2012 discover on average that 79 seconds more time was played in matches where Manchester United were losing. [ 245 ] 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. [ 245 ]

bequest

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, Mark Robins, Darren Ferguson, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Henning Berg, Andrei Kanchelskis, Michael Appleton, Ryan Giggs, David Healy, Gabriel Heinze, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Jaap Stam, and Phil Neville. [ 246 ] [ 247 ] The phrase “ squeaky-bum time ” coined by Ferguson in character to the tense concluding stages of a league competition has been included in the Collins English Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary. [ 248 ] [ 249 ] A bronze statue of Ferguson, designed by scots sculptor Philip Jackson, was unveil external Old Trafford on 23 November 2012. [ 250 ] [ 251 ] 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. [ 252 ] [ 253 ] In July 2021, Aberdeen commissioned sculptor Andy Edwards to sculpt a bronze statue of Ferguson. [ 254 ] A documentary about Ferguson ‘s career titled Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In was released in UK film on 27 May 2021 and was made available on Amazon Prime Video on the 29 May in the UK and Ireland. It includes interviews from Ferguson himself, his family, doctors and former players who he managed throughout his career. [ 255 ]

personal life

Ferguson lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire with his wife, Cathy ( née Holding ). [ 256 ] They married in 1966 and have three sons : Mark ( born 1968 ) ; and twins Darren ( digest 1972 ), who was besides a professional football player and is presently director of Peterborough United ; and Jason, who runs an events management ship’s company. [ citation needed ] Jason directed the 2021 documentary Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In about his church father. In 1998, Ferguson was named in a list of the biggest individual fiscal donors to the Labour Party. [ 257 ] He is a self-described socialistic. [ 258 ] [ 259 ] In January 2011 Graham Stringer, a Labour MP in Manchester and Manchester United garter, called for Ferguson to be made a life peer. [ 260 ] Stringer and chap Manchester Labour MP Paul Goggins repeated this call after Ferguson announced his retirement in May 2013. [ 261 ] In 2009, Ferguson received an honorary doctor’s degree in business administration from the Manchester Metropolitan University. [ 262 ] [ 263 ] a good as having an ambassadorial character at Manchester United and other populace speaking and charity engagements in retirement, he is a long-run patron of his childhood team Harmony Row, including a successful political campaign for the golf club to have new facilities ( they are now based at Braehead ). [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 264 ] [ 265 ] [ 266 ] In the 2014 scottish independence referendum, Ferguson supported Scotland remaining in the United Kingdom. [ 267 ] He criticised the scottish Government and First Minister Alex Salmond for denying the vote to Scots live in the UK but outside Scotland. [ 267 ] He besides objected to the self-imposed rule by the Yes Scotland campaign against accepting donations from people living outside Scotland of more than £500, which they urged the No campaign to besides adopt. [ 267 ] Ferguson underwent an emergency operation on 5 May 2018 after suffering a brain bleeding. [ 268 ] He made a convalescence from the surgery and attended his first meet at Old Trafford since then on 22 September 2018. [ 269 ] In 1991, Ferguson became a wine collector after being shown a display of bottles from Château d’Yquem and Château Pétrus while in Montpellier, France. [ 270 ] In 2014, he put part of his huge collection up for auction with Christie ‘s, with their point of wine David Elswood describing his taste as “ especial ”, [ 271 ] valued at up to £3 million. [ 272 ] After the beginning of three auctions, Ferguson had sold 229 lots for £2.2 million. [ 273 ] [ 274 ]

Honours

musician

St Johnstone
Falkirk

• Scottish Division Two: 1969–70

Individual

director

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 coach. In 2003, Ferguson became an inaugural address recipient of the FA Coaching Diploma, awarded to all coaches who had at least ten years ‘ experience of being a director or head coach. [ 275 ] He is the Vice-President of the National Football Museum, based in Manchester, [ 276 ] and a extremity of the Executive Committee of the League Managers Association. [ 277 ] On 5 November 2011, the Old Trafford North Stand was officially renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in respect of his 25 years as coach of Manchester United. [ 278 ] In summation to being the lone director to win the acme league respect, and the ‘Double ‘, north and south of the England–Scotland bound ( winning the Premier League with Manchester United, and the Scottish Premier Division with Aberdeen ), he is besides the last director to win the Scottish league championship with a not Old Firm team, achieving this in the 1984–85 season with Aberdeen. Ferguson is the joint-most decorated director in european football competitions with seven honours, a record he shares with Giovanni Trapattoni and Carlo Ancelotti. Ferguson won the top division title in England a criminal record 13 times. He is besides the first coach in the history of the English league to win three back-to-back league titles, which he did twice. [ citation needed ] Ferguson won 10 Manager of the class awards, 27 Manager of the Month awards, and managed the most games in the UEFA Champions League ( 190 ). [ 279 ] [ 280 ] In 2017, Ferguson was named among the 10 most influential coaches since the initiation of UEFA in 1954. [ 281 ] St Mirren
Aberdeen
Manchester United
Individual

Orders and special awards

honorary degrees

Ferguson receiving an honorary degree from Salford University in 1996 Ferguson has received at least eight honorary degrees. [ 295 ] These Include :

career statistics

As a musician

As a coach

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team

From

To

Record

Ref

P
W
D
L
Win %

East Stirlingshire

June 1974

October 1974

17
9
2
6
0 52.9
[309]
St Mirren

October 1974

May 1978

169
74
41
54
0 43.8
[309]
Aberdeen

June 1978

6 November 1986

459
272
105
82
0 59.3
[309][310]
Scotland

1 October 1985

30 June 1986

10
3
4
3
0 30.0
[311]
Manchester United

6 November 1986

19 May 2013

1,500
895
338
267
0 59.7
[312]

Total

2,155
1,253
490
412
0 58.1

—

Published works

See besides

Notes

References

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