Alex Ferguson
Encyclopedia
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE
(born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish
association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United
, where he has been in charge since 1986. His tenure has seen the club go through an era of success and dominance both in England and in Europe, giving Ferguson a reputation as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game.
Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire
and St. Mirren
, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen
. Briefly manager of the Scotland national team
— in a temporary capacity owing to the death of Jock Stein
— he was appointed manager of Manchester United
in November 1986.
With 25 years as manager of Manchester United
, he is the longest serving manager in their history after overtaking Sir Matt Busby
's record on 19 December 2010. His tenure is also the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup
on more than one occasion.
He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen
.
, on 31 December 1941, but grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road (which has since been demolished) where he lived with his parents as well as his younger brother Martin.
He attended Broomloan Road Primary School
and later Govan High School
, and supported Rangers
.
, where he made his debut as a striker aged 16. 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
. Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park was the 7–1 defeat away to Queen of the South
on Boxing Day
1959 when ex-England international Ivor Broadis
scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer.
Despite scoring 20 goal
s in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St. Johnstone in 1960. Although he continued to score regularly at St. Johnstone, he was still unable to command a regular place and regularly requested transfers. Ferguson was out of favour at the club and he even considered emigrating to Canada, however St. Johnstone's failure to sign a forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers
, in which he scored a hat trick
in a surprise victory. Dunfermline
signed him the following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer.
The following season (1964–65), Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish League and reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St. Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic, then failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with Joe McBride of Celtic, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish League
with 31 goals.
He then joined Rangers for £65,000, then a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He was blamed for a goal that they conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final, in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic
captain, Billy McNeill
, and was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side instead of for the first team. 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 a Catholic, Cathy Holding, 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 in 1974.
, 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 gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start."
The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage St. Mirren
. While they were below East Stirlingshire
in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt a degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join St. Mirren
after taking advice from Jock Stein
.
champions in 1977
, discovering talent like Billy Stark
, Tony Fitzpatrick
, Lex Richardson
, Frank McGarvey
, Bobby Reid and Peter Weir
while playing superb attacking football. The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20.
St. Mirren have the distinction of being the only club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According to a Billy Adams Sunday Herald
article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was sacked for various breaches of contract including unauthorised payments to players. He was counter-accused of intimidating behaviour towards his office secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax free. He didn't speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated only through a 17-year-old assistant. The tribunal concluded that Ferguson was "particularly petty" and "immature". It was claimed during the tribunal by St. Mirren chairman, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability".
On 31 May 2008, The Guardian
published an interview with Todd (then aged 87), who had sacked Ferguson all those years earlier. He explained that the fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the Daily Mirror that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen with him. He also told the St. Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his club to discuss compensation.
who had only managed the club for one season before he was offered the chance to manage Celtic
. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in 1955
under Dave Halliday
. The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost a league match since the previous December, having finished second in the league the previous season. 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 Cup
and the Scottish League Cup Final
, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.
Aberdeen also 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.
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".
, 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 theirs as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match, a statement he later retracted.
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 awarded the OBE
in the 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers
, 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.
Ferguson had been part of coaching staff for the Scottish national side
during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup
, but manager Jock Stein
had collapsed and died on 10 September 1985 – at the end of the game in which Scotland qualified from their group for a play-off against Australia
. Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him to fulfil his international duties he appointed Archie Knox
as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to progress past the group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down as national team manager on 15 June 1986.
Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur
offered Ferguson the chance to take over from Peter Shreeves
as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to Luton Town's
David Pleat
instead. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace Don Howe as Arsenal
manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot George Graham
took the post instead. That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson
at Manchester United
, who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a 10-match winning start had made title glory seem inevitable.
It was not the first time that Ferguson had been linked with a move to England. In February 1982, Wolverhampton Wanderers
had approached him about succeeding John Barnwell
as manager as they were heading for relegation from the First Division. He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial stability, as they were more than £2million in debt at the time and narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1985–86 season
, both Arsenal
and Tottenham Hotspur
had approached him about becoming their new manager, but he rejected the offers from both North London
clubs. Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.
on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside
, Paul McGrath
and Bryan Robson
were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up the table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second from bottom) when he took over.
His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at underdogs Oxford United
on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted Norwich City
, and then his first win (1–0 at home to QPR
) on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by the time they recorded what would be their only away win of the league campaign at title challengers and deadly rivals Liverpool
on Boxing Day
, it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United
and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season, with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the final table. Ferguson's mother, Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64, three weeks after his appointment.
Ferguson appointed Archie Knox
, his assistant at Aberdeen, as his assistant at Manchester United.
In the 1987–88 season, Ferguson made several major signings, including Steve Bruce
, Viv Anderson
, Brian McClair
and Jim Leighton
. The new players made a great contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. However, Liverpool's points lead had been in double digits for most of the season and while United had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games and there was clearly still some way to go before United could be a match for their north western rivals.
United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes
returned to the club two years after leaving for Barcelona
, but the 1988–89 season
was a disappointment for them, finishing eleventh in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Sixth Round. They had begun the season slowly, going on a nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February. However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid table.
During the season, United played in friendly matches against the Bermudan national team
and Somerset County Cricket Club
as part of the Bermudan team's tour of England. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant, Archie Knox, took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match remains Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team.
For the 1989–90 season, Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders Neil Webb
, Mike Phelan
and Paul Ince
, as well as defender Gary Pallister
and winger Danny Wallace
. The season began well with a 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal
on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against fierce rivals
Manchester City
. Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declaring "Three years of excuses and it's still crap...ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone.
However, Ferguson later revealed that the board of directors had assured him that they were not considering dismissing him. Although naturally disappointed with the lack of success in the league, they understood the reasons for the sub-standard results (namely the absence of several key players due to injury) and were pleased with the way that Ferguson had reorganised the club's coaching and scouting system.
Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest
in the third round of the FA Cup
. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 thanks to a Mark Robins
goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career, even though it has since been stated that his job was never at risk. United went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace
1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's defensive frailties in the first match were unilaterally blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton
, forcing Ferguson to drop his former Aberdeen player and bring in Les Sealey
.
at Highbury
, but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted Sunderland
, a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by Everton
in early March (the game where 17-year-old hot prospect Ryan Giggs
made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go.
Even after the FA Cup Final victory in the previous season, some still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other managers since Busby
had failed — to win the league title. They were runners-up in the League Cup
, losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday
. They also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona
2–1. After the match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job.
During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to Glasgow Rangers
to become assistant to Walter Smith
, and Ferguson promoted youth team coach Brian Kidd
to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel
and defender Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There was much anticipation about the breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another impressive young winger in the shape of Lee Sharpe
, who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added the Ukrainian
Andrei Kanchelskis
to the right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older right footed midfielders Mike Phelan
and Bryan Robson.
The 1991–92 season did not live up to Ferguson's expectations and, in Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that [his] mistakes had contributed to the misery". United won the League Cup
and Super Cup for the first time, but lost out on the league title to rivals Leeds United
after leading the table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the signing of Mick Harford
from Luton Town
had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to the team if they were to win the league the following season.
During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign Alan Shearer
from Southampton
, but lost out to Blackburn Rovers
. He also made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday
striker David Hirst
, but manager Trevor Francis
rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old Cambridge United
striker Dion Dublin
– his only major signing of the summer.
After a slow start to the 1992–93 season (they were 10th of 22 at the beginning of November) it looked as though United would miss out on the league title (now the Premier League) yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker Eric Cantona
from Leeds United
for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed a strong partnership with Mark Hughes
and fired the club to the top of the table, ending United's 26-year wait for a League Championship, and also making them the first ever Premier League Champions. United had finished champions with a 10-point margin over runners-up Aston Villa
, whose 1–0 defeat at Oldham on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association.
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 Premier League table virtually from start to finish.
Ferguson was the very first winner of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the accolade for August 1993.
Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off
twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson
. In the FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against Chelsea
, winning Ferguson his second League and Cup Double, following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983.
Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn Rovers
£1.2million for David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton
from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn Rovers instead.
1994–95 was a harder season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a Crystal Palace
supporter in a game at Selhurst Park
, and it seemed likely he would leave English football. An eight month ban saw Cantona miss the final four months of the season. He also received a 14-day prison sentence for the offence but the sentence was quashed on appeal and replaced by a 120-hour community service order. On the brighter side, United paid a British record fee of £7million for Newcastle's
prolific striker Andy Cole
, with young winger Keith Gillespie
heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the breakthrough of young players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who provided excellent cover for the long periods that United were left without some of their more experienced stars.
However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United
on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them the a third successive league title. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1–0 defeat to Everton
.
Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Ince
moved to Internazionale
of Italy for £7.5 million, long serving striker Mark Hughes
was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis
was sold to Everton.
Ferguson made an approach for Tottenham Hotspur
winger Darren Anderton
, but the player signed a new contract with the North London
club. He then made a bid to sign Dutchman
Marc Overmars
from Ajax Amsterdam
(the European Cup winners), but the player suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out for months. Media reports suggested that United were going to make an approach for Juventus and Italy
forward Roberto Baggio
, who was generally regarded as the best player in the world at this time, but the player remained in his homeland and signed for AC Milan instead.
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. And so the 1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes of Arsenal
, Liverpool
and Newcastle United
were making the headlines with big money signings.
When United lost the first league match of the 1995–96 season 3–1 to Aston Villa
, the media swooped upon Ferguson with undisguised glee. They wrote United off because Ferguson's squad contained so many young and inexperienced players. Match of the Day
pundit, Alan Hansen
proclaimed that "you can't win anything with kids".
However, the young players performed well and United won their next five matches, exacting their revenge over Everton for the FA Cup defeat with a 3–2 win at Goodison Park
and achieving a 2–1 away win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers who were now looking rather like relegation battlers than title contenders.
Cantona's return from suspension was a boost, but they found themselves 10 points behind Newcastle United
by Christmas 1995. A 2–0 home win over the Tyneside
rs on 27 December narrowed the gap to seven points and a subsequent win over struggling QPR narrowed it to four points, but a 4–1 defeat for United at Tottenham on New Year's Day 1996 and a 0–0 home draw with Aston Villa saw the Magpies re-establish their wide lead and it looked certain that the league title was Newcastle's.
However a series of good results starting in mid January 1996 saw the gap close, and when United travelled to Newcastle and won 1–0 on 4 March, the gap was down to a single point.
United went top of the league soon after the win at Newcastle, who continued to drop points in crucial games.
Early April saw Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan
's famous outburst on live television ("I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!"), and is generally regarded as the moment that Ferguson gained the upper hand against his opponent. United's Premier League title success was confirmed on the final day of the season, when they defeated a Middlesbrough
side managed by former United captain Bryan Robson
in a game which ended in a 3–0 win despite strong displays by Boro confounding pre-match reports that Robson would give his old team an easy ride.
They played Liverpool in that year's FA Cup final
, winning 1–0 with a late goal by Cantona. This made them the first team in English football to repeat the double of the league title and FA Cup, and more impressive was the fact that it had been achieved with a similar set of players to the ones who achieved the first double.
1996–97 saw Ferguson guide Manchester United to their fourth Premier League title in five seasons. In late autumn, 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.
Other success stories of the 1996–97 season were two Norwegian
signings, striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (the club's top scorer that season) and defender Ronny Johnsen
, who were bargain buys as they were little known outside the Premier League on their arrival the previous summer but went on to be key factors in United's fourth Premier League title.
and defender Henning Berg
. However the season ended trophyless as Arsenal
won the Premier League under French manager Arsène Wenger
, who started a long-lasting rivalry with Ferguson. For much of the season United had looked to be on the road to success. They led the table for much of the season before a series of disappointing results in the final quarter – combined with Arsenal taking advantage of games in hand – saw the league title head to North London. There was much promise in the European Cup as United recorded an impressive 3–2 win over Juventus in the group stages before being eliminated by AS Monaco in the quarter finals. Their FA Cup challenge began with an excellent 5–3 away win over holders Chelsea before a shock fifth round replay exit at a Barnsley
side who ended the season relegated from the Premier League.
The summer of 1998 saw striker Dwight Yorke
, Dutch defender Jaap Stam
and the Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist
join Manchester United for a combined total of nearly £30million.
In December 1998, Ferguson's assistant Brian Kidd accepted an offer to manage Blackburn Rovers
and he recruited Steve McClaren
from Derby County
as his successor. Ironically, Kidd's side were relegated in the penultimate game on the league season when United held them to a 0–0 draw.
1998–99 saw the club winning an unprecedented treble of the Premier League title
, FA Cup
and Champions League
. The season was characterised by highly dramatic matches. In the Champions League semi-final second leg, United conceded two early goals away to Juventus
; however, 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 the length of the pitch to score perhaps the most memorable goal of his career to win the match. They then defeated Newcastle United
2–0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes
. The European triumph was the most incredible of all. With 90 minutes on the clock they were 1–0 down to Bayern Munich
at the Nou Camp
in Barcelona following a Mario Basler
free kick, but in 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.
On 12 June 1999, Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the 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.
28-year-old French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez
was signed from Monaco
for £7.8million—making him the most expensive goalkeeper to be signed by a British club, and United won the title again, becoming only the fourth side in history to win the English league title three seasons in succession. They also matched Liverpool's record (set in 1991) of 10 successive top two finishes.
However, the press largely saw the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 campaigns as failures as United had failed to win the European Cup, falling at the quarter final stages to Real Madrid
in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001.
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
, although he failed to live up to the high expectations his transfer fee suggested and he was sold to Chelsea
for £15million only two years later.
was 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 Ferguson, before his previous club PSV Eindhoven had been informed. Ferguson replaced Stam with Internazionale
's 36-year-old central defender Laurent Blanc
.
Before the season began, Ferguson also lost his assistant Steve McClaren, who took over as manager of Middlesbrough
, and gave the role to long-serving coach Jim Ryan
until a more permanent successor could be found.
By 8 December 2001, after a terrible run of form which saw one win and six defeats on a period of seven league games, Manchester United were ninth in the Premier League — 11 points behind leaders Liverpool who had a game in hand. There were widespread fears that they might not even qualify for Europe, let alone win the league title.
Then came a dramatic turn around in form: between mid-December and late January, as eight successive wins saw Manchester United climb to the top of the Premier League and put their title challenge back on track. Despite this, United finished third in the League as rival Arsène Wenger clinched the title for Arsenal at Old Trafford with a 1–0 win in the penultimate game of the season after United dropped points in a couple of other crucial games during the run-in.
United were also unsuccessful in Europe, losing the Champions League semi-final on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen. Early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant that the season ended trophyless. As they were third in the league and had not reached a cup final, it was the first time since 1989 that they had finished a season without being winners or runners-up of a major competition.
The 2001–02 season was to have been Ferguson's last as Manchester United manager, and the looming date of his retirement was cited 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.
The close season saw Manchester United break the British transfer record yet again when they paid Leeds United
£30million for 24-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand
.
That summer, Ferguson brought in Portuguese
coach Carlos Queiroz
as his assistant.
Manchester United won their eighth Premier League 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 Premier League trophy gradually slip out of the Londoners' grasp and push it back in the direction of Old Trafford. Ferguson described the 2002–03 title triumph as his most satisfying ever, due to the nature of a remarkable comeback. The excellent run-in had produced 10 wins and a draw (including 4–0 home win over Liverpool and a 6–2 away demolition of Newcastle United) from the final 11 games, and no defeats since Boxing Day.
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.
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 Premier League (which was won by an undefeated Arsenal side) 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 Kléberson
were disappointing, United tried to sign Ronaldinho and Fergie believed the deal was as good as done before Peter Kenyon caused it to fall apart, but there was at least one productive signing in teenage Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo
. Striker Louis Saha
, added in January, also proved to be reasonably successful covering for the injured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in attack.
At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, teenage striker Wayne Rooney
(the world's most expensive teenager at more than £20million) and Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze
joined United while Cristiano Ronaldo
continued where he had left off the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances. But the lack of a striker after van Nistelrooy spent most of the season injured saw the club finish third for the third time in four seasons. In the FA Cup
they lost on penalties to Arsenal. A second round exit from the European Cup at the hands of AC Milan and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual winners Chelsea (who also clinched the Premier League title) meant that 2004–05 was a rare instance of a trophyless season for United.
Ferguson's preparations for the season were disrupted by a high-profile dispute with major shareholder John Magnier
, over the ownership of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar
. When Magnier and business partner J. P. McManus
agreed to sell their shares to American business tycoon Malcolm Glazer
, it cleared the way for Glazer to acquire full control of the club. This sparked violent protests from United fans, and disrupted Ferguson's plans to strengthen the team in the transfer market. In spite of this, United looked to solve their goalkeeping and midfield problems. For this, they signed the Dutch
keeper Edwin van der Sar
from Fulham
and Korean star Park Ji-Sung
from PSV.
The season was one of transition. On 18 November, Roy Keane
officially left the club, his contract ended by mutual consent. United failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions' League. In the January transfer window Serbia
n defender Nemanja Vidić
and French full-back Patrice Evra
were signed, and the side finished in second place in the league, behind runaway leaders Chelsea
. Winning the League Cup was a consolation prize for lack of success elsewhere. Ruud van Nistelrooy
's future at Old Trafford seemed to be in doubt after not starting in the Carling Cup final, and he departed at the end of the season.
In 2006, Michael Carrick
was signed as a replacement for Roy Keane for £14 million, although the figure may eventually rise in the future to £18.6 million depending on appearances and results. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four Premier League
games. They set the early pace in the Premier League and never relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38–game season. The January 2006 signings had a huge impact on United's performances; Patrice Evra
and Nemanja Vidić
came in to form a solid back line along with already existing players Rio Ferdinand
and skipper Gary Neville
. The signing of Michael Carrick
, which was questioned and criticised by a large portion of the media, brought stability and further creativity in the United midfield, forming an effective partnership with Paul Scholes
. Park Ji-Sung
and Ryan Giggs
both underlined their value to the first team squad by adding significant pace and incisiveness in attack with Wayne Rooney
and Cristiano Ronaldo
.
Ferguson celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as manager of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes also came from Ferguson's players, both past and present, 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
on loan, a player that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club's 2000th goal under the helm of Ferguson in a match against Aston Villa
.
Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title but were denied a unique fourth double by Chelsea's Didier Drogba scoring a late goal in the FA Cup Final at Wembley
.
In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home win over Roma
in the quarter-final second leg, but lost at the San Siro to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 up from the first leg. Still, it was a strong sign that United were on their way back to dominance after a couple of years of being overshadowed by Arsenal and more particularly Chelsea.
For the 2007–08 season, Ferguson made notable signings to reinforce United's first team. Long-term target Owen Hargreaves
joined from Bayern Munich
, bringing an end to a year of negotiations. Ferguson further bolstered the midfield with the additions of young Portuguese winger Nani
and Brazilian playmaker Anderson
. The last summer signing was of West Ham United
and Argentina
striker Carlos Tévez
after a complex and protracted transfer saga.
United had their worst start to a season under Ferguson, drawing their first two league games before suffering a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City. However, United recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title. After a good run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his time at Manchester United, this was the best squad he had managed to assemble thus far.
On 16 February 2008, United beat Arsenal 4–0 in an FA Cup
Fifth Round match at Old Trafford
, but were knocked out by eventual winners Portsmouth
(a mid table side in the league) in the quarter final on 8 March, losing 1–0 at home. United having had a penalty claim turned down, Ferguson alleged after the game that Keith Hackett
, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board
, was "not doing his job properly". Ferguson was subsequently charged by the FA with improper conduct, which he decided to contest. This was the second charge Ferguson faced in the season, following his complaints against the referee after United lost 1–0 at Bolton Wanderers
– a charge he decided not to contest.
On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier League title, exactly 25 years to the day after he led Aberdeen to European glory against Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the final round of matches, but with an inferior goal difference – could only draw 1–1 at home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United's title win was sealed with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce
, who before the game blew the whistle on suggestions that he would give his old club an easy ride – just as Bryan Robson had done 12 years earlier.
On 21 May 2008, Ferguson won his second European Cup with Manchester United as they beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the Luzhniki Stadium
in Moscow, following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League Final. A penalty miss from Cristiano Ronaldo
meant that John Terry
's spot-kick would have given the trophy to Chelsea if successfully converted, but Terry blew his chance of glory and in the end it was Edwin van der Sar
's blocking of a Nicolas Anelka
penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the second time under Ferguson and for the third time overall.
After winning the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League Ferguson had stated that his intention to leave Manchester United within the next three years, meaning that he would be gone by the summer of 2011. Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill
moved quickly to calm the speculation about Ferguson's pending retirement.
on penalties after a goalless Wembley draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
They contested the 2009 Champions League final
against FC Barcelona
on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0.
After the presentation ceremony, Ferguson conceded that he would stay on at United for as long as his health permitted him and that he would be glad to win the league title once more. This would make United's total league wins one more than rivals Liverpool, becoming the outright leader in total wins.
In 2009–10, Ferguson added another Football League Cup
to his honours list as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the Wembley final on 28 February 2010. However, his dreams of a third European Cup were ended a few weeks later when United were edged out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals. And their hopes of a record 19th league title were ended on the last day of the season when Chelsea
beat them to the Premier League title, crushing Wigan Athletic 8–0 and rendering United's 4–0 win over Stoke City
meaningless. Around this time, several newspapers carried reports that Ferguson was due to retire at the end of the 2010–11 season
, but he denied these rumours and insisted that he wants to go out on a high and will not retire during a time of struggle.
On 8 August 2010, Ferguson added another FA Community Shield
to his honours list as United defeated Chelsea 3–1 in the final in Wembley. On 19 December 2010, Ferguson became Manchester United's longest serving manager in history, overtaking Matt Busby
's record of 24 years, 1 month and 13 days in charge of the club. He ended the season by winning his 12th and Manchester United's 19th league title and thus overtaking Liverpool
's record of 18. Manchester United faced Barcelona again on 28 May 2011 in the 2011 Champions League Final, their third in four years, but United lost 3–1. Analyst Alan Hansen
stated that he believed Ferguson was "the key component" in United's success that season, so key in fact that "[he] would have claimed the crown with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them". With Edwin van der Sar
, Gary Neville
and Paul Scholes
all retiring in 2011, Ferguson spent big by signing defender Phil Jones
from Blackburn Rovers
and winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa
for around £17 million each, and goalkeeper David de Gea
from Atlético Madrid for around £19 million.
played against a team dubbed "Rest of the World XI", managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld
, with his team consisting of names such as Henrik Larsson
, Gianluca Vialli
, Cafu
, Paul Gascoigne
, George Weah
, Peter Schmeichel
and Eric Cantona
, but with 20 minutes to go there was a mass substitution of their players, who were replaced by a former Manchester United XI; Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker
, Clayton Blackmore
, Steve Bruce
, Gary Pallister
, Darren Ferguson
, Mark Hughes
, Lee Sharpe
, and three number sevens: Bryan Robson
, David Beckham
and Eric Cantona
. The World XI won the game 4–2.
, resulting in an injury to Beckham, alleged to have been caused by Ferguson kicking a football boot in frustration which hit the player in the face. On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the Champions League
draw was fixed in favour of Spanish and Italian teams, resulting in a fine on 1 May of 10,000 Swiss francs (£4,600).
over stud rights for race horse Rock of Gibraltar
. Magnier counter-sued Ferguson by filing a "Motion to Comply" requiring Ferguson to substantiate his claim for half of Rock of Gibraltar's stud fees. The legal issues were further compounded by the request for "99 Questions" to be answered over Ferguson's transfer dealings, including those of Jaap Stam, Juan Verón, Tim Howard, David Bellion, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kléberson. The case was eventually settled out of Court.
after a documentary called Father and Son was shown on UK television in 2004. According to an article in The Independent
newspaper, the documentary had "portrayed his agent son, Jason, as somebody who exploited his father's influence and position to his own ends in the transfer market." The same newspaper article made it clear that "Ferguson Jnr" was never found guilty of any wrong-doing, and it quoted Ferguson Senior as follows: "They [the BBC] did a story about my son that was whole lot of nonsense. It all made-up stuff and 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on. It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that.". Subsequent interviews on BBC programmes such as Match of the Day
were done by his assistant Carlos Queiroz
, and later Mike Phelan
.
Under new Premiership rules intended for the 2010–11 season, Ferguson was required to end his BBC boycott. However he refused to end his boycott and Manchester United confirmed the club would pay the resulting fines. On 25 August 2011, Ferguson met with BBC director general Mark Thompson
and BBC North director Peter Salmon; the result of the meeting was that Ferguson agreed to end his seven-year boycott.
, Arsène Wenger
, Rafael Benítez
and Mark Hughes
.
by Preston North End, Ferguson immediately recalled loaned players Ritchie De Laet, Joshua King and Matthew James from Preston under its new managerial system. He later explained that it was the players' own request not to return to Preston after the change of manager. Stoke City Boss, Tony Pulis followed soon after in recalling 2 former Manchester United players from Preston as well, stating the need for the players to supplement his team's intensive schedule.
It has also been suggested that Ferguson's intimidation of referees results in "Fergie Time": that is, unusually generous injury time being added in matches where Manchester United are behind. The phrase is at least as old as 2004, and a statistical analysis by The Times
suggests that this comment might be valid, though the article points out that other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between extra added time and United being behind.
, Paul McGrath
, Paul Ince
, Jaap Stam
, Dwight Yorke
, David Beckham
, Ruud van Nistelrooy
and Gabriel Heinze
have left the club after varying degrees of conflict with Ferguson. It is also suggested that one of the most inspirational players in the club's history, Roy Keane
, was a victim of Ferguson's wrath following damning criticism of his teammates on the club's in-house television channel, MUTV. This disciplinary line that he takes with such highly paid, high-profile players has been cited as a reason for the ongoing success of Manchester United.
, Cheshire, with his wife, Cathy Ferguson, Lady Ferguson (née Holding). They married in 1966 and have three sons: Mark (born 1968), and twins Darren
(born 1972), current manager of Peterborough United
and former manager of Preston North End
, and Jason (born 1972), who runs an events management company.
In 1998, Ferguson was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party
. He is also a lifelong Labour voter.
Falkirk
in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager. In 2003, Ferguson became an inaugural recipient of the FA Coaching Diploma, awarded to all coaches who had at least 10 years' experience of being a manager or head coach.
He is the Vice-President of the National Football Museum
, based in Preston, and a member of the Executive Committee of the League Managers Association
.
In addition to being the only manager to win the top league honours, and the 'Double', North and South of the England–Scotland border (winning the Premier League with Manchester United, and the Scottish Premier Division with Aberdeen), he is also the last manager to win the Scottish championship with a non Old Firm
team, achieving this in the 1984–85 season with Aberdeen
. He is also the only manager in English football to have managed to finish in the top three league places in 20 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season.
On 5 November 2011, the Old Trafford
North Stand was officially renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in honour of his 25 years as manager of Manchester United
.
He has won 48 trophies as a manager, making him the most successful British football manager in history.
St. Mirren
Aberdeen
Manchester United
|1957–58||rowspan="4"|Queen's Park
||rowspan="3"|Second Division
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1958–59|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1959–60|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1957–60 !! Total
!31 !! 15 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1960–61||rowspan="5"|St. Johnstone||rowspan=2|First Division
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1961–62|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1962–63||Second Division
|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1963–64||First Division
|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1960–64 !! Total
!37 !! 19 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1964–65||rowspan="4"|Dunfermline Athletic
||rowspan="3"|First Division
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1965–66|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1966–67|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1964–67 !! Total
!89 !! 66 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1967–68||rowspan="3"|Rangers
||rowspan=2|First Division
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1968–69|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1967–69 !! Total
!41 !! 25 !! 6 !! 10 !! 4 !! 9 !! 6 !! 0 !! 57 !! 44
|-
|1969–70||rowspan="5"|Falkirk
||rowspan="4"|First Division
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1970–71|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1971–72|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1972–73|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1969–73 !! Total
!95 !! 36 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1973–74||rowspan=2|Ayr United
||First Division
|24||9|| || || || || || || ||
|-
!1973–74 !! Total
!24 !! 9 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
317||170|| || || || || || || ||
317||170|| || || || || || || ||
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, where he has been in charge since 1986. His tenure has seen the club go through an era of success and dominance both in England and in Europe, giving Ferguson a reputation as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game.
Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire F.C.
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881...
and St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
. Briefly manager of the Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
— in a temporary capacity owing to the death of Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
— he was appointed manager of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in November 1986.
With 25 years as manager of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, he is the longest serving manager in their history after overtaking Sir Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
's record on 19 December 2010. His tenure is also the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup
European Champion Clubs' Cup
The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League...
on more than one occasion.
He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen
Freedom of the City of Aberdeen
Aberdeen's Freedom ceremony has its origins in the 12th Century. There have been 38 Freedom ceremonies in Aberdeen since the start of the 20th Century...
.
Early life
Born to Alexander Beaton Ferguson, a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Hardie, Alex Ferguson was born at his grandmother's home on Shieldhall Road, GovanGovan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, on 31 December 1941, but grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road (which has since been demolished) where he lived with his parents as well as his younger brother Martin.
He attended Broomloan Road Primary School
Broomloan Road Primary School
Broomloan Road Primary School was a primary school situated in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.It was the largest Board School in Govan, and comprised two separate buildings. The first, designed by Alexander Watt, opened in 1875. In 1894 a red sandstone extension was built, designed by H&D Barclay...
and later Govan High School
Govan High School
Govan High School is a secondary school situated in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland. It opened on its current site in 1969 and in 2010 it celebrated its centenary, with Sir Alex Ferguson attending the event.-Notable alumni:...
, and supported Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
.
Playing career
Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with Queen's ParkQueen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...
, where he made his debut as a striker aged 16. He described his first match as a "nightmare", but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer
Stranraer F.C.
Stranraer Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in the town of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and currently play in the Third Division.-History:...
. As Queen's Park were an amateur team he also worked in the Clyde shipyards
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
as an apprentice tool-worker, where he became an active trade union shop steward
Union steward
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company, who represents and defends the interests of her/his fellow employees but who is also a labor union official...
. Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park was the 7–1 defeat away to Queen of the South
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club founded in 1919 and located in Dumfries. The club currently plays in the Scottish First Division, the second tier of Scottish football. They are officially nicknamed The Doonhamers, but usually referred to as Queens or QoS...
on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1959 when ex-England international Ivor Broadis
Ivor Broadis
Ivan Arthur Broadis is a former England international footballer. Broadis' clubs were Carlisle United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queen of the South. Broadis played at inside forward...
scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer.
Despite scoring 20 goal
Goal (sport)
Goal refers to a method of scoring in many sports. It can also refer to the physical structure or area of the playing surface where scoring occurs....
s in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St. Johnstone in 1960. Although he continued to score regularly at St. Johnstone, he was still unable to command a regular place and regularly requested transfers. Ferguson was out of favour at the club and he even considered emigrating to Canada, however St. Johnstone's failure to sign a forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, in which he scored a hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
in a surprise victory. Dunfermline
Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
signed him the following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer.
The following season (1964–65), Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish League and reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St. Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic, then failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with Joe McBride of Celtic, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
with 31 goals.
He then joined Rangers for £65,000, then a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He was blamed for a goal that they conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final, in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
captain, Billy McNeill
Billy McNeill
William "Billy" McNeill MBE is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in 1967 and he later went on to manage the club. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic....
, and was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side instead of for 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 a Catholic, Cathy Holding, 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
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
wanted to sign Ferguson, but his wife was not keen on moving to England at that time so he went to Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...
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
Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...
, where he finished his playing career in 1974.
East Stirlingshire
In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of East StirlingshireEast Stirlingshire F.C.
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881...
, 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 gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start."
The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
. While they were below East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire F.C.
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881...
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
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
after taking advice from Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
.
St. Mirren
Ferguson was manager of St. Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the old Second Division watched by crowds of just over 1,000, to First DivisionScottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
champions in 1977
1976-77 in Scottish football
Season 1976–1977 was the 80th season of Scottish league football.After the failure of the Spring Cup and the 26 game season in the 1st & 2nd Divisions, a 39 game season was instituted in these divisions with a slight imbalance in the amount of home and away games played by each team; however,...
, discovering talent like Billy Stark
Billy Stark
Billy Stark is a Scottish football former player and coach. He is currently head coach of the Scotland national under-21 football team.- Player :...
, Tony Fitzpatrick
Tony Fitzpatrick (footballer)
Anthony "Tony" Fitzpatrick is a Scottish former football player and manager. He made a record 351 league appearances for St. Mirren in two spells, playing for Bristol City in the two intervening seasons. His record has since been beaten by Hugh Murray.Fitzpatrick was made captain of St...
, Lex Richardson
Lex Richardson
Lex Richardson is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. Richardson was active as a midfielder between 1976 and 1991, making 455 appearances in the Scottish Football League, before becoming a junior manager.-Career:...
, Frank McGarvey
Frank McGarvey
Frank McGarvey is a retired football player. Most notable for playing as a striker for Celtic and St. Mirren, he also played seven times for the Scotland national team....
, Bobby Reid and Peter Weir
Peter Weir (footballer)
Peter Russell Weir is a former Scotland international footballer known for his time with club team Aberdeen F.C..-Playing career:...
while playing superb attacking football. The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20.
St. Mirren have the distinction of being the only club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According to a Billy Adams Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was sacked for various breaches of contract including unauthorised payments to players. He was counter-accused of intimidating behaviour towards his office secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax free. He didn't speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated only through a 17-year-old assistant. The tribunal concluded that Ferguson was "particularly petty" and "immature". It was claimed during the tribunal by St. Mirren chairman, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability".
On 31 May 2008, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
published an interview with Todd (then aged 87), who had sacked Ferguson all those years earlier. He explained that the fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the Daily Mirror that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen with him. He also told the St. Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his club to discuss compensation.
Late 1970s
Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeillBilly McNeill
William "Billy" McNeill MBE is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in 1967 and he later went on to manage the club. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic....
who had only managed the club for one season before he was offered the chance to manage Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in 1955
1954-55 in Scottish football
The 1954–55 season was the 58th season of competitive football in Scotland.Aberdeen won their first League Title.-Scottish League Division A:Champions: Aberdeen...
under Dave Halliday
Dave Halliday
David "Dave" Halliday was a Scottish footballing prolific goalscorer and trophy winning manager. His 38 goals in 1923-24 made him top scorer in Scotland's top flight that season and 43 goals in 1928–29 gave him the same distinction in England's top flight that season. He scored 376 senior goals as...
. 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
Joe Harper (footballer)
Joseph Montgomery Harper is a Scottish former footballer, mainly remembered for his two spells with Aberdeen, during which he became the club's record goalscorer.-Club career:...
. The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
and the Scottish League Cup Final
1979 Scottish League Cup Final (March)
The 1978–79 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 31 March 1979 and was the final of the 33rd Scottish League Cup competition. It was contested by Rangers and Aberdeen. Rangers won the match 2–1 thanks to goals by Colin Jackson and Alex MacDonald.-Match details:- External links :*...
, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.
Aberdeen also lost the 1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final
1979 Scottish League Cup Final (December)
The 1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 8 December 1979 and replayed on 12 December 1979. It was the final of the 34th Scottish League Cup competition, and it was a New Firm derby contested by Dundee United and Aberdeen...
, this time to Dundee United
Dundee United F.C.
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...
after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay.
1980s and silverware
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 RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
or Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. 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
John Hewitt (footballer)
John Hewitt, , is a Scottish former footballer and manager, who spent the majority of his playing career with Aberdeen F.C., but also had spells with Celtic and St. Mirren among others...
, 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
Siege mentality
Siege mentality is a shared feeling of victimization and defensiveness. It is a state of mind whereby one believes that one is being constantly attacked, oppressed, or isolated and makes one frightened of surrounding people...
' 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
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
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 MunichFC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
, who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
4–1 in the previous round. According to Willie Miller
Willie Miller
William Ferguson Miller, MBE is a former professional football player who made a club record 558 league appearances for Aberdeen. He is currently the club's Director of Football...
, 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
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
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 theirs as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match, a statement he later retracted.
After a sub-standard start to the 1983–84 season
1983-84 in Scottish football
The 1983–84 season was the 87th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier Division:Champions: AberdeenRelegated: St...
, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was awarded the OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85 season, but had a disappointing season in 1985–86, finishing fourth in the league, although they did win both domestic cups. Ferguson had been appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald, their chairman, that he intended to leave that summer.
Ferguson had been part of coaching staff for the Scottish national side
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
, but manager Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
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
Australia national football (soccer) team
The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
. Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him to fulfil his international duties he appointed Archie Knox
Archie Knox
Archibald "Archie" Knox is a Scottish football manager and former player, and is currently the assistant manager of Aberdeen....
as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to progress past the group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down as national team manager on 15 June 1986.
Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
offered Ferguson the chance to take over from Peter Shreeves
Peter Shreeves
Peter Shreeves is a Welsh former football player, manager and coach.-Career:Shreeves was born in Neath in South Wales where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II, but was brought up in Islington, London. He began his career with non-league Finchley from where he...
as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to Luton Town's
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
David Pleat
David Pleat
David John Pleat is an English football player turned manager and sports commentator.He is remembered by his contemporaries primarily for his career as manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town football clubs, and for an oft-televised clip of him running onto the pitch in 1983 to celebrate after...
instead. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace Don Howe as Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot George Graham
George Graham (footballer)
George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...
took the post instead. That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
at Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a 10-match winning start had made title glory seem inevitable.
It was not the first time that Ferguson had been linked with a move to England. In February 1982, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
had approached him about succeeding John Barnwell
John Barnwell
John Barnwell is an English former football player and manager. He was until recently the chief executive of the League Managers Association....
as manager as they were heading for relegation from the First Division. He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial stability, as they were more than £2million in debt at the time and narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1985–86 season
1985-86 in English football
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...
, both Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
had approached him about becoming their new manager, but he rejected the offers from both North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
clubs. Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.
Appointment and first years
Ferguson was appointed manager at Old TraffordOld Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside
Norman Whiteside
Norman Whiteside is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played in two World Cups.He appeared for Manchester United and Everton, before his career was ended by injury at the age of 26. He won the FA Cup twice during his time playing for Manchester United, in 1983 and 1985...
, Paul McGrath
Paul McGrath (footballer)
Paul McGrath is a retired Irish footballer, who played as a defender. McGrath is widely recognised as one of the greatest players to have ever come out of Ireland....
and Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up the table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second from bottom) when he took over.
His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at underdogs Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
, and then his first win (1–0 at home to QPR
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
) on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by the time they recorded what would be their only away win of the league campaign at title challengers and deadly rivals Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
, it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season, with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the final table. Ferguson's mother, Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64, three weeks after his appointment.
Ferguson appointed Archie Knox
Archie Knox
Archibald "Archie" Knox is a Scottish football manager and former player, and is currently the assistant manager of Aberdeen....
, his assistant at Aberdeen, as his assistant at Manchester United.
In the 1987–88 season, Ferguson made several major signings, including Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
, Viv Anderson
Viv Anderson
Vivian Alexander "Viv" Anderson MBE is an English football player and coach, who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday in the 1970s and 1980s...
, Brian McClair
Brian McClair
Brian John McClair is a former Scottish international football player who played as a forward, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United, as well as important tenures at Scottish clubs Celtic and Motherwell...
and Jim Leighton
Jim Leighton
James "Jim" Leighton MBE is a Scottish former football goalkeeper. Among the clubs he played for are Aberdeen , Manchester United, Arsenal, Dundee and Hibernian.-Club:...
. The new players made a great contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. However, Liverpool's points lead had been in double digits for most of the season and while United had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games and there was clearly still some way to go before United could be a match for their north western rivals.
United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
returned to the club two years after leaving for Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, but the 1988–89 season
1988-89 in English football
The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...
was a disappointment for them, finishing eleventh in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Sixth Round. They had begun the season slowly, going on a nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February. However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid table.
During the season, United played in friendly matches against the Bermudan national team
Bermuda national football team
The Bermuda national football team is the national team of Bermuda and is controlled by the Bermuda Football Association. A member of CONCACAF, it is not among its strongest teams....
and Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
as part of the Bermudan team's tour of England. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant, Archie Knox, took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match remains Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team.
For the 1989–90 season, Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders Neil Webb
Neil Webb
Neil John Webb is an English former footballer and television pundit. He played as a midfielder and defender between 1980 and 1997 notably for Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United...
, Mike Phelan
Mike Phelan
Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....
and Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
, as well as defender Gary Pallister
Gary Pallister
Gary Andrew Pallister is an English former footballer, most noted for his nine-year spell at Manchester United from 1989 until 1998...
and winger Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (footballer)
David Lloyd "Danny" Wallace is an English former footballer who played for Southampton, Manchester United, Millwall, Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers. He won one full cap for England. His football career was ended prematurely by the effects of multiple sclerosis.-Southampton:Wallace was born...
. The season began well with a 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against fierce rivals
Manchester derby
The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...
Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
. Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declaring "Three years of excuses and it's still crap...ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone.
However, Ferguson later revealed that the board of directors had assured him that they were not considering dismissing him. Although naturally disappointed with the lack of success in the league, they understood the reasons for the sub-standard results (namely the absence of several key players due to injury) and were pleased with the way that Ferguson had reorganised the club's coaching and scouting system.
Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
in the third round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 thanks to a Mark Robins
Mark Robins
Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager, appointed manager of Barnsley in 2009.As a player, he was most notable for his exploits with Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City...
goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career, even though it has since been stated that his job was never at risk. United went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's defensive frailties in the first match were unilaterally blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton
Jim Leighton
James "Jim" Leighton MBE is a Scottish former football goalkeeper. Among the clubs he played for are Aberdeen , Manchester United, Arsenal, Dundee and Hibernian.-Club:...
, forcing Ferguson to drop his former Aberdeen player and bring in Les Sealey
Les Sealey
Leslie Jesse "Les" Sealey was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, among others, Coventry City, Luton Town, Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham United...
.
The first league title
Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990–91, they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. There were some excellent performances that season, including a 6–2 demolition of ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
at Highbury
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
, but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in early March (the game where 17-year-old hot prospect Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go.
Even after the FA Cup Final victory in the previous season, some still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other managers since Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
had failed — to win the league title. They were runners-up in the League Cup
1991 Football League Cup Final
The 1991 Rumbelows Cup Final was a football match played on 21 April 1991 between Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday. It was the first of two years that the competition was sponsored by Rumbelows....
, losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
. They also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
2–1. After the match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job.
During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to Glasgow Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
to become assistant to Walter Smith
Walter Smith
Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...
, and Ferguson promoted youth team coach Brian Kidd
Brian Kidd
Brian Kidd is an English football coach and former player, who is currently Assistant Manager to Roberto Mancini at Manchester City....
to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
and defender Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There was much anticipation about the breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another impressive young winger in the shape of Lee Sharpe
Lee Sharpe
Lee Stuart Sharpe is an English former footballer. Predominantly a left winger, Sharpe joined Manchester United from Torquay United as a youngster in 1988, playing for the club up until 1996...
, who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...
to the right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older right footed midfielders Mike Phelan
Mike Phelan
Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....
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". United won the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
and Super Cup for the first time, but lost out on the league title to rivals Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
after leading the table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the signing of Mick Harford
Mick Harford
Michael Gordon "Mick" Harford , is an English former football player turned manager. He is former manager of Rotherham and Luton Town and has also been caretaker manager of Nottingham Forest and QPR...
from Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
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.
During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
from Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, but lost out to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
. He also made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
striker David Hirst
David Hirst (footballer)
David Eric Hirst is an English former professional footballer, an exciting but injury prone striker who played for Sheffield Wednesday for much of his career.-Playing career:...
, but manager Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
striker Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...
– his only major signing of the summer.
After a slow start to the 1992–93 season (they were 10th of 22 at the beginning of November) it looked as though United would miss out on the league title (now the Premier League) yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
from Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed a strong partnership with Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
and fired the club to the top of the table, ending United's 26-year wait for a League Championship, and also making them the first ever Premier League Champions. United had finished champions with a 10-point margin over runners-up Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, whose 1–0 defeat at Oldham on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association.
Two doubles
The 1993–94 season brought more success. Ferguson added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder Roy KeaneRoy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
, who was nearing the end of his career.
United led the 1993–94 Premier League table virtually from start to finish.
Ferguson was the very first winner of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the accolade for August 1993.
Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off
Misconduct (football)
Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
. In the FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, winning Ferguson his second League and Cup Double, following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983.
Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
£1.2million for David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton
Chris Sutton
Christopher Roy "Chris" Sutton is an English football manager and former player.In his career, Sutton played for Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham City and Aston Villa. Sutton scored over 150 career goals in over 400 league appearances spanning 16 years in the English...
from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn Rovers instead.
1994–95 was a harder season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
supporter in a game at Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
, 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 £7million for Newcastle's
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
prolific striker Andy Cole
Andy Cole
Andrew Alexander Cole is a retired English footballer. He is most well known by the name Andy Cole , but in 2000, he reputedly asked to be known as Andrew Cole...
, with young winger Keith Gillespie
Keith Gillespie
Keith Robert Gillespie is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays in midfield for Longford Town....
heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the breakthrough of young players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who provided excellent cover for the long periods that United were left without some of their more experienced stars.
However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them the a third successive league title. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1–0 defeat to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
.
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
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
moved to Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
of Italy for £7.5 million, long serving striker Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...
was sold to Everton.
Ferguson made an approach for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
winger Darren Anderton
Darren Anderton
Darren Robert Anderton is a retired English footballer who spent most of his career with Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder. He played 30 times for the England national football team, scoring 7 goals.-Career:...
, but the player signed a new contract with the North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
club. He then made a bid to sign Dutchman
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Marc Overmars
Marc Overmars
Marc Overmars is a retired Dutch footballer. He is best known as a right-footed left winger, although he is able to use both his feet with equal precision and power...
from Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
(the European Cup winners), but the player suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out for months. Media reports suggested that United were going to make an approach for Juventus and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
forward Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...
, who was generally regarded as the best player in the world at this time, but the player remained in his homeland and signed for AC Milan instead.
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
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
, Phil Neville, David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
and Nicky Butt
Nicky Butt
Nicholas "Nicky" Butt is an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and spent 12 years in their first-team before moving to Newcastle United in 2004. He spent one season on loan to Birmingham City in 2005–06...
, who would all go on to be important members of the team. And so the 1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes of Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
were making the headlines with big money signings.
When United lost the first league match of the 1995–96 season 3–1 to Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, the media swooped upon Ferguson with undisguised glee. They wrote United off because Ferguson's squad contained so many young and inexperienced players. Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
pundit, Alan Hansen
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
proclaimed that "you can't win anything with kids".
However, the young players performed well and United won their next five matches, exacting their revenge over Everton for the FA Cup defeat with a 3–2 win at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
and achieving a 2–1 away win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers who were now looking rather like relegation battlers than title contenders.
Cantona's return from suspension was a boost, but they found themselves 10 points behind Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
by Christmas 1995. A 2–0 home win over the Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
rs on 27 December narrowed the gap to seven points and a subsequent win over struggling QPR narrowed it to four points, but a 4–1 defeat for United at Tottenham on New Year's Day 1996 and a 0–0 home draw with Aston Villa saw the Magpies re-establish their wide lead and it looked certain that the league title was Newcastle's.
However a series of good results starting in mid January 1996 saw the gap close, and when United travelled to Newcastle and won 1–0 on 4 March, the gap was down to a single point.
United went top of the league soon after the win at Newcastle, who continued to drop points in crucial games.
Early April saw Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
's famous outburst on live television ("I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!"), and is generally regarded as the moment that Ferguson gained the upper hand against his opponent. United's Premier League title success was confirmed on the final day of the season, when they defeated a Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
side managed by former United captain Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
in a game which ended in a 3–0 win despite strong displays by Boro confounding pre-match reports that Robson would give his old team an easy ride.
They played Liverpool in that year's FA Cup final
1996 FA Cup Final
The 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.- Build-up :...
, winning 1–0 with a late goal by Cantona. This made them the first team in English football to repeat the double of the league title and FA Cup, and more impressive was the fact that it had been achieved with a similar set of players to the ones who achieved the first double.
1996–97 saw Ferguson guide Manchester United to their fourth Premier League title in five seasons. In late autumn, 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
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
semi final, where they lost to Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
of Germany. At the end of the season, Cantona surprisingly retired from football.
Other success stories of the 1996–97 season were two Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
signings, striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (the club's top scorer that season) and defender Ronny Johnsen
Ronny Johnsen
Jean Ronny Johnsen is a former Norwegian football player. He played as a centre back or defensive midfielder, but was often sidelined because of his many injuries.-Career:...
, who were bargain buys as they were little known outside the Premier League on their arrival the previous summer but went on to be key factors in United's fourth Premier League title.
The treble
Ferguson made two new signings to bolster United's challenge for the 1997–98 season, 31-year-old England striker Teddy SheringhamTeddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
and defender Henning Berg
Henning Berg
Henning Stille Berg is a Norwegian former football player. He played as a central defender or right-back.He is one of only three players to have won the Premier League with two different clubs, the others being Ashley Cole and Nicolas Anelka .-Club career:Born in Eidsvoll, Berg played for...
. However the season ended trophyless as Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
won the Premier League under French manager Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, who started a long-lasting rivalry with Ferguson. For much of the season United had looked to be on the road to success. They led the table for much of the season before a series of disappointing results in the final quarter – combined with Arsenal taking advantage of games in hand – saw the league title head to North London. There was much promise in the European Cup as United recorded an impressive 3–2 win over Juventus in the group stages before being eliminated by AS Monaco in the quarter finals. Their FA Cup challenge began with an excellent 5–3 away win over holders Chelsea before a shock fifth round replay exit at a Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
side who ended the season relegated from the Premier League.
The summer of 1998 saw striker Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
, Dutch defender Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam
Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
and the Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist
Jesper Blomqvist
Lars Jesper Blomqvist is a Swedish football player.Most recently he has been the playing assistant manager of Superettan side Hammarby from December 2009 to November 2010...
join Manchester United for a combined total of nearly £30million.
In December 1998, Ferguson's assistant Brian Kidd accepted an offer to manage Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
and he recruited Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
from Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
as his successor. Ironically, Kidd's side were relegated in the penultimate game on the league season when United held them to a 0–0 draw.
1998–99 saw the club winning an unprecedented treble of the Premier League title
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. The season was characterised by highly dramatic matches. In the Champions League semi-final second leg, United conceded two early goals away to Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
; however, inspired by Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, 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
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
saved the penalty, and in extra time Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
ran the length of the pitch to score perhaps the most memorable goal of his career to win the match. They then defeated Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
2–0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
. The European triumph was the most incredible of all. With 90 minutes on the clock they were 1–0 down to Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
at the Nou Camp
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
in Barcelona following a Mario Basler
Mario Basler
Mario Basler is a German former football winger and current manager.- Career :...
free kick, but in 3 minutes of injury time allowed by referee Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina is a former Italian football referee. He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association , and is a member of the UEFA Referees Committee...
, Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
, a substitute, equalised and extra time looked certain. But with just seconds left on the clock, Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the manager of Norwegian first division side Molde. He is better known as a former footballer who spent most of his career playing for Manchester United. Often dubbed "the baby-faced assassin," he played 366 times for the Red Devils and scored 126 goals during a very...
, also a late substitution, scored the winning goal and history was made.
On 12 June 1999, Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the game.
Title hat-trick
Manchester United ended the 1999–2000 season as champions with just three Premier League defeats, and a cushion of 18 points. The massive gap between United and the rest of the Premier League, although they had faced stiff competition from the likes of Arsenal and Leeds United until the final weeks of the season, 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
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
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.
28-year-old French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez
Fabien Barthez
Fabien Alain Barthez is a former French footballer goalkeeper who won honours with Manchester United and the French national team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup. He shares the record for the most World Cup finals clean sheets...
was signed from Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...
for £7.8million—making him the most expensive goalkeeper to be signed by a British club, and United won the title again, becoming only the fourth side in history to win the English league title three seasons in succession. They also matched Liverpool's record (set in 1991) of 10 successive top two finishes.
However, the press largely saw the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 campaigns as failures as United had failed to win the European Cup, falling at the quarter final stages to Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001.
During the 2001 close season Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
joined, and soon after Manchester United again broke the British transfer record—this time paying Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
£28.1million for Argentine attacking midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón is an Argentinian professional football player who is the current captain and midfielder for Estudiantes de La Plata in the Argentine Primera División....
, although he failed to live up to the high expectations his transfer fee suggested and he was sold to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
for £15million only two years later.
Rebuilding and transition
Two games into the 2001–02 season, Dutch central defender Jaap StamJaap Stam
Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
was sold to Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
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 Ferguson, before his previous club PSV Eindhoven had been informed. Ferguson replaced Stam with Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
's 36-year-old central defender Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc
Laurent Robert Blanc is a French association football manager and former player. He is the head coach of the French national team, having replaced Raymond Domenech in the wake of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He was previously the manager of Bordeaux...
.
Before the season began, Ferguson also lost his assistant Steve McClaren, who took over as manager of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
, and gave the role to long-serving coach Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan may refer to:*Jim Ryan , former player for the Denver Broncos*Jim Ryan , president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd*Jim Ryan , former Welsh football player...
until a more permanent successor could be found.
By 8 December 2001, after a terrible run of form which saw one win and six defeats on a period of seven league games, Manchester United were ninth in the Premier League — 11 points behind leaders Liverpool who had a game in hand. There were widespread fears that they might not even qualify for Europe, let alone win the league title.
Then came a dramatic turn around in form: between mid-December and late January, as eight successive wins saw Manchester United climb to the top of the Premier League and put their title challenge back on track. Despite this, United finished third in the League as rival Arsène Wenger clinched the title for Arsenal at Old Trafford with a 1–0 win in the penultimate game of the season after United dropped points in a couple of other crucial games during the run-in.
United were also unsuccessful in Europe, losing the Champions League semi-final on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen. Early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant that the season ended trophyless. As they were third in the league and had not reached a cup final, it was the first time since 1989 that they had finished a season without being winners or runners-up of a major competition.
The 2001–02 season was to have been Ferguson's last as Manchester United manager, and the looming date of his retirement was cited 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.
The close season saw Manchester United break the British transfer record yet again when they paid Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
£30million for 24-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
.
That summer, Ferguson brought in Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
coach Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
as his assistant.
Manchester United won their eighth Premier League 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 Premier League trophy gradually slip out of the Londoners' grasp and push it back in the direction of Old Trafford. Ferguson described the 2002–03 title triumph as his most satisfying ever, due to the nature of a remarkable comeback. The excellent run-in had produced 10 wins and a draw (including 4–0 home win over Liverpool and a 6–2 away demolition of Newcastle United) from the final 11 games, and no defeats since Boxing Day.
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.
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 Premier League (which was won by an undefeated Arsenal side) and suffer Champions League elimination at the hands of eventual winners FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto , commonly known as FC Porto, Porto, or FCP, is a Portuguese multi-sports club from the city of Porto, in the northern region of the country. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, FC Porto is mostly known for its association football team...
. 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
Eric Djemba-Djemba
Eric Daniel Djemba-Djemba is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Danish side Odense BK and the Cameroon national football team. He has previously played club football in France, England and Qatar.-Nantes:...
and José Kléberson
José Kleberson
José Kléberson Pereira , commonly known as José Kléberson or simply Kléberson, is a Brazilian football centre midfielder who plays for Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense on loan from Flamengo.-Club career:...
were disappointing, United tried to sign Ronaldinho and Fergie believed the deal was as good as done before Peter Kenyon caused it to fall apart, but there was at least one productive signing in teenage Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
. Striker Louis Saha
Louis Saha
Louis Laurent Saha is a French footballer of Guadelupian origin who currently plays as a forward for Everton FC in the Premier League and the France national team. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, he started his career at Metz before playing on loan at Newcastle United...
, added in January, also proved to be reasonably successful covering for the injured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in attack.
At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, teenage striker Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
(the world's most expensive teenager at more than £20million) and Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze is an Argentine footballer who plays for A.S. Roma in Italy. Mainly a left back, he can also operate as a central defender....
joined United while Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
continued where he had left off the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances. But the lack of a striker after van Nistelrooy spent most of the season injured saw the club finish third for the third time in four seasons. In the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
they lost on penalties to Arsenal. A second round exit from the European Cup at the hands of AC Milan and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual winners Chelsea (who also clinched the Premier League title) meant that 2004–05 was a rare instance of a trophyless season for United.
Ferguson's preparations for the season were disrupted by a high-profile dispute with major shareholder John Magnier
John Magnier
John Magnier is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside of the horse breeding industry....
, over the ownership of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar
Rock of Gibraltar (horse)
Rock of Gibraltar is a Champion racehorse and stallion owned by Coolmore, for whom he currently stands in Ireland and Australia .He is named after the Rock of Gibraltar, a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar on...
. When Magnier and business partner J. P. McManus
J. P. McManus
John Patrick "J. P." McManus is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner.- Early life :Born in Limerick, McManus began his business career at his family's construction plant hire firm, and then became an on-course bookmaker at Limerick's greyhound track, the Market's Field, before moving into...
agreed to sell their shares to American business tycoon Malcolm Glazer
Malcolm Glazer
Malcolm Irving Glazer is an American businessman and sports team owner. He is the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, most notably in the food processing industry...
, 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 the Dutch
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
keeper Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...
from Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Korean star Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...
from PSV.
The season was one of transition. On 18 November, Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
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 Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n defender Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....
and French full-back Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra
Patrice Latyr Evra is a French international footballer who currently plays for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back and is described as "the classic example of a modern full-back" who is...
were signed, and the side finished in second place in the league, behind runaway leaders Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. Winning the League Cup was a consolation prize for lack of success elsewhere. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
'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.
Second European Champions League
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...
was signed as a replacement for Roy Keane for £14 million, although the figure may eventually rise in the future to £18.6 million depending on appearances and results. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
games. They set the early pace in the Premier League and never relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38–game season. The January 2006 signings had a huge impact on United's performances; Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra
Patrice Latyr Evra is a French international footballer who currently plays for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back and is described as "the classic example of a modern full-back" who is...
and Nemanja Vidić
Nemanja Vidic
Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....
came in to form a solid back line along with already existing players Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
and skipper Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
. The signing of Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011...
, which was questioned and criticised by a large portion of the media, brought stability and further creativity in the United midfield, forming an effective partnership with Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
. Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...
and Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
both underlined their value to the first team squad by adding significant pace and incisiveness in attack with Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
and Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
.
Ferguson celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as manager of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes also came from Ferguson's players, both past and present, as well as his old foe, Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, his old captain, Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, and current players. The party was spoiled the following day when United endured a single-goal defeat at the hands of Southend
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
in the fourth round of the Carling Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. However, on 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35 year old Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
on loan, a player that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club's 2000th goal under the helm of Ferguson in a match against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
.
Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title but were denied a unique fourth double by Chelsea's Didier Drogba scoring a late goal in the FA Cup Final at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
.
In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home win over Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
in the quarter-final second leg, but lost at the San Siro to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 up from the first leg. Still, it was a strong sign that United were on their way back to dominance after a couple of years of being overshadowed by Arsenal and more particularly Chelsea.
For the 2007–08 season, Ferguson made notable signings to reinforce United's first team. Long-term target Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Premier League club Manchester City and the English national football team....
joined from Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
, bringing an end to a year of negotiations. Ferguson further bolstered the midfield with the additions of young Portuguese winger Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...
and Brazilian playmaker Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....
. The last summer signing was of West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
and Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
striker Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
after a complex and protracted transfer saga.
United had their worst start to a season under Ferguson, drawing their first two league games before suffering a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City. However, United recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title. After a good run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his time at Manchester United, this was the best squad he had managed to assemble thus far.
On 16 February 2008, United beat Arsenal 4–0 in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
Fifth Round match at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, but were knocked out by eventual winners Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
(a mid table side in the league) in the quarter final on 8 March, losing 1–0 at home. United having had a penalty claim turned down, Ferguson alleged after the game that Keith Hackett
Keith Hackett
Keith Stuart Hackett is an English former football referee, who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield, Yorkshire, area in 1960...
, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board
Professional Game Match Officials Board
The Professional Game Match Officials Board , and since made a Limited Liability Company , was formed when English association football referees turned professional in 2001, specifically to provide match officials for all games played in the Premier League in England...
, was "not doing his job properly". Ferguson was subsequently charged by the FA with improper conduct, which he decided to contest. This was the second charge Ferguson faced in the season, following his complaints against the referee after United lost 1–0 at Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
– a charge he decided not to contest.
On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier League title, exactly 25 years to the day after he led Aberdeen to European glory against Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the final round of matches, but with an inferior goal difference – could only draw 1–1 at home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United's title win was sealed with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
, who before the game blew the whistle on suggestions that he would give his old club an easy ride – just as Bryan Robson had done 12 years earlier.
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
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...
in Moscow, following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League Final. A penalty miss from Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
meant that John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
's spot-kick would have given the trophy to Chelsea if successfully converted, but Terry blew his chance of glory and in the end it was Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...
's blocking of a Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...
penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the second time under Ferguson and for the third time overall.
After winning the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League Ferguson had stated that his intention to leave Manchester United within the next three years, meaning that he would be gone by the summer of 2011. Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill
David Gill (executive)
David Alan Gill is British football executive, currently Chief Executive of Manchester United F.C. and a board member of the Football Association...
moved quickly to calm the speculation about Ferguson's pending retirement.
Another two league titles and League Cups
Although the team had a slow start to the 2008–09 season, United won the Premier League with a game to spare, making Ferguson the first manager in the history of English football to win the Premier League three times consecutively, on two separate occasions. Ferguson had now won 11 league titles at Manchester United, and the 2008–09 season title success put them level with Liverpool as league champions on a record 18 occasions in total. They also won the Football League CupFootball League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
on penalties after a goalless Wembley draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
They contested the 2009 Champions League final
2009 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top football clubs in Europe. The match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat England's...
against FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0.
After the presentation ceremony, Ferguson conceded that he would stay on at United for as long as his health permitted him and that he would be glad to win the league title once more. This would make United's total league wins one more than rivals Liverpool, becoming the outright leader in total wins.
In 2009–10, Ferguson added another Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
to his honours list as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the Wembley final on 28 February 2010. However, his dreams of a third European Cup were ended a few weeks later when United were edged out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals. And their hopes of a record 19th league title were ended on the last day of the season when Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
beat them to the Premier League title, crushing Wigan Athletic 8–0 and rendering United's 4–0 win over Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
meaningless. Around this time, several newspapers carried reports that Ferguson was due to retire at the end of the 2010–11 season
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...
, but he denied these rumours and insisted that he wants to go out on a high and will not retire during a time of struggle.
On 8 August 2010, Ferguson added another FA Community Shield
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
to his honours list as United defeated Chelsea 3–1 in the final in Wembley. On 19 December 2010, Ferguson became Manchester United's longest serving manager in history, overtaking Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
's record of 24 years, 1 month and 13 days in charge of the club. He ended the season by winning his 12th and Manchester United's 19th league title and thus overtaking Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
's record 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
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
stated that he believed Ferguson was "the key component" in United's success that season, so key in fact that "[he] would have claimed the crown with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them". With Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar OON is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AFC Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national football team's history...
, Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
and Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
all retiring in 2011, Ferguson spent big by signing defender Phil Jones
Phil Jones (footballer)
Philip Anthony "Phil" Jones is an English footballer who plays for Manchester United and the England national team. Before joining Manchester United, Jones played for Blackburn Rovers at both youth and senior levels...
from Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
and winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
for around £17 million each, and goalkeeper David de Gea
David de Gea
David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish footballer who plays for Manchester United as a goalkeeper. Born in Madrid, he started his career aged 10 with Atlético Madrid and rose through the academy system at the club before making his senior debut in 2009...
from Atlético Madrid for around £19 million.
1999 testimonial
On 11 October 1999, a special testimonial match was played in honour of Ferguson's contribution to the team. Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
played against a team dubbed "Rest of the World XI", managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Ottmar Hitzfeld is a German former football player and manager, nicknamed der General ....
, with his team consisting of names such as Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
, Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
, Cafu
Cafu
Marcos Evangelista de Moraes , better known as Cafu, is a former Brazilian footballer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest right-backs ever. He was given this nickname due to his speed up and down the right flank which was reminiscent of Cafuringa, a Brazilian forward from the 1970s...
, Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
, George Weah
George Weah
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian humanitarian and politician, and an ex-footballer. He ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting...
, Peter Schmeichel
Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...
and Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
, but with 20 minutes to go there was a mass substitution of their players, who were replaced by a former Manchester United XI; Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker
Paul Parker
Paul Andrew Parker is a retired English footballer who played for Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and most notably Manchester United...
, Clayton Blackmore
Clayton Blackmore
Clayton Graham Blackmore is a former Welsh international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled at full back and in central defence but could play equally well in midfield or as an emergency forward.-Career:Blackmore once had...
, Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
, Gary Pallister
Gary Pallister
Gary Andrew Pallister is an English former footballer, most noted for his nine-year spell at Manchester United from 1989 until 1998...
, Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently in his second spell as the manager of Peterborough United...
, Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
, Lee Sharpe
Lee Sharpe
Lee Stuart Sharpe is an English former footballer. Predominantly a left winger, Sharpe joined Manchester United from Torquay United as a youngster in 1988, playing for the club up until 1996...
, and three number sevens: Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
, David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
and Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
. The World XI won the game 4–2.
Gordon Strachan
In his 1999 autobiography Ferguson stated of Strachan "I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry". Strachan's reaction to the attack, in is own autobiography, My Life in Football, was one of being "surprised and disappointed", but did not sue for libel, and more recently they have "declared something of a truce".David Beckham and draw fixing
In 2003, Ferguson was involved in a dressing room argument with United player David BeckhamDavid Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, resulting in an injury to Beckham, alleged to have been caused by Ferguson kicking a football boot in frustration which hit the player in the face. On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
draw was fixed in favour of Spanish and Italian teams, resulting in a fine on 1 May of 10,000 Swiss francs (£4,600).
Rock of Gibraltar
In 2003, Ferguson launched legal action against the then major United shareholder John MagnierJohn Magnier
John Magnier is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside of the horse breeding industry....
over stud rights for race horse Rock of Gibraltar
Rock of Gibraltar (horse)
Rock of Gibraltar is a Champion racehorse and stallion owned by Coolmore, for whom he currently stands in Ireland and Australia .He is named after the Rock of Gibraltar, a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar on...
. Magnier counter-sued Ferguson by filing a "Motion to Comply" requiring Ferguson to substantiate his claim for half of Rock of Gibraltar's stud fees. The legal issues were further compounded by the request for "99 Questions" to be answered over Ferguson's transfer dealings, including those of Jaap Stam, Juan Verón, Tim Howard, David Bellion, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kléberson. The case was eventually settled out of Court.
The BBC
Ferguson refused to give interviews to the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
after a documentary called Father and Son was shown on UK television in 2004. According to an article in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper, the documentary had "portrayed his agent son, Jason, as somebody who exploited his father's influence and position to his own ends in the transfer market." The same newspaper article made it clear that "Ferguson Jnr" was never found guilty of any wrong-doing, and it quoted Ferguson Senior as follows: "They [the BBC] did a story about my son that was whole lot of nonsense. It all made-up stuff and 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on. It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that.". Subsequent interviews on BBC programmes such as Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
were done by his assistant Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
, and later Mike Phelan
Mike Phelan
Michael Christopher "Mike" Phelan , also known as Mick Phelan or Micky Phelan, is an English football coach, former player, and current assistant manager of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson....
.
Under new Premiership rules intended for the 2010–11 season, Ferguson was required to end his BBC boycott. However he refused to end his boycott and Manchester United confirmed the club would pay the resulting fines. On 25 August 2011, Ferguson met with BBC director general Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson
Mark John Thompson is Director-General of the BBC, a post he has held since 2004, and a former chief executive of Channel 4...
and BBC North director Peter Salmon; the result of the meeting was that Ferguson agreed to end his seven-year boycott.
Mind games and relationships with other managers
Ferguson is well known for using what the press have called "mind games" with fellow Premiership managers. This approach normally involves making a derogatory comment at a pre-match press conference about the opposition Manager or their team. This has led to several spats in the past with managers such as Kevin KeeganKevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
, Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
and Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
.
Recalling of loan players
Following the sacking of his son, DarrenDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently in his second spell as the manager of Peterborough United...
by Preston North End, Ferguson immediately recalled loaned players Ritchie De Laet, Joshua King and Matthew James from Preston under its new managerial system. He later explained that it was the players' own request not to return to Preston after the change of manager. Stoke City Boss, Tony Pulis followed soon after in recalling 2 former Manchester United players from Preston as well, stating the need for the players to supplement his team's intensive schedule.
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.
- 14 December 2007 – Two match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards Mark Clattenburg.
- 18 November 2008 – Two match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after confronting Mike Dean after a game.
- 12 November 2009 – Four match touchline ban (two suspended) and fined £20,000 for comments made about the fitness of Alan Wiley.
- 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.
It has also been suggested that Ferguson's intimidation of referees results in "Fergie Time": that is, unusually generous injury time being added in matches where Manchester United are behind. The phrase is at least as old as 2004, and a statistical analysis by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
suggests that this comment might be valid, though the article points out that other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between extra added time and United being behind.
Legacy
One recurring theme of 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 StrachanGordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
, Paul McGrath
Paul McGrath (footballer)
Paul McGrath is a retired Irish footballer, who played as a defender. McGrath is widely recognised as one of the greatest players to have ever come out of Ireland....
, Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
, Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam
Jakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
, Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
, David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...
and Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze is an Argentine footballer who plays for A.S. Roma in Italy. Mainly a left back, he can also operate as a central defender....
have left the club after varying degrees of conflict with Ferguson. It is also suggested that one of the most inspirational players in the club's history, Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, was a victim of Ferguson's wrath following damning criticism of his teammates on the club's in-house television channel, MUTV. This disciplinary line that he takes with such highly paid, high-profile players has been cited as a reason for the ongoing success of Manchester United.
Personal life
Ferguson lives in WilmslowWilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
, Cheshire, with his wife, Cathy Ferguson, Lady Ferguson (née Holding). They married in 1966 and have three sons: Mark (born 1968), and twins Darren
Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently in his second spell as the manager of Peterborough United...
(born 1972), current manager of Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
and former manager of Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
, and Jason (born 1972), who runs an events management company.
In 1998, Ferguson was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He is also a lifelong Labour voter.
Player
St. Johnstone- Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1962–63
Falkirk
- Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1969–70
Managerial
Ferguson was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of FameEnglish Football Hall of Fame
The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...
in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager. In 2003, Ferguson became an inaugural recipient of the FA Coaching Diploma, awarded to all coaches who had at least 10 years' experience of being a manager or head coach.
He is the Vice-President of the National Football Museum
National Football Museum
The National Football Museum was a museum in Preston, Lancashire, England founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of association football memorabilia. It was built outside Deepdale, which as of 2010 is the oldest continuously used football league ground in the world...
, based in Preston, and a member of the Executive Committee of the League Managers Association
League Managers Association
The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...
.
In addition to being the only manager to win the top league honours, and the 'Double', North and South of the England–Scotland border (winning the Premier League with Manchester United, and the Scottish Premier Division with Aberdeen), he is also the last manager to win the Scottish championship with a non Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
team, achieving this in the 1984–85 season with Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
. He is also the only manager in English football to have managed to finish in the top three league places in 20 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season.
On 5 November 2011, the Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
North Stand was officially renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in honour of his 25 years as manager of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
.
He has won 48 trophies as a manager, making him the most successful British football manager in history.
St. Mirren
- Scottish First DivisionScottish Football League First DivisionThe Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
(1): 1976–77
Aberdeen
- Scottish Premier DivisionScottish Football League Premier DivisionThe Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system...
(3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85 - Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
(4): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86 - Scottish League CupScottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
(1): 1985–86 - UEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
(1): 1982–83 - UEFA Super Cup (1): 1983
Manchester United
- Premier League (12): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–112010–11 Premier LeagueThe 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(5): 1989–901990 FA Cup FinalThe 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes scored for United; Gary O'Reilly and Ian Wright for Palace...
, 1993–94, 1995–961996 FA Cup FinalThe 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.- Build-up :...
, 1998–991999 FA Cup FinalThe 1999 FA Cup Final took place on 22 May 1999 and was played at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Manchester United had finished as champions and Newcastle 13th in the Premier League that season. The Final was a one-sided affair, Manchester...
, 2003–04 - League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
(4): 1991–921992 Football League Cup FinalThe 1992 Football League Cup Final took place at Wembley Stadium, and was played between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.Manchester United won 1–0 in what was their first League cup win...
, 2005–06, 2008–092009 Football League Cup FinalThe 2009 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Football League Cup, the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League...
, 2009–102010 Football League Cup FinalThe 2010 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Football League Cup, the 50th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and The Football League. The match, played at Wembley Stadium on 28 February 2010, was won by... - FA Charity/Community ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
(10): 19901990 FA Charity ShieldThe 1990 FA Charity Shield was the 68th Charity Shield, a football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 18 August 1990 between 1989–90 Football League champions Liverpool and 1989–90 FA Cup winners...
(shared), 19931993 FA Charity ShieldThe 1993 FA Charity Shield was the 71st FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 7 August 1993 at Wembley Stadium and contested by Manchester United, who had won the 1992–93...
, 19941994 FA Charity ShieldThe 1994 FA Charity Shield was the 72nd FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...
, 19961996 FA Charity ShieldThe 1996 FA Charity Shield was the 74th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...
, 19971997 FA Charity ShieldThe 1997 FA Charity Shield was the 75th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 3 August 1997 at Wembley Stadium and contested by Manchester United, who had won the 1996–97 FA...
, 20032003 FA Community ShieldThe 2003 FA Community Shield was the 81st FA Community Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...
, 20072007 FA Community ShieldThe 2007 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 5 August 2007 between 2006–07 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2006–07 FA Cup winners Chelsea. Manchester United won the game 3–0 on penalties, after the match finished 1–1 after 90 minutes; the Community Shield...
, 20082008 FA Community ShieldThe 2008 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 10 August 2008 between 2007–08 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2007–08 FA Cup winners Portsmouth as the "curtain-raiser" to the 2008–09 English football season...
, 20102010 FA Community ShieldThe 2010 FA Community Shield was the 88th FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 8 August 2010, and contested by league and cup double winners Chelsea...
, 20112011 FA Community ShieldThe 2011 FA Community Shield was the 89th FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was the 160th Manchester derby between Manchester United and Manchester City and played at Wembley Stadium,... - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(2): 1998–991999 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...
, 2007–082008 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 21 May 2008 at 20:45 CEST . The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow, Russia, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League... - UEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
(1): 1990–91 - UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
(1): 19991999 Intercontinental CupThe 1999 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 30 November 1999 between Manchester United, winners of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, and Palmeiras, winners of the 1999 Copa Libertadores... - FIFA Club World CupFIFA Club World CupThe FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...
(1): 20082008 FIFA Club World Cup-Play-off for Quarter-finals:-Quarter-finals:-----Semi-finals:-----Match for fifth place:-Match for third place:-Final:-Scorers:3 goals Wayne Rooney...
Individual
- Football Writers' Association Tribute Award: 1996
- Mussabini MedalMussabini MedalThe Mussabini Medal was a sports award recognising the coaches of British sports people and teams, named after Sam Mussabini. Mussabini, who died in 1927, is considered to be the first professional coach in sport, breaking the occupations amateur public school roots...
: 1999 - UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year: 1998–99
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach AwardBBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach AwardThe BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to the coach who was considered to have made the most substantative contribution to British sport in that year. The award is...
: 1999 - BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team AwardBBC Sports Personality of the Year Team AwardThe BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. Currently, the award is given to the British team that "has achieved the most notable performance in British sport". The award's recipient is...
: 1999 - IFFHS Club Coach of the Year: 1999
- LMA Manager of the Decade: 1990s
- LMA Special Merit AwardLeague Managers AssociationThe League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...
: 2011 - Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the YearLaureus World Sports Award for Team of the YearList of winners and nominees of the Laureus World Sports Awards: Team of the Year. Winning team is bolded and shaded in gray.-List of winners and nominees:-See also:*Sportsman of the Year*Sportswoman of the Year*Breakthrough of the Year...
: 2000 - BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement AwardBBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement AwardThe BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime". The winner is...
: 2001 - English Football Hall of FameEnglish Football Hall of FameThe English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...
: 2002 - Onze d'OrOnze d'OrThe Onze d'Or is a football award handed out by French magazine Onze Mondial at the end of the year since 1976...
Coach of the Year (2): 1999, 2007 - Professional Footballers' Association Merit Award: 2007
- UEFA Team of the YearUEFA Team of the YearThe UEFA Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its . This award started in 2001 to allow users and visitors of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their overall performances in European club football and international...
(2): 2007, 2008 - Premier League 10 Seasons AwardsPremier League 10 Seasons AwardsThe Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition of professional football in England...
(1992/3 – 2001/2)- Manager of the Decade
- Most Coaching Appearances (392 games)
- Premier League Manager of the Year (10): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
- Premier League Manager of the Month (26): August 1993, October 1994, February 1996, March 1996, February 1997, October 1997, January 1999, April 1999, August 1999, March 2000, April 2000, February 2001, April 2003, December 2003, February 2005, March 2006, August 2006, October 2006, February 2007, January 2008, March 2008, January 2009, April 2009, September 2009, January 2011, August 2011
- LMA Manager of the YearLMA Manager of the YearThe League Managers Association Awards is an annual award ceremony in English football, awarded by the League Managers Association. The most prestigious award is the LMA Manager of the Year Award It is presented to a manager from any division for his achievements in the prior season...
(3): 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11 - World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (4): 1993, 1999, 2007, 2008
Orders and special awards
- Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE): 1983 - Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE): 1995 - Knight BachelorKnight BachelorThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
: 1999
As a player
|-|1957–58||rowspan="4"|Queen's Park
Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...
||rowspan="3"|Second Division
Scottish Football League Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1958–59|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1959–60|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1957–60 !! Total
!31 !! 15 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1960–61||rowspan="5"|St. Johnstone||rowspan=2|First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1961–62|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1962–63||Second Division
Scottish Football League Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division is the second highest division of the Scottish Football League and the third highest overall in the Scottish football league system....
|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1963–64||First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1960–64 !! Total
!37 !! 19 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1964–65||rowspan="4"|Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
||rowspan="3"|First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1965–66|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1966–67|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1964–67 !! Total
!89 !! 66 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1967–68||rowspan="3"|Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
||rowspan=2|First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1968–69|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1967–69 !! Total
!41 !! 25 !! 6 !! 10 !! 4 !! 9 !! 6 !! 0 !! 57 !! 44
|-
|1969–70||rowspan="5"|Falkirk
Falkirk F.C.
Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...
||rowspan="4"|First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1970–71|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1971–72|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
|1972–73|| || || || || || || || || ||
|-
!1969–73 !! Total
!95 !! 36 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-
|1973–74||rowspan=2|Ayr United
Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...
||First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
|24||9|| || || || || || || ||
|-
!1973–74 !! Total
!24 !! 9 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
317||170|| || || || || || || ||
317||170|| || || || || || || ||
As a manager
| eam | at | rom | o | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire F.C. East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish football club originating in Falkirk. Founded in 1880, originally as Bainsford Britannia, the club changed to their current name a year later in 1881... |
 |
1 June 1974 | 20 October 1974 |
||||||||
| St. Mirren St. Mirren F.C. St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St... |
|
21 October 1974 | 31 May 1978 |
||||||||
| Aberdeen Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen... |
|
1 August 1978 | 5 November 1986 |
||||||||
| Scotland Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872... |
|
10 September 1985 | 13 June 1986 |
||||||||
| Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
 |
6 November 1986 | Present |
||||||||
| Total |
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External links
- Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United Managerial Record at mufcinfo.com
- 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
- English Football Hall of Fame
- Sir Alex Ferguson: A career profile with pictures
- Sir Alex Ferguson's managerial stats according to the official Manchester United statistics website