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

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

At Manchester United, Ferguson has become the most successful manager in the history of English football, having guided the team to eight league championships. In 1999, he became the first manager to lead an English team to the treble of league, FA Cup and European Cup.

Successful as he has been, Ferguson has repeatedly come under criticism for his handling of personal disagreements with his players at Manchester United. The manager sees himself as master of his squad, regardless of the star status often accorded to individual members; with this view firmly in place, Ferguson has consistently taken a "my way or the highway" approach in his dealings with players. The pressure of this management tact has often been the cause of many notable players' departures. Over the years, the casualties have included quality players such as Paul McGrath, Paul Ince, Lee Sharpe, Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke, David Beckham, Gordon Strachan and more recently, Ruud van Nistelrooy, all of whom left while still at relatively high points in their careers. Nonetheless, many experts acknowledge that Alex Ferguson's unprecedented success with United has been largely due to the uniquely fierce disciplinary line that he takes with such highly-paid, high-profile players.

Playing career

He began as an amateur at Queen's Park, making his debut at 16 as a striker. He described his first match as a "nightmare" but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2-1 defeat against Stranraer. Although he scored 15 goals in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St Johnstone in 1960.

Although he continued to score regularly at St Johnstone, he was still unable to command a regular place and regularly requested transfers. Although he was out of favour at the club, their failure to sign a forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers, in which he scored a hat trick in a surprise victory. Dunfermline signed him the following summer (1964.)

The following season (1964-65), Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish League and reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3-2 to Celtic, then failed to win the League by one point.

In 1967, he joined Rangers for £65,000, then a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He was blamed for a goal that they conceded in the 1969 Scottish cup final, and was forced to play for the club's junior side instead of the first team. According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away.

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 responsiblities. Ferguson responded by requesting a transfer and moved to Ayr United, where he finished his playing career.

Early managerial career

East Stirlingshire

In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of East Stirlingshire, at the comparatively young age of 32. It was a part-time job that paid £40 per week, and the club didn't have a single goalkeeper at the time. He immediately gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with one of his players later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start." His players admired his tactical decisions, however, and the club's results improved considerably.

The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage St. Mirren. Although they were below East Stirlingshire in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt a degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join St Mirren after taking advice from Jock Stein.

St Mirren

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

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Managing Aberdeen

Early disappointment

Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeill who had only lasted a season after replacing Ally MacLeod who had left the job to manage the Scotland national team. Although Aberdeen was one of Scotland's major clubs, they had not won the league since 1955. The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost a league match since the previous December, having finished second in the league the previous season. Ferguson had now been a manager for four years, but was still not much older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of some of the older ones such as Joe Harper The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish F.A. Cup and the final of the league cup, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.

The following December (1979), they lost the league cup final again, this time to Dundee United after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay. It was the third time in three years that a team managed by Ferguson had lost a cup final.

Silverware at last

Aberdeen had started the season poorly but their form improved dramatically in the new year and they won the Scottish league that season with a 5-0 win on the final day. It was the first time in fifteen years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic. Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, later saying "That was the achievement which united us. I finally had the players believing in me".

He was still a strict disciplinarian, though, and his players nicknamed him Furious Fergie. He fined one of his players, John Hewitt, for overtaking him on a public road, and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half.. He was dissatisfied with the atmosphere at Aberdeen matches, and deliberately created a 'siege mentality' by accusing the Scottish media of being biased towards the Glasgow clubs, in order to motivate the team. The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982. Ferguson was offered the managers' job at Wolves but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble and " ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled"

European success

Ferguson led Aberdeen to even greater success the following season (1982-83). They had qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as a result of winning the Scottish Cup the previous season, and impressively knocked out Bayern Munich, who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. According to Willie Miller, this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition, which they did, with a 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in the final on 11 May 1983. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish team to win a European trophy and Ferguson now felt that "he'd done something worthwhile with his life". Aberdeen had also performed well in the league that season, and retained the Scottish Cup with a 1–0 victory over Rangers, but Ferguson was not happy with his team's play in that match and upset the players by describing them as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match.

After a poor start to the 1983-84 season, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was awarded the OBE in 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984-85 season, but had a disappointing season in 1985-86, finishing fourth in the league, although they did win both domestic cups. Ferguson had been appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald, their chairman, that he intended to leave that summer. After the death of Jock Stein he had also taken on the role of Scotland manager in preparation for the 1986 World Cup, appointing Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen during this time. There had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, who had been struggling badly that season after a good start. Although Ferguson remained at the club over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.

Managing Manchester United

First seasons at United

He was appointed manager at Old Trafford on November 6 1986. Ferguson was worried that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up the table to finish the season in 11th place. His mother died from lung cancer in late 1986.

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

United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes returned to the club, but the 1988-89 season was a disappointment for them, finishing eleventh in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup quarter final.

First trophy in England

During the summer of 1989 United signed two new midfielders to bolster their chances of success in the 1989-90 season: Nottingham Forest's Neil Webb and West Ham United's Paul Ince. Middlesbrough's 24-year-old central defender Gary Pallister also joined the club for a fee of £2.3million. On the opening day of the 1989-90 season, United beat defending champions Arsenal 4-1 and there was hope that the league title would return to Old Trafford having being absent since 1967. But in September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against neighbours Manchester City. Things did not improve during the rest of the 1989, and in November a banner declaring "Three years of excuses and it's still crap. Ta ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. United went on a run of six defeats and two draws in eight games and Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period ever suffered in the game."

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

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

European success, but a disappointment in the league

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

The 1991–92 season was a disaster for United, and in Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that mistakes had contributed to the misery". They won the League Cup for the first time but lost out on the league title to Leeds United after leading the table for much of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to sign Mick Harford from Luton Town had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to the team if they were to win the league the following season.

1992–1993: Champions at last

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

1993–1994: The Double

1993–94 brought more success for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. He added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder Roy Keane to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson, although the Old Trafford legend remained in the squad for one more season.

United led the 1993–94 Premiership table virtually from start to finish and this time they finished champions ahead of runners-up Blackburn. Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3-1 to Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa. In the FA Cup final Manchester United achieved an impressive 4-0 scoreline against Chelsea and the result confirmed Alex Ferguson's place as one of the greatest managers in the English game. United had become only the sixth club ever to win the League Championship/FA Cup double. Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn Rovers £1.2million for David May.

1994–1995: Trophyless season

1994–95 was perhaps Alex Ferguson's second most difficult season as Manchester United manager after 1989-1990. Key players like Paul Parker, Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis were absent in many matches because of injury, and Cantona was absent for the final four months of the season as he began an eight-month ban for assaulting a Crystal Palace supporter in a game at Selhurst Park. Cantona 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 hit the headlines two weeks before the Cantona incident when they paid a British record fee of £7million for Newcastle's prolific striker Andy Cole, who began his Old Trafford career with 12 goals in 18 league games.

However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them the league. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1-0 defeat to Everton.

1995–1996: The Double Double

Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Ince moved to Inter Milan of Italy for £7.5 million. Ince was a regular England international but had fallen out with Ferguson. Within 24 hours of Ince's departure, long serving striker Mark Hughes was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, after it emerged that he had not signed the contract he had been offered the previous January. Shortly afterwards, Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton. It was widely known that Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were ready to play in the first team, but there was considerable scepticism that they would be adequate replacements for Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis. The youngsters, who would be known as "Fergie's Fledglings", included Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who would all go on to be important members of the team.

When United lost their first league match 3–1 to Aston Villa, the media swooped upon Ferguson with undisguised glee. They wrote United off because Alex Ferguson's squad contained so many young and inexperienced players. Indeed, BBC's Match of the Day pundit, Alan Hansen infamously proclaimed that "you can't win anything with kids". However, the young players performed well and United won their next five matches. Although boosted by Cantona's return from suspension, they found themselves fourteen points behind Newcastle at one stage. However a series of good results in early 1996 saw the gap close, and from early March onwards United led the table. This contrasted with a disastrous run of form for Newcastle, whose manager, Kevin Keegan, succumbed to the immense pressure of the title race, and the mind games Ferguson famously loves to play with opposing managers. His famous outburst on live television, "I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!" has gone down in football legend as Fergie's greatest personal victory over another manager. However, arguably, Ferguson subsequently met his match in mind games with Arsène Wenger. United's Premiership title success was confirmed on the final day of the season thanks to a 3-0 away win over Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough. They played Liverpool in that year's FA Cup final, winning 1–0 with a late goal by Cantona.

1996–1997: Another title

1996–97 saw Alex Ferguson guide Manchester United to their fourth Premiership title in five seasons. In late October, they suffered three league defeats in a row and conceded 13 goals in the process. In January they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wimbledon in the Fourth Round, meaning they would miss the final for the first time since 1993. 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, and fought off competition from Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool to win the league title. At the end of the season, Cantona surprisingly retired from football.

1997–1998: A great start but a disappointing end

Ferguson made two new signings to bolster United's challenge for the 1997-98 season. He paid Tottenham Hotspur £3.5 million for the 31-year-old England striker Teddy Sheringham and signed Henning Berg from Blackburn Rovers for £5m. 1997–98 ended trophyless but United still finished runners-up to Arsenal (who had trailed them by 11 points at the beginning of March but had taken advantage of games in hand) and reached the Champions League quarter final.

In the summer of 1998, Alex Ferguson spent a total of £28 million on three major signings: Aston Villa's Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke, PSV's Dutch defender Jaap Stam and Parma's Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist.

1998–1999: 'The Treble'

1998–99 is still the most successful season in the history of any British side (alongside Celtic's 1966-67 season), with the club winning an unprecedented treble of the Premiership title, FA Cup and Champions League. The season was characterized by highly dramatic matches. In the Champions League semi-final, United conceded two early goals away to Juventus in the second leg (after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in which United scored a last-minute equaliser). 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, with the score at 1-1, Arsenal were awarded a last-minute penalty. Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel saved the penalty, and in extra time Ryan Giggs ran the length of the pitch to score a memorable winning goal. 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 thanks to 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, Alex Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the game.

1999-2000: Title number 6

Manchester United ended the 1999-2000 season as champions with just three Premiership defeats, and with Arsenal in second place. Last season the gap at the top had been just 1 point. This time the gap was 18 points. The dominance of United in this season is comparable with Arsenal's 2003/04 championship (0 league defeats) and Chelsea's title triumph in 2004/05 (1 league defeat). However, the massive gap between United and the rest of the Premiership caused some to wonder if the club's financial dominance was developing into a problem for the English game. Ironically, this question was to be answered within four years with the sudden emergence of Chelsea as the new financial superpower in England.

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

2000-01: Title number 7

The major change to the Manchester United side for the 2000-01 season was the acquisition of 29-year-old French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez from Monaco for £7.8million - making him the most expensive goalkeeper to be signed by a British club.

Another change to the line-up was Teddy Sheringham's winning his first team place back after two seasons of often being included as only a substitute. By the end of the season, the 35-year-old Sheringham was Manchester United's leading scorer in all competitions and had been presented with both the PFA Player of the Year Award and the Football Writers Player of the Year Award.

During the 2001 close season Ruud van Nistelrooy was finally acquired, for £18million, and soon after Manchester United again broke the British transfer record - this time paying Lazio £28.1million for Argentine attacking midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón. Veron showed sparks of brilliance and he had his fair share of first team appearances, but he ultimately failed to live up to the high expectations his transfer fee suggested and he was sold to Chelsea for £15million only two years later. Veron proved to be Ferguson's most expensive transfer mistake, and this explains his willingness to sell the player to rivals Chelsea in order to halve his substantial losses. Veron's career failed to recover at Chelsea, and his international career with Argentina also soon floundered.

2001-02: Trophyless season

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

During November and early December in 2001, Manchester United endured their worst league form in over a decade - five defeats in seven Premiership fixtures, three of which occurred consecutively (against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United). On 8 December 2001, Manchester United were ninth in the Premiership - 11 points behind leaders Liverpool who had a game in hand. Sir Alex Ferguson had already written off his side's chances of claiming a unique fourth successive Premiership title.

But then came a dramatic turn around in form. Between mid-December and late January, eight successive wins saw Manchester United climb to the top of the Premiership and put their title challenge back on track.

In the end, United finished third in the Premiership (their first finish outside the top two since they finished sixth in the 1990-91 old First Division), lost on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League Semi Finals, were knocked out of the FA Cup in the Fourth Round by Middlesbrough, and were knocked out of the League Cup in the Third Round by Arsenal. This meant that Manchester United had failed to finish winners or runners-up of a major competition for the first time since the 1988-89 season. United's misery was compounded as Arsenal clinched the Premiership Title at Old Trafford with a 1-0 win in the penultimate game of the season.

The 2001-02 season was to have been Sir Alex Ferguson's last as Manchester United manager, and the looming date of his retirement was cited by many as a reason for the team's loss of form. Ferguson himself admitted that the decision to pre-announce his retirement had resulted in a negative effect on the players and on his ability to impose discipline. But in February 2002 he agreed to stay in charge for at least another three years. (He joked that at least half of the squad would be cursing the decision).

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.

2002-03: Title number 8

Manchester United yielded their eighth Premiership title in 11 seasons at the end of 2002-03, yet just over two months before the end of the season they had lost to Liverpool in the League Cup final and slipped eight points behind leaders Arsenal on the same day. But an improvement in form for United, and a decline for Arsenal, saw the Premiership trophy gradually slip out of the Londoners' grasp and push it back in the direction of Old Trafford.

On 4 May 2003, Manchester United's title success was confirmed when Arsenal lost 3-2 at home to Leeds United - a result which ended Arsenal's title hopes and secured Leeds's survival. (Ironically, it was to be Arsenal's last Premiership defeat for 49 games - a run which was ended in October 2004 by Manchester United). Ferguson described the 02/03 championship as his most satisfying ever, due to the nature of a remarkable comeback. While many focused on Arsenal's misery at allowing the title to slip from their grasp after having held an 18-point lead at one point, there was no ignoring the masterful way in which Ferguson guided United to finish the season with a powerful run of victories to overhaul the reigning champions. Not for the first time, Ferguson had proven to be a master of managerial mind-games, successfully rattling the composure of Arsenal and their otherwise unflappable manager Arsène Wenger (the relationship with Wenger subsequently deteriorated to such an extent that Wenger reputedly challenged Ferguson to a physical fight after one particularly stormy encounter, in an infamous tunnel melee which also included scuffles between major players on each side). In May 2003, however, the last laugh was with Ferguson, and United fans celebrated with a new anthem: "We've got our trophy back!"

2003-04: FA Cup glory

Sir Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United to their eleventh FA Cup at the end of the 2003-04 season, but it only partly compensated for a relatively disappointing season which had seen them finish third in the Premiership and suffer Champions League elimination at the hands of eventual winners FC Porto, and a League Cup defeat by West Bromwich Albion. This was partly caused by the absence of Rio Ferdinand for 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 Jose Kleberson were disappointing, but there was at least one productive signing - 19-year-old Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been signed from Sporting Lisbon for £12.24million. However, United failed to land their primary transfer target - Brazilian star Ronaldinho, who turned his back on a move to United and instead joined Barcelona. Managing director Peter Kenyon was blamed by many for failing to secure Ronaldinho's signing, after several months of negotiations, and Kenyon later departed United to join rivals Chelsea. Fabien Barthez spent the season on loan at Marseille and was then sold permanently, and his place in the United goal was filled by American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

2004-05: Trophyless season

At the beginning of the 2004-05 season, Manchester United paid an initial fee of £20million for 19-year-old Everton and England striker Wayne Rooney, whose performances led to him being voted PFA Young Player of the Year at the end of the season. Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze also proved to be a successful new signing, while Cristiano Ronaldo continued where he had left off the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances.

United were never favourites to win the 2004-05 Premiership title, again their failure could be put down to a player's absence - high-scoring striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was unavailable for almost half of the season due to injury and his deputy Alan Smith failed to provide goals as consistently as the Dutchman. Ferguson guided the club to a third-place finish for the third time in four seasons, in the F.A Cup they lost on penalties to Arsenal after a completely dominant United failed to break the 'Gunners' tight defence down in the FA Cup final after a goalless draw. Ferguson compared the setback to losing the league title to Leeds in 1991/92, and hoped the experience would galvanize his squad into a successful 2005/06 campaign.

2005-06: League Cup triumph, European disaster

Ferguson's preparations for the season were disrupted by off-field drama at Manchester United. Ferguson had been involved in a high-profile dispute with major shareholder John Magnier, over the ownership of a racehorse. When Magnier and business partner JP 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. United made a poor start to the 2005–06 season, Ferguson's 32nd consecutive season in football management and his 20th at United. Sidelined due to injuries were many senior players like Gary Neville, Gabriel Heinze and their captain Roy Keane. In an MUTV interview Keane was very critical about some of his fellow players. The interview was not aired subsequently. It is said that Keane was critical about the performances of Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Edwin van der Sar, Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith. Despite this, United bounced back with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Premiership leaders Chelsea. The game was famous for the goal from the under-fire Darren Fletcher and a stunning holding role played by Alan Smith, who was named the Man of the Match.

On 18 November, Roy Keane officially left the club, his contract ended by mutual consent. He returned for a testimonial at the end of the season, but infamously prevented Ferguson from delivering a tribute to the crowd. The two did shake hands, however, and Ferguson announced that although Keane was not the most talented player he had ever managed at Manchester United he was definitely the most determined and possibly the best. Keane is now the manager of championship side Sunderland.

For the first time in over a decade United failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions' League. United lost to Benfica 2-1 in the decider. With just one win in the entire group matches, United also failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Signings during January 2006 of Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic and French full-back Patrice Evra were made, as the side reached second place in the league, behind runaway leaders Chelsea. Yet a defeat to Manchester City led to more question marks over the team and the suitability of the manager. But United were able to claw their way back from a trophyless season by winning the League Cup. They hammered the surprise team of the tournament, Wigan Athletic 4-0. Wayne Rooney scored two goals, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha claimed the other two. It marked the first League Cup for Manchester United since 1992. Ruud Van Nistelrooy's future at Old Trafford seemed to be in doubt after not starting in the Carling Cup final, and recent FA Premier League games. After the League Cup victory, United managed to close the gap on leaders Chelsea to 7 points at one point. Talk of an amazing comeback was building, but hope eventually faded away following a 0-0 draw at home against bottom-placed Sunderland. On April 29, Manchester United faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in what turned out to be the title decider for Chelsea, as the reigning champions comfortably won 3-0 and retained their title. There was to be more bad news for Manchester United with star player Wayne Rooney breaking a metatarsal for the second time in 2 years after falling awkwardly from a benign tackle by Paulo Ferreira. It not only ended Rooney's league season but put his involvement in the 2006 World Cup in doubt; however, Rooney returned in England's second game against Trinidad & Tobago. Nevertheless, after their highest league finish in four years and closing the gap on Chelsea, United's hopes for the 2006/07 season were raised. Ferguson hoped to end his illustrious managerial career on a high, by halting the dominance of financially-powerful Chelsea and delivering a final championship trophy to Old Trafford.

2006-2007 - Ferguson's 20th season in charge

This season started off very well for Ferguson, the signing of Michael Carrick for £18.6 million considered a major coup if a bit expensive. He also signed Tomasz Kuszczak, a Polish goalkeeper to be substitute for Edwin van Der Sar. However Ruud Van Nistelrooy eventually left for Real Madrid for £10 million after a bitter dispute with Ferguson. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won the first four Premiership games. This was without Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, who were both given three match bans to start after the first game, by the FA for their sendings off in a pre-season tournament in Holland. United then lost their next game, a home fixture against Arsenal before drawing away to newly promoted Reading F.C. However, they recovered quickly from this brief blip and won all of their next four premiership games, as well three Champions League games. After a patchy performance against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup 3rd round, Ferguson was very upset by the low quality of football his team played, but was pleased with the win nevertheless. Meanwhile, Rooney had been experiencing a dip in his form, but this righted itself in the 10th premiership game of the season, when Rooney netted a superb hat-trick. Ferguson hailed that 4-0 away win against Bolton as one of the best performances by his team in years. At this point United were level with Chelsea on 25 points, and topping the table on goal difference. There was a strong belief that they could go on to snatch the title back from Chelsea. Sir Alex said to do this United would need at least 90 points, but that they could manage that.

He celebrated his 20th anniversary in charge of Manchester United on 6 November, 2006. On 4 November celebrations were kicked off at Old Trafford when United beat Portsmouth 3-0 to go three points clear of Chelsea. 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 Southen in the fourth round of the Carling Cup, although Ferguson did play a weakened side, although it did include Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting eleven.

Managerial honours

Ferguson was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager.

Manchester United

Domestic competition

• FA Premiership: (8) 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03
• FA Cup: (5) 1989/90, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2003/04
• League Cup: (2) 1991/92, 2005/06
• FA Charity/Community Shield: (5) 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003
• Shared: (1) 1990

European competition

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

Notes:

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

Aberdeen

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

European competition

• European Cup Winners Cup: (1) 1982/83
• UEFA Supercup: (1) 1983/84

Manager Awards

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

1000 games at Man Utd

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

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

Trivia

• In 2005, the Collins English Dictionary included the phrase "squeaky-bum time", coined by Ferguson.

• Sir Alex Ferguson has a notorious history for playing mind games with managers during close Premiership title races - notably with the likes of Kevin Keegan in 1995/96 & undisputedly, with Arsène Wenger all the way back since 1997/98 up until Arsenal's last Premiership trophy in 2003/04.

• There are several stories mentioned in relation to Ferguson's hot temper which have nearly passed into folklore. The most notable of these stories involve Sir Alex's kicking a football boot at David Beckham, his throwing of teacups during motivational halftime speeches, and his famed "hair-dryer treatment" in which he vents his ire (and often abuse) directly into a recalcitrant player's face. That these anecdotes have seemingly served to enhance Ferguson's popular appeal is evidence of the clear niche that the manager has carved out for himself within his profession.

• Ferguson has refused post-match interviews with the BBC since May 2004 after a documentary, Fergie & Son, was aired showing dealings between him and his agent son Jason.

• Ferguson is an outspoken supporter of the Labour Party.

• Sir Alex Ferguson is also a dotcom entrepreneur - he is one of the founders of restaurant booking site toptable.

External links

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

References

1. Crick, Michael (2003). The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson. Pocket Books. p. 33. ISBN 0-7434-2991-5.
2. The Boss p. 82
3. The Boss p. 83
4. The Boss p. 86
5. The Boss p. 85
6. The Boss p. 108-9.
7. The Boss p. 117.
8. The Boss p. 159.
9. The Boss p. 171.
10. The Boss p. 174.
11. The Boss p. 175.
12. The Boss p. 179.
13. The Boss p. 180.
14. The Boss p. 191.
15. The Boss p. 195
16. The Boss p. 196.
17. The Boss p. 201.
18. The Boss p. 203.
19. The Boss p. 204.
20. "Arise Sir Alex?". BBC News, 27 May 1999. Retrieved December 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
21. Ferguson, Alex (1993). Just Champion!. Manchester United Football Club plc. p. 27. ISBN 0-9520509-1-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
22. Managing My Life p. 285.
23. Managing My Life p. 302.
24. Managing My Life p. 311.
25. Managing My Life p. 320.
26. "Wenger wins mind games", BBC Sport, 8 May 2002.

v t e Scotland squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup
1 Leighton 2 Gough 3 Malpas 4 Souness (c) 5 McLeish 6 Miller 7 Strachan 8 Aitken 9 Bannon 10 Bett 11 McStay 12 Goram 13 Nicol 14 Narey 15 Albiston 16 McAvennie 17 Archibald 18 Sharp 19 Nicholas 20 Sturrock 21 Cooper 22 Rough Coach: Ferguson

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