Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who made Man United loved, loathed, idolised and feared

David Cooper - Writer 13:05 06/05/2018
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  • He is known simply as ‘the boss’.

    The greatest manager the British game and arguably world football has ever seen, Sir Alex Ferguson made Manchester United loved, loathed, idolised and feared during a 26-year reign which brought a staggering 38 trophies.

    The news Ferguson is in intensive care following a brain haemorrhage will be felt most keenly, of course, at Old Trafford but also across the whole of football, where he remains a colossal figure despite his retirement in 2013.

    The most difficult moments for his successors have been amplified by the accompanying pictures of Ferguson sat in the stands, the job of trying to emulate his achievements appearing too daunting even for some of the game’s biggest egos.

    Born at his grandmother’s home in Govan, Glasgow on New Year’s Eve 1941, an ethic of discipline and hard work was drummed into the young Ferguson by his father, who worked in the shipbuilding industry.

    Ferguson left Govan High School at 16 and began an apprenticeship as a toolmaker – but by then he was beginning to make strides in football.

    sir alex 1

    After playing for Drumchapel Amateurs, regarded as the biggest amateur team in Scotland, Ferguson moved on to Queen’s Park and scored on his debut as a 16-year-old.

    An uncompromising striker – when he ran a pub early in his managerial career, he named the downstairs bar ‘The Elbow Room’ – Ferguson was prolific but struggled to hold down a place in the team at either Queen’s Park or St Johnstone and considered emigrating to Canada before a hat-trick against Rangers in 1963 earned him a move to Dunfermline.

    Now a professional footballer, Ferguson continued to find the back of the net with great regularity, scoring 45 times in 51 games in 1965-66 and finishing as the joint top scorer in the Scottish League.

    His transfer to Rangers for £65,000 was then a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs but his time at Ibrox turned sour after he was blamed for a goal conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

    Ferguson moved on to Falkirk, where he first gained experience in coaching, and then Ayr United, finishing his playing career at the age of 32.

    He was named manager of East Stirlingshire and swiftly gained a reputation as a disciplinarian before moving to St Mirren, who have the distinction of being the only club to sack Ferguson as a manager.

    Before his departure, Ferguson transformed the side from Second Division also-rans to First Division champions in 1977, attracting the attention of Aberdeen.

    sir alex ferguson 1

    In a precursor to his tenure at Old Trafford, Ferguson initially struggled in charge of the Dons before masterminding great success – a league title in 1980, breaking the Old Firm dominance, the Scottish Cup in 1982 and then, brilliantly, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, beating Real Madrid in the final.

    Two more league titles and and three cups followed, and by now Ferguson was attracting overtures from England but turned down the managers’ positions at Wolves, Arsenal and Tottenham.

    Ferguson had a brief spell as Scotland manager having been part of the coaching team when Jock Stein collapsed and died at Ninian Park and led the team to the 1986 World Cup.

    Speculation was growing that he would replace Ron Atkinson at Old Trafford, and in November 1986 he did so, but progress was steady rather than spectacular.

    Poor league form in 1989-90 saw Ferguson under serious pressure, and Mark Robins’ winner for United in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest has gone down in football folklore as the goal that saved his job, although both parties have always insisted that was not the case.

    United went on to lift the cup and Ferguson did not look back. It took another three years to win the first of 13 Premier League titles, with the signing of Eric Cantona the catalyst, but the club’s youth system was beginning to produce the sort of talent for which United and Ferguson would become famous.

    sir alex, ronaldo

    With the ‘Class of 92’ at its heart, Ferguson’s team would go on to win eight Premier League titles in 11 seasons and, for his crowning glory, the treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League in 1999 – the same year he was knighted.

    Six more league titles followed over the final years of his tenure, and a second Champions League crown in 2008, and fittingly United lifted the Premier League trophy for the last time in Ferguson’s final season.

    An abrasive character never afraid to rile fellow managers – most famously Newcastle’s Kevin Keegan – Ferguson was also often the first to offer a supportive word in difficult moments and always put Manchester United first.

    Players who he felt considered themselves to any extent bigger than the club were swiftly shown the exit door irrespective of their importance to the team.

    Outside of football, Ferguson’s chief interests include politics – in 1998 he was revealed to be one of the Labour Party’s biggest private donors – and horse racing.

    He lives in Wilmslow with wife Cathy, who he married in 1966, and the couple have three sons: Mark, Darren – currently manager of Doncaster – and Jason.

    Provided by Press Association Sport 

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