Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football history, winning almost 40 trophies – including 13 Premier League titles – during his time in charge of Manchester United.
He arrived at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986 and will retire at the end of the 2012/13 season.
Ferguson enjoyed a playing career in Scotland that saw him take in spells with Queen's Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United. But it is not for his playing of the game that Sir Alex was to become a success.
Following a spell out of the game he

moved into coaching, taking up the role of manager of East Stirlingshire, St Mirren then Aberdeen. It was his time at Pittodrie where he earned his reputation as a top coach. He broke the Glasgow dominance of Scottish football to lead Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Following the sacking of Ron Atkinson as manager of Manchester United in 1986, the Old Trafford hierarchy moved quickly for his services.
Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers who had consistently, to their supporters’ discontent, failed to break Liverpool’s domination. Stuck in the bottom four of the Division One table, Ferguson immediately set about attempting to stave off the very real threat of relegation. Without resorting to the transfer market, he guided United up the table to an 11th place finish.

By now it was clear to Ferguson that he faced a major job in turning the club around. United were an entertaining side but one that seemed unable to cope with the more physical aspects of League football. In his second season the Reds fared better finishing second behind Liverpool, but the position painted a false picture. The turning point came in the 1989/90 season.
Following a run of games in which the Reds were drawn away

in every round, United picked up their first silverware of the Ferguson era. Lee Martin scoring the only goal in a final replay against Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup.
This first trophy opened the floodgates. The European Cup Winners’ Cup was won the following season in Rotterdam, Barcelona defeated 2-1 thanks to a brace from Mark Hughes. Then, in 1991/92, the League Cup was added to United’s list of honours.
Sadly the title remained elusive. It was the Holy Grail to United fans, the 26 championships-free years being exacerbated by Liverpool’s dominance of the domestic and European game.
In 1992/93 the long wait for the League championship came to an end with the Reds, inspired by £1m signing Eric Cantona, pipping Aston Villa in the final weeks of the season.

The shackles were broken: the Double followed in 1993/94, the double-Double (with ‘kids’) in 1995/96, and another title in 1997. Finally United were matching off-field might with on-field success. Liverpool’s dominance was well and truly over.
Sir Alex’s greatest achievement came in 1998/99. No side before or since has achieved a Treble haul of Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup. On an unforgettable night in Barcelona his decision to throw on substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole

Gunnar Solskjaer assured history was made. The pair scored injury-time goals to win the Champions League and complete the Treble.
Ferguson was knighted following that success and some suggested he should retire, believing his desire would wane following the realisation of a dream. Not a bit of it. Another title followed in 1999/2000 and he made it three-in-row in 2000/01. His eighth Premiership duly arrived in 2002/03; his fifth FA Cup came a year later, against Millwall in Cardiff.
The Reds had by now entered a period of rebuilding. The side of homegrown players he’d first put together in 1995/96 was now breaking up and he’d

recruited new stars like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to spark a new era of success.
The rebuilding paid off with victory in the Carling Cup in 2005/06 and a ninth Premier League trophy in 2006/07. In May 2007, Sir Alex swooped for three players - Anderson, Nani and Owen Hargreaves - to bolster an already strong squad. This evolving team claimed more glory in 2007/08, defending the Premier League title and securing Sir Alex's second Champions League triumph with all three of those signings scoring in the penalty shoot-out against Chelsea.
United followed European success by winning the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December

2008. The Reds then claimed the Carling Cup in March 2009 by beating Tottenham on penalties in the final.
On 16 May 2009, United achieved what had seemed an impossible mission when Sir Alex arrived in 1986, equalling Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 league championships. Beating Liverpool to the 2008/09 crown – Sir Alex's 11th title in 17 seasons – made the feat even sweeter.
Even better was to follow two years later. After being pipped to the championship by a point by Double winners Chelsea, United had to settle for the Carling Cup as the only trophy of 2010. But the Reds

wrestled the Premier League title back with typical determination as Wayne Rooney's penalty at Blackburn ensured United surpassed Liverpool as the most successful club in the domestic game. 
There was final-day heartbreak in 2011/12 as Manchester City pipped the Reds to the league title with just seconds of the season remaining. That disappointment made the manager doubly determined to reclaim the trophy in 2012/13 – his final season in charge – and his side delivered a fitting send-off to by clinching the club's 20th league title with four games to spare.

Sir Alex will continue to be involved at United following his retirement, taking up a position on the club's board and acting as an ambassador.