Fergie's Old Trafford Odyssey

Perfect XI: Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United dream team

2011-11-07T14:12:00Z

He worked long and hard to bring you the five-part story of Alex Ferguson's reign, so we let Vithushan Ehantharajah pick his finest United line-up from the Fergie era...

You’re all thinking it, so we may as well address the absence of “you know who” from the get go.

Look, I love Juan Sebastian Veron – “La Brujita”, the beautifully bald one (not a direct translation) - as much as the next man, but I’m afraid he’ll have to settle for the bench… oh right, you meant Wayne Rooney.

There’s no denying 'Wazza' is hugely talented – or that he deserves a place in Ferguson’s top 20 players since taking over at Old Trafford – but in choosing a front two, the frank answer is that Rooney is simply not good enough to oust King Eric or Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Cantona’s link up play is superior to Rooney’s, while Van Nistelrooy’s record of 150 goals in 219 appearances is not to be sniffed at.

That being said, in the interest of synergy, there was also a strong case for Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole – their partnership proving integral to Ferguson and United’s historic Treble.

The absence of David Beckham – another key figure in that Treble-winning side – is no slight on the former England captain, rather an appreciation of the astronomical rise of Cristiano Ronaldo during six years at the club which saw him become the first United player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2008 (Beckham himself was a runner-up for the gong in 1999, missing out to Rivaldo).

Perhaps the biggest bone of contention comes in United’s backline, where Gary Pallister and Nemanja Vidic were benched for Jaap Stam and Rio Ferdinand. Stam’s size and pace would strike fear into the hearts of opposition forwards, his bloody-minded aggression was one of the driving forces of the successes of 1999 – and his occasional “shout-offs” with Peter Schmeichel were particularly entertaining.

Pallister, together with Steve Bruce, instilled a pride in the Manchester United defence that is still prevalent now (though Stats Zone may have something to say about that), but Ferguson’s own admission that selling Jaap Stam to Lazio was one of his biggest regrets says it all.

It was the introduction of Vidic that helped United reconquer Europe, but Ferdinand’s composure and quality on the ball helped United build from the back. In an era where the ability of England players were greatly exaggerated, he was one of a small group worthy of the ‘world class’ label.

Irwin, a model of consistency and professionalism, lacked the pace of Evra, but was immaculate in his positioning, solid in the tackle and threatening in the final third. Before Beckham, the Irishman was entrusted with dead-balls, and delivered as well as anyone.

As for between the sticks, it’s a no-brainer; Peter Schmeichel should go down as one of the great keepers of all time. I realise it’s unpopular to label someone as a “great” – certainly without consulting the entire footballing fraternity (particularly the loud and anonymous) – but anyone who watched the great Dane at United would have seen someone at the height of their powers, with a total appreciation of their position.

As for Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, with 24 trophies and 2,163 appearances between them and counting – and who knows how long Giggs could keep playing – well, they weren’t too bad either.

The rest of the “squad”: Edwin van der Sar, Gary Pallister, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney, Juan Sebastian Veron… (OK, maybe not…)

GALLERY All 38 of Sir Alex Ferguson's trophies at Manchester United

Fergie at United pt5/5: Domestic bliss and continental capers

2011-11-04T23:22:00Z

Having examined Sir Alex Ferguson's frequently fraught first five years, increasingly successful second five-year spell, domestically dominant third five-year spell and challenging fourth five-year spell, Vithushan Ehantharajah brings us up to date with virus-sellers, list-ranters and noisy neighbours...

The 2006/07 season marked the 50th anniversary of Matt Busby’s first foray into Europe, and footballers were still setting sail from Manchester to the continent. After 150 goals in five seasons for Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy had packed his bags and headed for Real Madrid.

Although Ferguson had long suspected the striker fancied a move to the glamorous Galacticos, the deadly Dutchman's departure was sparked by demotion to the bench after a training-ground row with Cristiano Ronaldo. Irksome for United, then, that Madrid were also being strongly linked with the ever-improving Portuguese winger.

Ronaldo had a lively summer. In an ill-tempered World Cup quarter-final, Wayne Rooney was sent off against Portugal after stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. In the immediate aftermath, Ronaldo – who had implored the referee to show Rooney a red card – was seen winking to the Portugal bench; an image that would be etched in the mind of every England supporting fan, who would proceed to boo his every touch during the next season.

Luckily for them, Sir Alex gave them the chance, deciding against shipping out the winger and instead allowing him to settle his differences with Rooney – to great effect.

It being tournament year, Ferguson eyed up the England squad for the next big thing to follow the signings of Rio Ferdinand in 2002 and Wayne Rooney in 2004. Nobody had exactly excelled but Tottenham’s deep-lying midfielder Michael Carrick showed promise and the tall Geordie arrived for £18.6m.

The only other incoming player was loanee goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak from West Brom, while exits included Quinton Fortune, David Bellion, Jonathan Spector and Liam Miller – originally signed from Celtic to replace Roy Keane.

On paper, United had lost their main striker and not really replaced Roy Keane, but they flew out of the blocks against Fulham with a 5-1 win featuring goals from Rooney, Ronaldo and Cottagers old boy Louis Saha.

After four wins on the bounce, United hosted their old enemies Arsenal, who had reached the 2006 Champions League Final but were yet to win this season and were described by Ferguson as a "team in transition" after losing Ashley Cole to Chelsea. Predictably they beat United; despite Edwin Van der Sar's deputy Kuszczak saving a Gilberto Silva penalty, Emmanuel Adebayor's late goal was enough for Wenger's first league win against Ferguson in nine attempts.

There were indications of a slight wobble with a 1-1 draw at Reading, but another emphatic seven-game winning run put them three points clear of Chelsea at the top. The champions visited at the end of November, and crucially failed to claw back ground on the leaders, even after Ricardo Carvalho's header cancelled out a finely-taken goal from the injury-plagued Saha.

Much of United’s good work was owed to the new central midfield partnership of Carrick and Paul Scholes, as well as the free-flowing combination of play of Ronaldo and Rooney. Although Ferguson usually played two recognised strikers, Rooney's all-round play and habit of dropping deep to link up with midfield was giving United a new fluidity, as was the absence of Ruud van Nistelrooy – a fearsome predator but rarely to be seen outside the penalty area.

Second-tier Southend dumped the holders out of the League Cup, briefly making a big name out of Freddy Eastwood, but United topped their Champions League group with four wins out of six to qualify three points clear as group winners and right the wrong of last season’s campaign.

Ferguson's side was also powering on in the league, winning six games out of the seven after the Chelsea draw with Ronaldo bagging eight along the way. Jose Mourinho's champions, six points back, were struggling by their standards after Peter Cech sustained a head injury in a collision with Stephen Hunt.

Cech would return three months later – sporting a head-guard – but by then his side had lost too much ground on United. As Ferguson memorably put it at an early-morning Carrington press conference: "The birds are whistling here and the sparrows are waking up at Stamford Bridge coughing."

In the meantime, Manchester United further strengthened their front line with the astute loan signing of Henrik Larsson. Although 35 years of age, the former Celtic and Barcelona goal machine was lured over for a couple of months during his Swedish side Helsingborg's winter break – and proved he still had it by opening the scoring on his debut, a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup Third Round.

The side's first visit to Arsenal's new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium – built specifically to help them match the financial might of United – ended in a 2-1 win for the hosts, but the defeat didn't sting as it might have done in previous years: the Gunners were still 12 points back and had long since been surpassed by Chelsea as the main threat.

Not that Ferguson held much truck with the idea that Arsenal could match his club simply by building a new ground. "Rival United? Arsenal? Never! They'll need three stadiums and 33 teams to rival us as a club. Nobody is as big as Manchester United. Nobody ever will be either."

As if to prove the point, United responded to the Emirates defeat with seven successive league wins in which they racked up 21 goals from 11 different players. There were four-goal hammerings for Watford, Spurs, Bolton and Blackburn sprinkled with late winners at Fulham and rivals Liverpool, with whose manager Rafa Benitez Ferguson was enjoying an increasingly bitter spat. Asked if the Anfield side could end their 17-year wait for a league title, Ferguson didn't know whether to bellow or guffaw. "You must be joking. Do I look as if I'm a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?"

Despite turning 65 on New Year's Eve 2006, Ferguson was as energetic as ever. "I'm waiting for the envelope," he said of reaching the traditional retirement age. "I'll get my bus pass and heating allowance and after the length of time I've worked I probably deserve them too. But the important thing is that I feel fine. I'm as fresh as a daisy."

Once again, spring sprung with United chasing the Treble. Portsmouth, Reading, Middlesborough and Watford were beaten as United reached the first FA Cup final at the rebuilt Wembley. And they were having a determined assault on the Champions League.

In the first knockout round, goals from Ryan Giggs and Larsson gave them 1-0 wins home and away against Lille and a quarter-final trip to Roma. In the Italian capital Paul Scholes was sent off after two yellow cards in the opening half-hour, before Rodrigo Taddei gave Roma the lead to leave the outlook bleak.

Rooney's calm equaliser – his first in Europe since that explosive debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce – gave the team belief and although Mirko Vucinic regained Roma's lead, United held on to a slender 2-1 defeat with optimism they could turn it round at Old Traafford.

And how. In a display which transcended the season and once more gave United the belief that they could compete with Europe's best, United simply annihilated Roma 7-1, with unsung hero Michael Carrick deservedly starting what turned out to be a rout.

And so to the semis, against AC Milan (while Chelsea and Liverpool fought out their second Champions League semi-final in three years). United won a compelling first leg at Old Trafford 3-2, but were far from convincing, with Kaka tearing through United’s defence at will – equalising Ronaldo's opener before giving the visitors the lead. Rooney levelled before his late winner gave them a one-goal lead to take to Italy – but they knew from experience against Roma that one goal was the slenderest of advantages.

And so it proved. Milan took just 11 minutes to take the lead, with Kaka turning provider for a Clarence Seedorf header. Seedorf made it 2-0 on the half-hour, before substitute Alberto Gilardino broke away from the defence to put the gloss on an object lesson for United.

As if in consolation, that weekend United wrapped up their first title in three years and ninth overall. Ronaldo's penalty earned a welcome win at Man City's new ground, before Chelsea's draw at Arsenal made it mathematically certain.

It was an important blow for United to strike. Chelsea were a financial and footballing force to be reckoned with, but the title win proved that United were more than able to match them, stride for stride.

The country's top two sides met in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley, and as is so often the case, it was a huge disappointment. Sterile for 116 minutes, it was decided by Didier Drogba's late winner to give Chelsea a consolation prize.

United’s dominance of the season was highlighted by the presence of eight of their players in the PFA's Premier League team of the year. But there was no doubt about the main man. Ronaldo, who had fittingly finished joint-top scorer with Rooney on 23, broke new ground by becoming the first man to be named PFA Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in the same season.
2006-07: Premier League winners, FA Cup finalists, League Cup R4, Champions League SF

No doubt encouraged by Ronaldo's success, Ferguson returned to Portugal in the summer to sign Sporting winger Nani and Porto's Brazilian midfielder Anderson for a combined £30m. He also signed hard-working England midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich and completed the full signing of goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.

Ferguson also added to the competition up front with the third-party loan of Carlos Tevez. The bustling Argentine goal-grabber had spent the previous season at West Ham, keeping the Irons in the top flight by the skin of their teeth with the last-day winner at Old Trafford. Leaving the club were Tim Howard (to Everton), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal), Alan Smith (Newcastle), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who moved into a coaching role at the club after retiring through injury.

After beating Chelsea on penalties in the Community Shield, the team made an awful start. The first three games yielded just one goal and two points to leave United in the relegation zone for the first time since 1992 – when they had gone on to win the league.

Draws against Reading (in which Rooney got injured) and Portsmouth (in which Ronaldo was sent off) were followed by a defeat at Man City, newly rich after a takeover by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who had installed Sven-Göran Eriksson. Their 1-0 win was hardly convincing, but after the Chelsea experience, United were learning to keep an eye on nouveau riche teams.

Going back to basics, United ground out three consecutive 1-0 wins before hosting Chelsea, who had just parted company with charismatic manager Jose Mourinho. Director of Football Avram Grant could do little as Tevez's first goal and Saha's penalty gave United a 2-0 win.

United’s defence were as impervious as ever, but they were uncharacteristically blunt up front; after eight league games they had scored seven and conceded two. But as Tevez clicked with Rooney and Ronaldo, they scored four against Wigan, Villa and Middlesbrough before a 2-2 thriller at early pace-setters Arsenal, Ronaldo's late goal cancelled out by William Gallas's injury-time header.

Barring a defeat to Nicolas Anelka's poached finish at Bolton, United continued to rack up wins in the league; by Boxing Day's 4-0 battering of Sunderland, which took them back top, they had amassed 43 points of a possible 48 since that early derby defeat at City. United had also powered through their Champions League group, winning their first five games against Sporting, Roma and Dynamo Kyiv to top the section.

A good Christmas period was spoiled by defeat to West Ham at the end of December – with Anton Ferdinand cancelling out a Ronaldo goal, before Matthew Upson headed in the winner. That allowed Arsenal to top the table as 2007 ended, although United regained the lead with a 6-0 walloping of Newcastle including a Ronaldo hat-trick.

Combining with Rooney and Tevez in a formation of devastating fluidity, the Portuguese had continued his sparkling form, including an astonishing free-kick against Portsmouth which was voted Goal of the Season and had professional and park-players alike debating the technique behind the strike.

Irksomely for United, it also meant Real Madrid's stealthy pursuit of the brilliant winger was becoming ever more obvious. Ferguson was furious. "Real have no morals at all," he fumed after yet another 'leaked' story of the Spanish giants' interest. "They think they can ride roughshod over everyone but they won't do it with us. In terms of morals, Barcelona have far better moral issues than Real Madrid will ever have."

United started their FA Cup campaign with wins against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, and having been unbeaten in January (winning all but one of their games) they faced Manchester City at home in an emotional encounter marking the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

United wore 1950s-style kits, with no sponsor or names, and reverted to the traditional 1-to-11 numbering on their shirts. After an immaculately observed minute’s silence, City took the initiative, taking a 2-0 first-half lead through Darius Vassell and Benjani. A late Carrick goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation. After the game, Ferguson commended the City fans for their conduct, adding that perhaps his players were overawed by the occasion.

With Arsenal beating Blackburn that weekend, United fell five points off the pace – but dealt a psychological blow with a 4-0 FA Cup demolition of the Gunners, for whom further trouble loomed at Birmingham. After losing Croatian striker Eduardo to a horrific broken leg, Arsenal conceded a last-minute penalty to equalise and demoralise Arsene Wenger’s men. Meanwhile United demolished Newcastle 5-1 to keep the pressure on.

Calmly disposing of French champions Lyon in the first Champions League knockout, with a late Tevez equaliser in France followed by a Ronaldo winner in Manchester, United looked forward to an Old Trafford FA Cup quarter-final with Portsmouth.

Continually angered by referee Martin Atkinson during the course of the game – specifically the treatment of Ronaldo at the hands of Lassana Diarra – Sir Alex couldn't believe it when Tomas Kuszczak was sent off after bringing down Milan Baros in the box near the end of the 90 minutes. The Polish keeper was a substitute for the injured Edwin van der Sar, so centre-back Rio Ferdinand had to don the gloves for the spot-kick. Muntari converted to give Pompey the win.

Ferguson was furious, once again demanding accountability for referees via the Professional Game Match Officials general manager. “Keith Hackett has got a lot to answer for because he is not doing his job properly. He has to be assessed. I am assessed as a manager, the players are assessed – and the referees should be assessed.”

The fury fired Fergie's men to four consecutive league wins without conceding a single goal, including a 3-0 dismissal of Liverpool. In the Champions League quarter-finals, Roma were also dealt with – Ronaldo and Rooney scoring without reply in Rome, Tevez wrapping it up back in Manchester – before United effectively ended Arsenal's title challenge at Old Trafford by coming from behind to win 2-1 through a Ronaldo penalty and an Owen Hargreaves free-kick.

That created a crucial week in the club's season: a Stamford Bridge clash with Chelsea, whose late title run had seen them surpass Arsenal as United's main challengers – sandwiched by two legs of a Champions League semi-final against Spanish giants Barcelona.

The Camp Nou first leg started brilliantly for United with the award of a penalty, but Ronaldo – eyed up by an entire Spanish nation well aware of Real Madrid's interest in him – hit the post. It was to be a rare chance for the visitors as Barcelona pressed relentlessly, but with Rooney stationed on the wing to help out his defence, the visitors held out for a hard-fought 0-0 draw.

United were again on the back foot at Stamford Bridge in a match that could have seen them all but win the league; victory against Chelsea would leave them requiring just a point from their last two games. However, Michael Ballack put the home side ahead, and although Rooney levelled, Ballack scored the winner from the spot. Now United needed to beat both West Ham and Wigan to be sure of retaining their title.

First, though, the Champions League second leg against Barcelona. United were on the front foot from the off and went ahead through a 25-yard top-corner effort from Paul Scholes, determined to reach a final having missed out in 1999. United held to secure their first European final since then; the following night they discovered it would be against Chelsea, who had finally beaten Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final at the third attempt in four seasons.

Before their Moscow showdown, United wrapped up their 17th league title – one behind Liverpool's benchmark – with a 4-1 win over West Ham and a 2-0 win at Wigan. In the latter, Ronaldo's penalty – his Golden Boot-clinching 31st league goal – equalled Alan Shearer's record for goals in a 38-game Premier League season. United had beaten Chelsea in the league; could they beat them in Moscow to gain their second Champions League title?

In freezing rain at the Luzhniki Stadium, United took the lead when Ronaldo nodded in Wes Brown's cross. Ferguson’s men dominated the first half, but Frank Lampard's equaliser set up a tense and unspectacular second half. Things didn't improve in extra time, despite a clash between Tevez and John Terry sparking a melee which resulted in Didier Drogba being sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic, and the penalty shootout beckoned.

Rio Ferdinand won the coin-toss and elected to go first. Goals from Tevez and Carrick were answered by Ballack and Juliano Belletti (brought on at the death specifically for the shootout, as was United's Anderson). Ronaldo did his usual stuttering run-up but Petr Cech guessed right and saved it to give Chelsea the advantage.

Lampard, Hargreaves, Ashley Cole and Nani scored, meaning Chelsea captain John Terry had the chance to seal Roman Abramovich's holy grail in the Chelsea owner's home country. But Terry lost his footing while taking the penalty, his shot hitting the outside of the post as Van der Sar watched helplessly.

Now it was sudden-death penalties. Anderson, Salomon Kalou and Ryan Giggs converted successfully before Van der Sar psyched out Nicolas Anelka, pointing to his left but correctly diving right to win the Champions League.

Ferguson was delighted – and knew where the credit didn't lie. "When they took their second-last penalty I clasped my hands and I prayed. He [Van der Sar] nearly saved it, but once the ball went in I said to myself, 'Don't ever pray again'."

Cristiano Ronaldo had a season to remember as he scored an astonishing 42 goals in all, retaining the Football Writers’ and PFA Player of the Year awards. He was the jewel in United’s crown, but could Fergie fend off the magpies in Madrid?
 2007-08: Premier League winners, FA Cup R6, League Cup R3, Champions League winners, Community Shield winners

After convincing Ronaldo to stay an extra season at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson went becoming the first team to ever successfully defend the Champions League.

With no major signings over summer, Ferguson kept faith in his champions and looked to bring through the Brazilian youngsters he had been signing from Brazil, like twin defenders Fabio and Rafael da Silva and midfielder Rodrigo Possebon. Two of the three were on the bench as United retained the Community Shield – again on penalties – against Portsmouth, and made their debuts in the opening draw against Newcastle.

Rodrigo was also on the bench as United lost the European Super Cup 2-1 to Zenit St Petersburg in a game marked by a bizarre sending-off for Paul Scholes, who earned a second yellow for inexplicably punching a Wes Brown cross goalwards.

As the August 31st transfer deadline drew near, Ferguson brought out the Glazer chequebook to hand over £30.75m for Tottenham forward Dimitar Berbatov. It was an unusually high amount for a player nearing 28, and noises from within Old Trafford intimated that it would be the last time they shelled out such an amount on a player whose resale value would presumably shrink over the course of his four-year contract.

Tellingly, the price may have been driven up by interest from United's neighbours. In the final days of the transfer window, Man City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi investment group headed by the eyeball-swirlingly rich Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. City would now be able to outspend all their rivals, and although that wouldn't have an immediate effect on the pitch, the transfer market would again be changed as it had been when Roman Abramovich pumped money into Chelsea five years previously.

On the pitch, United stuttered with a loss at Liverpool – their first since 2002 – followed by a 1-1 draw at Chelsea, before finding their feet with five wins in six. Two Samir Nasri goals helped Arsenal win 2-1 at the Emirates to keep the champions down in fourth place.

They wouldn't stay there for long, mainly thanks to an incredible run of clean sheets. After the Arsenal loss United didn't concede again for 14 league games, 12 of which they won. Edwin van der Sar, now 38, played in every single game, setting a new record for most consecutive clean sheets in the league. The run included a 1-0 win at Manchester City in late November and a 3-0 home victory over Chelsea in early December.

In mid-December, United abandoned the Christmas shopping to pop over to Japan for the Club World Cup. Parachuted as European champions into the semi-finals, they saw off Asian contenders Gamba Osaka 5-3 before edging out surprise South American champions LDU Quito 1-0 thanks to Wayne Rooney's winner.

United's continuing hot streak coincided with a decline in the form of leaders Liverpool, who seemed to get worse after an unprecedented attack on Ferguson by their manager Rafael Benitez. After Ferguson had complained about unforgiving nature of the fixture list, Benitez was asked his thoughts by a media corps keen to stir the simmering spat between the two giants of north-west football. But even the most hardened hack was surprised by the Liverpool boss's response.

Benitez took a sheet of notes from his jacket pocket and began a five-minute rant aimed at Manchester United manager. Stressing he was "only talking about facts”, Benitez suggested that as an alternative arrangement "Mr Ferguson organises the fixtures in his office and sends it to us", claimed that "only Mr Ferguson can talk about the fixtures [or] referees and nothing happens", that the United boss was "the only manager in the league that cannot be punished".

"I think he was an angry man," responded an understated Ferguson. "He must have been disturbed, for some reason. I think you have to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he'll reflect and understand what he said was absolutely ridiculous."

Whether "ridiculous" or "fact", the complaint came on January 9th, when Liverpool were top of the league by 10 points. By January 28th they were two points behind United, who simply refused to concede or lose and were on course for an unprecedented Quadruple.

In the League Cup they had beaten Middlesbrough, QPR, Blackburn and Derby to reach the Wembley final against Spurs. In the FA Cup they disposed of Southampton, Spurs and Derby to reach the quarter-finals. And they'd topped a Champions League group including Villarreal, Aalborg and Celtic to reach a knockout tie with Jose Mourinho's Italian champions Internazionale.

The first leg in Milan was goalless, with the former Chelsea manager welcoming Ferguson like an old friend. "He was certainly full of it," related Ferguson, "calling me 'Boss' and 'Big Man'. It would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine – what he gave me was paint-stripper..."

From thinners to champers with a dour scoreless League Cup final decided on a penalty shootout. Once again United were victorious, with the young Man of the Match Ben Foster saving two Spurs penalties after studying iPod footage of the likely takers.

In the FA Cup, Fulham were summarily dismissed 4-0 on their own turf, taking United to a Wembley semi against Everton. The second leg against Inter was decided by a header in the fourth minute of each half – Vidic from a Giggs corner and Ronaldo from a Rooney cross – to give Ferguson his second victory in 14 attempts against Mourinho and take United through to the quarter-finals against Porto.

Next up for Ferguson's apparently unstoppable team was Liverpool at Old Trafford. With United already seven points clear, here was a chance to underline the Red Devils' dominance and virtually end the challenge of Rafa Benitez & Co.

United started brightly with Ronaldo converting a penalty after Pepe Reina brought down Park Ji-Sung. But within five minutes Nemanja Vidic let a long through-ball bounce, allowing the in-form Fernando Torres to nip in and level the scores. Then Patrice Evra’s penalty-area foul on Steven Gerrard allowed the Liverpool skipper to convert from the spot and put the visitors a half-time lead.

United attempted to claw their way back in the second half, but their challenge was over when Vidic was sent off for hauling down Gerrard on the edge of the box, with Fabio Aurelio converting from the resulting free-kick. Andrea Dossena’s lob made it 4-1, as Liverpool closed the gap on United to four points.

A further setback occurred the following week at Fulham, when United lost their second consecutive league game for the first time since 2005. Scholes was shown a red card after 18 minutes when he handled the ball on the line. Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy scored from the spot, Zoltan Gera wrapped up the points and Rooney was sent off for a petulant second yellow.

The next day Liverpool hammered Aston Villa 5-0 at home and, after a fortnight's international break, squeaked a 1-0 win at Fulham with a 90th-minute Yossi Benayoun goal to go top of the league. Although United had two games in hand, Ferguson would have recognised something in his rivals' results – alternatively irresistible and unignorable, Liverpool were winning games like champions. Could Benitez lead them to a 20th league title, just as Ferguson had come so close to finally, mathematically knocking them off that perch?

United's answer came the following day against Aston Villa. Ronaldo gave them the lead, but Villa hit back through John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Ronaldo equalised with 10 minutes to go and after extreme pressure at the Stretford End, young debutant Italian sub Federico Macheda scored in the third minute of injury time to take the champions top again.

Just two days later, United hosted Porto in the Champions League quarter-finals. The visitors went in front within five minutes and, although Rooney equalised, United looked substandard. Tevez scored with five minutes to go but Mariano Gonzalez equalised in the 89th. Once again Porto had come to Old Trafford and silenced the crowd.

In the return leg a week later, Cristiano Ronaldo revelled in his return to Portugal. The former Sporting hero delighted in upsetting his former rivals once again, powering home a 35-yarder in the sixth minute. It was enough: the game flowed but no more goals came and United were through to the semi-final against Arsenal.

Ferguson had an excellent record in semi-finals and his next was that very weekend, against Everton in the FA Cup. Unusually, United lost, a somewhat below-strength side losing on a penalty shoot-out after spot-kicks from Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand were saved by Old Trafford outcast Tim Howard. The Quadruple was off the menu.

Back in the league, Liverpool – who had exited the Champions League after a 4-4 draw against their old foes Chelsea – registered the same extraordinary scoreline at home to Arsenal to go top for 24 hours on goal difference, but it was their last taste of the top. United beat Portsmouth the following night and although Benitez's side won all five of their remaining league games to keep the pressure on, United kept winning theirs too, despite their further adventures in Europe.

In the Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Arsenal they went ahead through John O'Shea but couldn't extend their lead as Arsenal settled for patient possession over penetration. But at the Emirates, United scored two in the first 11 minutes through Park (after a Kieran Gibbs slip) and Ronaldo (with a 40-yard free-kick); in the second half United broke from an Arsenal corner to score through Ronaldo again. Robin van Persie scored a consolation from the spot but United were more concerned that Darren Fletcher had been sent off for the foul on Cesc Fabregas, ruling him out of the final against Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

By now the Catalan side, under Pep Guardiola, were widely regarded as the best team in Europe and Ferguson was keen to wrap up the league as quickly as possible so that he could get his key players rested and prepared for what could be an enthralling contest.

After a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford, United needed four points from their last three games. A tetchy 2-1 win against Wigan gave them three, with the remaining point coming in a 0-0 draw against Arsenal, winning yet another league trophy. It was a momentous win, that equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 English titles.

With a week to spare, United rested players for their last league fixture against Hull City, which they won 1-0 thanks to a thunderbolt from emerging Irish midfielder Darron Gibson.

Seeking to become the first manager to retain the Champions League, Ferguson set out to stifle Barcelona, leaving Scholes, Berbatov and Tevez on the bench, playing Park and Rooney on the wings, and PFA Player of the Year Giggs through the middle behind Ronaldo. For the first 10 minutes, it looked like it was a masterstroke, as United got stuck into a nervous Barcelona side.

But once Samuel Eto’o had sauntered past Vidic to fired the ball home at Van der Sar’s near post, United were up against it. Xavi and Andres Iniesta passed them to death as Ferguson's side clearly missing the energy of the suspended Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves, who missed the majority of the season with knee troubles.

Messi's header 20 minutes from time killed the game to give Pep Guardiola his first Champions League title, to go with La Liga and the Spanish Cup (all in his first season). After the game, Ferguson admitted that his side had been outclassed by Barcelona, but vowed to bridge the gap.
2008-09: Premier League winners, FA Cup SF, League Cup winners, Champions League finalists, Community Shield winners, Club World Cup winners

After a season or more of speculation, Cristiano Ronaldo finally became a Real Madrid player. Ferguson was an unwilling seller – at one point spitting "You don't think we'd get into a contract with that mob do you? Jesus Christ, I wouldn't sell them a virus" – but accepted the inevitable after United were offered a world record £80m fee for the forward.

Fans and pundits alike wondered where United’s goals would come from, after selling a player who had led the club’s scoring charts for three seasons in a row. Further questions were asked of United’s attacking prowess when Sir Alex passed on the option to buy Carlos Tevez, after his two-year loan spell.

A favourite at Old Trafford who had prompted the fans to regularly chant for Fergie to sign him on – the Argentine turned from hero to villain as he signed for Manchester City (for a reported £47m). Tevez was part of £120m worth of talent brought in during the summer by Mark Hughes, as City flexed their financial muscles.

City were the talk of football, and Ferguson was ready with his tupporth. "They're a small club with a small mentality," he said witheringly. "All they can talk about is Manchester United; they can't get away from it." Pundits were divided as to whether City's wealth of cash could overcome Ferguson's wealth of experience, so it was almost to prove a point that the United manager made a high-profile free signing.

Replacing 26-goal Ronaldo and 15-goal Tevez were a striker who was nearly 30, had struggled for form and fitness in the previous four years, whose side had just been relegated and whose best days were spent at the deadliest of all enemies, Liverpool. But Michael Owen was a worthwhile gamble for Sir Alex. Signed on a pay-as-you-play deal, Owen was a proven goalscorer with bags of experience who wouldn't expect a first-team place. And when had Fergie cared what other people thought?

Also incoming in the summer were Wigan's productive winger Antonio Valencia for £16m, Bordeaux's promising forward Gabriel Obertan and young striker Mame Biram Diouf, although he was immediately loaned back to selling club Molde for the season.

The Community Shield game against Chelsea (now under Carlo Ancelotti) set an entertaining tone, with Nani – expected to step up in the absence of departed compatriot Ronaldo – opening the scoring. Ricardo Carvalho and Frank Lampard put the FA Cup holders in front, but Rooney's injury-time lob took it to a penalty shootout which Chelsea won with ease due to poor efforts from Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra.

A shock early defeat at newly-promoted Burnley was quickly rectified with five straight league wins, including against visiting rivals Arsenal and Man City. In the former, Arsene Wenger ws so incensed by the disallowing of a late goal that he was sent to a stand full of crowing locals, while the derby was particularly pulsating, a 4-3 cracker won in the sixth minute of overtime by Michael Owen's first goal for the club.

In the press conference after the City win, Ferguson came out with another soundbite which would be endlessly repeated. "You know when you've got a noisy neighbour and they keep the radio on all the time? You can complain to the council, you can bang on the wall, you can go to their door, but they still keep the music on. So what do you do? You get used to it."

The winning run came to the end at Anfield, where Ferguson looked to get one over on an under-pressure Rafael Benitez, who had lost his last four games. The game came to life with 15 minutes left when Fernando Torres put Liverpool ahead after speeding past Vidic and Ferdinand. Vidic and Javier Mascherano were both red-carded in injury time before Liverpool sub David N’Gog sealed a 2-0 win in the sixth minute of injury time.

Further disappointment followed two games later, as United lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a goal from John Terry 15 minutes from time, dropping them down to third.

Ferguson was hampered by injuries to his centre-back partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic, as well as the long-term absence of Edwin van der Sar. At least Rooney was flourishing: in the absence of Ronaldo and Tevez he was leading the line and loving it, well on the way to his to a personal best goal-haul.

The New Year started with great jubilation at Old Trafford, but in the away end as fans of bitter rivals Leeds United celebrated a 1-0 FA Cup shock, their first win there since 1981. It was the home side's first Third Round exit since 1984, before the era of Alex Ferguson.

Just over a fortnight later, there was more cup anguish for United as they lost to Manchester City in the League Cup – but only in the first leg of the semi-final, 2-1 at Eastlands. Carlos Tevez scored both City's goals, celebrating in front of the United bench, following typically confrontational comments from Gary Neville before the game.

In the return leg a week later, United went 2-0 up through Scholes and Carrick. But five minutes later, Tevez nipped ahead of Ferdinand to level the game on aggregate and away goals. With extra-time looming, Wayne Rooney – who had bagged four goals in the intervening league game against Hull – grabbed the winner from a Giggs cross in the second minute of time added on. Once again, City had been beaten 4-3 at the death by their neighbours.

Sir Alex Ferguson seemed to have the jinx over City and looked to be timing his charge for a historic 19th title just right. United went straight from the City semi to the Emirates, where Nani inspired a 3-1 win against Arsenal.

Having once again negotiated the Champions League group, United travelled to an ageing AC Milan featured LA Galaxy loanee David Beckham. After starting sloppily with Ronaldinho giving Milan the lead inside three minutes, United gained control with a Scholes leveller and a second-half Rooney brace, despite Seedorf's late consolation.

That weekend, United lost at Everton and Chelsea win at Wolves meant United trailed the Stamford Bridge set by four points. They kept the pressure on by winning a midweeker against West Ham while Chelsea were busy losing to Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Then came a small piece of history as United successfully defended a domestic cup for the first time. In truth United were slightly lucky to beat Aston Villa, who complained that Vidic should have seen red for the tackle that gave away an early penalty. James Milner's conversion was quickly cancelled out by Owen and Rooney’s 74th-minute header sealed the trophy.

The media story ahead of United’s second leg against AC Milan was the return of David Beckham to Old Trafford. By the time he came on to a thunderous (and emotionally received) welcome, Milan were all but out at 3-0 down on the night, and Fletcher's late finish made it a resounding 7-2 on aggregate. Still, Beckham made the headlines by picking up and wearing a yellow and green scarf as a show of support for the fans disillusioned by the Glazers’ ownership of the club.

The two legs of the quarter-final against Bayern Munich sandwiched the key league visit of Chelsea. United got off to a flying start in Munich, with Wayne Rooney getting on the score-sheet after 66 seconds. United dropped deep to defend their lead, but a deflected Franck Ribery free-kick after 77 minutes was followed by an injury-time winner by Ivica Olic.

Worse still, in the build-up to the winner the effervescent Rooney turned his ankle, limping off the pitch. A scan revealed that Rooney had suffered some ligament damage and could miss the rest of the season – and certainly United’s summit meeting with Chelsea that weekend.
The champions were a point clear of the visitors at kick-off but Carlo Ancelotti's team deserved the win. Joe Cole's back-heel put them in front and Didier Drogba's offside goal clinched it, and although Federico Macheda bundled home an injury-time consolation, the game was lost.

Drogba's goal had Ferguson on the offensive. "That's twice we've been beaten by refereeing decisions: it happened at Stamford Bridge as well. The linesman is right in front of Drogba and he gets it wrong. It was a poor, poor performance from the officials in a game of this magnitude. The quality of the officials has cost us, though I must admit we looked leggy in the first half and Chelsea were by far the better team. They have got to be favourites now, Chelsea are in the driving seat. We can win all our remaining five games and we still won't win the title if Chelsea win theirs."

Chelsea now had a two-point lead, and United’s league and Champions League dreams were in the balance. By the end of the week, the latter was gone after an incident-packed second leg against Bayern.

Surprise selection Wayne Rooney set up Darron Gibson for the opening goal after just three minutes. Four minutes later, Nani put United ahead on aggregate, and four minutes before half-time, he made it 4-2. But on the stroke of half-time, Ivica Olic took advantage of sloppy defending to bundle home. Louis van Gaal’s side had hope, which grew early in the second half when right-back Rafael was sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Ribery.

A heavily limping Rooney was replaced by John O’Shea, but in the 75th minute Arjen Robben rifled in a magnificent volley from a Ribery corner to send Bayern Munich through on away goals. Clearly angered by their exit, Ferguson slammed the behaviour of the Munich Bayern players in the lead up to Rafael’s red.

"They were never getting through that tie; with 11 men we had no problem," Fergie fumed. "The young boy showed a bit of inexperience but they got him sent off. Everyone sprinted towards the referee – typical Germans."

That weekend, stalemate at Blackburn meant United lost ground to Chelsea, and they looked in danger of falling further behind before a 93rd-minute Paul Scholes header grabbed a win at Manchester City away – their third derby victory out in four games.

Going into the final game, United had to beat Stoke and hope that Wigan could hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That quickly became exposed as a pipe-dream as the Latics lost 8-0, rendering United's 4-0 win redundant and hoisting the new champions to a record-breaking 103 goals.

After three successive Premier League titles (and two successive Champions League finals), United fans had little to celebrate bar the consolation of the League Cup. True, in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney had stepped up to the plate with 34 goals, helping him claim the double personal title of PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Footballer of the Year.

However, during Rooney's own absence through injury, nobody else could help United maintain their standards – or those set by their rivals, including a Chelsea side resurgent under wily old Ancelotti. And off the field, the protests against the Glazers gathered steam, after loan re-financing reveal the huge burden of debt that had been laid upon the club.
2009-10: Premier League 2nd, FA Cup R3, League Cup winners, Champions League QF, Community Shield winners

The first three month of April were brilliant for Wayne Rooney. He bagged 19 (!) goals, including the one that won the League Cup; he was the main man in a United team chasing domestic and European glory; and he was looking forward to proving his worth at the World Cup in South Africa.

Then he got injured, United lost their mojo and England lost the plot. He returned to the UK under a massive cloud that would only thicken as the press revelled in his private problems.

At least he would have a new strike partner to play with, as Mexico's brilliant young Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez arrived. He scored as United got off to a decent start with a convincing Community Shield win over Chelsea, but the free-flowing nature of United’s play that day would not be reflected in the coming season. Ferguson's team were solid rather than spectacular, unmovable rather than irresistible, as they equalled the club record run of 29 matches unbeaten.

Of course, United could never be boring, and there were highlights as Ferguson drove his side relentlessly on toward the 19th title that would finally knock Liverpool off their perch. For starters, in September they allowed Liverpool to come back from two goals down at Old Trafford before Dimitar Berbatov completed a superb hat-trick for a 3-2 win.

For much of the previous year the Bulgarian had been cutting a frustrated figure on United’s bench while Ferguson preferred Rooney as his lone striker, but the roles changed as Berbatov benefited from Rooney’s injury, poor form – and entirely unwelcome headline-grabbing.

In mid-October, the football world was astonished at a growing row between Rooney and United. After claim and counter-claim about his ankle trouble escalated, a “dumbfounded” Ferguson confirmed that the forward wanted to leave Old Trafford.

Worse was to follow when the noisy neighbours got involved. Stories appreared claiming that Rooney would be perfectly happy to move to Manchester City, who in turn were only too happy to pay him a mind-boggling wage, starting by buying out his contract in January.

Trying to come to terms with the possible defection, Ferguson sought refuge in farming analogies. "Sometimes you look in a field and see a cow, and you think it's a better cow than you've got in your own field. And it never really works out that way. It's probably the same cow, or not even as good as your own cow."

But while Ferguson engaged in cattle chat, Rooney's representatives were talking turkey with United's paymasters, and three days later he signed a five-year deal said to be worth up to £250,000 a week. "I think Wayne now understands what a great club Manchester United is," Ferguson says. "I'm pleased he has accepted the challenge to guide the younger players and establish himself as one of United's great players."

First, he'd have to re-establish himself in the team. Hernandez was quickly building his own reputation, making his mark at Stoke with a brace including a brilliantly improvised backwards header, while Berbatov bagged five in a 7-1 rout of Blackburn that sent United top for the first time.

The Bulgarian was already in double figures before Rooney broke his Premier League duck on New Year's Day. And by that time, Ferguson had become the longest-serving manager in Manchester United’s history, overtaking Sir Matt Busby’s record of 24 years, 1 month and 13 days in charge of the club.

In accordance with tradition, United started the calendar year chasing several trophies at once. Although they had lost the League Cup in a 4-0 rout at West Ham, they walked a Champions League group of Rangers, Valencia and Bursaspor to be drawn against Marseille in the first knockout round.

Meanwhile, the FA Cup trail started with a 1-0 win against Liverpool – now back under Ferguson's old rival Kenny Dalglish – and continued with wins against Southampton and non-league Crawley Town in the next rounds to reach a quarter-final with Arsenal.

In between the cup wins came the season's first league loss, at a Wolves side who seemed to have the knack of beating the big clubs, if not the lesser ones, but United got the chance to bounce back the next week in the Manchester derby. An away win would take City within two points of the leaders; could the noisy neighbours be unwelcome guests?

Nani put United ahead, latching onto Giggs’ through ball to finish with aplomb. The Portuguese winger had started to come into his own, taking on extra responsibility as one of United’s key players. But his goal was cancelled out when an effort from Edin Dzeko deflected off David Silva and went in. Enter the under-fire Wayne Rooney, whose brilliantly instinctive but expertly taken overhead kick won the match for United against the tam he might have joined.

Still United looked unconvincing. After a shaky 0-0 in Marseille, United hammered Wigan 4-0 but the game was most notable for an elbow-led barge on James McCarthy by Rooney which went unpunished.

That left him free to open the scoring at Chelsea, but the hosts came back to win through David Luiz and a Frank Lampard penalty. An injury-time red card for Vidic ruled him out of the trip to Liverpool, who dominated a niggly game 3-1 with a Dirk Kuyt hat-trick.

United were now just three points clear of Arsenal, whom they hosted in the FA Cup Sixth Round. A somewhat odd line-up featured seven natural defenders, including the Da Silva twins as wingers – but it worked as Fabio opened the scoring and Rooney completed the job.

It completed a nightmare fortnight for the Gunners, who had lost the League Cup final to Birmingham and been beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League. United, on the other hand, put paid to Marseille with two Hernandez finishes; a Wes Brown own goal made things tense but the home side hung on to book a quarter-final date with Chelsea.

Berbatov's late goal beat battling Bolton before a noteworthy game at Upton Park. Losing at half-time to two Mark Noble penalties, Ferguson shuffled his pack and Rooney bagged a hat-trick before Hernandez capped a 4-2 win. However, Rooney's celebration of his third goal led to an FA charge for abusive language and a two-game ban, including United’s hotly-anticipated FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

First, though, Europe and Chelsea. Rooney's goal gave United their first win at Stamford Bridge in nine years, and United quickly controlled the second leg with a Hernandez tap-in. Ramires' red card seemed to seal it and though Drogba got one back, Park scored within a minute and United were through to face Schalke in the semis.

Speaking of which, it was now off to Wembley for the FA Cup date with Man City. After controlling the first half, City took the lead through Yaya Toure and United were in trouble from then on, not helped when Paul Scholes saw red after a wild challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.

Concentrating once again on the League-and-Champions-League double, United gathered four points from Newcastle and Everton before taking command of the European semi with a confident 2-0 win at Schalke. Rooney set up Giggs before scoring himself and only Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer kept the score respectable.

A 1-0 loss at Arsenal meant Chelsea were only three points behind with three games left – the first being an Old Trafford clash with Carlo Ancelotti's team. With that firmly in mind, Ferguson chose what many saw as a weakened team in the second leg against Schalke; it was still strong enough to win 4-1 on the night, with goals from Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and a late brace from emerging Brazilian midfielder Anderson, setting up a Wembley final with Barcelona.

Playing the shadow squad allowed a thoroughly rested United side featuring eight changes to completely dominate the first 45 minutes against Chelsea. Javier Hernandez scored the 20th goal of his debut season after just 36 seconds. Nemanja Vidic doubled the lead, and though Frank Lampard pulled one back against the run of play, the game ended 2-1.

United needed just a point from their remaining two games, and it was secured at Blackburn. Number 19 was theirs; Manchester United had broken the English League title record, surpassing Liverpool’s record of 18 titles.

"It was a long day, it was agony at times, but we got there in the end," Sir Alex Ferguson said. "I was a bit disappointed in the performance, to be honest, but I'm not particularly bothered by that. It is a great achievement to win a 19th title."

In the build-up to the Wembley showdown with Barcelona, almost undisputedly the best team in Europe, the question was what United had learned in the last two years since their chastening 2-0 defeat to the same opposition in Rome.

Certainly United put up a fight. Once again Barcelona went in front (through Pedro) and dominated midfield possession, but Rooney equalised, even if it was against the run of play. However, in the second half, Barcelona stepped it up a gear and the superlative Lionel Messi restored their lead from distance before a brilliant David Villa goal gave Barcelona their fourth European Cup.

Some scrutinised Sir Alex’s selection and questioned the omission of top scorer Dimitar Berbatov, but Ferguson refused to give any excuses. "Nobody's given us a hiding like that but they deserve it," he said.

"They play the right way and they enjoy their football. They do mesmerise you with their passing and we never really did control Messi. But many people have said that. In my time as manager, it's the best team I've faced."

The final ended the illustrious careers of Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes, who pulled down the curtain on a first-team career spanning 17 years and 676 games.

"What more can I say about Paul Scholes that I haven't said before?" said Ferguson. "We are going to miss a truly unbelievable player. Paul has always been fully committed to this club and I am delighted he will be joining the coaching staff. Paul has always been inspirational to players of all ages and we know that will continue."
 2010-11: Premier League winners, FA Cup SF, League Cup R5, Champions League finalists, Community Shield winners

And so Sir Alex Ferguson once more started to dismantle and rebuild. Following Van der Sar and Scholes (and Gary Neville, who had retired in the spring) out of the door were Owen Hargreaves, John O’Shea, Wes Brown and Gabriel Obertan.

In came youth. Ferguson spent big on Aston Villa's England winger Ashley Young, Blackburn’s highly-rated defender Phil Jones and young Spanish keeper David de Gea.

Ferguson also seemed to want a top-class midfield creator. Inter’s Wesley Sneijder, Tottenham’s Luka Modric and Arsenal’s Samir Nasri were considered, but the first two stayed put and Man City, who could now offer Champions League football, beat United to Nasri's signature in a telling shift of transfer-market power.

United faced FA Cup winners City in the Community Shield, and it was the noisy neighbours who took a two-goal half-time lead through Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko. But young defender Chris Smalling reduced the deficit, and Nani finished an excellent passing move involving Wayne Rooney and youth-team product Tom Cleverley to level. And in injury time, Nani pounced on an error to round Joe Hart and slide the ball into an empty net. Plus ça change, plus ça même chose, as Eric Cantona might have put it.

Indeed, United's future looks full of goals and youthful enthusiasm, with all its inherent fallibilities. A young side is conceding 20 shots per game yet still winning, with astonishing results like 8-2 against Arsenal and 5-0 against Bolton.

Ferguson will always trust in youth, but he may well be facing his biggest challenge yet on his own doorstep. He's seen some alleged sea-changes before – many said United were finished after the 5-0 loss at St James' Park, while there were times when Chelsea and Arsenal held the upper hand – but October's 6-1 home loss to Man City was shocking by any standards.

Ferguson declared it his “worst ever day”, but is as defiant as ever. "We'll come back," he said. "We will react, no question about that. It's a perfect result for us to react to because there is a lot of embarrassment in the dressing room and that will make an impact.”

After 25 years of almost unparalleled success, you wouldn't bet against him.

Next week: The Perfect XI for Ferguson's full 25 years. Who would you pick?

Glass mountains, typical Germans and race horses: Fergie's darkest hours at United

2011-11-04T13:16:00Z

We couldn't celebrate Fergie's time at Old Trafford without also looking at some of his worst moments. Mark Booth runs through the Scot's 10 darkest hours with United...

10. "Climbing a glass mountain" - Manchester City 5-1 Manchester United, 23rd September 1989
In a rare moment of lyricism from the Scot, Ferguson said of his side's humbling at the hands of their neighbours in 1989; "It was like climbing a glass mountain."
The defeat reportedly left Fergie on the brink of the sack after three trophy-less seasons at the helm, with his British record signing, Gary Pallister, enduring a nightmare afternoon at Maine Road.
In his autobiography, Pallister describes Ferguson as being 'in shock after the game, practically speechless'.
The Manchester clubs finished the season level on points in the lower echelons of Division One and were it not for an FA Cup win, Ferguson may well have found himself on the managerial scrapheap.

9. "Typical Germans" - Fergie’s Double Standards
"Typical Germans," raged Ferguson after Bayern Munich dumped his side out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in April 2010. Ferguson was aggrieved by the way he felt the Bayern players influenced the referee into showing Brazilian full-back Rafael a second yellow card for a foul on Franck Ribery.
A red-faced Ferguson fumed: "The ref wasn't going to do anything until they forced him to get a card out. But we've seen that before from teams like that..."
United of course would never engage in such poor behaviour, just ask Roy Keane…

8. The BBC Blackout
A 2004 BBC documentary made allegations of corruption against Ferguson’s son, Jason, a football agent: "They did a story about my son that was whole lot of nonsense. It was all made-up stuff and 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on," Ferguson seethed.
"It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that. But it is such a huge organisation that they will never apologise."
Ferguson initially incurred a fine for each time he failed to fulfill his Premier League obligation in attending post-match press conferences with the broadcaster.
Only this season has Ferguson ended his seven-year Beeb blackout, which has in turn robbed the British viewing public the chance to see at what stage of growth Mike Phelan’s beard is at...

7. Fergie, think of the children...
In another moment of paternal point-scoring, last season Ferguson recalled youth prospects Ritchie De Laet and Joshua King from then-Championship side Preston North End after his son, Darren was sacked as manager of the Deepdale side.
Ferguson senior later claimed that the players themselves had requested to return to Old Trafford. Whether or not that is correct remains to be seen, but in any case, Preston were promptly relegated and the players in question have yet to feature in United’s first team since their return. And the United chief is presumably not at the top of the Preston chairman’s Christmas card list.

6. The Great Dictator
It’s rare to see a player leave Manchester United without the blessing of their manager. Players seemingly at the peak of their powers have regularly been moved on – David Beckham, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam. But with Cristiano Ronaldo's departure in 2009, it was a case of the star man being prised from Ferguson’s grasp.
The club’s enormous debt, the size of the offer and the player’s willingness to leave forced his hand but he didn’t give up without a fight, particularly after Real Madrid accused United of treating the player like a slave.
"Calderon makes the great statement, 'slavery was abolished many, many years ago'. Did they tell Franco that?" – undoubtedly a misjudged jibe and one that proved to be nothing but hot air.
Ronaldo departed for the Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 for the princely sum of £80 million.

5. The widening of the gap
Ferguson may have put two more European Cups in the Old Trafford trophy cabinet but the final defeats by Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 will have stung the Glaswegian. What will really have stuck in Ferguson’s throat, and indeed the throats of many Red Devils fans, is the lack of progress in that two-year period, during which the gap between the sides appeared to widen rather than close. United’s midfield may as well have taken seats in the Wembley stands for the 2011 showpiece, such was the Spanish team’s dominance. What’s more, Ferguson’s decision to deploy Michael Carrick and Ji-Sung Park in central midfield, while playing two strikers, left fans and pundits alike questioning the tactical nous of the previously infallible manager.

4. Jaap Stam, Fergie’s biggest regret
Two games into the 2001/02 season, Manchester United parted with their defensive lynchpin Jaap Stam after a £16 million deal was agreed with Lazio. The Dutchman had incurred Ferguson’s wrath after a badly timed and poorly worded autobiography in which the lid was lifted on the behind-the-scenes goings on at Old Trafford.
Fergie moved quickly to sell the bald pated centre-half but acknowledges the sale as one of the biggest mistakes in his managerial career.
"It was one of the mistakes I made – hopefully I haven't made too many – but that was one," said the Scot, "I got this offer from Lazio for £18.5m. Was it £18.5m? No, £16.5m I think it was, and I says, 'Can't turn it down. He's 30 years of age.' I thought if we could get Laurent Blanc for a year or so and bring the young ones through – like Wes Brown and John O'Shea - but it backfired.î
Backfire, it did, United ended the season empty handed after suffering a miserable run of form that saw just one win and six defeats in the autumn.

3. Arsenal seal title at Old Trafford
The 2001-02 season was one to forget at Old Trafford. As well as the Stam debacle the whole club was seemingly operating under a cloud cast by Ferguson’s plan to retire at the end of the campaign.
It is believed that this announcement resulted in a loss of his magisterial command over the dressing room and led to the first season in 13 that United failed to finish in the top two or win a trophy. He reversed his decision in February 2002 and signed Rio Ferdinand as Stam’s long-term replacement the following summer.
Ferguson has seen challengers come and go over the past 25 years but none have lasted so long, nor been quite so bitter, as the one with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Over the 15 years Wenger has been in charge of the Gunners the two managers have, it’s fair to say, not always seen eye-to-eye. Ferguson’s feelings towards the Frenchman were probably not helped when, at the climax of the 2001-02 season, Arsenal did the unthinkable and sealed the league title at the Theatre of Dreams.
Sylvan Wiltord firing home the only goal of the game after Fabien Barthez spilled a Freddie Ljungberg effort. Arsenal unveiled a 'Champions Section' banner at Old Trafford, cementing Wenger’s position as Ferguson’s primary adversary.

2. His greatest challenge yet? Manchester United 1 – 6 Manchester City, 23rd October 2011
The changing of the guard? Newcastle beat United 5-0 in 1996 and Chelsea beat them by the same scoreline in 1999, but come the season’s end Ferguson had the Premiership trophy in his cabinet and the results could be seen merely as blips.
Besides, the Scot could (and would) always point to an injury crisis, a poor refereeing performance or fixture pile-up. But what was astonishing on this season’s humbling against those 'noisy neighbours' was the lack of excuses.
Ferguson had the perfect opportunity to blame a distorted 6-1 scoreline on the dismissal of Jonny Evans (with score at 1-0 to City) but broke type by blaming his player’s lack of tactical intelligence and admitting that they found no answer to City’s front four of Aguero, Balotelli, Dzeko and Silva.
The words used were 'embarrassing' and 'suicidal' - not normally words in Fergie’s lexicon when describing his own side – this seemed to be a retreat, an acknowledgement that City weren’t going away.
How he meets the challenge of City might prove to be one of the most fascinating chapters in the manager’s history.

1. The c**k-up of Gibraltar
Fergie’s relationship with United shareholders John Magnier and JP McManus broke down permanently after the bitter bloodstock row over champion race horse Rock of Gibraltar in 2003.
Magnier and McManus’ Cubic Expressions owned more than 25% of the club at the time and the dispute is thought to have contributed to the sale of stocks to the Glazer family, paving the way for 2005’s still very unpopular takeover which has saddled the club in hundreds of millions of pounds of debt.
The green and yellow scarf protests are the lasting legacy from what proved to be an expensive extra-curricular venture into horse ownership and, more damagingly, the club struggling to compete for the continent’s top talent.
Ferguson has never spoken out against the Glazers despite the fact his hands have been relatively tied in the transfer market and fans calling for him to do so. Perhaps he’s still feeling sheepish for his part in the Magnier/McManus affair and as well he should, seeing as United missed out on a reported three of their Manchester derby tormentors (David Silva, Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri) due to their wings being clipped, financially speaking.
For the knock-on implications through the years, many would argue this was Fergie’s darkest hour.

FEATURE Football, bloody hell: Fergie's top ten moments with United

Football, bloody hell: Fergie's top ten moments with United

2011-11-04T12:00:00Z

As FourFourTwo.com looks back on Fergie's Manchester United career, James Maw and Charlie Scott run through the Scot's most important and memorable moments since arriving at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986...

10) 7-1, even Smithy scored!
Having suffered a 2-1 defeat out in Rome on an evening marred by crowd trouble involving both sets of fans and Italian police, United knew nothing less than a win would see them through to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in five years.
In somewhat typical fashion, United flew out of the traps and looked to go for the jugular from the off. Within 20 minutes they lead 3-0 on the night, with goals from Michael Carrick, Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney turning the tie well and truly in their favour. Cristiano Ronaldo - at this stage well and truly coming of age - struck either side of half time, before Carrick added a brilliant sixth on the hour.
If Daniel Di Rossi's 69th over-the-shoulder number was little more than a brilliant consolation, it was made to appear worthless when Patrice Evra re-opened United's five-goal aggregate lead 12 minutes later.
Although Fergie's side would ultimately be beaten by eventual winners AC Milan in the semi-finals, the emphatic style with which they disposed of Francesco Totti and co should be seen as the dawning of an era of relative success in Europe, with the Red Devils reaching three finals in the four subsequent seasons.

9) The Battle of Villa Park
During an era in which these two teams dominated English football, this was perhaps the stand out encounter - it as a game that had almost everything.
Ironically, the original match - which took part at the same venue just three days beforehand - had been a relatively tame 0-0 stalemate. Whether it was weary legs, the romantic glow of the floodlights or the knowledge it would have to be settled there and then, the replay was anything but stale.
David Beckham put Manchester United into the lead with a beautifully sculpted 35-yard strike on 19 minutes, only for Dennis Bergkamp to level matters with a long-range strike of his own in the second half.
Things balance swung further in the Gunners' favour, with Roy Keane sent-off and Phil Neville conceding a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Ray Parlour. Bergkamp stepped-up with the aim of settling to tie, but he was denied by a brilliant Peter Schmeichel save which saw the tie go to extra time.
Despite having a man advantage, it was Arsenal that made the game-settling error, with Patrick Vieira's slack pass pounced upon by Ryan Giggs, who punished the World Cup winning Frenchman by scoring one of the competition's most memorable goals, and putting United into the final.

8) Back from 2-0 down at Goodison in 2007
The arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, combined with the assembly of Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' at Arsenal, meant United were unable to prevent the Premier League title from going to London between 2004 and 2006. That may not sound too long, but it was the longest title-less spell the Red Devils had endured in 15 years.
The amount of cash thrown at Jose Mourinho's side over the past two years meant Ferguson and United were well and truly up against it as far as winning the 2007 Premier League crown was concerned. But the continuing rise of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, along with the signings of Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra the previous January, made United a force to be reckoned with once again.
United arrived at Goodison top of the pile, three points ahead of Chelsea with four matches left to play. The title-holding Blues were hosting Bolton, opposition they were expected to overcome with relative ease, having not lost a home game in the league for over three years.
United started slowly on Merseyside, and fell 2-0 behind courtesy of goals from Alan Stubbs and Manuel Fernandes. In the meantime Chelsea had come from behind to lead Bolton 2-1. It appeared Chelsea were about pull level with their title rivals, yet United wouldn’t give it up.
A scrappy effort from John O’Shea and an own goal from former Red Devil Phil Neville took United level, before Wayne Rooney sculpted a wonderous third to send the traveling fans into raptures. Youngster Chris Eagles put the game beyond doubt, with matters made ever better for United with the news Bolton had ultimately come back to draw at Stamford Bridge.
The title was well and truly United’s to lose, and they secured it mathematically after Chelsea were held to another draw at Arsenal eight days later.

7) Bruce Almighty
Three straight draws, including at home to title rivals Aston Villa, saw United slip to second in the table, with the Villa Park side - managed by Ferguson's Old Trafford predecessor Ron Atkinson - leading the way by two points.
United knew they couldn't afford to drop points, particularly at home, but nerves hit and Ferguson's side struggled to get a grip on Trevor Francis' Sheffield Wednesday. Things got even worse, when Paul Ince clumsily hauled down Chris Waddle inside the box, and John Sheridan converted the resultant penalty kick to give the Owls a 1-0 lead with barely over 25 minutes remaining.
Yet, in possibly the first instance of 'Fergie time', United came back from the dead. Skipper Steve Bruce flicked a glorious header past Chris Woods to bring the home side level. With the news that Villa were being held by Coventry at Villa Park, the Red Devils desperately pushed for a winner to move back top of the pile.
And, in what would soon become trademark style, they got it when Bruce nodded a deflected Gary Pallister cross into the bottom corner to send the Old Trafford faithful into raptures, with Ferguson and assistant Brian Kidd famously celebrating on the pitch.

6) Bienvenue à Manchester
Leeds and Manchester United have never been friends. Eric Cantona’s shock move from Elland Road to Old Trafford in1992 did nothing but intensify Leeds' disdain for their rivals. The move was all the more remarkable considering the impact Cantona had made at Leeds. After joining from Nimes, Cantona soon became a fan’s favourite following his instrumental role in leading Leeds to the First Division title in 1991/92.    
Yet when Manchester United came knocking later that year Leeds allowed the enigmatic Frenchman to leave the club for a fee of £1.2m, just £300,000 more than Leeds paid for him before he inspired them to their first top division title in nearly 20 years.   Cantona had an immediate impact at Old Trafford, scoring and assisting goals as United won the inaugural Premier League by 10 points.
During his time at United, Cantona won four league title in five seasons, with the only non-title winning season being 1994/95, which brings us to Eric’s dark side…   
One of, if not the reason United didn’t win the title in 1994/95 was the lengthy suspension handed out to Cantona that meant he missed the second half of the season. On 25th January 1994 during an away game against Crystal Palace, Cantona was dismissed for a retaliatory kick aimed at the Palace defender Richard Shaw after the Frenchman had been fouled. As Cantona headed towards the tunnel, he was baited by the Palace fans, one of whom felt the full brunt of Cantona’s frustration in the form of a kung-fu style kick followed by a series of punches.    
United’s season ended trophyless without Cantona to inspire them, and his impact was evident when they returned to championship winning ways with Cantona in tow the following season.   He surprisingly retired from football in 1997 but left a lasting legacy at the club where he was adored. Cantona had become an icon at United, with the fans referring to him as ‘King Eric’ and in 2001 he was voted as their greatest ever player by Inside United magazine.

5) The mission to Moscow
Rather than giving United the confidence to flex their muscle on the European stage, the Champions League win of 1999 appeared to be something of an albatross round the neck of Manchester United. The Red Devils failed to even get close to matching the heroics of the Camp Nou in the following few campaigns.
This failure was made all the more galling by arch-rivals Liverpool’s comparative success in the competition, with the Reds reaching two finals in three years and famously winning the trophy for a fifth time in Istanbul in 2005. There was a real pressure for United to prove ‘that night in Barcelona’ wasn’t just a one off.
United had the chance to do just that in 2008, when they traveled across Europe to Moscow for a clash against Premier League rivals Chelsea.
It was a rather cagey encounter – as was characteristic of meetings between the two at the time – and Cristiano Ronaldo headed United into a first half lead, only for Frank Lampard to strike Chelsea level just before the break.
A tense and tetchy second half saw few clear cut chances – though Chelsea were undoubtedly the better of the two sides. Neither side could find the breakthrough and the match entered extra time, during which Didier Drogba was dismissed for a slap on Nemanja Vidic.
With the scores remaining all-square after the additional 30 minutes, the European Cup final went to penalties for the ninth time.
Both teams scored their first two spot-kicks, before Ronaldo saw his kick saved by Petr Cech after a staggered run-up. The next four kicks were all converted, leaving Blues captain John Terry with the chance to seal Chelsea’s first ever Champions League crown.
But he slipped, missed the target, allowing Manchester United to eventually win after Edwin van der Sar repelled Nicolas Anelka’s effort.
United were European champions for the third time – the second under Fergie’s watch.

4) Mark Robins and all that
It hasn't always been plain sailing for Sir Alex. Back in 1990, after a run of eight games without a win in the league, and with fans calling for his head, the last thing Fergie and his side needed was a third round trip to high-flying Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round.
Many within the media thought that, had Fergie lost that tie, then he may have found himself politely being shown the door at Old Trafford.   As it happened, 20-year old academy product Mark Robins was there to save the Scot, scoring the only goal of the game as United progressed to the next round. They would go on to win the cup that year, beating Crystal Palace in a replay in the final courtesy of a goal from another academy graduate Lee Martin. Without Robins' goal back in the third round, United wouldn't have been at Wembley come May, and by all accounts Ferguson wouldn't have even been at the club.
Yet it is interesting to note that the win against Forest in January bore such an importance that the following three league results, losses to Derby and Norwich and a draw at home to bitter rivals Manchester City were seemingly swept under the carpet on the back of United's extended cup run.   Fergie's team finished the season in 13th place in the league, but crucially for their manager they won the FA Cup. This wouldn't have been possible without Mark Robins.

3) Football… Bloody hell!   
With both Roy Keane and Paul Scholes suspended for the final, United were missing their two first-choice central midifielders, and they struggled to maintain Bayern Munich at times. Carsten Jancker and Mario Basler proved a constant thorn in United’s side, with the latter giving Bayern an early lead through a well-taken free-kick from just outside the area.    
After going behind after just six minutes, the pressure was on United yet again, just as it had been after going 2-0 down against Juventus in Turin a month beforehand.  
United had few chances in the game and were struggling to break down the Bayern defence when Fergie sent on Teddy Sheringham to attempt to get a hold on the match and get his side back into it.    Yet it was Bayern who still looked the more likely of scoring, going close through Mehmet Scholl and Jancker before Fergie threw the last roll of the dice, introducing another striker in the form of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in a desperate attempt to take the tie to extra-time.    
What followed will be imprinted in United fans’ memories for a lifetime. The fourth official lifted the board to signal there would be three minutes of injury time. United immediately won a corner, and after the Bayern defence failed to clear Beckham’s cross, the ball eventually fell to Sheringham, who sent a spinning effort into the bottom corner of Oliver Kahn’s goal.    With the game set for extra-time, United won another corner, and some began to dream.
Again Bayern struggled with Beckham’s delivery, Sheringham glancing a header downwards and there was Solksjaer, Fergie’s final subsititue, to poke out his foot and fire the ball into the roof of the net.    United were European Champions, in the most enthralling of circumstances. While the United team celebrated wildly, many of Bayern’s players could barely bring themselves to stand.    The Champions League trophy completed the treble for Ferguson, a feat he is yet to repeat.

2) Liverpool get knocked off their ****ing perch
United started the 2002/03 season slowly. Draws with Chelsea and Sunderland were followed by stinging back-to-back defeats to Bolton and Leeds with left the Old Trafford side, dethroned as champions by Arsenal four months earlier, languishing in ninth place in the Premier League by mid-September.
The pressure on Ferguson was building, with pundit and former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen even suggesting his fellow Scot's job may be on the line. Ferguson's response was forthright; "My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*cking perch. And you can print that."
Title number 15 was in the bag by the following May, and from that moment onwards, Ferguson had his sights firmly on deposing Liverpool as the most successful side in English league football.
In truth, Liverpool never really went close to adding to their 18 crowns, and United, having moved level with their fierce rivals in 2009, United only needed two attempts to seal the historic No.19.
Ferguson's side saw off the challenge of Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City - as well as overcoming the upheaval caused by Wayne Rooney's short-term desire to leave Old Trafford - with a draw at Blackburn enough to see them champions yet again. To make things all the sweeter, the landmark success came in a season in which Liverpool failed to even finish in the top five.

1) The miracle of Turin
Our choice of Fergie’s top moment may come as a surprise to some, with many thinking the Champions League final win in 1999 is a shoo-in for the number one spot. Yet Fergie and his side wouldn’t have even been in Barcelona if it hadn’t been for a miraculous comeback in the previous round away to Juventus.
Within 11 minutes a brace from Filippo Inzaghi had put Juve 2-0 up in Turin, yet remarkably the Reds went in at half-time with the score at 2-2. Fergie has described the period between Inzaghi’s second and the half-time whistle as being ‘the finest display’ he had ever had from a United side.
Roy Keane reduced the deficit with a near-post header midway through the half before Dwight Yorke’s diving header pulled the away side level. Between the two goals Keane, who had the unenviable task of marking an imperious Zinedine Zidane was booked for a tackle on the Frenchman, meaning that even if United were to advance to the final, he would not be on the pitch because of a suspension.
Yet this only seemed to inspire the United skipper. His dominant display in Turin following his yellow card prompted his manager to describe it as ‘the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field.’ Ferguson went on to say how ‘it felt an honour to be associated with such a player.’
In the second half United controlled the game and possibly should have won by more than the one goal, scored by Andy Cole after the referee played an advantage for a foul by Juve keeper Angelo Peruzzi on Cole’s strike partner Yorke.
Keane led the comeback with his gritty display in the centre of the park but it was a hugely impressive team performance from Fergie’s men. This night in Turin made the events that followed in Barcelona possible, when after 11 minutes in this tie, the idea of a Champions League final had seemed far out of reach.

FEATURE Glass mountains, typical Germans & race horses: Fergie's darkest hours

Fergie at United pt4/5: New challenges and new challengers

2011-11-03T22:17:00Z

Having examined Sir Alex Ferguson's frequently fraught first five years, increasingly successful second five-year spell and domestically dominant third five-year spell, Vithushan Ehantharajah reaches the era of Ruud van Nistelrooy, flying pizza and debonair Portuguese newcomers...

Although Newton Heath LYR Football Club had been formed in 1878, the 2001/02 season was the club's centenary under the Manchester United name – and it started with a question mark. After seven Premier League titles in nine years, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that he would retire at the end of the season – aiming for a fairytale hometown ending in the Champions League final at Hampden Park.

"I didn't see my sons grow up; I hope I can make up for lost time," he explained. "I won't be making any comebacks like singers do. It's a decision me and my family have made: I want to enjoy a lot of other things."

As the club set about drawing up a shortlist for his replacement, Sir Alex went to work on making his Glasgow farewell a reality with some serious spending. He finally signed Ruud van Nistelrooy for £19.5million, sticking by the PSV front-man a year after a knee injury stopped him from moving to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman's arrival spelt the end for Teddy Sheringham. Widely respected, United's top scorer in 2000/01 had scooped both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award, but he was out of contract at the age of 35. Offered a one-year deal by United, he preferred to return to Tottenham under new boss Glenn Hoddle.

A penalty-box predator, Van Nistelrooy was hardly a direct replacement for cerebral linkman Sheringham, but Ferguson had other options and other ideas. His biggest signing that summer was Argentinian maestro Juan Sebastian Veron for a record £28.1million.

A double winner with Lazio in 2000 under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Veron had subsequently endured a difficult time after a scandal surrounding the illegal acquisition of his Italian passport. When the Argentinian and two Lazio executives were accused of forging the official document, the club sided with their executives rather their player. On signing for Ferguson, the playmaker revealed that Manchester United had supported him for afar when the allegations had surfaced.

Sir Alex saw Veron as last piece in his jigsaw, giving him creativity from deep as well as the option to play three in midfield. He had noted how United's free-flowing 4-4-2, so successful in England, was frequently exposed by craftier continental teams, and sought greater formational flexibility long before the rest of the league started experimenting with variants of 4-5-1.

With tactically intelligent and hardworking men like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in the team, Ferguson felt Veron could help bring United a wiser approach more suited to conquering the continent. What he didn't know was how the media and public would take to a tactical change which looked like replacing a striker with a midfielder – seen by some as a shocking abdication of his attacking beliefs.

Before that drama could be played out, however, Ferguson found he had an issue in defence. In the summer, Jaap Stam's autobiography had upset the Old Trafford hierarchy with its abrasive assessments of colleagues – most notably describing the Neville brothers as whingers and "busy c**ts" – but most notably its claim that United had made an approach to sign him without PSV's permission.

When Lazio called again to offer United a sizeable slice of the Veron fee in return for the centre-back, United quickly accepted. Although Ferguson had earlier said the Dutchman may have to do some "making up" with his colleagues, he always claimed that the book had nothing to do with the sale.

"At the time he had just come back from an Achilles injury and we thought he had just lost a little bit," Ferguson would later reflect. "We got the offer from Lazio: £16.5m for a centre-back who was 29 – it was an offer I couldn't refuse. But in playing terms it was a mistake."
It certainly seems that neither party had expected the transfer – having just accepted a new five-year deal, Stam had moved into a new house and had to cancel a new kitchen he'd ordered for it – and some said Fergie's summer spending of £50m had raised the odd eyebrow at the PLC.

Still, United needed a replacement centre-back. Despite being linked with Valencia’s Roberto Ayala, PSV’s Kevin Hofland and Lazio’s own Alessandro Nesta, Sir Alex ended up signing Inter Milan’s Laurent Blanc on a free transfer with a 12-month contract. Ferguson had long admired the Frenchman – an international colleague of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez – and trusted that, even at the age of 35, he had the mental speed to read the Premier League game.

The new 4-4-1-1 system usually featured Scholes pushed up behind Van Nistelrooy, who hit the ground running with the consolation in the 2-1 Charity Shield defeat to Liverpool and simply kept scoring. The problem was at the other end, where United only kept two clean sheets in the league before December. Notably chaotic defensive games included a 4-3 loss at Newcastle and the game at White Hart Lane that saw Spurs 3-0 up at half-time before United's five unanswered goals sealed one of the greatest turnarounds in Premier League history.

It couldn't last. As United lost five league games in seven, slipping to an almost unimaginable ninth place in December, wags noted that Ferguson's conquerors included Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea – spelling out B.L.A.N.C. – while Fabien Barthez's fluctuation between the brilliant and bizarre gifted the game to the Gunners with two calamitous errors.

[Insert your own hilarious cod-French caption]

Ferguson’s impending retirement was also cited as a reason for disharmony, and there were whispers of the manager's worst nightmare – losing the dressing room. Not enjoying his advanced role in the 4-4-1-1, Paul Scholes was benched for the loss at Liverpool; irritated, he refused to play with the reserves in the subsequent League Cup game at Arsenal (also lost, 4-0). Scholes was fined £100,000 and rumours surfaced that Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona were watching the situation.

As is usually the way, United pulled themselves together. In each of eight successive league wins which took the team back to the top, Van Nistelrooy scored – a Premier League benchmark – while also powering through the Champions League group stages, the Dutchman scoring eight in 10 continental appearances.

Van Nistelrooy's pre-eminence forced Andy Cole to seek pastures new at Blackburn after seven years; he was quickly replaced by Uruguayan Diego Forlan. But a far more important signing came in February when Ferguson announced that, after consulting with his wife, he was postponing his retirement: "I was worrying about what I was going to do at three o'clock on Saturday afternoons," he explained. "I just couldn't see myself riding off into the sunset just yet."

Others thought Ferguson was dissatisfied with the club's intended replacement, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Fergie did indeed damn the Swede with faint praise: "I think Sven would have been a nice easy choice in terms of nothing really happens, does it? He doesn't change anything, he sails along, nobody falls out with him. He'd have been alright, you know what I mean? The acceptable face."

The most telling quote, however, sums up his true feelings: "I'm not going to leave this club as a loser". And as March came around, United topped the Premier League, albeit with Liverpool and Arsenal chasing hard.

Deportivo la Coruña were swept aside in the Champions League quarter-finals, but at the cost of a broken foot bone which threatened David Beckham's involvement in the imminent World Cup and introduced the word "metatarsal" into the popular lexicon.

That left surprise package Bayer Leverkusen – who had already disposed of Arsenal in the second groups and Liverpool in the quarters – standing between Ferguson and Glasgow. United were strong favourites but couldn't shake the Germans, who equalised twice through Michael Ballack and Oliver Neuville to get a first-leg draw at Old Trafford.

At the BayArena, Roy Keane gave the English champions the lead but Neuville equalised again to leave the injury-wracked Germans ahead on away goals and happy to defend – which they did successfully, climaxing with Diego Placente's injury-time goalline clearance from Forlan's lob.

United's next match was also a must-win: at home to leaders Arsenal, who needed three points to clinch the title. Ferguson was in no mood for cross-questioning about Veron's apparent struggle to fit in, and in a pre-match press conference at Carrington the journalists got both barrels.

"People are always going on about f***ing Veron," he bellowed. "You tell me, what's wrong with Veron? What's this thing about fights and all the rest of this s**t? It's absolute nonsense, you know it's nonsense. Absolute lies. On you go. I'm no f***ing talking to you. He's a f***ing great player. Yous are f**king idiots." Ferguson then abandoned the press conference, ordering the journalists to get out of the Carrington training complex.

"There's something wrong with this shirt…"

If the outburst was designed to help the players prepare for the game, it didn't work. Sylvain Wiltord's winner meant Arsenal won the league at Old Trafford itself. The Gunners went on to a second Double in five seasons, while United's goalless last league game allowed Liverpool to push Ferguson's side down into third, his worst finish since 1991 – despite only gaining three fewer points than in the previous, title-winning season.

Unlike after Arsenal's title success four years previously, Ferguson was less than impressed with the champions. "They are scrappers who rely on belligerence," he said. "We are the better team." A fierce new rivalry was coming nicely to the boil, to be stoked with carefully placed Fergie soundbites about the opposition – such as saying of Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira "He would love to have come here last year, but they wouldn't let him. Players always want to play for a bigger club."

United might still be the bigger club, but Arsenal were arguably the better team. Despite the shrewd acquisition of 36-goal Van Nistelrooy – who followed Sheringham and Keane to become United's third different PFA Player of the Year in succession – a campaign that had started under a question mark ended under several more. Was Ferguson right to have reversed his decision to retire? Was he right to have sacrificed the formation that had helped United dominate England? And was he right about Veron?
2001-02: Premier League 3rd, FA Cup R4, League Cup R3, Champions League SF

In summer 2002, Sir Alex Ferguson continued one trend and started another. As usual, disappointment prompted overhaul, with the release of ageing defenders Denis Irwin and Ronny Johnsen, plus the sale of Dwight Yorke to link up with Andy Cole at Blackburn.

The new idea was heralded by the £29.1m arrival of Rio Ferdinand. The classy young centre-back had impressed in England's World Cup finals campaign, and in the decade that followed United would repeatedly prove themselves happy to pay big money for the brightest domestic talents who were young enough to improve – and add resale value if they eventually saw their future elsewhere.

For their part, financially stricken Leeds were in no position to decline their fierce rivals' huge offer, which once again made Ferdinand the world's most expensive defender (a title he had briefly held after Leeds paid West Ham £18m for him in November 2000). And for his part, perhaps haunted by the failed experiment with Laurent Blanc, Ferguson was determined to shore up a questionable defence for good.

"I'll stop your gallop, young man!"

It didn't work immediately. After six games United had only achieved one clean sheet and two wins, sitting in 10th place – their worst start in the Premier League. Worse, champions Arsenal started at speed, with Arsene Wenger believing his side could go an entire season unbeaten. As it happened they lost their 10th game to a goal by impressive Everton youngster Wayne Rooney, but a 30-game unbeaten run spanning 10 months showed that Fergie now had serious domestic competition.

Arsenal were heavy favourites, particularly given United’s inconsistency, leading Alan Hansen to comment that Ferguson was facing the toughest challenge of his career. The response, delivered in a newspaper interview, was forceful, furious and to the point: “My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f***ing perch. And you can print that.”

His side failed to display the same defiance in the final Maine Road derby, but after the 3-1 loss United won four straight games including a 5-3 win over Newcastle, a 2-1 win at Anfield and a 2-0 win at Old Trafford against title rivals Arsenal.

Despite the loss, Arsene Wenger remained unperturbed when discussing his own side's chances of finishing top based on Arsenal's momentum and United’s inconsistency, confidently announcing a clear shift of power from Manchester to North London.

Ferguson felt the claims arrogant but they seemed almost prophetic as Arsenal went from strength to strength, and Sir Alex’s side slipped up during the Christmas period with consecutive defeats to Blackburn and Middlesbrough to slip seven points behind the table-topping Gunners. When the Gunners came to Old Trafford for the FA Cup Fifth Round, United were turgid as Arsenal won 2-0 – but it was events after the match that would grab the headlines.

Furious with his side’s performance, Ferguson was laying into his team when he accidentally kicked a boot at David Beckham, cutting the midfielder above the eye. A shocked Beckham had to be restrained, the paparazzi were quick to sell long-lens shots of the plastered-up eyebrow and the media had a field day.

“It was a freakish incident,” insisted Ferguson. “If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn’t happen again. If I could, I would have carried on playing!” But throughout the season, the relationship between Sir Alex and the England captain had seemingly soured, with rumours abounding that Real Madrid were chasing the midfielder, keen to make him their next “Galactico” signing.

Ferguson had long expressed his admiration for Beckham's dedication to his craft. In 1999 he had enthused that "David Beckham is the country's finest striker of a football not because of God-given talent but because he practices with a relentless application that the vast majority of less gifted players wouldn't comtemplate."

However, by 2003 the soundbites were less about Beckham's talent than his Spice Girl wife and increasing fame. "You'll never guess what Beckham wore to training today," he told the press at one conference. "He had this bloody spingly-spangly tracksuit on – he looked like Gary Glitter!"

"Oooh, that smarts"

Never one to agitate for a transfer, Beckham knuckled down and Ferguson also put the matter behind him. By March, the gap between United and leaders Arsenal was eight points, enough for bookmakers to close the betting and begin paying out. United stuck at it and also had their first serious tilt in a decade at the League Cup, losing to Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium; a month later they would beat the Anfield side 4-0 in the league to get within three points of Arsenal at the top.

For the seventh successive season United reached the Champions League quarter-finals, this time facing Beckham’s suitors Real Madrid. Run ragged at the Bernabeu in a 3-1 defeat, United took out their frustrations with a 6-2 hammering of Newcastle at St James' Park to go top by three points, although Arsenal had a game in hand. When the top two then shared a pulsating 2-2 draw at Highbury it left the title race still very open.

The return leg with Real Madrid produced one of Old Trafford's most entertaining games of football and a superb individual performance from Ronaldo, whose hat-trick gave Real Madrid a 6-5 aggregate win, with Ferguson’s side winning 4-3 on the night. Beckham, who started on the bench, came on to grab a brace.

It was one of those games even Fergie couldn't grumble about losing, saluting young John O'Shea by relating a post-match encounter with Madrid's winger Luis Figo, "Christ, he wasn't happy," chuckled Ferguson. "I said 'Hey, the youngest player on our team just nutmegged you…'"

Besides, Ferguson had his own domestic crusade to complete – and he got help from unusual quarters. First Bolton, who had earlier that season again won at Old Trafford, came back from 2-0 down against Arsenal to grab a draw and hand United the initiative; then Leeds won 3-2 at Highbury to mathematically hand their fierce Roses rivals the title.

Job done, United lifted the trophy on the last day at Goodison Park, celebrating with a 2-1 win, thanks to a trademark free-kick from David Beckham. It would be his last for the club, a £25m summer move to Real Madrid ending his 12-year stay at Old Trafford – and, despite the 44 goals from Van Nistelrooy, making Ferguson once again unquestionably the biggest noise at the club.
2002-03: Premier League 1st, FA Cup R5, League cup finalist, Champions League QF

The biggest noise in summer 2003 came from west London with Roman Abramovich's purchase of Chelsea. Ferguson accepted their £15m bid for Juan Sebastian Veron (and was possibly pleased to subsequently see that he didn't settle in London, either), also releasing David May and waving Laurent Blanc into retirement.

Incoming were players from around the globe. Having long monitored Sporting's Portuguese wonderkid Cristiano Ronaldo, Fergie spent £12.24m on him before interest from Arsenal and (especially) Chelsea pushed the price too high.

United also spent £6m on Paranaense's World Cup-winning Brazil anchorman Kleberson, £4.2m on Nantes' Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, £2m on Sunderland's French forward David Bellion and £2m on US goalkeeper Tim Howard – with Fabien Barthez still less than 100% convincing. Indeed it was Howard who started the campaign, saving two shootout penalties as United beat Arsenal in the Community Shield.

Penalties came to the fore again when United met Arsenal at Old Trafford in September. The home side were awarded a contentious injury-time penalty, missed by Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman was immediately surrounded by gloating Arsenal players, still incensed that their skipper Patrick Vieira had been shown a second yellow for kicking out at Van Nistelrooy.

The FA took action, suspending four Arsenal players and handing out fines totalling £275,000 – which included a record fine for the club (£175,000) for failing to control their players – but Ferguson wasn't content, coming out with comments so strong he had to apologise to avoid his own FA censure.

"I think it's obvious Arsenal have been doing deals with the FA for years," he claimed. "Look at the number of times they've got off with charges outside of the fifty-odd sendings-off they've had under Wenger. I think they've been up 10 times before the FA and got off with eight of those. It's remarkable, very remarkable. We hope to win titles without anybody's help."

They set about it in confident fashion, winning 16 of their first 20 league games, but controversy was brewing off the field. After meeting John Magnier and JP McManus through his interest in horseracing, Sir Alex struck up a friendship with the two and the two subsequently bought shares in the club.

However, a dispute between the two and Ferguson over the ownership of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar intensified into a feud. Building up their stake, the pair started to ask awkward questions at board level and in public about the running of the club. As usual, the fans took their manager's side, but the dispute would come to have profound effects on the club.

Old Trafford fans make their feelings clear

Meanwhile, at ground level, United’s season was slowly starting to unravel, despite being on top of the pile at the turn of the year. Two days after the controversial home game with Arsenal, Rio Ferdinand was asked to take a routine drugs test at United’s Carrington HQ, but left without doing so.

Ferdinand took the test as soon as he realised his error, but in the ensuing legal battle his defence team were unable to convince an international tribunal that this was an honest mistake. As a result, he was banned for eight months and fined £50,000. With the ban starting from January 12th, Ferdinand would miss the rest of the league season, plus Euro 2004.

Needing to put the setback behind them, Sir Alex supplemented his attack with the signature of Louis Saha from Fulham. Van Nistelrooy was ploughing on as ever and Cristiano Ronaldo had started to find his feet, after being criticised for being a bit of a show-pony by sections of the media and one or two team-mates.

However United’s position at the top was under threat from Chelsea and an undefeated Arsenal side, and the defence looked fragile in Ferdinand’s absence. Still, they were making sedate progress in the FA Cup and had once again made it to the first knockout round of the Champions League, being drawn against last season’s UEFA Cup winners FC Porto, under up-and-coming manager Jose Mourinho behind them.

United went 1-0 up in Portugal through Quinton Fortune, only to be pegged back by Fortune's South Africa team-mate Benni McCarthy, who then made it 2-1 with 12 minutes left to play. Worse was to follow as Roy Keane was sent off (for the 11th time in his career) after stamping on Porto’s keeper Vitor Baia.

Despite being without the inspirational captain for the second leg, United looked to be going through on away goals as Paul Scholes put them ahead at Old Trafford after 31 minutes. At the end of the first half, Scholes had a second goal chalked out for offside, but replays showed the linesman’s decision was incorrect.

It proved to be costly, as Constinha equalised for Porto, following up a free-kick that Howard had only managed to parry, sending the Portuguese side through 3-2 on aggregate, much to the delight of Mourinho who galloped down the touchline in jubilation. By May, he would be a Champions League winner – and bound for a new challenge in England.

"Remember my name!"

Worse came at the weekend when a 4-1 battering in the first derby at Man City's new ground effectively ended United's title challenge. They ended up only winning seven of their final 18 games, with many questioning their inexperienced and lacklustre signings. While Ferguson stood by his players, captain Keane took the opportunity to vent.

“We have one or two young players who have done very little in the game," he said. "They need to remember that and not slack off. They need to remember just how lucky we all are to play for Manchester United and show that out on the pitch.” Ferguson let him off – "When I look at Roy Keane I often see myself. He cares, he's a born winner" – but once again his captain was being somewhat injudicious in his comments.

As usual, Keane got the chance to lift some silver. With the League Cup long gone after a fourth-round exit to West Bromwich Albion, United focused on the FA Cup, beating Arsenal in the semi-final and demolishing Millwall at the Millennium Stadium. A routine 3-0 win handed United their 11th FA Cup, thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and a brace from Van Nistelrooy (again United's top scorer with 30 in all competitions).

While the Dutchman picked up the man of the match award, it was Ronaldo’s all-round performance that drew many plaudits, after a season spent infuriating the Old Trafford faithful with flashes of brilliance, but little end product. Still only 19, he still had time to – as Roy Keane alluded to – do his bit.

United would need him to. Champions Arsenal had finally fulfilled Wenger's promise that they could go a league season unbeaten (the first team to do so in the top division since Preston North End in 1889) – or 'Invincible', as they were described, while the threat from runners-up Chelsea would only grow with their new financial power.
2003-04: Premier League 3rd, FA Cup winners, League cup R4, Champions League last 16, Charity Shield winners

Chelsea’s progression after one season of Abramovich’s financial backing gave the rest of the league an indication of their potential. After spending in excess of £250m on a new-look side, while hiring Jose Mourinho – who had orchestrated Porto’s Champions League triumph that year, after leading them to the UEFA Cup the year before – reigning champions Arsenal and Manchester United were made well aware of their ambition.

Sir Alex responded with transfers of his own, bringing in Alan Smith from relegated Leeds and Paris St Germain’s Argentinian left-back Gabriel Heinze. With a view for the future, Ferguson also brought in highly rated younglings Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique from Parma and Barcelona respectively.

Following Fabien Barthez, who had fled to Marseille in April, through the out door were Nicky Butt (to Newcastle) and Diego Forlan (to Spain, where he would finally fulfil his undoubted potential).

Before the season had even got under way, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that he would be boycotting the BBC in protest at a documentary – aired earlier that year – which highlighted and scrutinised the links between the United manager and his football agent son, Jason. The first chance for him to ignore the microphone was after losing the Community Shield 3-1 to Arsenal, Smith scoring on his debut.

United’s league season started against Mourinho’s new-look Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and although an injury-hit side (lacking Van Nistelrooy among others) played well, Eidur Gudjohnsen registered the only goal of the game. And although Smith scored in each of the next two games, he would soon have some serious competition up front.

At end of August, Sir Alex spent £27m to sign the most promising English youngster in a generation: Everton striker Wayne Rooney, who had impressed with four goals at Euro 2004 before injury ended his (and by extension England's) involvement in the competition.

After recovering from injury he eventually made a barnstorming debut in a Champions League game against Fenerbache. What followed was one of the best debuts Old Trafford has witnessed as the 18-year-old grabbed a brilliant hat-trick – right foot, left foot and a free kick – in an emphatic 6-2 win.

However, United couldn't get any momentum in the league, drawing five games out of seven by mid-October to fall six points behind Chelsea, who looked impressive, and a huge 11 behind Arsenal who looked, well, invincible. When they rolled back into Old Trafford in mid-October, the Gunners had gone 49 games unbeaten.

Ferguson's pre-match soundbites set the scene. "What Arsenal players did [at Old Trafford] last season was the worst thing I've seen in this sport. They're a mob – they get away with murder." Since then Arsene Wenger's men had gone 49 games unbeaten but United were in no mood to host a party for the 50th… although they did set up a buffet.

With a goalless game in its 73rd minute, referee Mike Riley awarded United a penalty after Sol Campbell appeared to have upended Wayne Rooney in the box, although replays suggested otherwise. Van Nistelrooy stepped up and exorcised last season's demons by firing the ball home at the Stretford End and roaring in celebration. In the 90th minute, with Arsenal pushing for the equaliser that would have protected their unbeaten record, Rooney converted Smith's cross to complete the defeat.

D'you think he liked that?

At the full-time whistle, Wenger’s men continued to protest the penalty decision, with Campbell refusing to shake Rooney’s hand in the belief that his England team-mate had dived. As the fracas reached the tunnel, post-match food laid out for the players was flung around, with a slice of pizza hitting Sir Alex Ferguson on the side of the head. Although it was thrown by an Arsenal player, the guilty party remains unidentified, though Ashley Cole later revealed that he “wasn’t English or French" – which, frankly, doesn't narrow it down much considering the Gunners' cosmopolitan squad.

Following the events of that night, Ferguson presented an extensive dossier to the FA, detailing a string of events, both during and after the game, which he felt should be looked at. The FA refused Sir Alex’s request, but did charge Van Nistelrooy with serious foul player for a challenge on Cole, resulting in a three-game ban.

While psychologically vital, beating Arsenal meant nothing in the table when United lost their next league game 2-0 at Portsmouth and Chelsea started to pull away from the pack. Ferguson stayed light-hearted – "You never know, malaria might hit their camp" – but concentrated on his own side.

United didn't lose again for 20 league games, although they should have done early in the New Year against Spurs at Old Trafford, when Pedro Mendes' effort from just inside the United half was spilled over the line by Roy Carroll. The Northern Ireland keeper dived backwards and clawed the ball back into play, deceiving both the referee and assistant; the 'goal' would have been the only one of the game.

In fact that was the first of three successive goalless draws, a rarity for United. The second was embarrassing, as non-league Exeter took mighty United to an FA Cup replay; the third was the opening leg of the League Cup semi-final against pacesetters Chelsea, United having beaten Arsenal in the quarters. That first leg in London was dull, but Chelsea took the spoils at Old Trafford when a Damien Duff free-kick intended as a cross fortuitously found its way into the United net from all of 50 yards.

While the League Cup has seldom been a Ferguson priority, Mourinho’s second victory in four months over the man he respectfully called "The Boss" represented a big step forward in Chelsea’s bid to replace Manchester United as the dominant force in English football. With that in mind, United’s February fixture at Highbury took on greater significance, with both sides needing a win to keep in touch with their West London rivals.

This time, the tunnel drama started before the game. As Gary Neville emerged from the away dressing room, he was confronted by Patrick Vieira squaring up to him, only to be confronted by United captain Roy Keane. As things got heated, referee Graham Poll had to step in and calm the situation down before the players had even left the tunnel.

With Arsenal and Vieira clearly rattled, a fired-up United put on a strong display – coming back from behind twice and going on to win 4-2, despite playing the last half-hour a man light after Silvestre's red card.

United leapfrogged Arsenal into second but were still 15 points behind Chelsea and soon crashed out of the Champions League too, losing 1-0 home and away to AC Milan. It was the fifth time in six seasons since winning the trophy that United had crashed out at the first knockout stage – the exception being 2001/02, when they beat Deportivo la Coruña then lost to Bayer Leverkusen.

Chelsea cruised remorselessly on to win the title, breaking records for points total, most victories, clean sheets and goals conceded. When Mourinho's men came to Old Trafford in May, United were big enough to give them a guard of honour as they ran onto the pitch, and the new champions didn't disappoint with a 3-1 victory which underlined the distance between the teams. Like the previous season, United finished third – but 18 points off the pace.

United's last chance of silverware was the FA Cup, in which – after the Exeter scare – the side had cruised past Middlesbrough, Everton, Southampton and Newcastle to set up one more clash with Arsenal. But whereas other games between the two had been thrilling for one reason or other, this was an awful 0-0, not helped by Wenger playing a side with only one natural forward – Dennis Bergkamp.

Inevitably the game went to penalties. Taking United's second, Paul Scholes was horrified to see Jens Lehmann save his effort, and with all other kicks converted, Arsenal's fifth taker Patrick Vieira won the cup and left United potless for the second time in four seasons.

Rooney had settled in well, becoming PFA Young Player of the Year and United's top scorer – although his total of 17 hardly bore comparison to the 110 racked up in the previous three seasons by Ruud van Nistelrooy. United clearly needed all their big names fully firing if they were to tackle a Chelsea side backed by seemingly limitless spending power. But first, United had some ownership issues to deal with themselves…
2004-05: Premier League 3rd, FA Cup finalists, League Cup semi-finals, Community Shield runners up, Champions League first knockout round.

In the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s dispute with horseracing partners John Magnier and JP McManus – who had gradually become the club's biggest shareholders – the Manchester United board had been on the search for new investors in an attempt to reduce the influence of the pair.

In March 2003, US sports franchise owner Malcolm Glazer had purchased a 2.9% stake in United for a reported £9million. Glazer gradually acquired more stock while discussing with the Old Trafford chief executive David Gill his intentions to buy the whole club.

By October 2004, Glazer had reached 30%, meaning he had to launch a formal takeover bid. In May 2005, he bought out McManus and Magnier's 28.7% share to achieve a controlling stake, and further summer share purchases took him up to 98% ownership, enough for a compulsory buyout of all the remaining shareholders. By then, he had already ended the club’s PLC status – as well as delisting it from the London Stock Exchange – with the final valuation of the club a staggering £800m.

Despite wanting rid of the "Coolmore Mafia", United fans didn’t take too kindly to the takeover being based on debt – Glazer borrowed £265m for the takeover which is now secured against Manchester United’s assets, with a further £275m in other loans.

Supporters had held protests at the end of the last campaign, with a group of disgruntled fans creating a new club called FC United of Manchester. Ferguson wasn't impressed: "I wonder how big a United supporter they are. They seem to be promoting or projecting themselves a wee bit. It says more about them than us."

It was against this fractured background that Ferguson had to plot the overthrow of undisputed champions Chelsea. He started his summer overhaul from the back, where no goalkeeper had consistently impressed since Peter Schmeichel, by signing Edwin van der Sar from Fulham; he also bought young Stoke goalkeeper Ben Foster and immediately sent him on a season's loan to second-tier Watford.

The other summer purchase was indefatigable South Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who had been vital to PSV Eindhoven's run to the Champions League semi-finals. United also announced that young Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel would join the club in January, although in the end he signed for Chelsea. Meanwhile, Phil Neville was sold to Everton, Kleberson bussed out to Besiktas and Roy Carroll released on a free.

The team got off to a decent start, winning their first three league games with Rooney and Van Nistelrooy combining well and among the goals, while also cruising through their Champions League qualifier 6-0 on aggregate against Hungarians Debrecen, despite finishing with 10 men after an injury to Kieran Richardson after they had made all their substitutions.

But United only won two of their next seven league games, culminating in a 4-1 hammering in late October at a Middlesbrough side managed by Ferguson's former assistant Steve McClaren. That was followed by defeat at Lille in the Champions League group, meaning United were struggling to even reach the knockout phase after just one win in the first four games.

The Lille game was overshadowed by more trouble from the increasingly loose cannon Roy Keane. Following the Middlesbrough match, the captain had used the club's TV channel to once again air his grievances, criticising John O'Shea, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, while lambasting record signing Rio Ferdinand: "Just because you're paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes, you think you're a superstar."

That was a step too far even for the increasingly long leash United had allowed Keane. The TV interview was pulled and, although the club circled the wagons in public, all was not well behind the scenes.

Stranded back in sixth place, United were already 13 points behind Chelsea, who were nine points clear of their nearest rivals. And Mourinho's men, 40 games unbeaten, were coming to Old Trafford again – on the 19th anniversary of Ferguson's appointment. Although the press were desperate to stoke the sort of antagonism towards Mourinho that existed between Ferguson and Wenger, the United manager was having none of it.

"I like José," he insisted. "I think he sees himself as the young gunslinger who has come into town to challenge the sheriff who has been around for a while. He has a great sense of humour and there is a devilish wit about him. We get on."

On that November afternoon, the sheriff's men outshot the gunslinger. Darren Fletcher – the young Scottish midfielder among those criticised by Keane – put United ahead after 31 minutes, his header back across goal looping into the far corner. With the injured Keane watching from the stands, United’s young side held on, to inflict only Chelsea’s second league defeat in the Mourinho era.

It wasn't enough to heal all wounds. On November 18th, after 12-and-a-half years at Old Trafford – seven of them as captain – Roy Keane left Old Trafford by mutual consent. United fans were shocked, but the news was put into perspective a week later when club legend George Best died at the age of 59.

United fans mark the end of an era

Victory against Chelsea kickstarted a run of nine league wins in 12 unbeaten games to climb to second, but United remained 13 points behind the unassailable Londoners. Worse, a lacklustre European campaign meant they exited in the group stages for the first time since 1994 and the 4-0 humbling at Barcelona.

In January, Ferguson reinforced his squad with French left-back Patrice Evra and commanding Serbian centre-back Nemanja Vidic, while the League Cup semi-final win over Blackburn set up a Cardiff final with the season's surprise package Wigan. However, Blackburn got immediate revenge in the league with a 4-3 win against a United side featuring Rio Ferdinand floundering in midfield, gifting Rovers a goal and being sent off in the 88th minute, while David Bentley scored the first ever Premier League hat-trick against United.

Ferguson's men also progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup and a game at Liverpool. Rafa Benitez's side won 1-0 through Peter Crouch but the game was marred by a horrific injury sustained by Alan Smith – breaking his ankle blocking a John Arne Riise free-kick. Worse, in ugly scenes outside Anfield the ambulance taking the player to hospital was pelted with missiles and shaken.

The following week, United brushed aside Wigan 4-0 to lift the League Cup, thanks to a Rooney brace supplemented by Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo. Watching unused from the bench was Ruud van Nistelrooy, starting a month on the naughty step after a training ground bust-up with Ronaldo.

Frustrated by the Portuguese winger's selfishness at Carrington, the Dutchman had launched a tirade of abuse at Ronaldo, before telling him to “Go crying to your daddy.” Ronaldo’s father had passed away a few months before, although Van Nistelrooy was actually referring to United assistant manager, compatriot Carlos Quieroz, with whom the young winger had developed a close bond.

As he had done with Roy Keane – who had more years of service behind him that Van Nistelrooy – Ferguson showed little remorse, as he left the Dutchman out of the starting XI for the final and kept him benched for the next six games.

It didn't affect United's charge, as they won seven consecutive league games after the League Cup final, but Chelsea were in similar mood and Ferguson's men could only chip away at the chasm between them. Painfully, Mourinho's side mathematically retained their title with a comprehensive 3-0 Stamford Bridge win against United.

United clinched second place with a 4-0 win against Charlton and finished eight points behind Chelsea, halving the previous season's difference. But they still had a lot of ground to cover, and it looked like they would have to do without their 24-goal top scorer.

After being told he was on he bench for the season's final game against Charlton, Ruud van Nistelrooy walked out of Old Trafford. Disbarred from the subsequent testimonial for Roy Keane, he had played his last game for United; after 150 goals in 200 starts for the club, he would join Real Madrid in the summer.
2005-06: Premier League 2nd, FA Cup R5, League Cup winners, Community Shield runners up, Champions League group stages

Tomorrow: Fergie's fifth five-year spell – Domestic bliss and European fun
Until then, check out FourFourTwo's ever-expanding interview archive...

Q&A, Apr 2006 – Ruud van Nistelrooy >>
"The manager held a press conference and I couldn't believe what I was hearing..."

ONE ON ONE, Nov 2001 – George Best >>
"Fergie has his knockers, but he always treated me with respect"

ONE ON ONE (well, two), Apr 2003 – Gary & Phil Neville >>
"People say players' wages are raping the game, but that's rubbish"

Fergie at United pt3/5: Domestic domination and Treble triumph

2011-11-02T18:40:00Z

Having examined Sir Alex Ferguson's frequently fraught first five years and increasingly successful second five-year spell, Vithushan Ehantharajah examines the turn of the century at Old Trafford as Fergie set his sights on conquering Europe...

The turn of the century was perhaps the most impressive time of Alex Ferguson’s reign at Old Trafford. Manchester United dealt with the rise of a strong and exciting Double-winning Arsenal side, responding with an emphatic and historic Treble. This was the period when Manchester United established themselves as a ruthless juggernaut with an insatiable goal-lust tempered by a mentality impervious to uncertainty.

In summer 1995, Alex Ferguson had sold Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes and put his faith in the cream of the 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team. Over the following summer, Fergie continued to clear out his first great team.

He was presumably ecstatic when Leeds offered an eye-popping £4.5m for Lee Sharpe, who had struggled to be picked over Ryan Giggs and the emerging David Beckham, while he could happily give free transfers to Steve Bruce and Paul Parker due to the existence of ready-made replacements in David May and Gary Neville.

Just turned 21, Neville had really come of age in United's defence, flitting between centre-back and right-back as required; that summer, he also cemented his place in England's Euro 96 team. As Ferguson said of the 5ft 11in defender, "If he was an inch taller, he'd be the best centre-half in Britain. His father's 6ft 2in – I'd check the milkman…"

Ferguson also astutely acquired a couple of Norwegians in goalscorer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and versatile defender Ronny Johnsen, later adding midfielder Jordi Cruyff and Czech winger Karel Poborsky.

The squad looked stronger than ever, but Ferguson was again frustrated by his main target. Alan Shearer, who had been on Fergie's wish-list for almost a decade, wanted to leave Blackburn; with a fee agreed, he held extensive talks with the United manager. However, a last-minute call from Kevin Keegan persuaded Shearer to join hometown club Newcastle instead for a world-record £15m.

Shearer's Magpies debut was a 4-0 Charity Shield drubbing by the side he'd rejected, but an early-season run of one loss in 13 games had been brought to a shuddering halt at St James' Park as Newcastle hammered the champions 5-0 in what many saw as a changing of the guard at the top of the Premier League. Inevitably, Shearer scored.

Reeling, United squeaked past Swindon 2-1 in a home League Cup tie in front of just 31,000 fans – but then collapsed 6-3 at Southampton in farcical circumstances, claiming their grey away shirts hampered visibility. They then lost home games to Fenerbahce and Chelsea and by Bonfire Night were sixth in the league behind Arsenal, under new manager Arsene Wenger.

Pulling together in adversity, United inflicted Wenger's first defeat to start a 16-match unbeaten league run. Beckham was increasingly influential and Solksjaer an instant Stretford End hero with several key goals.

Their Christmas form was highlighted by a tremendous 5-0 win over Sunderland. Solskjaer scored twice, but the game is best known for a moment of impudent brilliance from captain Eric Cantona as he took the ball from the halfway line, danced past a few players, played a one-two with Brian McClair and chipped delightfully over the onrushing Lionel Perez.

By the time the unbeaten league run ended in March, United were four points clear at the top – and although they had quickly exited both domestic cups, they had beaten Porto 4-0 in the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Sadly for Ferguson, those were United's last goals of the continental campaign. The formality of a second leg in Portugal produced a goalless draw, but United seemed overawed to be in the semi-finals and lost 1-0 in each leg to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund.

The disappointment had little effect on their league form and they marched to another league title, seven points ahead of Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool. Solskjaer ended the season as United’s top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions, but the real story was David Beckham.

Having announced himself to the world in the Premier League opener at Wimbledon with a stunning injury-time lob from the halfway line, United's No.10 ended the season as PFA Young Player of the Year and a regular in the England side Glenn Hoddle was building for France 98. For Beckham and United, the future looked excellent domestically, and they had grand designs further afield…
1996-97: Premier League winners, FA Cup R4, League Cup R4, Champions League SF, Charity Shield winners

Having broken United's 26-year wait for a top-flight title, Alex Ferguson was well aware that the new season marked the 30th anniversary of their only triumph in Europe's top club competition. The plan was to build a side brimming with youthful potential around the talismanic Eric Cantona.

Imagine the manager's surprise, then, when the brooding Frenchman suddenly retired at the end of the 1996-97 season. Not yet 31, the captain had helped United to four league titles in five years and surely possessed the footballing brain to cope with diminishing athleticism, but that brain had simply lost the enthusiasm for football.

Ferguson desperately tried to dissuade the Frenchman but knew it was to no avail. Now he had to get by without the man who had led United to four league titles in five years. It was a big ask. "Of all the many qualities a good team must possess, the supreme essential for me is penetration," Ferguson reflected. "Eric brought the can-opener."

With little time to reflect, Fergie quickly made Roy Keane his captain, gave David Beckham inherited Cantona's iconic No.7 shirt and signed 31-year-old Teddy Sheringham from Tottenham for £3.5m. Also arriving to boost Old Tarfford's burgeoning Scandinavian community were £1.2m striker Erik Nevland and Blackburn's £5m defender Henning Berg.

Four clean sheets and five wins helped United started the season on top of the league, and the rest of the league feared it would be the same old story. But in late September, Roy Keane injured himself attempting to tackle Leeds' Alf Inge Haaland, who stood over the prone captain claiming he was feigning injury. In fact Keane had ruptured his cruciate ligament and would miss the rest of the season.

Keane vs Haaland: To be continued…

Meanwhile, in North London, a new power was rising. Having replaced Bruce Rioch in October 1996, former Grampus Eight manager Arsene Wenger had steered Arsenal to third place – and incurred the wrath of Fergie. After the Frenchman's complaint that the season had been extended in order to accommodate Manchester United, Ferguson reacted angrily that “He’s a novice: he should keep his opinions to Japanese football.”

The first encounter between the two this season came in early November at Highbury. In their previous two games United had beaten Barnsley 7-0 and Sheffield Wednesday 6-1, but the Gunners won an excellent game 3-2 to cut the gap to one point. However, United then won six league games on the bounce and by Boxing Day were 13 points clear of erratic Arsenal, with Blackburn the nearest title challengers six points back.

United started 1998 falteringly but still entered March 11 points clear at the top of the table and, having topped their Champions League group, facing a quarter-final tie with Monaco. One publicity-hungry (and United-mad) bookmaker paid out on punters who'd backed Ferguson's side to win the Premier League.

However, Arsenal had three games in hand over the champions, and were coming into fine form, with the solid defence inherited from George Graham now acting as a platform for the talents of Patrick Vieira, Emanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka. And in Manchester, the wheels were starting to fall off.

A loss at Sheffield Wednesday and a draw at West Ham weren't the ideal preparation for an Old Trafford showdown with Arsenal. A gritty game came to life 15 minutes from time when Overmars sprinted onto a Nicolas Anelka flick on to fire through the legs of an injured Schmeichel, giving Arsenal a valuable 1-0 win.

After the game, Wenger refused to rule out United, and Ferguson was typically bullish but the defeat looked to have caused a psychological blow to his side. Although still six points clear, they had played three games more and Arsenal were in irresistible form: the Old Trafford win was the fifth of what would prove to be 13 successive league wins in which Wenger's men conceded just two goals.

Later that week, a 1-1 draw at home to Monaco – after a goalless draw at the Stade Louis II stadium – meant United were knocked out on away goals. Further draws against Newcastle and Liverpool, coupled with Arsenal's unrelenting charge, saw United lose top spot in the middle of April.

United won their remaining three games, but Arsenal kept winning until the title was clinched, also going on to claim the FA Cup and their own second Double. Ferguson congratulated Wenger on his achievement, but was quick to point out that his side had inconceivably thrown their title away.
1997-98: Premier League 2nd, FA Cup R5, League Cup R3, UEFA Champions League quarter-final

It can't have been a contented United squad that reconvened for the new season. New star David Beckham had been widely blamed for England's World Cup exit after his red card for a petulant kick at Argentina's Diego Simeone – and although protective of his young charge, Beckham's club manager was still seething about the way United had handed Arsenal the title in spring.

Ferguson signalled his intent to shake things up by signing Dutch centre-back Jaap Stam for £10.6m (a record for United, the Netherlands and any defender) and shunting Gary Pallister, who had played 42 times the previous season, back to Middlesbrough for £2.5m.

Also leaving was Brian McClair, while Peter Schmeichel announced that it would be his last season at Old Trafford. Parma's £4.4m winger Jesper Blomqvist added back-up but the £12.6m signing of Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke, to add to Cole, Sheringham and Solskjaer, gave Ferguson an unmatchable quartet of top-quality front-men.

Losing the Charity Shield 3-0 to Arsenal can't have helped Fergie's feelings, and United went 2-0 down at home to Leicester in their opening league game – until they levelled through sub Sheringham and an injury-time Beckham free-kick.

The following week Beckham was the centre of attention again, this time unsavoury, as United visited West Ham. The team bus was pelted with bottles and stones, while Beckham was subject to obscene chanting throughout the game. As a result, Ferguson ordered his players and staff to refuse any media interviews after the game.

There were other off-field troubles to contend with as satellite broadcaster BSkyB launched a takeover bid for the club. The bid was widely unpopular but after being raised from £575m to £623.4m it was accepted by the club's PLC board on September 9, triggering a long fan campaign and an investigation by the Monopolies & Mergers Commission which lasted for much of the season until the bid was ruled illegal in March.

Against such distractions, United again lost 3-0 to champions Arsenal – their heaviest away defeat in more than two years. In addition, the team had been drawn in a Champions League 'group of death' with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Brondby. In the event, United racked up 11 goals in two wins against Schmeichel's old side, while sharing four entertaining draws with the German and Spanish giants.

That allowed United to qualify with Bayern but the Barcelona games in particular gave the side belief they could go toe-to-toe with Europe's finest. A specific positive was the partnership building between Yorke and Cole, their development of a telepathic understanding clear for all to see with a sublime goal in a 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou.

Even so, after defeat at home by Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough just before Christmas, United – already out of the League Cup early on, as was becoming traditional – were third in the league behind Arsenal and Chelsea. They quite simply didn't lose again all season, embarking on a 33-game unbeaten run that would write them into legend.

With a new sense of drive and purpose, and strikers firing in from all angles, United steadily climbed the table. They beat West Ham 4-1 and Leicester 6-2, went top of the table through 1-0 wins against Charlton and Derby – and then hammered Nottingham Forest 8-1, with sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring four times in the last 10 minutes against Ron Atkinson's new side.

A 1-1 home draw with Arsenal ended a run of eight straight wins but kept the Red Devils top of the league, and the FA Cup campaign was also going nicely. United were drawn at home four times, but played five top-flight teams during the campaign: after beating Middlesbrough, United came from behind to beat Liverpool with very late goals from Yorke and Solskjaer. United then beat third-tier Fulham and, after a Stamford Bridge replay, title contenders Chelsea to set up yet another clash with Arsenal in the semi-final.

Before that, though, there were the Champions League knock-outs to attend to. Two Yorke goals from Beckham crosses saw off Inter Milan 2-0 at Old Trafford, although Beckham's mate Diego Simeone had a second-half goal disallowed for pushing. An away goal would have made it very hard for Ferguson's young side in the return leg; United had never won on Italian soil, and Inter pulled out all the tricks – elbows, dives and some excellent football, going 1-0 up and threatening extra time until a late equaliser from sub Scholes killed the tie. As Ferguson remarked, Scholes "went into that cauldron as calmly as someone popping round the corner for a newspaper".

United were installed as favourites but drawn against Juventus, again with the first leg at home; Ryan Giggs's injury-time equaliser cancelled outed Antonio Conte’s away goal. Then it was Villa Park for the FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal; a goal-free two hours meant the sides reconvened the following Wednesday for a widely-acknowledged classic.

Beckham's long-ranger opener was levelled by a deflected Dennis Bergkamp shot. A disallowed Anelka goal was followed on the hour by the dismissal of Keane for two bookable offences; in injury time Phil Neville gave away a penalty but Bergkamp's penalty was excellently saved by Schmeichel.

The stage was set for one of the most memorable goals in FA Cup history, one which helped cement the idea that this team didn't know how to lose. Picking up a loose pass in his own half from Patrick Vieira, Giggs slalomed past most of the Arsenal defence and hammered into the roof of the net, celebrating what turned out to be the winner by displaying his startlingly hairy chest to the world.

After a routine league win over Sheffield Wednesday, United resumed their European campaign at Juventus. Two early Pippo Inzaghi goals put the home side in a seemingly unassailable 3-1 aggregate lead until Roy Keane got hold of the match. Despite picking up a yellow that would rule him out of the final anyway, the captain dragged his team back into it, converting a Beckham cross to start a fightback continued by Yorke's equaliser just before half-time and capped by Cole's second-half winner.

Ferguson later expressed his admiration for captain Keane in the most generous terms. "The minute he was booked and out of the final he seemed to redouble his efforts to get the team there. It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have ever seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player."

Thanks in no small part to Keane, United were in the Camp Nou final against Bayern Munich, but first, there was the small matter of the tightest league title race in years, complicated by United's game in hand and the teams playing on different days. Arsenal and United swapped the lead several times, but the Gunners' 1-0 loss to Leeds in the final midweek put Ferguson's side ahead by a point. Now Wenger had to pray Spurs did their deadly rivals a favour by winning the closing league game.

They tried their best, Les Ferdinand's goal stunning Old Trafford until a Beckham equaliser just before half-time. Ferguson brought on Andy Cole and the striker scored the winner two minutes into the second half with a calculated lob over Ian Walker. That left a nervy last 43 minutes for United, especially when Arsenal went ahead through Kanu at Highbury, but they managed to hold on to regain their crown.

A week later United clinched their third Double in six years with a fairly routine 2-0 win over Newcastle through early sub Sheringham and Scholes. Thoughts were already on the potential Treble at the Camp Nou, on what would have been Sir Matt Busby's 90th birthday.
Without first-choice central midfielders Scholes and Keane, Ferguson brought in Nicky Butt and Jesper Blomqvist, with Beckham in the middle and Schmeichel the captain on his farewell appearance. Mario Basler gave Bayern Munich a first-half lead, and Ferguson had to work his half-time magic.

"At the end of this game," he told the United players, "the European Cup will be only six feet away from you and if we lose you'll not even be able to touch it. And for many of you that will be the closest you ever get. Don't you dare come back in here without giving your all."

"Get out there and let's see what happens..."

United pressed but Bayern held firm. As ever, Ferguson sent on his spare strikers, Solksjaer and Sheringham, while trying to compose himself to be gracious in defeat: "I was reminding myself to keep my dignity and to accept that this was not going to be our year after all." Except it was, thanks to arguably the most memorable climax to any football match.

In injury time, United won a corner; with Schmeichel up, Beckham swung the ball in before it was partially cleared to Giggs on the edge of the box. As he volleyed the ball back in, Sheringham swivelled on the ball and levelled the score. Extra time would have felt like a victory, but United won another corner. With Schmeichel staying back, Sheringham this time turned provider, as he nodded into the path of Solskjaer, who hit the ball into the roof of the net to give United a last-gasp, somewhat undeserved, utterly unforgettable victory. As Ferguson grinned to a camera in the post-match melée, “Football – bloody hell!”
1998-99: Premier League winners, FA Cup winners, League Cup quarter-final, UEFA Champions League winners

Immediately knighted, the new Sir Alex's first job was to replace Peter Schmeichel. Former United trainee Mark Bosnich took a free from Aston Villa, while Italian keeper Massimo Taibi arrived from Venezia for £4.5m. In the event, Taibi became a byword for goalkeeping failure and Ferguson's fallibility, his Old Trafford career lasting just four games after a horrendous error against Southampton at Old Trafford.

Also arriving were defenders Mickael Silvestre and Quinton Fortune; with Ronny Johnsen and emerging youth-teamer Wes Brown both missing much of the season with injury, Silvestre would end up playing three dozen times.

There were other issues for Ferguson to deal with. As European champions, United were invited to take part in the World Club Championship in Brazil; chasing votes for the hosting of the 2006 World Cup, the FA suggested with quiet firmness that United withdraw from the FA Cup – the first time the winners had ever done such a thing. The move drew widespread criticism, not helped by United's failure to get past the group stages in Brazil.

"So we're going to win the World Cup?"

Any season would struggle to follow a Treble-winning campaign, and there was a distinct feeling of 'after the Lord Mayor's show'. United lost the Charity Shield to Arsenal and the European Super Cup to Lazio and exited the League Cup at the first hurdle.

In the league, United were as dominant as ever, with Yorke and Cole picking up where they left off: together with Solskjaer, they had registered 53 goals in United’s Treble-winning campaign. While the Norwegian was now getting used to a spot on the bench, he was still more than willing to do his bit when he got the chance, and registered four goals against Everton at the beginning of December, repeating the feat he had achieved against Nottingham Forest in the previous season.

In fact United’s impressive league run was only halted by their trip to Brazil. After returning from their much-maligned trip, they started haltingly but found their way back to form and the top of the table.

The season's major lesson came in Europe. After easing their way through two Champions League group stages, United were drawn in an enticing quarter-final against Real Madrid. A goalless draw at the Bernabeu seemed to set up a glory night at Old Trafford, but United's attacking game left them open to being picked off by the Spanish giants, who went 3-0 up before Beckham and Scholes made the scoreline respectable.

It seemed that Ferguson had little left to learn in England: United only lost three league games in the entire season, finishing 18 points clear of runners-up Arsenal, amassing 91 points, 97 goals and a +52 goal difference. But even as the media lauded his fearless 4-4-2, the Scot knew United couldn't always rely on bravado against the continent's top teams: they had to get tactically cannier.
 1999-2000: Premier League winners, League Cup R3, Champions League quarter-finals

Still seeking an adequate replacement for Peter Schmeichel, Ferguson paid Monaco £7.8m for charismatic France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Fergie was also keen to sign PSV's goal-grabbing Ruud van Nistelrooy, but the striker snapped his cruciate ligament during training. Even so, Ferguson stayed in contact with PSV, tracking the striker's rehabilitation with a view to signing his man the following year.

Another coup was the move to Carrington, a purpose-built training centre providing the latest state-of-the-art facilities and – arguably as importantly – greater security and privacy. As Sir Alex grinned in his new surroundings, "the journalists call this place Colditz. That's right. And that's just the way we like it."

After last season, the Premier League looked to be a one horse race, as – despite again losing the Charity Shield, this time to Chelsea – United were quickest off the block. By the New Year, they had only lost twice, albeit to title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool.

However, the gulf between Fergie’s champions and their challengers was highlighted when an under-strength Arsenal came to Old Trafford. In one of the most one-sided matches that season, United were four up inside half an hour, with Dwight Yorke taking out the frustrations of a stop-start season by netting a hat-trick inside 20 minutes. United eased off in the second half but the customary late goal – from former Spurs man Sheringham – made it a 6-1 embarrassment for Arsenal and put United 16 points clear at the top. In February.

"Imagine beating title rivals 6-1!"

By that time United were out of both domestic cups: their customary early League Cup exit was followed by an FA Cup Fourth Round defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford, Fabien Barthez revealing his eccentric side by appealing for offside instead of stopping Paolo di Canio stroking home the winner.

United’s Champions League campaign was also gathering speed as they ambled through the first group stages, before going unbeaten in the second group stages, to set up a showdown with Bayern Munich, who were out for revenge after United’s smash and grab in 1999. This time, Bayern were definitely the better side, following a 1-0 win at Old Trafford with a 2-1 win in Munich, before eventually going on to win the competition.

On the home front, United cruised to the league title before losing the last three games allowed Arsenal to close the winning margin to 10 points. The first manager to win three successive top-flight English titles, Ferguson had now won seven Premier Leagues in nine years to prove his club's domestic mastery. Perhaps the biggest worry was within the camp, where Roy Keane seemed increasingly difficult to manage, despite Ferguson's wholehearted public defence of his skipper.

In April's ill-tempered Manchester derby, Keane was sent off for a vicious knee-high challenge on Alf Inge Haaland. Widely condemned by the media, the foul was cold-dish revenge for Haaland's behaviour when the Irishman had injured himself at Leeds in late 1997. Keane's subsequent comments in his August 2002 autobiography proved his intent and earned him further FA censure.

It wasn't the first time that Keane had been the centre of controversy. After United’s November Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv, he lambasted the crowd for what he felt was a dire atmosphere.

"Sometimes you wonder, do they understand the game of football? We're 1-0 up, then there are one or two stray passes and they're getting on players' backs. It's just not on. At the end of the day they need to get behind the team.

"Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch. I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell 'football', never mind understand it."

In disparaging corporate customers, Keane had caught a widespread mood among the earthier supporters, at United and beyond. Caught between his captain and his board, Ferguson refused to be drawn on the subject but was reportedly unhappy with Keane’s comments. How long could United's siege mentality protect their increasingly outspoken skipper?
 2000-2001: Premier League winners, FA Cup R4, League Cup R4, Champions League quarter-finals

Tomorrow: Fergie's fourth five-year spell – New formations and new challengers
Until then, check out FourFourTwo's ever-expanding interview archive...

ONE ON ONE, Feb 2006 – David Beckham >>
"There are always going to be ups and downs with managers"

PERFECT XI, May 2009 – Jaap Stam >>
"Ferguson is always capable of building yet another winning team"

PERFECT XI, Sep 2009 – Denis Irwin >>
"I was lucky I had Ryan Giggs helping me out"

ASK A SILLY QUESTION, Mar 2009 – Teddy Sheringham >>
"Deal or No Deal is just people guessing – it’s rubbish"

Fanzines, Scandinavia and a big red ghetto blaster: memories of meeting Fergie

2011-11-02T13:05:00Z

Journalist, United We Stand editor and long-time friend of FFT Andy Mitten recalls the first time he interviewed the Manchester United manager

Alex Ferguson was the first person I ever interviewed one-on-one. He does next to no personal interviews these days apart from United’s in house outlets and his contracted media commitments, but it was different in 1992.

As an a 18-year-old fanzine editor, I wrote to him enclosing a copy of United We Stand. It was an unfortunate issue which had gone to print just as I thought Manchester United were about to win the league for the first time since 1967. In a fit of hubris and euphoria, I sanctioned the strap line ‘Champions At Last’ on the front cover. We printed it and United promptly fell apart and lost the league to Leeds. We rightly got hammered for it and the cover has passed into fanzine legend.

I knew that Ferguson didn’t like fanzines and the dissenting voices within and didn’t expect to hear back, but I still told him that we intended to travel on the pre-season tour of Scandinavia and would like to chat with him if he was up for it.

A few weeks later a letter arrived on Manchester United headed paper. Ferguson explained that while he wasn’t a fan of fanzines, he’d enjoyed United We Stand. He suggested that I make myself known to him in Norway, so after one game in Lillestrom – where I heard a bizarre one-man terrace chant of “Clayton Blackmore, Clayton Blackmore, Ding-dong bell, Ding-dong bell,” - I sought out the United secretary Ken Merrett.

Merrett, who acted as club secretary-cum-press officer (these days the club have a stand alone media department) took me straight to the changing room where the United players were showering. Dion Dublin was injured, so there was no worry about stumbling through the mist into his massive dube...

Ferguson, who I’d met a year earlier on another pre-season tour of Norway, suggested that we met up in Trondheim on the next stage of the tour.

Fergie with Dublin in the summer of '92 - dube and ghetto-blaster not pictured

A few days later, I walked up to reception of the club’s four star hotel and told the receptionist that I’d come to see Mr Alex Ferguson. She called his room and he came down. It was all so simple. We sat down by the entrance and I got my recorder out. Ferguson started laughing. Looking back, I’m not surprised – it was a bright red ghetto blaster as long as his arm which I’d brought to record him speaking.

That machine had played The Stone Roses, Electronic, Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets on a loop as we travelled northern Europe on tickets which were not always fully valid, slept under United flags in railways stations and ate cheese and ham sandwiches every day for two weeks. How was I to know what real journalists used?

I also took one of my mates. Why not? I didn’t know the etiquette, he was a fan and I thought he would enjoy meeting Alex Ferguson too. Ferguson sat with us in reception for an hour. We were interrupted when Steve Bruce slid down the banister on the stairs shouting that Linford Christie had won gold in the Barcelona Olympics.

I’ve looked back at the interview and it’s terrible, but one line stands out: “Until you win the league here, you’ll never have full control of United.”

Ferguson also explained how he only had 13 fit players for his first game in charge of Manchester United at Oxford in 1986, before telling a story about how he waited for the season ticket money to come in before he could raise capital to buy players in his early days at Old Trafford.

He also told a story about how youth is the future of the club and how a 15-year-old Ryan Giggs had destroyed Viv Anderson in a practice game, to which Anderson had reacted by saying: “If he goes past me one more time I’m going to boot him.

After the interview, Ferguson introduced me and my mate to his players, including Ryan Giggs. We’d played against Giggs loads of times in junior football so he knew us. We then had an argument about who had the best Sunday League team. Our team - Victoria Boys of Stretford, used to beat Giggsy’s - Deans Sports of Salford, but Giggs was having none of it.

I’ve interviewed Ferguson several times since, but you never forget your first time, especially when you have to keeping checking your ghetto blaster’s batteries haven’t gone flat.

United! United! Old Trafford in the '70s, by Andy Mitten, is out now by Vision Sports Publishing, RRP £17.99. It is the third instalment in Andy's series of books charting the history of Manchester United through stories told to him in exclusive interviews by the players who defined the decades. We're The Famous Man United and Glory! Glory! cover the '80s and '90s respectively. United! United! features Tommy Docherty, Martin Buchan, Jimmy Greenhoff, Gerry Daly, Stuart Pearson, Paddy Roche, Joe Jordan, Lou Macari, Gordon Hill, Sammy McIlroy and Jimmy Nicholl.

Archive: Sir Alex Ferguson speaks to FourFourTwo

2011-11-02T12:16:00Z

Back in 1999, roughly halfway through his reign at Manchester United, the newly-knighted Sir Alex Ferguson granted FourFourTwo a rare interview at United’s then training ground, The Cliff. In it he speaks about the future of his Treble-winning team, how he stays motivated after achieving so much, and what he looks for in a player.

Talking openly of “the family feel” at United, Fergie acknowledges how his authority had been established through “time and control”. Clearly he recognises the value of continuity within the team and club: “The one thing a player always respects is when he knows the manager is going to be his manager the next day.”

However, when a team struggles, uncertainty about a manager’s future “dilutes the control of the whole place.” It is a feeling that he admits to experiencing first-hand, thinking back to his darkest days in 1989 and describing “the unavoidable feeling, percolating throughout the team and the club” that his influence was on the wane.

The interview is a fascinating look back on an exciting time at United, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Ferguson speaks of how the club expected “the likes of Scholes and Butt and Beckham and the Nevilles and Giggs to be peaking in the next five years.”

On the other hand, Ferguson’s attitude towards wages shows how different things were at the tail-end of the last century. Noting how "until this summer United's wage structure limited its players’ basic pay to around a million pounds a year” – now roughly a month's wage for Wayne Rooney – he fears being left behind financially by Italian clubs, perhaps not envisaging the financial power rival English clubs would come to wield.

Ferguson's somewhat guarded approach to the media means that in-depth interviews with this managerial legend have been scarce. It's a fascinating piece, yet another we've uploaded from the magazine to the ever-expanding online archive. Enjoy…

Sir Alex Ferguson speaks to FourFourTwo, Nov 1999

FFT's interview archive

Fergie at United pt 2/5: Building a dynasty

2011-11-01T17:27:00Z

Yesterday, Vithushan Ehantharajah looked at Sir Alex Ferguson's frequently fraught first five years at Old Trafford. In the next five years, things only got better...

If Alex Ferguson's first five years at Manchester United raised a few questions among the supporters, his next five answered them emphatically. By summer 1991 Alex Ferguson he had ended the club’s mini-trophy drought – as well as uncertainties over his ability – by following up the 1990 FA Cup with the European Cup Winners' Cup, only United's second continental trophy. The next five years would be spent rising to become the pre-eminent club in England.

In June 1991, just two years after seeing Michael Knighton's takeover bid collapse, the club took the far-sighted decision to float on the London Stock Exchange. Valued at £18m, the club immediately raked in £6.7m – more than the British record transfer fee at the time – and in the subsequent financial boom there was far more to follow.

Back on the pitch, Ferguson was still improving his side. England right-back Paul Parker arrived for £2m, while ahead of him flying winger Andrei Kanchelskis began to terrorise left-backs. And in a deal he later described as the "bargain of the century", Ferguson bought Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel for £530,000.

Now it seemed that Ferguson had a team fit for a league title challenge; with the established spine of Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes coupled with the youthful exuberance of Lee Sharpe and 17-year-old starlet Ryan Giggs. Having made his senior debut in the 1990-91 season – scoring on his full debut, against Man City – Giggs had inspired talk of the “new George Best” in their midst; while Sharpe held down the left-wing slot for the rest of that campaign, 1991/92 was the season in which Giggs made his true first-team breakthrough.

United led from the front in the final campaign before the Premier League era, staying unbeaten leaders until a late October defeat at Sheffield Wednesday allowed Howard Wilkinson's Leeds United to overtake them. That week they also suffered a 3-0 Cup Winners' Cup defeat at Atletico Madrid; the consolation of winning the European Super Cup against Red Star Belgrade (1-0 thanks to a Brian McClair goal) was followed by five straight league wins in which United racked up 18 goals.

By now, McClair and Mark Hughes were forming a solid partnership, but with both players in their late twenties, Ferguson wanted some fresh blood was aware that time was no on their side. Seeking to inject some youth at the business end of the pitch, he set about trailing Southampton’s exciting forward Alan Shearer.

By Christmas there were only really two title contenders: United and their old rivals Leeds. The domestic cups threw the teams together twice in a January week, with Ferguson's side winning both; although they lost in the next FA Cup round to Southampton, they reached the League Cup final against Nottingham Forest and again won through a solitary McClair goal. United’s first ever League Cup win, it ensured that Fergie had won silverware for the third season running.

Beating Southampton the following midweek left United two points clear of Leeds with a game in hand and all set to end their 25-year wait for the top-flight title. But Ferguson's side gathered just one point from the next four games, losing at home to Forest, at West Ham and – with agonising finality – at Anfield to confirm Leeds as champions, with former Red Devil Gordon Strachan playing a key role in their promotion and subsequent championship.

Hughes and Bruce, dejected at Anfield

There were a few crumbs of comfort for Fergie. He had seen his side become genuine title challengers who led the league for most of the season, and he had won domestic and continental (albeit minor) silverware. Meanwhile on the playing side, Gary Pallister replaced Mark Hughes as PFA Player of the Year, while Lee Sharpe was succeeded as PFA Young Player of the Year by Ryan Giggs, who had played in 38 (of the 42) league games while also captaining an FA Youth Cup-winning side representing an exciting future brewing at Old Trafford.
1991-92: League 2nd, FA Cup R2, League Cup winners, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup R2, European Super Cup winners

At the dawn of the Premier League, Ferguson sought to freshen up his attacking options with the signing of Alan Shearer. However, United missed out on their man as Kenny Dalglish spent £3.6m of Blackburn benefactor Jack Walker's money to break the British transfer record. Ferguson spent £1m on Cambridge United’s Dion Dublin as a bustling back-up, but it would be a striker signing later that season who made all the difference – along with the fresh crop of FA Youth Cup winners.

United started sluggishly with one point from the first three games before registering five straight wins. Again, though, they faltered in Europe, exiting the UEFA Cup at the first hurdle on penalties after two goalless games against Torpedo Moscow. The home leg was the first-team debut of 17-year-old right-back Gary Neville; 10 days later, David Beckham made his debut in a League Cup game against Brighton.

The “Class of 92” were coming through well, but the first team was spluttering: in a miserable 12-game autumn spell they only beat Brighton, with defeats to Ron Atkinson's title-chasing Aston Villa in the league and League Cup.

With Dublin suffering a broken leg, United needed a change. Having been rebuffed by Shearer, Ferguson also missed out on Sheffield Wednesday’s David Hirst. Asked by Leeds United if Denis Irwin was for sale, Fergie declined but enquired about diffident Frenchman Eric Cantona, who had helped inspire Leeds to the title but fallen out of favour.

In late November, Ferguson got his man for £1.2m. Cantona was paired up front with Hughes, while McClair joined Paul Ince in midfield. A run of 10 wins in 12 unbeaten games took United from tenth place to top the table in the New Year.

They wobbled during a four-match winless run in March, dropping to third behind Villa and surprise leaders Norwich. But they wobbled too and a United win at Carrow Road started a run of seven straight victories to the end of the season. When Villa lost at Oldham, United had won their first top-flight title in 26 years; in the end they won the league by 10 points.

Fergie and Giggsy dangle their gongs

Ferguson had become only the third United manager to win the league. Giggs retained the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and although Fergiue reject Paul McGrath won the senior players' gong, the manager could afford to smile. The present was good enough, and he knew his excellent crop of youngsters made the future look even brighter.
1992-93: League 1st, FA Cup R5, League Cup R3, UEFA Cup R1 

Even the best youth system can't always provide ready-made replacements for legends. By summer 1993 Bryan Robson was 36 and although Brian McClair had done a diligent job alongside Paul Ince, Ferguson wanted another midfield general to complement an attacking side with flying wingers.

Roy Keane, the tenacious Irish midfielder who had been outstanding the previous season for relegated Nottingham Forest, was seen as an ideal signing, but seemed bound for Blackburn. Ferguson phoned Keane and persuaded the 21-year-old to join the champions instead, in the process breaking the British transfer record with a £3.75m fee.

Keane went straight into the side, scoring a shoot-out penalty in United's Charity Shield win over Arsenal and scoring twice on his home debut. With his extra steel, United's defence of their Premier League title was even more impressive than their initial success of obtaining it. After a blistering start, they went top in August and never really looked back.

Their first tilt in 25 years at Europe's top trophy ended before the leaves were off the trees when, having dismissed Hungarians Kispest Honved, they went out of the Champions League on away goals to Turkish side Galatasaray. At least by that point they were 11 points clear, which they extended over the Christmas period while dealing a psychological Boxing Day blow to nearest title rivals Blackburn with an 88th-minute Ince equaliser.

On January 20th, United mourned the passing of the great Sir Matt Busby, who had served the club for almost 50 years as a manager, director and club president. As manager, he had led the club to five league titles, two FA Cups and their first European Cup. Busby inspired the utmost respect from Ferguson, with whom the club's father figure had forged a fruitful friendship at Old Trafford.

Having been domestically dominant, United wobbled in March with a run of six points in five games allowing Blackburn to slice into what had once been a 13-point lead. A week after losing the League Cup final to Ron Atkinson's Aston Villa, United lost 2-0 at Blackburn to two Alan Shearer goals; when United then lost at Wimbledon, Blackburn drew level on points.

But United were ready for a fight. They had already proved that in the FA Cup semi-final against Oldham, with a spectacular late Mark Hughes equaliser earning a replay which they won with ease. Once again Ferguson's side ended the season on a roll, with four wins in their last five games clinching the title from a disconsolate Blackburn.

Surging with momentum, United went into the FA Cup Final with Chelsea. Glenn Hoddle's side had inflicted two of United's four league defeats that season, but two Cantona penalties plus goals from Hughes and McClair helped United romp to victory – and the Double. The inspirational Cantona, who topped the domestic goalscoring charts, was named PFA Player of the Year – the third different United player in four years to win the award.
 1993-94: League 1st, FA Cup winners, League Cup finalists, UEFA Champions League R2, Charity Shield winners

In summer 1993 United said goodbye to their Captain Marvel, as Bryan Robson left to become Middlesbrough player-manager. Other ageing squad members were also moved on as Ferguson eyed increased chances for his younger players; the only significant signing was £1.25m David May, who had become disenchanted by Blackburn's contract renewal offers and was considered a possible successor for Steve Bruce, now nearing 34.

United beat Blackburn in the Charity Shield and won three of their first four league games, but then lost three in five to slip back. The second of those three defeats included a first league goal for Paul Scholes, three days after scoring a brace on his first-team debut in the League Cup against Port Vale.

Three days after knocking United out of the League Cup, Kevin Keegan's league leaders Newcastle were beaten at Old Trafford. But in their Champions League group Ferguson's side then suffered a 4-0 humbling at a Barcelona team inspired by Romario and Hristo Stoichkov.

Hampered by the three-foreigners rule (outlawed within a year on restraint-of-trade grounds), Ferguson had chosen to drop Peter Schmeichel for that game; soon he had no choice as the Dane was ruled out for 10 matches with a back injury. A 3-1 loss to IFK Gothenburg effectively ended their European campaign for another season, with their closing 4-0 win over Galatasaray rendered redundant.

By that point United, focusing on the league, were putting together some strong league runs to chase down leaders Blackburn. Over the winter period they enjoyed two nine-game unbeaten runs either side of a 2-1 defeat to a Nottingham Forest side inspired by powerful striker Stan Collymore.

Spying another potentially great signing from Forest (to follow Roy Keane), Ferguson courted Collymore as an eventual replacement for Mark Hughes. However, United instead signed Andy Cole, who had scored 68 goals in 84 games for Newcastle, for a record £7m (£6m plus talented young right-winger Keith Gillespie).

In late January a Cantona goal against Blackburn at Old Trafford cut Rovers' league lead at the top to two points – but three days later, the Frenchman was involved in one of football's most controversial moments.

After being sent off at Selhurst Park for kicking out at Crystal Palace defender Richard Shaw, Cantona reacted to a torrent of racial abuse from Palace fan Matthew Simmons by launching a kung-fu kick at him. The club quickly fined him £20,000 and suspended him for four months, but the FA doubled the suspension, while Cantona was convicted of assault and sentenced to two weeks in prison (reduced to 120 hours' community service).

With Ferguson's siege mentality justified as never before, United won five of their next six games, with Cole finding his feet by scoring five in one game against hapless Ipswich. United's goal difference was now better than Blackburn's but the gap stayed at three points – until defeat at Anfield stretched it to six.

United overcame Crystal Palace in an ill-tempered FA Cup Semi-Final but were still focused on the league and whittled Blackburn's lead down to two points by the last round of matches – which had Rovers at Europe-chasing Liverpool while United visited safely mid-table West Ham.

All looked lost when the Hammers took a shock first-half lead and Shearer scored at Anfield, but equalisers at each ground from McClair and John Barnes left the title race open. A late Jamie Redknapp winner for Liverpool meant one goal would be enough for United but Andy Cole squandered a couple of chances and the title was gone.

Last-day agony at Upton Park

The disappointment was compounded when United lost 1-0 to Everton at Wembley in the FA Cup Final, thanks to a goal from Paul Rideout, leaving United without a major trophy for the first time in six seasons.
 1994-95: League 2nd, FA Cup finalists, League Cup R3, UEFA Champions League Group stage, Charity Shield winners

Expecting a summer of strengthening to match cash-happy Blackburn, United fans (and much of the media) were surprised to see Ferguson apparently hell-bent on dismantling the team he had built. Paul Ince moved to Inter Milan for £7m, Andrei Kanchelskis to Everton for £5m and Mark Hughes to Chelsea for £1.5m.

To replace them, Ferguson turned not to star signings but the talented fledglings coming up from the 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning side: Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. With Cantona set to return in September, and the likes of Bruce, Roy Keane and Schmeichel on hand to offer experience and support to blood the players, it seemed a calculated risk. Not everybody agreed.

“You’ll win nothing with kids,” claimed Alan Hansen on Match of the Day after a 3-1 opening-day defeat at Aston Villa. But with Scholes chipping in goals, United won 10 of their next 13 league games to shadow rampant league leaders Newcastle.

The cup competitions didn't start as well. Losing on away goals to Rotor Volgograd, United were out of the UEFA Cup by the time Cantona returned in September (with a vital penalty equaliser against Liverpool), and a weak shadow team crashed out of the League Cup to York City.

Clearly United were concentrating on the league but five winless games, climaxing in a Christmas Eve defeat at Leeds, left them 10 points adrift of Newcastle at the turn of the year. But an FA Cup Third Round win at Sunderland started an astonishing run of 15 wins in 16 games – nine of them by a single goal – which saw them steam through to the FA Cup final while also demolishing Newcastle's league lead.

On March 4th at St James' Park Newcastle threw the kitchen sink at Ferguson's side but couldn't score, Eric Cantona's goal stealing an impressively resolute away win. Within a fortnight they had overhauled Newcastle as Keegan's side collapsed.

While the young players were impressive, the wily manager's mind games came to the fore. Following a 1-0 win over a determined Leeds on April 17th, Ferguson slyly wondered aloud if the Yorkshire side would try as hard 10 days later against Newcastle as the season entered its final week.

In the event Keegan's men also beat Leeds 1-0, but Ferguson must have been amazed to see what happened next. Interviewed live on Sky, the clearly emotional Newcastle manager produced one of football's most famous outbursts, claiming he would "love it" if Middlesbrough managed to beat the leaders that weekend.

They didn't. United won 3-0 at Bryan Robson's new home and, with Newcastle having drawn their final two games, wrapped up a third league title in four years – while also disproving Alan Hansen's words.

United's opponents in a hotly-anticipated FA Cup Final were Hansen's old side Liverpool, who had their own array of talented youngsters in Collymore, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Jamie Redknapp.

While the game was a turgid affair, notable more for a questionable wardrobe than compelling viewing, it was won by a piece of brilliance from Eric Cantona, who volleyed expertly through a body of players. United became the first English side to achieve a second Double, while Cantona became the first United player since George Best in 1968 to win the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award.
1995-96: League 1st, FA Cup winners, League Cup R2, UEFA Cup R1

Tomorrow: Fergie's third five-year spell – from the Double Double to the Treble.
Until then, check out FourFourTwo's ever-expanding interview archive...

ONE ON ONE, Nov 2008: Eric Cantona >>
"After he leaves... that’s what makes me worry. Ferguson is so strong"

WEB EXCLUSIVE, Dec 2007: Peter Schmeichel >>
"If Sir Alex is happy, United will win matches"

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?, Jul 2007: David May >>
"I still jump for every header that Vidic or Rio goes for"

PERFECT XI, Mar 2007: Sir Bobby Charlton >>
"He's the only manager capable of handling all these players"

Plus...

PERFECT XI, Apr 2006: Eric Cantona

What were Fergie's Premier League rivals doing when he arrived?

2011-10-31T15:29:00Z

Charlie Scott winds the clock back to 6 November 1986 to see what Alex Ferguson's modern day rivals were up to...

As Alex Ferguson was first making himself comfortable in the manager’s office at Old Trafford – washing out the smell of Ron Atkinson - his current Premier League managerial rivals were dotted around the globe enjoying varying degrees of success as players, managers and school children…

Players

Roberto Mancini (21, Sampdoria)
Ferguson’s current city rival was a first-team regular at just 21 for Serie A side Sampdoria, forming a successful strike partnership with another future Premier League coach, Italian international Gianluca Vialli. Two days after Ferguson was installed at United, Mancini was busy tormenting AC Milan in a 3-0 win for the Genoa-based side.

Mick McCarthy (27, Manchester City)
Across Manchester, Mick McCarthy was approaching the peak of his playing career wearing the sky blue of Manchester City. Happily for United fans, Ferguson’s arrival coincided with a disappointing season for McCarthy and his club, with City being relegated to Division Two in 1986/87.

Paul Lambert (17, St. Mirren)
The Norwich City manager was beginning his career as a player at St. Mirren, the club Ferguson had managed between 1974 and 78. Lambert made his debut during the 86-87 season and went on to play over 200 times for the Scottish side before moving onto bigger and better things with Borussia Dortmund – with whom he defeated Ferguson’s United in the 1997 Champions League semi-finals - and Celtic.

Steve Bruce (26, Norwich City)
A future Manchester United captain, Bruce was a key figure of the Norwich side that finished fifth in the 1986/87 season. It was not long before Bruce and Ferguson joined forces, with Sir Alex forking out £825,000 on the rugged defender in 1987.

Alex McLeish (27, Aberdeen)
McLeish was another future Premier League manager whose playing career was impacted by Ferguson’s arrival at Old Trafford. After playing under Ferguson for seven seasons at Aberdeen, it was reported that Fergie had attempted to take McLeish with him to United in 1986, only for the deal to fall through.

Player-Manager

Kenny Dalglish (35, Liverpool)
‘King Kenny’ made his final international appearance just four days after Ferguson’s appointment at Old Trafford, helping Scotland to a 3-0 win over Luxembourg in a Euro 88 qualifier. At club level, Liverpool’s player-manager rattled in eight goals in 23 matches in a rare trophyless season for the most successful side of the 1980s.

Managers

Arsene Wenger (37, AS Nancy-Lorraine)
Arsene Wenger was reaching the end of his first managerial post at French side As Nancy-Lorraine. The 1986/87 season was not a happy one for the Frenchman. He suffered his first relegation as a manager as Nancy finished in 19th position in Ligue 1.

Harry Redknapp (39, Bournemouth)
Redknapp was enjoying himself at Bournemouth when Ferguson arrived at United. He led his side to the Third Division title, accruing 97 points in the process - still a club record for most points in a season.

The Young Ones

Andre Villas-Boas (Nine, a school)
It would be seven years after Sir Alex was made United boss that a 16 year-old Villas-Boas would meet Sir Bobby Robson, whilst Robson was manager of Porto, with the youngster making such an impression that the Englishman handed him a job as part of Porto’s observational department. Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, meanwhile, would both have been 13 years old and doing all the things 13-year-old lads do. Probably the less said the better…

The rest…

PLAYERS: Alan Pardew (25, Yeovil), Tony Pulis (31, Bournemouth), Martin Jol (30, ADO Den Haag), Steve Kean (19, Celtic), Owen Coyle (20, Dumbarton) and David Moyes (23, Bristol City). MANAGERS: Neil Warnock (37, Scarborough), Roy Hodgson (39, Malmo FF).

Fergie at United, pt 1/5: The first five years

2011-10-31T12:03:00Z

To kick off our week looking back at (Sir) Alex Ferguson's reign at Old Trafford, Vithushan Ehantharajah takes us back to where it all began...

"We’re in a terribly cynical world now and when you lose a few games the judges are out. You see managers going early-season many times in the past years, unfairly... and it keeps going" – Sir Alex Ferguson attacks criticism of Arsene Wenger, August 2011.

It’s easy to see why Sir Alex Ferguson has such compassion for his struggling counterparts – even those with whom he has never seen eye to eye. The years between 1986 and 1991 were the worst half-decade of his reign, and Fergie would be the first to admit he was lucky that it wasn’t his last – especially with managers being discarded as compassionately as a losing lottery ticket.

Govan-born former centre-forward Alex Ferguson took the Manchester United hot seat on 6th November 1986, immediately after the club had parted company with Ron Atkinson – to much derision from the fans. It could all been so different had Ferguson taken one of the other four routes to English football previously offered to him.

Having led Aberdeen to domestic and continental glory – in his eight seasons at Pottodrie he led the Dons to three Scottish top-flight titles, four Scottish Cups and the 1983 Cup Winners' Cup – Ferguson had attracted interest from south of Hadrian's wall, but none of the mooted moves ever worked out.

He turned down Aston Villa because he didn’t fancy working with Doug Ellis; rejected Wolves as he was unimpressed with the directors and atmosphere at Molineux; and rebuffed offers in summer 1986 from both Arsenal and Spurs because he had pledged to lead Scotland to Mexico 86 following the sudden death of national manager Jock Stein.

As Gordon Strachan later revealed, Ferguson said in Mexico that he would only leave Aberdeen for two clubs – Barcelona or Manchester United. The Red Devils were the classic underachieving giants; Atkinson had led them to FA Cup glory in 1983 and 1985 but, despite winning the first 10 games of the 1985/86 season, couldn't maintain a consistent campaign to win their first top-flight title since 1967.

United ended that season in fourth place, increasing the pressure on Atkinson, and when they slumped to second from bottom in November 1986 they fired Atkinson and hired Ferguson. With his assistant Archie Knox, Fergie set about his first task – keeping the club in the top flight – as well as bigger issues such as improving the youth system and addressing a booze culture prevalent among players like Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson.

Fergie hits the bench for his debut at Oxford

His reign started inauspiciously with a 2-0 defeat at Oxford United, and United managed just one goal in his first four games. However, as November turned to December his side found their range and a Boxing Day win at all-conquering Liverpool was a sign of things to come. United ended the season in 11th, fulfilling Ferguson's first aim, but there were bigger battles to come.
1986/87: League 11th, FA Cup R4, League Cup R3

Ferguson slowly started to strengthen his side in summer 1987, signing Arsenal's England right-back Viv Anderson and then haggling Celtic down from a record £2m to £850,000 for striker Brian McClair, who'd scored 35 goals the previous term. United started well but Ferguson strengthened further in December by signing Norwich City's Steve Bruce.

The centre-back became a mainstay of the United back four that season, playing in 21 of the 22 remaining league games. A greatly improved United finished the season in second place, although they were never really in contention for the league title, which Liverpool – fired by John Aldridge, Peter Beardsley and John Barnes – won by a comfortable nine-point margin which had been wider for much of the season.
1987/88: League 2nd, FA Cup R5, League Cup R3

Welcome home, son: Fergie bags Sparky

In summer 1988, Ferguson finally managed to secure the return of Mark Hughes for £1.8m – slightly less than the figure United had received from Barcelona two years before. Hughes would be a great success, being voted PFA Player of the Year, but one failure to seal a summer signing haunted Ferguson – and others – for years.

Knowing that he needed some dynamism in midfield Fergie had courted Paul Gascoigne. He had watched Newcastle's young maestro singlehandedly run rings round his entire midfield – one that consisted of Norman Whiteside, Bryan Robson and Remi Moses. In one particular incident, Gazza nutmegged Moses and patted him on the head as he ran around him to get the ball, to which Fergie jumped out of his seat and yelled, “Get that f***ing so and so!”

He certainly tried his best. That summer Gascoigne promised Ferguson he would sign for United and the manager went on holiday while the details were tied up; while in Malta, he heard that Gazza had instead joined Tottenham for a British record £2m. Ferguson would later call missing out on the signing as his biggest regret, while Gascoigne would be left wondering if a stricter manager might have helped keep him on the right path.

Ferguson consoled himself by spending £200,000 on the much-coveted 16-year-old Lee Sharpe and £500,000 on former Aberdeen goalkeeper Jim Leighton, but he knew the big one had got away. And the results showed: hampered by injury, United failed to kickstart their 1988-89 campaign as they were forced to throw some of their younger, inexperienced players into the deep end.

Despite impressive showings from Sharpe and Mark Robins, United had trouble maintaining a decent run of form – three wins at the beginning of the season were followed by a nine-game winless streak. This pattern continued into the latter half of the season, where they reached a season high of third, before tailing off to finish in 11th.

The biggest talking point of the season came when Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath – whose 'refuelling' problems were wearing Fergie’s patience very thin – appeared drunk on TV before a United FA Cup tie. Although they were both injured, it was far from the image Ferguson wanted United to project and his patience snapped.

McGrath was offered a retirement package but refused it and was shipped off to Aston Villa, while Whiteside was sold to Everton in summer 1988. The fans were furious but Ferguson was steadfast, and even warned club captain Bryan Robson, though not involved on this occasion, that one wrong (inebriated) step would be his last for United.
1988/89: League 11th, FA Cup QF, League Cup R3

While Ferguson implemented major changes on the pitch, United considered huge ones off it. In 1980, Martin Edwards had taken over as chairman from his father Louis, who had helmed the club since 1965; now Edwards pondered a £20m sell-out to flamboyant speculator Michael Knighton.

Before United’s first league game of the season, Knighton introduced himself to the players in the dressing room, then requested for a full kit. As the players looked on, he got changed, grabbed a ball and ran onto the pitch, proceeding to juggle the ball around the turf – displaying some of the skills that he picked up as a failed youth-team player at Everton and Coventry – before vaingloriously slamming the ball home past a non-existent goalkeeper at the Stretford End.

If the world thought that was embarrassing, it got worse when Knighton's backers pulled out and he had to abandon the deal. He went on to buy Carlisle United, hitting headlines again when he claimed to have seen a UFO…

Back on the ground, Ferguson was spending some serious money to build his own squad. Having bolstered midfield with Nottingham Forest's Neil Webb for £1.5m and Norwich's Mike Phelan for £600,000 he strengthened his defence again with Middlesbrough's Gary Pallister, whose £2.3m fee was a record for a defender and second only in the UK to the fee Liverpool paid to re-sign Ian Rush.

Ferguson followed that with the controversial £1m signing of West Ham's Paul Ince in September, but by then he was already facing fan discontent. As anti-Fergie banners waved in the Stretford End, the board backed him with a three-year contract, but discontent was amplified by further disappointing results – including an eviscerating 5-1 defeat at Manchester City.

After his side picked up just four points in eight winless games and slid to 15th, many in the media were preparing Ferguson's obituary when United faced an FA Cup Third Round trip to Nottingham Forest, who had knocked them out at Old Trafford the previous year. Although Martin Edwards always denied it, the feeling was that defeat would cost the manager his job.

A 1-0 win thanks to a goal from young Mark Robins brought about some respite, and narrow wins at Hereford, Newcastle and Sheffield United helped United tiptoe to the semi-finals. A thrilling tussle with Oldham, only settled by Robins again during extra-time in a Maine Road replay, took Ferguson to his first English final.

Facing a Crystal Palace side buoyed by the returning Ian Wright, Ferguson sent out a self-built side: only Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes remained from Ron Atkinson's 1985 FA Cup winners. United went behind in both normal time and extra time before Mark Hughes' second of the afternoon earned a replay.

At this point, Fergie showed his steel. He replaced his old Aberdeen goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who had endured a torrid season, with Luton loanee Les Sealey. Sealey's brilliant performance maintained a clean sheet, while defender Lee Martin scored the winner. Sealey was given a full contract (and gave his winner's medal to Leighton), while Ferguson had his first piece of silverware for the Old Trafford trophy cabinet.

Fall guy: Fergie's old friend Jim got the chop

However, Atkinson had won two FA Cups in three years while helping United finish in the top four for five successive seasons, whereas Ferguson's United, after that runners-up slot in 1988, had limped to 11th and now 13th – their lowest position since they were relegated 16 years ago.
1989/90: League 13th, FA Cup winners, League Cup R3

Ferguson's first United trophy was fortuitously timed: 1990/91 was the first year after the Heysel disaster that English sides (except Liverpool) were allowed back into European competitions, so the manager was once again in the Cup Winners’ Cup his Aberdeen side had so memorably won back in 1983.

With injuries subsiding, the side – bolstered by Oldham full-back Denis Irwin – started to play with fluency and purpose, established players supplemented by the youth of Lee Sharpe and the emerging Ryan Giggs. Signing a five-year professional contract on his 17th birthday in November 1990, Giggs was carefully nurtured by Ferguson off and on the pitch: he was shielded from the press long after his full debut in March 1991.

By that point United had made their mark in the league, legally and otherwise: they rose as high as fourth before finishing in sixth, but had also been censured for brawling with Arsenal in their October clash at Old Trafford. United were docked two points and Arsenal one, but the affair allowed Ferguson to develop a them-against-us siege mentality which would serve them well.

While the side's form fluctuated in the league, they reached the League Cup final (losing to Sheffield Wednesday) and more importantly progressed in Europe: with Brain McClair scoring in every round, they reached the Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam.

There they were the underdogs against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona, who included Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman. Indeed, the Dutchman scored but by that point United were 2-0 up, both goals credited to former Camp Nou flop Mark Hughes (although he tried to credit Steve Bruce for the first).

Ferguson had once again conquered the continent and although he still needed to improve on their league finishes, sixth place and a European trophy quelled any lingering discontent and united the club behind the manager.
1990/91: League 6th, FA Cup R5, League Cup finalists, European Cup Winners' Cup winners

Tomorrow: Fergie's second five years – onwards and upwards.
Until then, check out FourFourTwo's ever-expanding interview archive...

ONE ON ONE, Jan 2007: Paul McGrath >>
"The next morning, Fergie knew exactly which pubs I'd been to"

ONE ON ONE, Sep 2002: Ryan Giggs >>
"Fergie said 'Club car? You've got more chance of getting a club bike!'"

ONE ON ONE, May 2007: Mark Hughes >>
"Fergie ran down the stairs to sub me off after 15 minutes"

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Oct 2007: Norman Whiteside >>
"I got interested in the medical side when I had about 17 operations..."

Plus...

PERFECT XI, Sep 2009: Denis Irwin
ASK A SILLY QUESTION, Jun 2007: Bryan Robson