TOP BOSS ... Alex Ferguson
Most of the time he’s been spot-on, and eleven league
titles with United are resounding proof of that.
Here, we pick out 10 occasions when Fergie had to back
his judgment and got it right.
AXED ... Ron Atkinson
10. Saying 'No' to Spurs and
Arsenal
UNITED weren’t the first English club to try to tempt
Fergie away from Aberdeen, where he had become a legend after
winning the European Cup Winners Cup.
Tottenham wanted him to replace Peter Shreeves and
Arsenal saw him as the man to take over from Don Howe.
But when United came calling, Fergie headed south in
November 1986 to take over from the sacked Ron Atkinson.
WONDERKID ... Cristiano Ronaldo in his Sporting
Lisbon days
9. Finding seventh heaven with
Ronaldo
FERGIE’S knack for spotting emerging talent was bang on
with an 18-year-old from Sporting Lisbon called Cristiano
Ronaldo.
Fans feared that United would never fill the No 7 shirt
properly after Becks left, but Sir Alex gambled £12.24 million to
make Ronaldo United’s first Portuguese player – and now Real Madrid
would gladly hand over £80 million or more.
Not bad business.
STAR ... Cristiano Ronaldo
8. Hanging on to Ronaldo
EVEN diehard United fans feared that Ronaldo would not
give his all for United after the will-he-won’t-he transfer talk
around a move to Real Madrid last summer.
But Fergie stood his ground, put two fingers up to the
Spaniards and had the last laugh as Ronaldo turned on his superstar
quality to power his team to another Premier League crown.
STRAINED ... David Beckham and Alex Ferguson
7. Seeing the back of Becks
DAVID BECKHAM’S relationship with Fergie started to
deteriorate almost from the moment Becks married Victoria.
Something had to give – and Goldenballs left for Real
Madrid in July 2003.
Who was right? Well, since booting out Becks for
£25million, Fergie has won silverware galore, while his former
superstar has won...er, one La Liga title with Real Madrid.
GOAL MACHINE ... Ruud van Nistelrooy
6. Keeping faith with Ruud
FERGIE raised eyebrows in 2000 when he stuck to his
decision to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for a
British record fee of £18million despite the Dutch star suffering a
serious knee injury.
In the summer of 2001, Fergie got his man and Ruud went
on to score 150 goals in five seasons.
U-TURN ... Alex Ferguson shelved plans to retire
in 2002
5. Putting retirement on hold
UNITED’S form dipped in 2001-02 after Fergie announced
his decision to retire at the end of the season.
Then he changed his mind, and the following season they
lifted the Premiership trophy with an incredible fightback after
trailing Arsenal by eight points two months before the end of the
campaign.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE ... Teddy Sheringham (left)
and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (middle) won the European Cup for Man
United
4. Launching super subs to sink
Germans
BAYERN MUNICH players were already celebrating with
their fans as the clock ticked away the closing seconds of the 1999
Champions League Final in Barcelona.
Enter substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar
Solksjaer with a goal each in time added on, and United won 2-1 to
life the European Cup for the first time since 1968. Oh, and Alex
became Sir Alex.
FERGIE'S FLEDGLINGS ... Nicky Butt, David Beckham,
Gary and Phil Neville and Paul Scholes in 1995
3. You CAN win things with kids
ALAN HANSEN told Fergie: “You can’t win anything with
kids.”
The reply from Old Trafford during that 1995-96 season
was “Oh yes we can,” as United scooped the league title with a team
that included Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul
Scholes and Nicky Butt.
A youthful Ryan Giggs was there to turn that Fab Five
into a Super Six as United overhauled Newcastle’s 14-point lead at
the top.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC ... Roy Keane
2. Signing Roy Keane
FERGIE faced a tough call during the summer of 1993 –
who should he sign to replace Bryan Robson?
The gaffer plumped for a rough, rough but talented
Irish kid from Nottingham Forest by the name of Roy Keane and a
legend was born. Keano cost a bargain £3.75 million and stayed for
12 magical, momentous years.
LEGEND ... Eric Cantona
1. Buying Eric Cantona
UNITED were struggling in tenth in the newly-formed
Premiership in November 1992 when Fergie stunned football by
signing “loose cannon” Eric Cantona from Leeds.
The cannon started firing goals and United won their
first top-flight title for 26 years, 10 points clear of runners-up
Aston Villa.
