Top 10 Fergie decisions
-
TOP BOSS ... Alex Ferguson
ALEX FERGUSON has never backed away from tough decisions – who to buy, who to sell, who to pick, who to drop.
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.
-
i wonder if SAF would survive in another club in today's insane footballing world?
like lets say he took the route of Bobby Robson, winning different things at different countries.
would he be just as successful? we'll never know.
but during one of the interviews that he admitted that he probably wouldn't survive the current circus
-
Haven't they done this before? Sportsmail looks back at United's previous Premier League title triumphs
Manchester United's domination of English football continued when they clinched their 18th league title, and 11th under Sir Alex Ferguson, with a draw against Arsenal on Saturday at Old Trafford.
Sportsmail now remembers the previous Premier League crowns won under their inspirational manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson is all smiles after winning an 11th title with United at Old Trafford on Saturday
FA Premiership Champions 1992-93
P42 W 24 D 12 L 6 Win%: 57
Goals for: 67 Goals against: 31Ferguson brought the league title to Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years as the Premiership era was born.
United stumbled initially, losing 2-1 to Sheffield United on the opening day, but the capture of Eric Cantona for £1.2million from Leeds in November was the missing link Ferguson needed.
Ryan Giggs was the PFA Young Player of the Year as United won the Premiership at a canter, finishing 10 points above Aston Villa.
FA Carling Premiership Champions 1993-94
P42 W 27 D 11 L 4 Win%: 57
Goals for: 80 Goals against: 38Roy Keane joined the Champions in July 1993 - the Irishman's £3.75m move from Nottingham Forest making him the most expensive signing ever by an English club.
It paid off - United went on to do the Double, finishing eight points ahead of Blackburn Rovers and beating Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup final.
United players celebrate their first title in 26 years with Premier League success in 1993
FA Carling Premiership Champions 1995-96
P38 W 25 D 7 L 6 Win %: 66
Goals for: 73 Goals against: 35After finishing as runners-up to Blackburn Rovers the year before, United gave themselves everything to do to regain their crown and trailed Newcastle by 12 points in mid-January.
Despite Kevin Keegan's infamous 'I will love it if we beat them' comment, it was United who went on to win the title. Cantona, who returned in September after a nine-month suspension for kicking a Crystal Palace fan, went on to win the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year Award and United did the Double.
Alan Hansen, who announced 'You'll never win anything with kids' after United were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa on the opening day, was forced to eat his words.
FA Carling Premiership Champions 1996-97
P38 W 21 D 12 L 5 Win %: 55
Goals for: 76 Goals against: 44
A season that began with David Beckham's goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon ended in another title for United, but there were some worrying moments along the way.Ferguson's side were beaten 5-0 by Newcastle, the Red Devils' biggest defeat for 12 years, and lost 6-3 to Southampton at the Dell.
But United were top by January and went on to retain their title, with Beckham winning the PFA Young Player of the Year Award to boot.
FA Carling Premiership Champions 1998-99
P38 W 22 D 13 L 3 Win %: 58
Goals for: 80 Goals against: 37
After watching Arsenal do the Double in 1997-98, United pulled off the sweetest of revenge missions by landing the Treble the following year.The Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League trophies were all at Old Trafford by the end of May 1999, earning Ferguson a knighthood for his trouble.
United won the title in their golden treble year of 1999
FA Carling Premiership Champions 1999-2000
P38 W 28 D 7 L 3 Win %: 74
Goals for: 97 Goals against: 45
United won the title by an embarrassing 18 points in 1999-2000, a remarkable achievement considering the Red Devils were second behind Leeds United at the beginning of January.
Ferguson's side were simply unstoppable in the second half of a campaign that saw them score 97 goals - their highest in a Premier League season to date.FA Carling Premiership Champions 2000-01
P38 W 24 D 8 L 6 Win %: 63
Goals for: 79 Goals against: 31
Ferguson became the first manager to win three titles in a row as United topped the table by 10 points.Eventual runners-up Arsenal beat the Champions 1-0 at Old Trafford in October 2000, but United got revenge in February - beating the Gunners 6-1 at Highbury.
The Red Devils were 5-1 up by half-time as a Dwight Yorke hat-trick and goals from Keane and Solskjaer showed United's class. Sheringham made it six with the game beyond Arsenal's grasp.
FA Barclaycard Premiership Champions 2002-03
P38 W 25 D 8 L 5 Win %: 66
Goals for: 74 Goals against: 34
United recovered from their third place finish in 2001-02 to overhaul Arsenal's eight-point lead in March 2003 and claim title number eight for Sir Alex Ferguson.A 3-1 Boxing Day defeat to Middlesbrough was the catalyst for an unbeaten run that saw United win the title by five points.
Sir Alex and co celebrate another success at Goodison park in 2003
Barclays Premiership Champions 2006-07
P38 W 28 D 5 L 5 Win %: 74
Goals for: 83 Goals against: 27
United regained the title after a three-year gap, thwarted Chelsea's attempts to win three on the trot and finishing top by six points.Valuable contributions by Cristiano Ronaldo (17 goals) and Wayne Rooney (14) ensured the Premiership trophy returned to Old Trafford.
Barclays Premier League Champions 2007-08
P 38 W 27 D 6 L 5 Win %: 71
Goals for: 80 Goals against: 22
United spent more than £50million on Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani in a bid to retain their title, but it was Ronaldo who was unstoppable, scoring 31 league goals.Ferguson also gained his second Champions League crown last season as United beat Chelsea on penalties in the Moscow final.
Ryan Giggs lifts the Premier League trophy after victory at Wigan in 2008
