Sir Alex Ferguson: Britain's Legendary Football Manager

On 8 May 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement from managing Barclays Premier League giants Manchester United, effectively ending his almost 27 year reign at Old Trafford. Assigned to the position in November 1986 after the dismissal of Roy Atkinson, the former Scottish footballer transformed the club into the world renowned powerhouse they are today and changed the game of English football as we know it.

In honour of his long spanning career, we'll take a look back at his football achievements, from the early days playing for Queen's Park, to his successful run in charge of Manchester United, and even look ahead to what the future holds in store for this football legend.

Playing Career

Alexander Chapman Ferguson began his career as an amateur player for Scottish team Queen's Park in 1957 at the age of 16, scoring 15 goals in 31 appearances. Despite his efforts, he never secured a first team spot with Queen's Park and was transferred to St. Johnstone in 1960, where he netted 19 goals in 37 games played, including a hat trick against his childhood idols Rangers.

He moved to Dunfermline Athletic in 1964 after failing once again to be a consistent member of St. Johnstone's first squad. Here, his professional career finally began and he played a total of 89 matches for Dunfermline, scoring an impressive 66 goals: an average of roughly one and half goals per appearance. During the 1965-66 season, Ferguson tied Joe McBride as top goalscorer in the Scottish League with 31 goals.

The following year, Ferguson joined Rangers for a record transfer fee of £65,000, but left the club in 1969 on sour terms after being forced from the senior squad into the junior team when the fault was pinned on him for their defeat in the Scottish League final to Celtic that season.

Ferguson transferred to Falkirk, making 95 appearances and scoring 37 goals for the club before his move to Ayr United in 1973, where he only remained for one season before officially retiring from playing football in 1974.

Overall, Ferguson made 317 appearances and scored a total of 171 goals at club level over the course of his twenty year playing career in Scotland.

Early Managerial Career

Immediately after retirement, Ferguson jumped into the world of football management, being appointed as head coach at East Stirlingshire. At the relatively young age of 32, he already began making a name for himself as a no nonsense leader.

After a few short months, St. Mirren approached Ferguson to manage their club. Despite being below East Stirlingshire in the league tables at the time, Ferguson took the opportunity and there, he transformed a low ranked Second Division team into First Division champions in 1977, but was sacked in 1978 due to a breach of contract. Over the course of his nearly 40 year managerial career, St. Mirren were the only club to ever dismiss Ferguson as manager.

Aberdeen and the Scottish National Team

After being let go from St. Mirren, Ferguson joined Aberdeen during the summer of 1978. Over the next eight years, he refined his managerial style and earned himself recognition as a highly ranked top-fight manager. Still relatively inexperienced and not much older than some of the players he was in charge of, Ferguson found it difficult to command respect from his team and suffered much disappointment in his first season. Aberdeen finished fourth in the league after losing both the Scottish Cup semi-final and the Scottish League Cup final.

His first true success with the club came during the 1979-80 season, in which he led Aberdeen to the league title, breaking the fifteen year Scottish League dominance of Rangers and Celtic. After the league victory, Ferguson felt he had gained the respect of his players and secured a Scottish Cup win with his squad two years later.

In the following years, Ferguson took Aberdeen to European success, as well as winning further domestic titles and cups. Having qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup through winning the Scottish Cup in the 1981-82 season, Ferguson's side unexpectedly eliminated German super-club Bayern Munich in the second leg of the quarter-finals with a 3-2 victory. They went on to defeat Belgian side Waterschei Thor 5-2 on aggregate before meeting Real Madrid in Sweden for the final. In an unprecedented turn of events, they won in overtime 2-1. The victory made Aberdeen the third Scottish team to ever win a trophy in international European competition.

Ferguson furthered his European glory by beating European Cup champions Hamburg for the Super Cup in 1983. The following season saw Aberdeen win both the league title and the Scottish Cup. He ended his career at the Scottish club with the addition of two more trophies to their cabinet. Under his guidance, they won the 1985-86 Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup before his departure that summer.

During the 1985-86 season, Ferguson also found himself taking over as head coach for the Scottish National Team after mentor Jock Stein tragically collapsed and died in September 1985. However, Scotland failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup, and Ferguson consequently stepped down after holding the position for just nine months.

Manchester United

His great success at Aberdeen caught the eye of many English clubs who offered him the position of manager, such as top-flight teams Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham, although Ferguson chose to sign a contract with 21st place Manchester United in November of 1986. While he secured no silverware his first season and his first official match in charge of the club ended in a 2-0 defeat to Oxford United, Ferguson managed to made great headway with the squad and ultimately climb the tables to finish 11th in the season.

In fact, Ferguson wouldn't add a trophy to Manchester United's cabinet until the 1989-90 season. During his first three years, he was unpopular with supporters and the media when United were still mid-table in the 1988-89 season. After a string of six defeats, two draws, and a humiliating 5-1 crushing by cross town rivals Manchester City, he found himself facing banners at Old Trafford expressing disappointment in him, as well as both supporters and journalists publicly calling for his sacking.

Under his strict disciplinarian coaching, Manchester United improved their form to reach the 1990 FA Cup final, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in a replay after an initial 3-3 draw. That one goal was all it took to win the trophy and show the beginning of what was to come for Alex Ferguson's team in the future. United followed up their FA Cup success by winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the next season, going on to win the UEFA Super Cup in the same year. From there, Manchester United won the League Cup in 1991-92, but their inability to win the league title in close seasons was still raising doubts on whether Ferguson was the right man for the job. He had promised the title for years and failed to deliver.

By the 1992-93 season, the tides has turned for Ferguson as Manchester United finished top of the table with a ten point goal difference between them and second place Aston Villa. The victory ended United's 26 year wait for the title and made them the first ever winners of the newly formed Premier League. All his critics were silenced as Ferguson was awarded Premier League Manager of the Season in 1993.

United continued their Premier League success into the next year, taking early lead of the table at the start of the season and holding their position until the end. They won the Double of the Premier League title and FA Cup in 1994. However, the 1994-95 season proved difficult for the Scotsman's side, as they failed to retain the championship and lost in the FA Cup final that year.

Skepticism surrounding Ferguson's abilities as manager returned during the summer of 1995 when three of United's top players left the club and he was unable to secure another large signing. Instead, he chose to rely on the talent of young players like David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes, who would all go on to become football stars themselves under Ferguson's management. Against the heavy criticism of his decision to place faith in his young squad, Manchester United narrowly won the league and spent the next five years dominating the competition.

Under Ferguson's tactical leadership in 1996-97, Manchester United reached the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 28 years. This was the start of United's growing European presence.

During the 1998-99 season, Alex Ferguson's side became the first Premier League team to win the coveted treble: winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League all in one season. It had never been done before and has yet to be accomplished since by any other Premier League team.

Despite their prominent success in 1999, Manchester United suffered a streak of poor form in the succeeding seasons, seeing the Scotsman's side bow out early in domestic cup competitions, lose in the Champions League, and finish third in the table multiple years. Finishing a season trophyless had become a thing of the past under Ferguson's management and the disappointing performances in all competitions that resulted in a failure to add silverware to the club's trophy cabinet resurged doubts towards the manager. Despite the introduction of successful teenager strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to the squad, speculations in the media of Ferguson's future with the club ran high.

However, Manchester United's board of directors supported their manager fully and in 2006, Ferguson celebrated 20 years as head of the coaching staff. The momentous occasion quickly turned sour when United suffered an upsetting 1-0 defeat against Championship side Southend in the League Cup. United did finish the season in first place, earning them a ninth Premier League title in fourteen seasons.

Although suffering the worst start to the season under his management in 2007-08, Manchester United secured their tenth league title that May, and ten days later saw the defeat of Chelsea in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League final to make it Ferguson's second European cup for the club.

United followed up their success with another Premier League title in 2008-09, bringing the count to eleven total and levelling them with North West rivals Liverpool's all-time record. They also won the League Cup the same season, as well as reaching the Champions League final for a second year in a row. They couldn't match their previous achievement though and lost to Barcelona 2-0. They would suffer the same fate two years later, losing 3-1 in the final again to Barcelona on home ground at Wembley Stadium in 2011. Ferguson would never see another European cup in his career.

On 19 December 2010, Ferguson became the longest serving manager for Manchester United in history, after he overtook Matt Busby's record of 24 years in charge. The same season, he broke Liverpool's record of 18 league titles by securing a 12th Premiership title for the club and its 19th overall. This win replaced Liverpool with Manchester United as the most successful English club in football history. Ferguson celebrated his 1000th league game in charge on 2 September 2012. Two weeks later, he made Champions League history by winning his 100th match with a home victory against Turkish side Galatasaray at Old Trafford.

Ferguson announced his retirement from the club at the beginning of May 2013 after an astonishing 26 years holding the position. He bid an emotional farewell to his managerial career with a 5-5 draw at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion on 19 May 2013.

Awards and Honours

The nearly 27 years Ferguson spent at Manchester United saw an impressive string of wins and accomplishments for the Scotsman. Ferguson became the very first Premier League Manager of the month in August of 1993 when the award was initially created: an honour he won a total of 27 times, the most recent being October 2012. He won Premier League Manager of the Season 10 additional times since the 1993-94 season, including the 2012-13 season.

He was named Manager of the Decade for the 1990s by the League Manager's Association and also had the honour of being named Manager of the Year for 1998-99, 2007-08, and 2010-11 by them, as well as earning the Special Merit Award in 2009 and 2011. He was given the Manager of the Decade Award at the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2002, where he was also given an accolade for Most Coaching Appearances with 392 matches in charge. In 2012, Ferguson once again was handed Manager of the Decade at the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards.

UEFA voted Ferguson Manager of the year during his legendary 1998-99 season, as well as naming him coach in their Team of the Year award for 2007 and 2008. FIFA awarded him their Presidential Award 2011 for his illustrious career in English football.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics declared him the World's Best Club Coach in 1999 and 2008. In 2012, they presented him with the title of World's Best Coach of the 21st Century.

In 1999, Ferguson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to British football, earning him the official title of Sir. He has henceforth been commonly referred to as Sir Alex by the media and supporters. He is only the eighth football manager to receive this high honour.

During his last season at Manchester United, a bronze statue of Ferguson was revealed outside of Old Trafford in November 2012, commemorating his dedication, loyalty, and outstanding achievements as manager.

Sir Alex Ferguson was officially inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Overall, he was won 49 trophies total in his managerial career, 38 with Manchester United, making him the most successful British manager in the history of football.

Statistics

Ferguson was in charge of 2,155 matches total as a manager in Scotland and England. During his 26 year tenure with Manchester United, London rivals Chelsea have employed 18 managers and fellow Mancunians Manchester City have replaced their manager 14 times. Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid, whom Ferguson had faced many times in his career, hired and fired 24 managers during the last 27 years.

Of his 2,155 games, 17 were in charge of East Sterlingshire, 169 for St. Mirren, 459 for Aberdeen, 10 for Scotland, and 1,500 for Manchester United.

In 1,500 games for Manchester United, he has won a total of 895, giving him a win rate of 60% in all competitions overall. 810 games of those 1,500 were played in the Premier League, winning 528 matches for a record 65% victory ratio. Under him, United scored 2,769 goals total, while conceding just 1,365.

In addition to 13 Premier League trophies, he has added 10 Charity Shields, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cup, 2 UEFA Champions League titles, 1 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup to the Manchester United trophy cabinet.

The Future

Sir Alex plans to continue serving his long time club upon his retirement. He will take a position on the club's board as a director and be an ambassador for Manchester United.

Whether or not you personally support United, or like Sir Alex as a person, his contribution to not only Manchester United, but to the game of British football is undeniable. From 21st place in 1986, to one of the richest and most recognised football clubs in the world, the Premier League would not be what it is today without him.