Sir-Alex-Ferguson-eBook

Sir Alex Ferguson eBook. My Autobiography: The autobiography of the legendary Manchester United manager Digital Edition

by Alex Ferguson  (Author)

Sir Alex Ferguson eBook.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s compelling story is always honest and revealing he reflects on his managerial career that embraced unprecedented European success for Aberdeen and 26 triumphant seasons with Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s best-selling autobiography has now been updated to offer reflections on events at Manchester United since his retirement as well as his teachings at the Harvard Business School, a night at the Oscars and a boat tour round the Hebrides, where he passed unrecognised.

The extra material adds fresh insights and detail on his final years as United’s manager.

Both the psychology of management and the detail of football strategy at the top level can be complex matters but no-one has explained them in a more interesting and accessible way for the general reader than Sir Alex does here.

Sir Alex Ferguson eBook.

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY is revealing, endlessly entertaining and above all inspirational.

SEVERAL years ago I began gathering my thoughts for this book, making notes in the spare time my job
allowed me. It was always my plan to assemble a story that people inside and outside the game would
find interesting.
So, although my retirement took the industry by surprise, this autobiography has been in my head for
many years. It complements Managing My Life, an earlier volume. And therefore, while briefly
reflecting on my youth in Glasgow and life-long friends made in Aberdeen, it focuses on my magical
years in Manchester. An avid reader myself, I was eager to write a book that explained some of the
mysteries in my line of work.

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In a lifetime’s journey in football, you will have dips, lows, defeats and disappointments. In my
early years at Aberdeen and Manchester United, I decided right away that in order to build trust and
loyalty with the players, I had to give it to them first. That is the starting point for the bond on which
great institutions thrive. I was helped by my ability to observe. Some people walk into a room and
don’t notice anything. Use your eyes; it’s all out there. I used this skill in my assessment of players’
training habits, moods and behaviour patterns.
Of course I’ll miss the banter of the dressing room and all my opponents in management: those
wonderful characters of the old school who were the greats of the game when I came down to United
in 1986. Ron Atkinson showed no bitterness after leaving the club and had nothing but praise for us.
Jim Smith is a fantastic character and a good friend. His hospitality would keep you there all night.

When I did get home, my shirt would be speckled with cigar ash.

Big John Sillett, who managed Coventry City, was another great companion, and I can never forget
the late John Lyall, who guided me through my early years and was so generous with his time. My
first encounter with Bobby Robson was in 1981 when Aberdeen knocked out Ipswich in the UEFA
Cup. Bobby came into our dressing room and shook every player’s hand. Sheer class, and his valued
friendship was never forgotten. He was a big loss to our lives.
There were others of the old school who were survivors because they had a work ethic you had to
admire. If I went to a reserve game, John Rudge and Lennie Lawrence would be there, along with one
of the big personalities of the game whose Oldham teams brought a freshness that would never be
replaced. I mean big Joe Royle. Oldham gave us some scary moments. Yes, I’ll miss all that. Harry
Redknapp and Tony Pulis are other great characters of my generation.
I was blessed to have had wonderful, loyal staff at United. Some of them worked for me for over
20 years. My P.A. Lyn Laffin, has followed me into retirement and is still my P.A., in my new office;
Les Kershaw, Dave Bushell, Tony Whelan and Paul McGuinness. Kath Phipps on reception, who also
ran my after-match lounge at Old Trafford, has worked at United for over 40 years. Jim Ryan, who
has now retired, my brother Martin who scouted abroad for 17 years (a very difficult job), and Brian

McClair.

Norman Davies: what a man. A loyal friend who passed away a few years ago. His replacement as
kit man, Albert Morgan, is also a big personality who never wavered in his loyalty. Our doctor, Steve
McNally, our head physio Rob Swire and all his staff, Tony Strudwick and his energetic bunch of
sports scientists, our laundry girls, all the kitchen staff; the general office of John Alexander, Anne
Wylie and all the girls. Jim Lawlor and all his scouting staff. Eric Steele, goalkeeping coach. Simon
Wells and Steve Brown of the video analysis team. Our ground staff, led by Joe Pemberton and Tony
Sinclair. Our maintenance team, with Stuart, Graham and Tony: all hard-working men. There are
maybe one or two I’ve missed, but I’m sure they know I respected them all.
Assistants and coaches helped me greatly down the years. Archie Knox, a real ally to me in my
early years, Brian Kidd, Nobby Stiles, Eric Harrison, a truly wonderful youth coach. Steve
McClaren, a very innovative and energetic coach. Carlos Queiroz and René Meulensteen – two
magnificent coaches – and my assistant manager, Mick Phelan, a really shrewd, observant, true
football man.

Sir Alex Ferguson.

The foundation of my longevity lies with Bobby Charlton and Martin Edwards. Their biggest gift to
me was the time to build a football club, rather than a football team. Their support was followed by
the great bond I had with David Gill over the last decade.
There was plenty of ground to cover in this book. I hope you enjoy retracing the steps with me.

NEARLY three decades before this moment, I had walked through that tunnel and onto the pitch for my
first home game, feeling nervous and exposed. I had waved to the Stretford End and been introduced
from the centre circle as Manchester United’s new manager. Now, I strode onto the same pitch, full of
confidence, to say goodbye.
The control I was able to exert over Manchester United was a privilege few managers will be
lucky enough to know. However sure I felt of my abilities on the move south from Aberdeen in the
autumn of 1986, there could have been no way of knowing it would turn out this well.
After the farewell in May 2013, the pivotal moments filled my thoughts: winning that FA Cup third round

Sir Alex Ferguson eBook.

tie against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, in which a Mark Robins goal sent us on our way
to the final when my job was supposedly on the line; going through a whole month without winning a
game, which gnawed away at my confidence.
Without the FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace nearly four years after my arrival, grave doubts
would have been raised about my suitability for the job. We will never know how close I was to
being sacked, because the decision was never forced on the United board. But without that triumph at
Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled. Disaffection might have swept the club.
Bobby Charlton would have opposed any move to dismiss me. He knew the work I was doing, the
ground we were making up on the youth development side, the graft I was putting in, the hours I spent
reforming the football operation. The chairman Martin Edwards knew it too, and it reflects well on
those two men that they had the courage to stick by me in those dark days. Martin would have
received plenty of angry letters demanding that I be cast aside.
Winning the 1990 FA Cup allowed us breathing space and deepened my sense that this was a
wonderful club with which to win trophies. To win the FA Cup at Wembley made the good times roll.
But on the morning after our victory, one newspaper declared: ‘OK, you’ve proved you can win the
FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.’ I never forgot that.

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