Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson (born Alexander Chapman Ferguson December 31, 1941 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United F.C. He has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of English football and been in charge of Manchester United for over 1,000 matches.

Managing Aberdeen

Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978. Although Aberdeen was one of Scotland's major clubs, they had not won the league since 1955. The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost a league match since the previous December, having finished second in the league the previous season.{{ref|boss159}} Ferguson had now been a manager for four years, but was still not much older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of some of the older ones such as Joe Harper{{ref|boss171}} The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish F.A. Cup and the final of the league cup, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.

Related Topics:
1955 - Joe Harper - Scottish F.A. Cup - League cup

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The following December (1980), they lost the league cup final again, this time to Dundee United after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay.{{ref|boss174}} It was the third time in three years that a team managed by Ferguson had lost a cup final. Aberdeen's had started the season poorly but their form improved dramatically in the new year and they won the Scottish league that season with a 5-0 win on the final day. It was the first time in fifteen years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic. Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, later saying "That was the achievement which united us. I finally had the players believing in me".{{ref|boss175}}

Related Topics:
1980 - Dundee United - Rangers - Celtic

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He was still a strict disciplinarian, though, and his players nicknamed him Furious Fergie. He fined one of his players, John Hewitt, for overtaking him on a public road,{{ref|boss179}} and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half.{{ref|boss180}}. He was dissatisfied with the atmosphere at Aberdeen matches, and deliberately created a 'siege mentality' by accusing the Scottish media of being biased towards the Glasgow clubs, in order to motivate the team.{{ref|boss191}} The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982. Ferguson was offered the managers' job at Wolves but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble {{ref|boss195}} and " ambitions as Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled"{{ref|boss196}}

Related Topics:
John Hewitt - 1982 - Wolves

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Ferguson led Aberdeen to even greater success the following season (1982-83). They had qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as a result of winning the Scottish Cup the previous season, and impressively knocked out Bayern Munich, who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. According to Willie Miller, this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition,{{ref|boss201}} which they did, with a 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in the final on 11 May 1983. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish team to win a European trophy and Ferguson now felt that "he'd done something worthwhile with his life".{{ref|boss203}} Aberdeen had also performed well in the league that season, and retained the Scottish Cup with a 1–0 victory over Rangers, but Ferguson was not happy with his team's play in that match and upset the players by describing them as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match.{{ref|boss204}}

Related Topics:
Bayern Munich - Tottenham Hotspur - Willie Miller - Real Madrid - 11 May - 1983

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After a poor start to the 1983-84 season, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was awarded the OBE in 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984-85 season, but had a disappointing season in 1985-86, finishing fourth in the league, although they did win both domestic cups. Ferguson had been appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald, their chairman, that he intended to leave that summer. There had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, who had been struggling badly that season after a good start. Although Ferguson remained at the club over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.

Related Topics:
OBE - 1984 - Arsenal - Tottenham Hotspur - Ron Atkinson - Manchester United

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