Today is Sir Alex Ferguson’s birthday. A coach who has seen it all, done it all and won it all as far as club football is concern. Apart from being the most successful club football manager in England, Sir Alex Ferguson has also spoken and written some words that cannot be forgotten in the history of British and world football.
Redlyunited brings you 50 of such words.
1. ‘‘I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Football. Bloody hell.’’ (After winning the Champions League with two stoppage-time goals in 1999, that completed United’s treble and one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most successful seasons at United).
2. ‘‘At the end of this game, the European cup will only be six feet away from you, and you’ll not even be able to touch it if we lose. And for many of you, that will be the closest you will ever get. Don’t you dare come back in here without giving your all.’’ (1999 Champions league final, half time team talk)
3. ‘‘Whether dribbling or sprinting, Ryan can leave the best defenders with twisted blood.” (On Ryan Giggs).
4. ‘‘He was 13 and floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.’’ Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments on the first time he saw Welsh wing wizard, United’s legend and now assistant coach Ryan Giggs.
5. ‘‘He was also walking up the pitch for the second goal, needing a rest. He was not fit enough for a game of that standard. The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It is an indictment of our game.’’ (On referee Alan Wiley, after home draw with Sunderland in 2009).
6. ‘‘You can’t applaud a referee.’’
7. ''I do believe in fate.’’
8. ‘‘He could start a row in an empty house’’. On Dennis Wise.
9. ‘‘He’ll be getting a hug and a kiss from me – maybe even two!’’ (Speaking on Sam Allardyce after Bolton stalled Chelsea’s title challenge in the 2006/2007 season).
10. ‘‘You must be joking. Do I look as if I’m a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?’’ When asked if Liverpool were genuine title contenders in 2007.
11. ‘‘Wayne is truly blessed. He doesn't just have ability; he has a fire inside him.’’
12. ‘‘I am very excited. I think we’ve got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years.’’( After signing Wayne Rooney from Everton in 2004 for £29m).
13. ‘‘In the tunnel Wenger was criticising my players, calling them cheats, so I told him to leave them alone and behave himself. To not apologise for the behaviour of the players to another manager is unthinkable. It’s a disgrace, but I don’t expect Wenger to ever apologise, he’s that type of person.’’ (On Arsene Wenger after the ’Pizzagate’ game in which United ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten record in 2004).
14. ‘‘They say he's an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! I've got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!’’ (On Wenger).
15. ‘‘He's a novice - he should keep his opinions to Japanese football (on Wenger).
16. ‘‘Do you think I would enter into a contract with that mob? Absolutely no chance. I would not sell them a virus. That is a ’No’ by the way. There is no agreement whatsoever between the clubs. ’’ (On Real Madrid’s attempts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, December 2008. He’ll latter sign for a world record £80m 18 months later).
17. ‘‘The work of a team should always embrace a great player, but the great player must also work. ’’
18. ‘‘He was blessed with great stamina, the best of all the players I’ve had here. After training, he would always be practising, practising, practising. But his life changed when he met his wife. She’s in pop and David got another image. He’s developed this ’fashion thing’ - I saw his transition to a different person.’’ (After Beckham left United for Real Madrid in 2003).
19. ‘‘I think he was an angry man. He must have been disturbed for some reason. I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he’ll reflect and understand what he said was absolutely ridiculous. ’’ (On the infamous rant by Rafa Benitez in 2009).
20. ‘‘It’s City isn’t it? They are a small club, with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United, that’s all they’ve done and they can’t get away from it. ’’ (On City’s ‘welcome to Manchester poster’ after Carlos Tevez’s controversial move from United, 2009).
21. ‘‘Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder. ’’ (On neighbours Man City).
22. ‘‘There has been a lot of expectation on Manchester City and with the spending they have done they have to win something. Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour and have to live with it.’’
23. ‘‘Sometimes in football you have to hold your hand up and say, yeah, they're better than us. ’’
24. ‘‘The credit to them, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about that now. ’’ (On defeat against Barca, Champions League final in 2009).
25. ‘‘I've never played for a draw in my life.’’
26. ‘‘Well, football is a hard game; there's no denying it. It's a game that can bring out the worst in you, at times.’’
27. ‘‘It can be difficult to pinpoint who would make it as a manager. For instance, nobody here thought Mark Hughes would become a manager, never in a million years, and we all thought Bryan Robson was a certainty to be a top manager.’’ (On his former players becomes coaches).
28. ‘‘If he was an inch taller he'd be the best center half in Britain. His father is 6 ft 2 in - I'd check the milkman. ’’ (On Gary Neville).
29. ‘‘That lad must have been born offside. (On Filippo Izanagi).
30. ‘‘My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*****g perch. And you can print that. ’’ (On the 2002/03 title and his old rivals).
31. ‘‘Jose understands winning and losing are twins in a way. When you win you don't gloat and when you lose you don't go bananas. ’’ (On Mourinho).
32. ‘‘If Chelsea drop points, the cat's out in the open. And you know what cats are like - sometimes they don't come home.’’
33. ‘‘He was certainly full of it, calling me Boss and Big Man when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper.’’ (On Jose Mourinho).
34. ‘‘I don't like losing but I've mellowed. I maybe have a short fuse but it goes away quicker now.’’
35. ‘‘It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt such an honour to be associated with such a player.’’ (On Roy Keane's inspired performance in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League against Juventus).
36. ‘‘Myths grow all the time. If I was to listen to the number of times I've thrown teacups then we've gone through some crockery in this place. It's completely exaggerated, but I don't like people arguing back with me.’’ (On the famous hairdryer' treatment).
37. ‘‘I used to have a saying that when a player is at his peak, he feels as though he can climb Everest in his slippers.’’ That's what he was like. (On Paul Ince).
38. ‘‘He was towering over me and the other players were almost covering their eyes. I’m looking up and thinking ‘if he does hit me, I’m dead’’ (On a dressing room disagreement with Peter Schlemiel).
39. ‘‘If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona. He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he was asking: 'I'm Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?''
40. ‘‘It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing! ’’ (On kicking a boot into Beckham's face).
41. ‘‘It’s getting tickly now – squeaky bum time I call it." (on the 2003 title race).
42. ‘‘I’m not saying what they do down there, but next year we’ll be sending somebody to see how it happens. I don’t understand how you get fixtures like that.’’ (On the Premier League’s fixture, in 2010).
43. ‘‘I still have a lot of passion. I’m still happy and healthy. But I’m 66 now - maybe three years more, then I’ll finish. ’’ (On retirement, March 2007).
44. ‘‘I won’t be doing a Bobby Robson and be a manager when I am 70. It is just knowing when to quit. Football is like a drug which is difficult to give up. ’’ (On retirement, in October 2008).
45. ‘‘I don’t think about retirement any more. When you’ve been on the treadmill for so long, and my health is good at the moment, it’s just a matter of looking forward to being the manager of Manchester United, rather than worrying about Alex Ferguson.’’ (On retirement, October 2011).
46. ‘‘If I have my health I can carry on. There will be a point when I do quit but I have absolutely no idea when that is.’’
47. ‘‘The crowd were dead. It was like a funeral out there. ’’ (On the Old Trafford fans).
48. ‘‘It’s not so much passing Liverpool. It’s more important that United are the best team in the country.(Speaking after United’s 19th league title).
49. ‘‘Look at me – it’s taken 10 years off me today. It’s these tablets, they’re great!’’ After United won their 20th League title. (His last).
50. ‘‘Pardew has come out and criticized me. He is the worst at haranguing referees. He shoves them and makes a joke of it. How he can criticize me is unbelievable. He forgets the help I gave him, by the way. The press have had a field day. The only person they have not spoken to is Barack Obama because he is busy. It is unfortunate but I am the manager of the most famous club in the world. Not Newcastle, a wee club in the North-East. I was demonstrative. I am always demonstrative. Everyone knows that. I am an emotional guy but I was not abusive.’’
Which is the most touching to you?
