In December 1989, United fanatic Pete Molyneux raised a banner calling for Alex Ferguson's head, sparking the most famous protest in Old Trafford's 103 years. For manager and supporter alike it was their darkest hour. Pete never gave up on his team and, thank God, Fergie stayed. Ta Ra Fergie tells Pete's story of his time following United at home and abroad since 1963, attending over 2,000 matches. This is the story of United from a fan's perspective. It covers Busby's European triumph, the despair of relegation and the tortuous false dawns of the 1980s to that elusive title win and Alex Ferguson's twenty-six-year-reign. Watching United has brought countless thrills, but for Pete it has also had a darker side that led to heartache and tragedy.
In December 1989, United fanatic Pete Molyneux raised a banner calling for Alex Ferguson’s head, sparking the most famous protest in Old Trafford’s 103 years. For manager and supporter alike it was their darkest hour. Pete never gave up on his team and, thank God, Fergie stayed. Ta Ra Fergie tells Pete’s story of his time following United at home and abroad since 1963, attending over 2,000 matches. This is the story of United from a fan’s perspective. It covers Busby’s European triumph, the despair of relegation and the tortuous false dawns of the 1980s to that elusive title win and Alex Ferguson’s twenty-six-year-reign. Watching United has brought countless thrills, but for Pete it has also had a darker side that led to heartache and tragedy.
Even the Defeats is the story of how painful moments in Sir Alex Ferguson's early reign inspired him to lead Manchester United to some of their greatest successes. A heavy 5-1 loss at Manchester City in Ferguson's early tenure led pundits and supporters to question the Scot's position, but by the season's end he was holding aloft his first trophy at the club -- the FA Cup. This trend continued when an end-of-season collapse handed Leeds United the league title in the spring of 1992, only to galvanise United to their first championship in 26 years the very next year. From struggles in Europe to winning the treble, from losing the title on goal difference to their city rivals to winning the Premier League in Ferguson's final season in charge - rising from the depths of despair to achieve glory, and using failure to fuel success, was arguably Sir Alex's greatest strength. John Silk brings you the inside story of what made Ferguson tick, with views from players, coaches and other members of staff from the great Scot's reign.
For some fans, a ringside seat just isn't close enough to the action. Stretching from the benign to the malign, from the entertaining to the insane, and from the sublime to the ridiculous, this compelling compendium contains over 300 true tales of fanatical fans who stole the spotlight from their sporting heroes. This is the good, the bad and the ugly side of spectator intervention - from streakers to rioters, and beyond. We've all felt the thrill of cheering on our sporting heroes, but there's a fine line between the mere fan and the true fanatic and this absorbing new book from Graham Sharpe well and truly crosses it. With its weird and wild tales of fan participation, Fan-tastic Sporting Stories! is essential reading for fans of any and every sport. Whatever your team, whatever your game, you won't help but find this collection absolutely fan-tastic!
This book is about the beginning of Sir Alex's football career, until the year 2000. 1999 was an outstanding year for Alex Ferguson - not only did he lead Manchester United, the most glamorous club in the world, to a unique and outstanding treble triumph, but he was awarded the highest honour for his sporting achievements; a Knighthood from the Queen. Universally respected for his tough, but caring managerial style, Ferguson is an unusually intelligent man with a fascinating life story. Covering his tough Govan upbringing through to his playing days and onto his shift into management, Managing My Life is told with the fine balance of biting controversy and human sensitivity which made it such an unprecedented success in hardback. Alex Ferguson is a legend in his lifetime.
Football. Bloody hell.' The longest serving and most successful manager in British football history shocked the world by finally retiring in May 2013 and instantly created more column inches and twitter mentions that the death of Margaret Thatcher. And he wasn’t just the greatest, but also one of the most outspoken, engaging and witty voices from the game, as this book proves. Here is the history of his supreme verbal sparring during his years at Manchester United - the man in his own words (with a few additional thoughts from those who knew him best and crossed swords with him most). 'There's nothing wrong with losing your temper once in a while if it's for the right reasons' 'If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre-half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I’d check the milkman' On Gary Neville 'He could start a row in an empty house' On Denis Wise 'The list of gentle, naturally retiring men who have been successful in their attempts at running clubs isn't a long one, is it?
With 49 trophies won - 38 of them at Manchester United - during a glittering 39-year managerial career, Sir Alex Ferguson will be remembered as the most successful coach in world football. At the age of 71 he finally brought the curtain down on his time in football management at the conclusion to the 2012/13 season; in Ferguson: The Legacy, Michael Grant and Rob Robertson extract three key profiles from their best-selling book The Management: Scotland's Great Football Bosses to examine the three-tiered legacy of Ferguson's time at Old Trafford - the influences of Sir Matt Busby, his own career, and the career of the man that he hand-picked to be his successor, David Moyes. This is a must-read for all football fans, whether Manchester United supporters or not, as the authors explore one of the most fascinating stories in the beautiful game.
After an astonishing career-first in Scotland, and then over 27 years with Manchester United Football Club- Sir Alex Ferguson delivers Leading, in which the greatest soccer coach of all time will analyze the pivotal leadership decisions of his 38 years as a manager and, with his friend and collaborator Sir Michael Moritz, draw out lessons anyone can use in business and life to generate long-term transformational success. From hiring practices to firing decisions, from dealing with transition to teamwork, from mastering the boardroom to responding to failure and adversity, Leading is as inspiring as it is practical, and a go-to reference for any leader in business, sports, and life.
‘How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson is an insightful and interesting book packed with leadership ideas and real life examples taken from the cutting edge of sport that apply in leading any top team or business. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those currently in leadership positions and those aspiring to get there, as Damian Hughes draws out the inspirational qualities required from one of the greatest managers in football.’ Stuart Lancaster, Former England Head Coach, Rugby Football Union Delve deep into the mind of one of the world’s most successful leaders and discover 10 powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business, with this unique and inspiring handbook for anyone looking to improve performance in turbulent, changing times. Distilling the primary lessons of Ferguson's phenomenal success as manager at Manchester United and showing how you can apply them to you own personal goals, this book explains Ferguson's approach to people-management, changing mind-sets, visualisation, building confidence and embracing change – all techniques at the heart of turning Manchester United into a winning machine. Discover how he remained at the forefront of one of the world's most competitive industries and how to make this count with your own ambition, as well as learning about the techniques he employed to extract the finest qualities from his team, and how to lead other individuals and teams in their pursuit of success within changing times. With exercises for you to work on, drawing from Professor Hughes's practical and academic background within sport, organisation and change psychology, this is the perfect handbook for the business of winning and managing success.
This is the One is a fascinating insight into the mindset and winning temperament of the recently retired Sir Alex Ferguson, the most success manager in English football. When This Is The One was first published in 2007 it was hailed by Michael Crick as 'one of the all-time Manchester United classics' and featured by The Times in their quest to find the 'Best Ever 50 Sports Books'. Written over the course of two eventful and controversial seasons, it offers a unique portrait of Sir Alex Ferguson from Daniel Taylor’s position behind the scenes as a football writer covering Manchester United for the Guardian. During the 2005-06 season, Taylor saw Ferguson at one of the lowest ebbs of his quarter of a century in charge, with a failing team, explosive fallouts with Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy, a disenchanted fan-base and speculation that he might be forced out of the job. The season that followed demonstrated why Ferguson deserves to be seen as the greatest manager the modern game has produced, with Manchester United deposing Chelsea as Premier League champions and eventually seeing off José Mourinho. Ferguson would later call it the 'greatest achievement' of his time at England’s biggest football club. This Is The One is the close-up, warts-and-all account of what happened during those two helterskelter seasons – the excruciating lows and the exhilarating highs. It is also a fascinating exploration of the many different facets of Ferguson himself, from his infamous 'hairdryer' treatment to the softer, more humane side of the most successful manager in the business.
