East Stirlingshire In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of
East Stirlingshire, at the comparatively young age of 32. It was a part-time job that paid £40 per week, and the club did not have a single
goalkeeper at the time. He gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward
Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start."
St Mirren In October 1974, Ferguson was invited to manage
St Mirren. While they were below
East Stirlingshire in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt a degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join St Mirren after taking advice from
Jock Stein. Ferguson was manager of St Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the old
Second Division watched by crowds of just over 1,000, to
First Division champions in
1977, discovering talent like
Billy Stark,
Tony Fitzpatrick,
Lex Richardson,
Frank McGarvey, Bobby Reid and
Peter Weir while playing superb attacking football. The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20. St Mirren have the distinction of being the only club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According to a
Sunday Herald article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was sacked for various breaches of contract, including unauthorised payments to players. It was claimed during the tribunal by St Mirren chairman, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability". In 2008,
The Guardian published an interview with Todd (then aged 87), who had sacked Ferguson many years earlier. Todd said that the fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the
Daily Mirror that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen with him. He told the St Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his club to discuss compensation. In 1977, Ferguson turned down the manager's job at Aberdeen. The role went to Billy McNeill, who returned to Celtic after only a year, leaving the role available for Ferguson once again.
Aberdeen Late 1970s Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in
1955 under
Dave Halliday. 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. 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. The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the
Scottish Cup and the
Scottish League Cup Final, but losing both matches and
finishing fourth in the league. Aberdeen lost the
1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final, 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.
1980s and silverware Aberdeen had started the
1979–80 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 15 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". 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, and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half. 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, to motivate the team. The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in
1982. Ferguson was offered the manager's job at
Wolverhampton Wanderers but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble and his "ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled".
European success and Scottish national side 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, 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". This was followed up with victory in the
European Super Cup in December 1983, when
Hamburger SV, the
reigning European Cup champions, were beaten 2–0 over two legs. 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 theirs as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match, a statement he later retracted. After a sub-standard start to the
1983–84 season, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was appointed an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
1985 New Year Honours, and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers and
Arsenal during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85 season. In
1985–86, Aberdeen won both domestic cups, but finished fourth in the league. 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. Ferguson had been part of the coaching staff for the
Scottish national side during qualifying for the
1986 World Cup, but manager
Jock Stein had
collapsed and died on 10 September 1985 – at the end of the game in which Scotland qualified from their group for a play-off against
Australia. Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him to fulfil his international duties he appointed
Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to progress past the group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down as national team manager on 15 June 1986. Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur offered Ferguson the chance to take over from
Peter Shreeves as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to
Luton Town's
David Pleat instead. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace
Don Howe as Arsenal manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot
George Graham took the post instead. That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from
Ron Atkinson at
Manchester United, who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a ten-match winning start. He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial stability, as they were more than £2 million in debt at the time and narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1984–85 season, it was reported that Ferguson was being considered for the
Liverpool manager's job after the retirement of
Joe Fagan was announced, but the job was quickly accepted by Liverpool striker
Kenny Dalglish. Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.
Manchester United Appointment and first FA Cup title Ferguson was appointed manager at
Old Trafford on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as
Norman Whiteside,
Paul McGrath and
Bryan Robson were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up the table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second from bottom) when he took over. His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at
Oxford United on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted
Norwich City, and then his first win (1–0 at home to
Queens Park Rangers) on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by the time they recorded what would be their only away win of the league campaign at title challengers and rivals Liverpool on
Boxing Day, it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. The year 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over
Newcastle United and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season, with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the final table. Ferguson's mother Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64, three weeks after his appointment. Ferguson hired Archie Knox, his assistant at Aberdeen, in the same role at Manchester United in 1986. The new players made a positive contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. Liverpool's points lead, however, had been in double digits for most of the season and while United had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games, leaving some way to go before United could match their northwestern rivals. During the season, United played two friendly matches in Bermuda against the
Bermuda national team and the Somerset Cricket Club. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant Archie Knox took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match was Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team. They had begun the season slowly, going on a nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February. However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid-table. For the
1989–90 season, Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders
Neil Webb,
Mike Phelan, and
Paul Ince, as well as defender
Gary Pallister and winger
Danny Wallace. The season began well with a 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against
fierce rivals Manchester City. Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declaring, "Three years of excuses and it's still crap ... ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone. Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 due to a
Mark Robins goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career. United went on to win the FA Cup, beating
Crystal Palace 1–0 in the
final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's defensive frailties in the first match were blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton. Ferguson dropped Leighton for the replay, bringing in
Les Sealey.
United's European firsts and Ferguson's seconds Although United's league form improved greatly in
1990–91, they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. There were some excellent performances that season, including a 6–2 demolition of Arsenal at
Highbury, but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted
Sunderland, a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by
Everton in early March (the game where 17-year-old talented prospect
Ryan Giggs made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go. Even after the FA Cup victory in the previous season, some still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other managers since
Matt Busby had failed – to win the league title. After the match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job. During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to Rangers to become assistant to
Walter Smith, and Ferguson promoted youth team coach
Brian Kidd to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel and defender
Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There was much anticipation about the breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another impressive young winger in the shape of
Lee Sharpe, who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added Soviet midfielder
Andrei Kanchelskis to the right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older midfielders
Mike Phelan and Bryan Robson. The
1991–92 season did not live up to Ferguson's expectations and, in Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that [his] mistakes had contributed to the misery". United won the
League Cup and
European Super Cup; both for the first time, but lost out on the
league title to rivals
Leeds United after leading the table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the signing of
Mick Harford from
Luton Town had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to the team if they were to win the league the following season. During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign
Alan Shearer from
Southampton, but lost out to
Blackburn Rovers. He also made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday striker
David Hirst, but manager
Trevor Francis rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old
Cambridge United striker
Dion Dublin – his only major signing of the summer. After a slow start to the
1992–93 season by sitting 10th at the beginning of November, it looked as though United would miss out on the
league title yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker
Eric Cantona from Leeds for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed a strong partnership with Mark Hughes. On 10 April 1993, United were second in the league when they faced Sheffield Wednesday at home. United were losing with four minutes to go before
Steve Bruce equalised. After seven minutes of injury time – which was subsequently dubbed "Fergie Time", alluding to extra minutes allegedly being granted to Ferguson's teams to get a goal – Bruce scored the 97th-minute winner, with Ferguson
celebrating the goal by running from his dugout on to the touch line, while assistant Brian Kidd ran on to the field. Seen as being a decisive victory, it put United top of the league, where they remained. Winning the title ended United's 26-year wait for a league title, and also made them the first
Premier League champions. United finished with a ten-point margin over runners-up
Aston Villa, whose 1–0 defeat at
Oldham Athletic on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was later voted
Manager of the Year by the
League Managers' Association.
1993–95: Double win and loss The
1993–94 season brought more success. Ferguson added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder
Roy Keane to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75 million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career. United led the
1993–94 Premier League table virtually from start to finish. Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being
sent off twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson. In the FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against
Chelsea, winning Ferguson his second
League and Cup Double, following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983. Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn £1.2 million for
David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker
Chris Sutton from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn instead. United paid a British record fee of £7 million for Newcastle United's prolific striker
Andy Cole, with young winger
Keith Gillespie heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the breakthrough of young players
Gary Neville,
Nicky Butt and
Paul Scholes, who provided excellent cover for the long periods that United were left without some of their more experienced stars. However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with
West Ham United on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them a third successive league title. United also lost the
FA Cup final in a 1–0 defeat by Everton.
1995–98 Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Ince moved to
Internazionale of Italy for £7.5 million, long-serving striker Mark Hughes was sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton. Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were ready to play in the first team. The youngsters, who would be known as "Fergie's Fledglings", included Gary Neville,
Phil Neville,
David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who would all go on to be important members of the team. A youthful United team lost 3–1 in their opening league game of the 1995–96 season, against Aston Villa. On
Match of the Day, pundit
Alan Hansen criticised their performance, ending his analysis with the words, "You can't win anything with kids." United won their next five matches and were boosted by the return of Cantona, who made his comeback against Liverpool in October 1995. For much of the season, the team trailed league leaders Newcastle and found themselves ten points behind by Christmas; this later was narrowed to seven points after defeating them on 27 December 1995. The gap increased to 12 points, but a series of wins, coupled with Newcastle dropping points, meant by late March, United moved to the top of the table. In a televised outburst after his team's win against Leeds, Newcastle manager
Kevin Keegan responded angrily to Ferguson's comments: "We're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough... I would love it if we beat them, love it." A win against
Middlesbrough on the final day sealed the title for United and the team beat Liverpool by a goal to nil to win the
1996 FA Cup Final; this was their second double in three years. A week after the cup final, Ferguson agreed a four-year contract to remain at United. They went on to win their fourth league title in five seasons at the end of the
1996–97 campaign, made easier by the fact that their rivals were "not up to the job". Under Ferguson, the team made a better go in the Champions League and reached the semi-final stage for the first time in 28 years. United did not advance any further, after defeat by
Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Norwegian signings
Ole Gunnar Solskjær and
Ronny Johnsen were the notable additions to the squad, with the former ending the season as the club's top goalscorer. In May 1997, Cantona informed Ferguson of his decision to retire from football. The player "felt exploited by United's merchandising department" and questioned the ambition of the club, reasons which Ferguson understood. In the close season, United appointed Keane as their new captain. Ferguson described him as "the best all-round player in the game" after the team's
1997 FA Charity Shield win and believed Keane had "all the right ingredients" to succeed from Cantona. Defeat by Leeds United in September 1997 was the team's first league loss in seven months; Keane during the match injured himself and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage. Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was placed as captain in his absence. By November, United opened up a four-point lead in the league, which prompted talk of whether any team could catch them. After Arsenal's defeat of United in the same month, Ferguson acknowledged a one-horse race was "not good for the game" and admitted his opponents "... deserved to win on their second-half performance". The fallibilities of Liverpool, Chelsea and Blackburn as league challengers allowed United during the winter to extend their lead by 11 points, albeit with Arsenal having games-in-hand. This was enough for Manchester bookmaker
Fred Done to pay out on punters who backed the champions retaining their title. Arsenal collected maximum points, sealing the title with a win against Everton on 3 May 1998. Ferguson congratulated his opponent
Arsène Wenger, who in his first full season at the club, later completed the double: "I think it's good for my young players to lose on this occasion. I wholeheartedly acknowledge what Arsenal achieved between Christmas and the end of the season." United straight after paid £10.75 million for
PSV defender
Jaap Stam, a new club record fee. Ferguson wanted to strengthen the squad's attacking options and identified Aston Villa's
Dwight Yorke as his main target. Attempts to sign Yorke were rebuffed at first, before Ferguson persuaded Edwards to increase United's initial offer of £10 million. A £12.6 million deal was reached a week into the league campaign; Yorke signed minutes before the deadline to submit United's squad for the Champions League. The beating did not concern Ferguson, though he described his team's defeat by Arsenal in September 1998 as "a lot less tolerable". In December 1998, Kidd left his role as assistant to become the manager of Blackburn Rovers. Ferguson instructed
Eric Harrison and
Les Kershaw to find suitable replacements, "in terms of coaching ability and work ethic." Both recommended
Steve McClaren, the assistant to
Jim Smith at
Derby County. McClaren was Ferguson's initial choice and appointed him in February 1999. His first game as assistant was
United's 8–1 victory over Nottingham Forest. Ferguson felt United's bid to regain the Premier League began indifferently because of their commitments to other competitions. He was willing to "pay for the progress" made in the Champions League; the team finished second in their Champions League "group of death", behind Bayern Munich and ahead of Barcelona. United's win against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round was a portent for the remainder of the season. A goal down after three minutes, the team equalised in the 86th minute and scored the winning goal through Solskjær in stoppage time. On reflection, Ferguson said it was "a demonstration of the morale that was to be every bit as vital as rich skill in the five months that lay ahead of United". In the final weeks of the league season, Arsenal emerged as a credible challenger to United. Both clubs were also paired together in the semi-final of the FA Cup, decided by a replay as the original game finished goalless. Ferguson hoped his team "could at least take it to a penalty shoot-out", but instead the match was settled in extra time: Giggs ran the length of the pitch and evaded several Arsenal players to score the winning goal. At the
Stadio delle Alpi, striker
Filippo Inzaghi scored twice to put Juventus 3–1 up on aggregate. Keane headed in a Beckham cross to halve the deficit just before half-time, but was later shown a yellow card for a foul on
Edgar Davids, which prevented him from playing in the final. A crowd of over 500,000 people As European champions, United were invited to play in the
Intercontinental Cup. The club also entered the inaugural
Club World Championship, which was held in Brazil. This brought about a potential
fixture congestion so United accepted the FA's recommendation of withdrawing from the FA Cup, the first holders to do so. In later years, Ferguson elaborated on the club's decision: "We did it to help England's World Cup bid. That was the political situation. I regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn't our fault."
1999–2002: Title hat-trick, retirement plan Schmeichel's decision to leave United after eight seasons prompted Ferguson to bring in replacements:
Mark Bosnich from Aston Villa and Italian
Massimo Taibi. The latter featured in four matches, the last of which a 5–0 defeat at Chelsea in October 1999; he was not selected again by Ferguson. United ended the
1999–2000 league season as champions, with just three defeats and a record points margin of 18. In December 1999, the club beat
Palmeiras in
Tokyo to win the Intercontinental Cup, but a month later exited at the group stage of the
inaugural Club World Championship, although Ferguson stated the tournament was "fantastic". United failed to retain the Champions League, as they lost in the quarter-final stage to eventual winners Real Madrid. Ferguson sought to strengthen his squad and signed
Fabien Barthez from Monaco for £7.8 million. He also monitored the progress of
Ruud van Nistelrooy, "a striker of the highest calibre". He met the player and his agent in Manchester to discuss formalities and was informed of Van Nistelrooy's troubled right knee. In the
2000–01 season, United retained the league title for a third season, becoming only the fourth side in history to do so. The achievement was overshadowed by reports of a rift between the club's board and Ferguson. He told the club's television channel
MUTV that he was prepared to sever all ties with the club, once his contract ended the following year: "The decision has been taken. I'm going to leave the club. I'm disappointed with what has happened because I was hoping something would be sorted out. It hasn't happened as I thought it would and that's all there is to it." Both parties eventually reached a compromise which pleased Ferguson: "I am delighted we've settled this. When you have been at the club as long as I have it gets in your blood." Age was one of the factors in Ferguson's decision to retire: reaching 60 acted as a "psychological barrier ... It changed my sense of my own fitness, my health." In May 2001, McClaren left to become Middlesbrough manager, with
Jimmy Ryan being named assistant to Ferguson for the duration of the campaign. United once more broke their transfer record with the purchase of
Juan Sebastián Verón from
Lazio for a reported £28.1 million. In August 2001, Stam was transferred to Lazio for £16 million. The player reportedly moved because of claims in his autobiography
Head to Head; Stam implied that Ferguson illegally contacted him about a move to Manchester United, before informing PSV. Ferguson said he sold the player because the club needed to cut back on its "massive wage bill". He replaced the defender with
Laurent Blanc, a long sought-after target. The club endured a poor first half to the season and languished in ninth position after a home defeat by West Ham in December 2001. On the night of Christmas Day, Ferguson shelved his retirement plan. His family convinced him to remain in charge of United and Ferguson informed Watkins of his u-turn the following day. Once Ferguson publicised his decision to remain in February 2002, United's form improved. The team won 13 out of 15 matches, though finished third in the league behind Arsenal and Liverpool. United were unsuccessful in Europe, losing their Champions League semi-final on away goals to
Bayer Leverkusen. Early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant they ended the season trophyless. Ferguson himself said that the decision to announce his retirement had resulted in a negative effect on the players and on his ability to impose discipline.
2002–2006: Rebuilding and transition In June 2002, Ferguson appointed
Carlos Queiroz as his new assistant. The recommendation came from
Andy Roxburgh, at a time when United began scouting for southern-hemisphere footballers and wanted a multilingual coach. Ferguson was so impressed with Queiroz after their first meeting, he offered him the job "right away". In July 2002, United paid £29.3 million for Leeds United defender
Rio Ferdinand. The club broke the British transfer record once more, though this did not concern Ferguson: "We have the right to try and improve ourselves and there's nothing wrong with that." in August 2003. The
2002–03 season began rather poorly for United; the club made their worst start to a league campaign in 13 years. In a column for
The Daily Telegraph, Hansen said Ferguson "will recognise this difficult start to the season for what it is: the greatest challenge of his career". Ferguson's response was typically bullish: Several players were sent away for surgery in this period, a "minor gamble" Ferguson took in the hope they would return energised. The team were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-final to Real Madrid over two legs; Ferguson described the second match, a 4–3 win at Old Trafford as "epic". After a season at United, Queiroz left to manage Real Madrid in June 2003. Ferguson anticipated his deputy would return – "Three months later, he was wanting to quit Madrid" – and for that reason did not appoint a replacement. In the summer, David Beckham also moved to Real Madrid, while Juan Sebastián Verón joined Chelsea. United in the meantime rebuilt their team:
Tim Howard replaced Barthez in goal and
Kléberson,
Eric Djemba-Djemba and
Cristiano Ronaldo came in to bolster the squad.
Ronaldinho might have also joined "had he not said yes, then no, to our offer". In December 2003, Rio Ferdinand was banned from playing football for eight months after he failed to present himself at a drugs test. Ferguson in his autobiography ten years later blamed the drug testers, who "...didn't do their job. They didn't go looking for Rio". The absence of Ferdinand hampered United's defence of the Premier League in the
2003–04 season; the team finished third behind Arsenal's "
Invincibles" and Chelsea. In Europe, they experienced defeat at the hands of eventual winners
Porto. Ferguson felt it was possible "not because of the performance of the players but because of the referee", who disallowed a legitimate Scholes goal that would have been enough to progress. United ended the campaign as FA Cup winners, beating
Millwall 3–0 in the
2004 final. At the beginning of the
2004–05 season, teenage striker
Wayne Rooney (the world's most expensive teenager at more than £20 million) and Argentine defender
Gabriel Heinze joined United while Cristiano Ronaldo continued where he had left off the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances. But the lack of a striker after Ruud van Nistelrooy spent most of the season injured saw the club finish third for the third time in four seasons. In the
2004–05 FA Cup, they lost on
penalties to Arsenal in the final. A second-round exit from the Champions League at the hands of Milan and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual winners Chelsea (who also clinched the Premier League title) meant that 2004–05 was a rare instance of a trophyless season for United. During the season, Ferguson managed his 1,000th game in charge of United in a 2–1 home win against
Lyon. Ferguson's preparations for the
2005–06 season were disrupted by a high-profile dispute with major shareholder
John Magnier, over the ownership of the racehorse
Rock of Gibraltar. When Magnier and business partner
J. P. McManus agreed to sell their shares to American business tycoon
Malcolm Glazer, it cleared the way for Glazer to acquire full control of the club. This sparked violent protests from United fans, and disrupted Ferguson's plans to strengthen the team in the transfer market. In spite of this, United looked to solve their goalkeeping and midfield problems. For this, they signed the
Dutch goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar from
Fulham and
Korean star
Park Ji-sung from PSV. The season was one of transition. On 18 November, Roy Keane officially left the club, his contract ended by mutual consent. United failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League. In the January transfer window, Serbian defender
Nemanja Vidić and French full-back
Patrice Evra were signed, and the side finished in second place in the league, behind runaway winners Chelsea. Winning the League Cup was a consolation prize for lack of success elsewhere. Ruud van Nistelrooy's future at Old Trafford was in doubt after not starting in the League Cup final, and he departed at the end of the season. Before the start of the new season, Ferguson received much criticism, particular in the guise of an article in
The Guardian titled "Shredding his legacy at every turn".
Second Champions League trophy In 2006,
Michael Carrick was signed to take Roy Keane's place in the team for a fee that eventually rose to £18 million. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four Premier League games, United's best start since 1985. They set the early pace in the
Premier League and never relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38-game season. The January 2006 signings had a huge impact on United's performances – Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidić came in to form a solid back line along with Rio Ferdinand and skipper Gary Neville. The signing of Carrick brought stability and further creativity in the United midfield, forming an effective partnership with Paul Scholes. Park Ji-sung and Ryan Giggs both underlined their value to the first team squad by adding significant pace and incisiveness in attack with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ferguson celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as manager of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes also came from Ferguson's players, both past and present, as well as his old foe, Arsène Wenger. The party was spoiled the following day when United endured a single-goal defeat at the hands of
Southend United in the fourth round of the League Cup. On 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35-year-old
Henrik Larsson on loan, a player that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club's 2,000th goal under Ferguson in a match against Aston Villa. Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title but were denied a unique fourth double by Chelsea's
Didier Drogba scoring a late goal in the
FA Cup final at
Wembley Stadium. In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home win over
Roma in the quarter-final second leg, but lost at the
San Siro to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 up from the first leg. For the
2007–08 season, Ferguson made notable signings to reinforce United's first team. Long-term target
Owen Hargreaves joined from Bayern Munich, young Portuguese winger
Nani and Brazilian playmaker
Anderson joined soon after, while the last summer signing was West Ham and
Argentina striker
Carlos Tevez after a complex and protracted transfer saga. Despite getting some retribution on Chelsea by beating them in the
Community Shield, United suffered their worst start to a league season under Ferguson, drawing their
first two league games before suffering a 1–0 defeat by local rivals Manchester City. United, however, recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title. After a good run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his time at Manchester United, this was the best squad he had managed to assemble thus far. On 16 February 2008, United beat Arsenal 4–0 in an
FA Cup fifth round match at Old Trafford, but were knocked out by eventual winners
Portsmouth in the quarter-final on 8 March, losing 1–0 at home. United having had a penalty claim turned down, Ferguson alleged after the game that
Keith Hackett, general manager of the
Professional Game Match Officials Board, was "not doing his job properly". Ferguson was subsequently charged by
The FA with improper conduct, which he decided to contest. This was the second charge Ferguson faced in the season, following his complaints against the referee after United lost 1–0 at
Bolton Wanderers – a charge he decided not to contest. On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier League title, exactly 25 years to the day after he led Aberdeen to European glory against Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup. Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the final round of matches, but with an inferior goal difference – could only draw 1–1 at home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United's title win was sealed with a 2–0 win over
Wigan Athletic, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce. On 21 May 2008, Ferguson won his second European Cup with Manchester United as they beat Chelsea
6–5 on penalties in the
Luzhniki Stadium in
Moscow, following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League Final. A penalty miss from Cristiano Ronaldo meant that
John Terry's spot-kick would have given the trophy to Chelsea if successfully converted, but Terry missed his penalty and in the end it was Edwin van der Sar's blocking of a
Nicolas Anelka penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the second time under Ferguson and for the third time overall.
World champions and further league titles in 2010 Although the team had a slow start to the
2008–09 season, United won the Premier League with a game to spare, making Ferguson the first manager in the history of English football to win the top division three times consecutively, on two separate occasions. Ferguson had now won 11 league titles at Manchester United, and the 2008–09 season title success put them level with Liverpool as league champions on a record 18 occasions in total. They also won the League Cup on penalties after a goalless draw in the
final against Tottenham, after becoming the first British club to win the
FIFA Club World Cup in
December 2008. They contested the
Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0, thus failed to defend the trophy. In
2009–10 season, Ferguson added another League Cup to his honours list as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the
final on 28 February 2010, United's first ever successful knockout cup defence. However, his dreams of a third European Cup were ended a few weeks later when United were edged out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals. And their hopes of a record 19th league title were ended on the last day of the season when Chelsea beat them to the Premier League title by one point, crushing Wigan Athletic 8–0 and rendering United's 4–0 win over
Stoke City meaningless. He ended the
following season by winning his 12th and Manchester United's 19th league title and thus overtaking Liverpool's record of 18. Manchester United faced Barcelona again on 28 May 2011 in the
2011 Champions League final, their third in four years, but United lost 3–1. Analyst Alan Hansen stated that he believed Ferguson was "the key component" in United's success that season, so key in fact that "[he] would have claimed the crown with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them". With Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes all retiring in 2011, Ferguson spent big by signing defender
Phil Jones from Blackburn and winger
Ashley Young from Aston Villa for around £17 million each, and goalkeeper
David de Gea from
Atlético Madrid for around £19 million. The
following season United managed to beat rivals Manchester City in the
2011 FA Community Shield and eliminated them in the
FA Cup third round, but ended the season below City, who won their first
Premier League title on goal difference. This bitter and slim defeat prompted Ferguson to sign star-striker
Robin van Persie, who was the
Premier League Golden Boot title-holder, from another arch-rival Arsenal on 17 August 2012. The
2012–13 season saw Ferguson guide United to become league champions for the
20th time, claiming the title with a 3–0 home win over Aston Villa on 22 April 2013 with four matches to spare; Van Persie scored all the goals with a first half hat-trick en route to retain the Golden Boot. His final game in charge, his 1,500th in total, saw United play out a 5–5 draw with West Bromwich Albion. The result meant United finished the season 11 points ahead of runners-up Manchester City. Earlier in the season, on 2 September 2012, Ferguson managed his 1,000th league game with United playing against
Southampton. United won the game 3–2 thanks to another hat-trick from Van Persie. Two weeks later, he won his 100th game in the Champions League with a 1–0 win over
Galatasaray at Old Trafford.
The Guardian announced it was the "end of an era", while
UEFA president
Michel Platini referred to Ferguson as "a true visionary". Former Manchester United players Paul Ince and Bryan Robson agreed that Ferguson would be "a hard act to follow". Manchester United co-chairman
Joel Glazer said, "His determination to succeed and dedication to the club have been truly remarkable." Ferguson revealed that he had in fact decided that he was going to retire back in December 2012 and that it had been very difficult not to reveal his plans. Ferguson's announcement of his decision to retire saw United's shares fall 5% on the
New York Stock Exchange. On 9 May 2013, Manchester United announced Everton manager
David Moyes would replace Ferguson as the club manager from 1 July, having signed a six-year contract. In Ferguson's final match in charge, Manchester United drew 5–5 at West Bromwich Albion, a hat-trick from
Romelu Lukaku, later a United player, denying Ferguson a final victory. Ferguson released his second autobiography in October 2013 called
My Autobiography. In January 2014, Ferguson was appointed as the UEFA Coaching Ambassador, and said it was "an honour and a privilege" to be given the role. In April 2014, it was announced that Ferguson would be taking up a "long-term teaching position" at
Harvard University, where he would be lecturing on a new course titled "The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports". This came six months after he revealed his blueprint for success was included in the
Harvard Business Review in a series of interviews with
Anita Elberse. His book,
Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United, was published in collaboration with billionaire
venture capitalist, author and former journalist
Michael Moritz in August 2015. ==Controversies==