By KEVIN KOCZWARA
There is no disputing Sir Alex Ferguson’s legend. He led Manchester United into the Premier League era and returned the club to glory. During his 27-year reign, Ferguson was able to shape and reshape the Manchester United squad over and over again and was able to keep up with modern trends in management while dealing with more than his share of egos. But little has been revealed about how Ferguson accomplished that.
Until now.
On Tuesday, Ferguson’s latest autobiography was released and plenty of secrets have been revealed of how the United manager dealt with all the famous egos and tempers he dealt with, from Roy Keane to David Beckham to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson appears to pull no punches in the book, stating that Beckham missed out on a chance to become a Manchester United legend due to his desire to be a celebrity and that Wayne Rooney questioned Ferguson about not signing Mesut Ozil in 2010.
Here are a few of the revelations to come out of Ferguson’s book:
DAVID BECKHAM
Ferguson believes Beckham squandered his talent in a chase to become famous and to become a celebrity and live a celebrity’s lifestyle. Ferguson believes that Beckham could have become “one of the greatest Man United legends.”
At a press conference for the book’s release Ferguson questioned Beckham’s decision to play in Major League Soccer for the LA Galaxy.
“[Beckham] fell in love with Victoria and that changed everything,” said Ferguson. “I am a football man. If he had asked my advice when he left Real Madrid for LA Galaxy I would have told him exactly what I thought.
“Maybe in years to come he will think maybe he should have stayed at Real Madrid but I don’t think I have been too critical,” Ferguson continued. “How can you argue with how he has turned out. He’s a marvelous boy. He worked to get to the point where he became a great player.”
WAYNE ROONEY
Ferguson admitted at Tuesday’s press conference for his autobiography that Rooney had in fact asked to move away from Manchester United after the last game of last season.
“Wayne asked away because he felt he was playing out of position,” said Ferguson. “I can understand that. My judgement was that Wayne wasn’t playing well enough. But when you see him playing like he is, do you think I would drop him? No way.
“He is England’s great white hope and a great player for Manchester United. The player who is playing now is a different player,” Ferguson continued.
Ferguson admits in his book that Rooney questioned him to why he did not sign Mesut Özil in 2010 during his standoff with the manager amidst a move to Manchester City in 2010.
ROY KEANE
Roy Keane was the rock for United for many years. He was the man in the middle who ran the show and pumped the blood for United heart. His temper was something people cherished and his ability to rust up and down the field was something to behold, but his attitude and demeanor got the best of him says Ferguson in his new book.
According to Ferguson, Keane thought he was above the manager and that his mood dictated the mood of the rest of the people at United. And the final straws that broke the back in 2005 were broken and Keane was sold, but, like other superstars, not without controversy.
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY
Ruud van Nistelrooy could score goals in bunches. He was a manager’s dream of what a poaching striker could do. He had finesse in the box, a knack for popping up in tight spaces, and an ability to get on the end of almost every chance created. But after a few seasons at United, Ferguson became disillusioned with the forward in the 2006 season and was finally tipped over the edge at the 2006 Carling Cup against Wigan when van Nistelrooy swore at the manager on the bench after not being selected.
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What do you think of Ferguson’s book? Interested in reading it? Do these tidbits make you want to purchase it?
Share your thoughts below.
Apparently all of the previous commenters are under 30 or are ignorant of Manure’s history. He took a mediocre club into greatness through pure quality of coaching and management. He did not do well at first as his club had few quality players. He deserves all of my respect, even though I am not a fan of his club. The rest of you know absolutely nothing about the amazing work he did to get them to the point where he could attract quality players. Yes, he is somewhat arrogant, but he deserves all the praise for the job he did. Do your homework before making stupid comments!
I am glad we don’t have to put up with Man U in the US ever again.
Beckham had no footballing reason for joining the Galaxy ? Like somehow all those players making all that money for Man U are on a calling from God….give me a break.
After starting Wayne Rooney against the Sounders subs in the 2nd half, we won’t have to put up with their Man U greatness…..I say thank you Lord. If see him in Seattle there will be words.
Ferguson a legend? Are you sure? Would have liked to see Ferguson coach a last place team in the EPL to see what he is really made of. You and me would have been a legend if we were given a club to coach and told not to worry just get the best players in the world. Yeah, that would have made us a legend too. He only coached Man United? He must have been spoiled. Ferguson is hardly a legend in my opinion.
accomplishements? I give that to the players. I could have coached Man U in the wrong way, but the players would have covered up my flaws and still look good on the field.
Well, Moyes is coaching the same team Ferguson won the EPL with and look at where they are. I seriously doubt you can do better than Moyes.
Clearly, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Fergie made United great in the EPL era by his coaching, not by deep pockets alone. Also, read his Wikipedia page and you’ll see the details of his success at Aberdeen as well.
Yeah, I agree with Falls City Outlaw that you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not like Man United was the only team with deep pockets in the EPL or the Champions League. You may beat mid-level teams in the world just by spending more, but I don’t think you can consistently beat top teams in the world by spending more. And Man United has not always been the highest spending club. To beat the top teams consistently, the coach certainly needs exceptional tactical and strategic skills, not to mention personnel management skills.
You can have extremely talented teams play like crap with an average or mediocre coach, and you can have extremely talented teams play above even their own level with an exceptional coach. There are plenty of examples in pro sports. Over 27 years, Ferguson has clearly demonstrated that he is an exceptional coach. How many of the other top teams in the world have even had one head coach for that long? Exactly.
Ha Ha Ha. Clearly Keane knows what I am talking about. http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/keane-hits-back-ferguson
However, Keane hit back at his former manager.
“We used to have a lot of conversations about loyalty – in my opinion he doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” he said while acting as a pundit on ITV Sport.
“It doesn’t bother me too much what he says about me, but to constantly criticise other players at the club who brought him a lot of success, I find that very strange.
“I’m not sure how many books he’s written now but you have to draw a line. All these players have been top servants at United and a lot of these players won a lot of trophies. Can you imagine if we had never won a trophy what he would have said? We brought success to the club, we gave it everything we had when we were there.
Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/keane-hits-back-ferguson#SAtJoKOVLfwrKA3Z.99
It was THE PLAYERS that brought him success!!!!!!
You can see it in press conferences on occasion, but holy cow he has to be one of the most arrogant, egotistical coaches shrouded in some faux principled nonsense I’ve ever seen. He couldn’t stand that players were becoming big names–he wanted it all for himself.
And David Beckham IS a Manchester United legend. Only one of two players to ever win the UEFA Footballer of the Year while with United. Other player? Ronaldo.
Again, Wikipedia helps here. Becks never won the FIFA World Player of the Year. He was a finalist twice, though. The only Utd players to win it is Ronnie, though Law, Best, and Charlton all won the Ballon d’Or.
I said UEFA, not FIFA. It’s on Wikipedia. Try it.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a racist allegedly.
Kevin must be so happy he spent time writig this, only to have some Progressive Puritan Church Lady peddle speculations.
I guess alledgedly is all you need today to get branded with the scarlet ‘R’.
Instead of closing an article with “What do you think of [X] book? Interested in reading it? Do these tidbits make you want to purchase it?” EVERY article should end with “What do you think of this [perspn/team/league, etc.]? Think they’re racists? What do you think their opinion on gay-rights is? What aren’t they wearing Pink this month? Do they have a crusade against women?”
I have no idea what this post means.
+1
+100
It’s clear that ferguson was one of, if not the, greatest manger of all time. He controlled egos, refs, the press and he won titles.
‘how the United manager dealt with all the famous egos and tempers he dealt with, from Roy Keane to David Beckham to Cristiano Ronaldo.’
he sold them. nothing really revolutionary in that. he did do a decent job with replacing those egos, though.
He is a wee manager from a wee club in the Northwest who lucked into a few trophies. Nothing more. Give it a rest.
A few?
Rooney vs Beckham is old news. John Carlin wrote about it in “White Angels.”
It sounds like “Manchester United – the Soap Opera”. I have only paid attention to English soccer for about 8 years, so I probably don’t know enough of the club’s history to properly appreciate this book. If I read it I would end up only hearing Ferguson’s side of the story. Having said all that, I’m still interested in reading it.
He doing his own audiobook reading?
Yes he is. With the sound of clinking glasses in the background for authenticity.
lol!
But will he be chewing gum while doing it?