Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 25th anniversary as Manchester United manager with a 1-0 Premier League victory over Sunderland this past weekend.
Sunderland were managed by Ferguson’s former defensive stalwart Steve Bruce, and another former Red Devil settled matters when Wes Brown put through his own goal to give United all three points.
The victory against Sunderland was Ferguson’s 836th win as United manager, and one end of the Old Trafford stadium was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in a pre-game ceremony.
There have been countless days of joy, pride and achievement for Sir Alex over his time at United. Here we pick out five of what must be the most significant.
JANUARY 7th, 1990
It seems strange to think now, but when Ferguson led United into an FA Cup third round tie at Nottingham Forest in 1990, there was a growing sentiment among United fans that he should have been sacked.
Ferguson describes an eight game winless run during this season as the most difficult period he ever experienced in management. United fans also displayed a banner during one home game that read “three years of excuses and it’s still cr*p. Ta-ta Fergie!”
How glad the United fan base must now be that their wish was not granted, and that Ferguson remained in charge.
It is widely believed that the header by Mark Robins that gave United a 1-0 win at the City Ground is the goal that stopped Ferguson getting sacked. Not only that, it allowed United to go on a run that saw them eventually win the 1990 FA Cup Final.
After an entertaining 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in the final, Lee Martin scored the winning goal in the replay to win Ferguson his first trophy in what would become a dynasty.
None of this would have been possible without Robins’ winning goal back in Nottingham on January 7th, and when asked years later about the event, Robins claimed credit for his role in the career of Sir Alex.
“Did I save his job? Yes I did,” the former United striker told The Telegraph official website.
Highlights of the Forest game, including that fateful goal from Robins can be seen here;
AUGUST 6th, 1991
There was no competitive fixture played on this date, but Ferguson completed the signing of a 27 year-old goalkeeper from Brondby IF named Peter Schmeichel.
The Dane would go onto be a defining figure of Ferguson’s regime, and was later described by Sir Alex as “the bargain of the century." United had paid just over half a million pounds to seal the signature of the man now known as the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper.
During his eight years at Old Trafford Schmeichel anchored a United team that won five Premier League titles, three FA Cup’s, one League Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and also the 1999 UEFA Champions League title.
Schmeichel also established himself as a dominant personality in the locker room, and was famed for bullying his defenders into good performances.
The true value of Schmeichel was also seen after he left Old Trafford when a succession of high profile goalkeepers tried and failed to replace him. It was not until Ferguson signed Edwin van der Sar six years after Schmeichel’s departure, that the club had a number 1 that could compare the great Dane.
Highlight’s of Peter Schmeichel’s career can be seen here;
APRIL 10th, 1993
Manchester United headed into a home Premier League game against Sheffield Wednesday one point behind league leaders Aston Villa.
United midfielder Paul Ince brought down England winger Chris Waddle, and John Sheridan stepped up to give Wednesday a 65th minute lead to the horror of the Old Trafford faithful.
With five minutes remaining United were still behind, but center back Steve Bruce headed home a corner to draw the teams level.
Due to an injury to the referee earlier in the game, seven minutes of injury time were played. In the last seconds of stoppage time Bruce struck again when he met Gary Pallister’s cross with a looping header to give United a famous win and spark famous scenes of celebration on the Old Trafford bench.
The image of Ferguson and his assistant Brian Kidd invading the pitch to dance in delight are one of English football’s most iconic images, and can be seen in the highlight’s of the game below;
Ferguson stated after this game that this result had swung the title race in favor of United, and he would be proved correct. The Red Devils won their final five games of the season and claimed the Premier League title by a margin of 10 points.
The win was not only Ferguson’s first Premier League win, it ended a 26 year wait for the club to reclaim the English championship.
MAY 26th, 1999
This would be the day that United would round off the club’s greatest ever season. With the Premier League title and FA Cup already in the bag, United would face the final leg of ‘The Treble’ in the form of the UEFA Champions League Final.
United traveled to the Camp Nou to face Bayern Munich, who had themselves already cemented the Bundesliga Championship.
A Ronny Johnsen foul awarded Bayern a 6th minute free kick on the edge of the United penalty area, and Mario Basler stepped up to fire Bayern in front.
Munich continued to dominate throughout the game and almost sealed victory when striker Carsten Jancker fired against the crossbar.
Bayern fans were celebrating as the game ticked into injury time, but they would soon be silenced by one of football’s great fairy tale comebacks.
First Teddy Sheringham leveled matters when he redirected a Ryan Giggs shot, and less than a minute later Ole Gunner Solskjaer prodded home a Sheringham knockdown to spark delirious scenes of celebration for United.
Sir Alex summed up what many thought during his post match interview by summarizing, “football, bloody hell!”
Highlights of United’s great comeback can be seen here;
May14th, 2011
When Sir Alex Ferguson took over United back in 1986, he had a burning desire to “knock Liverpool right off their bloody perch.” This would be the day that he did exactly that.
While a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers is not typically the stuff of legend, this one gave them the point they needed to seal their 19th league title. Blackburn took a first half lead courtesy of Brett Emerton, but a second half penalty from Wayne Rooney gave United the result they needed.
Liverpool’s long held claim to glory of having won more league titles than anyone was no more, and United’s dominance entered a new level in the history of English football.
A video tribute to United’s historic 19th title win can be seen here;
The victory against Sunderland was Ferguson’s 836th win as United manager, and one end of the Old Trafford stadium was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in a pre-game ceremony.
There have been countless days of joy, pride and achievement for Sir Alex over his time at United. Here we pick out five of what must be the most significant.
JANUARY 7th, 1990
It seems strange to think now, but when Ferguson led United into an FA Cup third round tie at Nottingham Forest in 1990, there was a growing sentiment among United fans that he should have been sacked.
Ferguson describes an eight game winless run during this season as the most difficult period he ever experienced in management. United fans also displayed a banner during one home game that read “three years of excuses and it’s still cr*p. Ta-ta Fergie!”
How glad the United fan base must now be that their wish was not granted, and that Ferguson remained in charge.
It is widely believed that the header by Mark Robins that gave United a 1-0 win at the City Ground is the goal that stopped Ferguson getting sacked. Not only that, it allowed United to go on a run that saw them eventually win the 1990 FA Cup Final.
After an entertaining 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in the final, Lee Martin scored the winning goal in the replay to win Ferguson his first trophy in what would become a dynasty.
None of this would have been possible without Robins’ winning goal back in Nottingham on January 7th, and when asked years later about the event, Robins claimed credit for his role in the career of Sir Alex.
“Did I save his job? Yes I did,” the former United striker told The Telegraph official website.
Highlights of the Forest game, including that fateful goal from Robins can be seen here;
AUGUST 6th, 1991
There was no competitive fixture played on this date, but Ferguson completed the signing of a 27 year-old goalkeeper from Brondby IF named Peter Schmeichel.
The Dane would go onto be a defining figure of Ferguson’s regime, and was later described by Sir Alex as “the bargain of the century." United had paid just over half a million pounds to seal the signature of the man now known as the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper.
During his eight years at Old Trafford Schmeichel anchored a United team that won five Premier League titles, three FA Cup’s, one League Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and also the 1999 UEFA Champions League title.
Schmeichel also established himself as a dominant personality in the locker room, and was famed for bullying his defenders into good performances.
The true value of Schmeichel was also seen after he left Old Trafford when a succession of high profile goalkeepers tried and failed to replace him. It was not until Ferguson signed Edwin van der Sar six years after Schmeichel’s departure, that the club had a number 1 that could compare the great Dane.
Highlight’s of Peter Schmeichel’s career can be seen here;
APRIL 10th, 1993
Manchester United headed into a home Premier League game against Sheffield Wednesday one point behind league leaders Aston Villa.
United midfielder Paul Ince brought down England winger Chris Waddle, and John Sheridan stepped up to give Wednesday a 65th minute lead to the horror of the Old Trafford faithful.
With five minutes remaining United were still behind, but center back Steve Bruce headed home a corner to draw the teams level.
Due to an injury to the referee earlier in the game, seven minutes of injury time were played. In the last seconds of stoppage time Bruce struck again when he met Gary Pallister’s cross with a looping header to give United a famous win and spark famous scenes of celebration on the Old Trafford bench.
The image of Ferguson and his assistant Brian Kidd invading the pitch to dance in delight are one of English football’s most iconic images, and can be seen in the highlight’s of the game below;
Ferguson stated after this game that this result had swung the title race in favor of United, and he would be proved correct. The Red Devils won their final five games of the season and claimed the Premier League title by a margin of 10 points.
The win was not only Ferguson’s first Premier League win, it ended a 26 year wait for the club to reclaim the English championship.
MAY 26th, 1999
This would be the day that United would round off the club’s greatest ever season. With the Premier League title and FA Cup already in the bag, United would face the final leg of ‘The Treble’ in the form of the UEFA Champions League Final.
United traveled to the Camp Nou to face Bayern Munich, who had themselves already cemented the Bundesliga Championship.
A Ronny Johnsen foul awarded Bayern a 6th minute free kick on the edge of the United penalty area, and Mario Basler stepped up to fire Bayern in front.
Munich continued to dominate throughout the game and almost sealed victory when striker Carsten Jancker fired against the crossbar.
Bayern fans were celebrating as the game ticked into injury time, but they would soon be silenced by one of football’s great fairy tale comebacks.
First Teddy Sheringham leveled matters when he redirected a Ryan Giggs shot, and less than a minute later Ole Gunner Solskjaer prodded home a Sheringham knockdown to spark delirious scenes of celebration for United.
Sir Alex summed up what many thought during his post match interview by summarizing, “football, bloody hell!”
Highlights of United’s great comeback can be seen here;
May14th, 2011
When Sir Alex Ferguson took over United back in 1986, he had a burning desire to “knock Liverpool right off their bloody perch.” This would be the day that he did exactly that.
While a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers is not typically the stuff of legend, this one gave them the point they needed to seal their 19th league title. Blackburn took a first half lead courtesy of Brett Emerton, but a second half penalty from Wayne Rooney gave United the result they needed.
Liverpool’s long held claim to glory of having won more league titles than anyone was no more, and United’s dominance entered a new level in the history of English football.
A video tribute to United’s historic 19th title win can be seen here;
