Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired in May 2013 as manager of Manchester United is the most success manager English football has ever seen. He was simultaneously the most admired and feared manager in British football. During almost forty years in the dugout, and over half a century in the professional game, hes torn up the record books, amassed a treasure trove of silverware, and unleashed the hairdryer as well as the odd football boot on countless players, rival managers, referees and journalists. But amid the sound, the fury and the mind-games lurks one of sports greatest wits. So here we present Sir Alex Ferguson: uncompromising, unrivalled and uncut.
On Arsène Wenger: They say hes an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages! Ive got a fifteen-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages.
On Dennis Wise: He could start a row in an empty house.'
On referees: Can anyone tell me why they give referees a watch? Its certainly not for keeping the time.
On his humble beginnings: People say mine was a poor upbringing. I don't know what they mean. It was tough, but it wasn't bloody poor. We maybe didn't have a TV. We didn't have a car. We didn't even have a phone. But I thought I had everything, and I did: I had a football.
After the winning the European Cup in 1999: I cant believe it. I cant believe it. Football, eh? Bloody hell.
Daniel Taylor has been the Guardian's Manchester United correspondent since 2000. He is the author of two books on Sir Alex Ferguson, This Is the One: The Uncut Story of a Football Genius, and Squeaky Bum Time: The Wit and Wisdom of Sir Alex Ferguson. He supports Nottingham Forest and brought out his first book, Deep Into the Forest, in 2005.
