Alex Ferguson’s greatest Man United matches and signings part one – 1986-1991
Alex Ferguson has finally called it a day, after a quite incredible managerial career. Whatever you think of the man, you cannot argue with his astonishing success and longevity - a record that deserves the respect of football fans the world over.
His first manager's job came at East Stirlingshire in 1974, before working his way up to St Mirren - where he won his first silverware - and Aberdeen.
At Pittodrie, Fergie broke the Old Firm stranglehold on Scottish football, winning three titles, four Scottish Cups, the Scottish League Cup and, most memorably, the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Real Madrid in the 1983 final.
In 1986 he headed south of the border to become Manchester United manager. Despite the Red Devils having won two FA Cups in the previous four seasons, United had failed to win the First Division title since 1967 and were firmly in the shadow of Liverpool.
Here, talkSPORT looks back at his Manchester United career in stages, starting with the first five years - an era when Ferguson's United could easily lose at Oxford United and only dream of being champions…
ALEX FERGUSON AT MAN UNITED: 1986-1991
Honours: One FA Cup, one League Cup, one Cup Winners' Cup
The Story: Ferguson arrived at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986 with Man United near the bottom of Division One, having lost six of their first eight league games under Ron Atkinson. The Scot duly lost his first match in charge, 2-0 at Oxford United, before picking up his first point in a 0-0 draw away at Norwich. United finished 11th in the division, a massive 30 points behind champions Everton and were knocked out of the FA Cup at home to eventual winners Coventry City.
The next season saw a dramatic improvement in the club's league form, losing just five games en route to a second-placed finish behind runaway champions Liverpool, but the 1988/89 season saw a downturn in fortunes that left Fergie fighting for his job after another disappointing 11th place. The 1989/90 season was even worse, as United dropped to 13th in the league and were thrashed by the likes of Man City, Aston Villa and Norwich City. Salvation came with Fergie's first trophy win at United, a timely FA Cup triumph that bought him valuable time and restored vital confidence. Even so, no one could imagine the success that would follow.
The 1990/91 season, Ferguson's fifth, delivered trophy number two as he guided the club to their first European silverware since 1968, winning the Cup Winners' Cup by beating fancied Barcelona in the final. Sheffield Wednesday denied the Red Devils a cup double, with former United boss Ron Atkinson's new team beating them 1-0 in the League Cup final, but momentum was building and, five years on from his appointment, United began the 1991/92 season capable of genuinely challenging for the title – something they hadn't won since 1967.
FERGIE'S TOP FIVE MATCHES BETWEEN 1986-1991
LIVERPOOL 0 MAN UNITED 1, DIVISION ONE, 26 DECEMBER 1986
Since taking over at Old Trafford, Fergie had made an underwhelming impact in his few games – two wins from seven matches – as he attempted to turn around a terrible start to the season that had led to Ron Atkinson being sacked and United hovering around the relegation places. In his eighth game, however, Ferguson got a result to kick-start his reign, winning at the home of double winners and fierce rivals Liverpool, as United recorded their first away win of the season on Boxing Day thanks to a Norman Whiteside goal. It would take a lot longer for Ferguson to knock Liverpool off their perch, but he certainly ruffled the liver bird's feathers at Christmas 1986.
HEREFORD 0 MAN UNITED 1, FA CUP FOURTH ROUND, 28 JANUARY 1990
When Man United travelled to Nottingham Forest – then one of the best cup teams in the country – for a third round FA Cup tie in 1990, they were out of the League Cup (having lost 3-0 at home to Spurs) and were just two points off the relegation places in 15th place in the league. It's well documented that a Mark Robins goal gave Fergie a surprise victory and effectively saved his bacon, as the Red Devils went on to win the Cup that year. Less remembered, however, is the narrow, but equally important win at Fourth Division Hereford United in the next round of that FA Cup campaign. In front of a baying Edgar Street crowd – the venue of that famous 1970s Newcastle giant killing – Man United came perilously close to a defeat that would have made Fergie's position untenable. Instead, an 84th minute Clayton Blackmore winner left Ferguson a very relieved man.
MAN UNITED 1 Crystal Palace 0, FA CUP FINAL, 17 MAY 1990
After beating Second Division Newcastle and Sheffield United to reach the semi finals of the 1990 FA Cup, United took two games to get past another second tier side, Joe Royle's Oldham Athletic, in the last four. Fergie's luck was in when champions Liverpool were surprisingly knocked out in the other semi by Crystal Palace, but the Eagles held United to a 3-3 draw in the final. In those days, there were no penalty shoot outs in the FA Cup and so a Wembley replay took place, which United just shaded by a single Lee Martin goal. It wasn't spectacular, but Ferguson had that all-important first trophy in the Old Trafford cabinet.
Arsenal 2 MAN UNITED 6, LEAGUE CUP FOURTH ROUND, 28 NOVEMBER 1990
In 1990/91 Arsenal were like a machine, rolling to the title with just one league defeat all season and this stunning win at Highbury in the League Cup was all the more impressive because, 20 years ago, the League Cup was a competition the big clubs took very seriously indeed. A hat-trick from young star Lee Sharpe was the highlight as United served notice that they were on the up under Ferguson. They may have lost that season's final to Sheffield Wednesday, but the attacking brilliance that has marked the Scot's most successful years at Old Trafford was starting to emerge and this game was so celebrated at the time that a video was released to mark the occasion.
MAN UNITED 2 BARCELONA 1, CUP WINNERS' CUP FINAL, 15 MAY 1991
Having won the 1990 FA Cup, United qualified for the old European Cup Winners' Cup as English clubs returned to Europe following a five year ban for hooliganism. Fergie's team were given a relatively comfortable passage to the final, with France's Montpellier posing the most difficult hurdle in the last eight, drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford before United impressively won 2-0 in France. Poland's Legia Warsaw were beaten in the last four to set up a meeting with Johan Cruyff's Barcelona, who edged Italy's Juventus in the other semi final. Fergie's team were underdogs against the Catalans in Rotterdam, but a two-goal performance from Mark Hughes – a former Barca player inspired to perform after a disappointing spell in Catalonia – saw them win 2-1 and give Ferguson his second trophy. Just over a year earlier the manager had faced calls for his head from the club's own fans, but now he was delivering the success those supporters craved.
FERGIE'S TOP FIVE SIGNINGS 1986-1991
BRIAN MCCLAIR
After 99 goals in four seasons at Celtic, McClair headed south to join Ferguson and United for a fee of £850,000 in 1987. No player had scored 20 league goals for the club since George Best in 1967/68, but McClair got 24 in his first season as United finished second in 1987/88. His early goal scoring form deserted him as United's league form suffered over the next few seasons, but McClair would prove to be a trusty lieutenant of Ferguson's, helping the team win the 1990 FA Cup and 1991 Cup Winners' Cup. He would go on to score winners in both the 1991 European Super Cup and 1992 League Cup finals, then switched to midfield and played his part as a useful squad member as cup success turned to Premier League glory in the mid-1990s. 'Chocky', as he was known in his playing days, is now United's youth academy director.
Steve Bruce
Signed from Norwich in December 1987 for £800,000, Bruce was an absolutely key figure in United's early success under Ferguson. His partnership with Gary Pallister (signed in 1989) gradually became what Gary Neville has described as the best centre back pairing in the club's history and Bruce's two late goals to win a crucial 1993 match with Sheffield Wednesday, as United closed in on their first Premier League title, will never be forgotten. In the 1990/91 season he also scored a remarkable 19 goals (including 11 penalties), proving he could make a difference at both ends of the pitch. With Bryan Robson no longer a regular, Bruce took over as captain and led Ferguson's side to two doubles.
PAUL INCE
Bryan Robson had been the main man in United's midfield since 1981, but Ince's arrival from West Ham in 1989 changed that. A fierce competitor with great skill, Ince bridged the gap between Robson's era and the signing of Roy Keane, during which he helped drive Ferguson's United forward to their first successes and that first Premier League title. He even filled in at right back for the 1990 FA Cup final victory, putting in a man of the match performance.
Ryan Giggs
While Steve Bruce's signing in December 1987 grabbed the headlines, the signature of a young man named Ryan Wilson on 29 November 1987 escaped almost everyone's attention. After reverting to his mother's maiden name, Giggs, in 1989, he would go on to make his senior debut in March 1991 and win – deep breath – 12 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups, four League Cups, one Club World Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, one Super Cup and eight Community Shields, in over 800 games for Ferguson. So, you could say that signing Wilson on associate schoolboy terms as a 14-year-old in 1987, with clubs like Man City and Liverpool sniffing around, was the best move of Ferguson's long and illustrious career.
PETER SCHMEICHEL
Signed in the summer of 1991, it's strange to recall that Schmeichel initially struggled to settle in English football, particularly with the aerial bombardment that marked our game out from what he had been used to with Brondby in Denmark. Not for long, though, as the big Dane quickly got to grips with English football and, by the end of his first season, had virtually reinvented the role of the goalkeeper with his incredible distribution. A huge presence at the back, Schmeichel's intense will to win meant his influence was felt far beyond his own penalty area and he remains arguably the greatest goalkeeper ever to play in English football, let alone for United.