Alex: The Man Behind The Legend

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A BBC Sport article in June 2020 identified him as one of the best Scottish players to have never played a full international. 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. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles.

Ferguson thought that Strachan did not play for United with the same confidence he had in Scotland and subsequently sold him to Leeds United in 1989. Both clubs were also paired together in the semi-final of the FA Cup, decided by a replay as the original game finished goalless. This was enough for Manchester bookmaker Fred Done to pay out on punters who backed the champions retaining their title.The recommendation came from Andy Roxburgh, at a time when United began scouting for southern-hemisphere footballers and wanted a multilingual coach. In 1991, Ferguson became a wine collector after being shown a display of bottles from Château d'Yquem and Château Pétrus while in Montpellier, France.

United started the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four Premier League games, United's best start since 1985. Ferguson instructed Eric Harrison and Les Kershaw to find suitable replacements, "in terms of coaching ability and work ethic.

He described his first match as a "nightmare", [16] but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer. 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 2003, Ferguson launched legal action against the then major Manchester United shareholder John Magnier over stud rights for race horse Rock of Gibraltar. On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the Champions League draw was fixed in favour of Spanish and Italian teams.

United started the following season thrashing the previous year's league runners-up Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant Archie Knox took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson. They contested the Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0, thus failed to defend the trophy.

Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park was the 7–1 defeat away to Queen of the South on Boxing Day 1959 when ex-England international Ivor Broadis scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990–91, they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. 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. Magnier counter-sued Ferguson [223] by filing a "Motion to Comply" requiring Ferguson to substantiate his claim for half of Rock of Gibraltar's stud fees.