title	Order of the British Empire
awarded by	the Sovereign, on the advice of the Government
type	Award
motto	For God and the Empire
day	NA
eligibility	British citizens
for	A national order of merit
status	Currently constituted
head title	Sovereign
head	Queen Elizabeth II
head2 title	Grand Master
head2	Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
commander	Sovereign
grades	Knight/Dame Grand Cross (GBE)Knight/Dame Commander (KBE/DBE)Commander (CBE)Officer (OBE)Member (MBE)
former grades	NA
date	1917
first induction	ND
last induction	ND
total	ND
recipients	ND
individual	ND
higher	Royal Victorian Order
lower	Varies, depending on rank
image2
caption2	Ribbons: civil (upper), military (lower) }}

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions. In descending order of seniority, these are: ''Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire'' (GBE) or ''Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire'' (GBE)

''Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire'' (KBE) or ''Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire'' (DBE)

''Commander of the Order of the British Empire'' (CBE)

''Officer of the Order of the British Empire'' (OBE)

''Member of the Order of the British Empire'' (MBE)

Only the highest two ranks automatically cause an individual to become a knight or dame, an honour allowing the recipient to use the title "Sir" (male) or "Dame" (female) before their first name (though men can be knighted separately from this and other Orders of Chivalry). Honorary knighthoods, given to individuals who are not nationals of a realm where Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State, permit use of the honour as a post-nominal but not as a title before their name. Awards in the Order of the British Empire in the Commonwealth Realms were discontinued with the establishment of national systems of honours and awards such as the Order of Canada, the Order of Australia and the New Zealand Order of Merit. Foreign recipients are classified as honorary members of the Order they receive, and do not contribute to the numbers restricted to that Order as full members do.

There is also a related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are not members of the Order, but who are nonetheless affiliated with the Order. The British Empire Medal has not been used in the United Kingdom or its dependencies since 1993, but is still used by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations.

The Order's motto is ''For God and the Empire''. It is the most junior of the British orders of chivalry, and the largest, with over 100,000 living members worldwide.

History

King George V founded the order to fill gaps in the British honours system:

the Most Honourable Order of the Bath honoured only senior military officers and civil servants;

the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George honoured diplomats; and

the Royal Victorian Order honoured those who had personally served the Royal Family.

In particular, King George V wished to honour the many thousands of people who had served in numerous non-combatant capacities during the First World War. Originally, the Order included only one division; however, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was formally divided into Military and Civil Divisions.

This order has a more democratic character than the Order of the Bath or the Order of St Michael and St George, and in its early days was not held in high esteem. However, this has changed over the years.

Several past American statesmen and diplomats who have performed service for, or on behalf of, the United Kingdom have been given the designation of Knight Commander of the order. However, since membership requires swearing allegiance to a foreign head of state (currently Queen Elizabeth II), the title is officially considered "honorary", and the person is not entitled to be referred to as Sir or Dame. Occasionally the media incorrectly refer to foreign recipients with the prefix title, an example being Bob Geldof KBE, an Irish citizen.

Composition

The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all other members of the Order (by convention, on the advice of the Government). The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of which there have been three: Edward, Prince of Wales (1917–1936), Queen Mary (1936–1953), and the current Grand Master, The Duke of Edinburgh (1953–present).

The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year. Appointments are made on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms. By convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor.

Although the Order of the British Empire has by far the highest number of members of the British Orders of Chivalry, there are fewer appointments to knighthoods than in other orders. Most Knights Commander are honorary members or British citizens living abroad, with only a handful being residents of the United Kingdom. The grade of Dame Commander, on the other hand, is the most common grade of dame in the British honours system, and is awarded in circumstances in which men would be created Knights Bachelor.

Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the limited number of Commonwealth realms without their own national system of honours and awards. Citizens of other countries, however, may be admitted as "honorary members". They do not count towards the aforementioned numerical limits, and are not formally addressed as "Sir" or "Dame". They may be made full members if they subsequently become citizens of Commonwealth realms. See List of honorary British Knights.

At the foundation of the Order, the "Medal of the Order of the British Empire" was instituted. In 1922, it was renamed the "British Empire Medal". Recipients, who are not members of the Order itself, are grouped into the Civil and Military Divisions. Only junior government and military officials are awarded the medal; senior officials are directly appointed to the Order of the British Empire. The United Kingdom's Government has not recommended the awarding of the medal since 1992, although some Commonwealth realms continue the practice.

The Order has six officials: the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, and the Usher. The Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Order's Prelate. The Dean of St Paul's is ''ex officio'' the Dean of the Order. The Order's King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. The Usher of the Order is known as the Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod; he does not – unlike his Order of the Garter equivalent, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod – perform any duties related to the House of Lords.

If one is appointed to a higher class within the order, one must return one's existing insignia in exchange for the more senior one, and cease using the junior post-nominal letters. Some people, however, have been appointed to both divisions, such as Dame Kelly Holmes, who has been appointed an MBE in the military division and a DBE in the civil division, and is therefore known as "Dame Kelly Holmes, DBE, MBE (Mil.)".

Gallantry

From 1940, a person could be appointed a Commander, Officer or Member of the Order of the British Empire for gallantry, for acts of bravery (not in the face of the enemy) which were below the level required for the George Medal, with the grade being determined by the same criteria as usual and not by the level of gallantry (and with more junior people instead receiving the British Empire Medal). Oddly, this meant that it was awarded for lesser acts of gallantry than the George Medal, but, as an Order, was worn before it and listed before it in post-nominal initials. From 14 January 1958 these awards were designated the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry. Any individual made a member of the Order for gallantry could wear an emblem of two crossed silver oak leaves on the same riband, ribbon or bow as the badge. It could not be awarded posthumously and was effectively replaced in 1974 with the Queen's Gallantry Medal. If a recipient of the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry was promoted within the Order, whether for gallantry or otherwise, they continued to also wear the insignia of the lower grade with the oak leaves. However, they only used the post-nominal letters of the higher grade.

Vestments and accoutrements

Members of the Order wear elaborate costumes on important occasions (such as quadrennial services and coronations), which vary by rank (the designs underwent major changes in 1937):

The ''mantle'', worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, was originally made of yellow satin lined with blue silk, but is now made of purple satin lined with pearl-grey silk. On the left side is a representation of the cross (see below).

The ''collar'', also worn only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross, is made of gold. It consists of six medallions depicting the Royal Arms, alternating with six medallions depicting the Royal and Imperial Cypher of George V ("GRI", which stands for "Georgius Rex Imperator"). The medallions are linked with gold cables depicting lions and crowns.

On certain "collar days" designated by the Sovereign, members attending formal events may wear the Order's collar over their military uniform, formal day dress, or evening wear. When collars are worn (either on collar days or on formal occasions such as coronations), the badge is suspended from the collar. Collars are returned upon the death of their owners, but other insignia may be retained.

At less important occasions, simpler insignia are used:

The ''star'' is an eight-pointed silver star used only by Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commander. It is worn pinned to the left breast. Varying in size depending on class, it bears a crimson ring with the motto of the Order inscribed. Within the ring, a figure of Britannia was originally shown. Since 1937, however, the effigies of George V and his wife Queen Mary have been shown instead.

The ''badge'' is the only insignia used by all members of the Order. Until 1937, it was suspended on a purple ribbon, with a red central stripe for the military division; since then, the ribbon has been rose-pink with pearl-grey edges, with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division. Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear it on a riband or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip. Knights Commander and male Commanders wear the badge from a ribbon around the neck; male Officers and Members wear the badge from a ribbon on the left chest; all females other than Dames Grand Cross wear it from a bow on the left shoulder. The badge is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end), the obverse of which bears the same field as the star (that is, either Britannia or George V and Queen Mary); the reverse bears George V's Royal and Imperial Cypher. Both are within a ring bearing the motto of the Order. The size of the badges varies according to rank: the higher classes have slightly larger badges. The badges of Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames Commander and Commanders are enamelled with pale blue crosses and crimson rings; those of Officers are plain gold; those of Members are plain silver.

The ''British Empire Medal'' is made of silver. On the obverse is an image of Britannia surrounded by the motto, with the words "For Meritorious Service" at the bottom; on the reverse is George V's Imperial and Royal Cypher, with the words "Instituted by King George V" at the bottom. The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim. This medal is nicknamed "the Gong", and comes in both a full-sized and miniature versions – the latter for formal white-tie and informal black-tie occasions.

A lapel pin for everyday wear was first announced at the end of December 2006, and will soon become available to recipients of all levels of the Order, as well as to holders of the British Empire Medal. The pin design is not unique to any level. The pin features the badge of the Order, enclosed in a circle of ribbon of its colours of pink and grey. Lapel pins must be purchased separately by a member of the Order at the fixed price of £15.00. The creation of such a pin was recommended in Sir Hayden Phillips' review of the honours system in 2004, not unlike many other countries.

{|align=center class=wikitable width=55% !colspan=4|Order of the British Empire ribbon bars |- !width=15% valign=center align=center| !width=20% valign=center align=center|civil !width=20% valign=center align=center|military |- !width=15% valign=center align=center|1917–1935 |width=20% valign=center align=center| |width=20% valign=center align=center| |- !width=15% valign=center align=center|since 1936 |width=20% valign=center align=center| |width=20% valign=center align=center| |- |}

Chapel

The chapel of the order is in the far eastern end of the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, but it holds its great services upstairs in the main body of the cathedral. (The Cathedral also serves as the home of the chapel of The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.) Religious services for the whole Order are held every four years; new Knights and Dames Grand Cross are installed at these services. The chapel was dedicated in 1960.

Precedence and privileges

Members of all classes of the Order are assigned positions in the order of precedence. Wives of male members of all classes also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander; relatives of Ladies of the Order, however, are not assigned any special precedence. As a general rule, individuals can derive precedence from their fathers or husbands, but not from their mothers or wives (see order of precedence in England and Wales for the exact positions).

Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander prefix "Sir", and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commander prefix "Dame", to their forenames (never surnames – thus Sir Antony Sher may be shortened to Sir Antony, but not to Sir Sher). Wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of Dames. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when the names of the former are written out in their fullest forms. Male clergy of the Church of England or the established Church of Scotland do not use the title "Sir" as they do not receive the accolade (i.e., they are not dubbed "knight" with a sword), although they do append the post-nominal letters.

Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal "GBE", Knights Commander "KBE", Dames Commander "DBE", Commanders "CBE", Officers "OBE" and Members "MBE". The post-nominal for the British Empire Medal is "BEM".

Knights and Dames Grand Cross and Knights and Dames Commander who are not citizens of Commonwealth realms can be awarded honorary titles but do not receive the accolade and are not entitled to the prefix "Sir" or "Dame", but may still use the post-nominal abbreviations. For example, American Bill Gates was made a Knight Commander, but is not entitled "Sir Bill" or "Sir Bill Gates", although he may use the title "Bill Gates, KBE". Bob Geldof, KBE received a knighthood in 1986 and although he is often referred to as "Sir Bob", he is not a citizen of a Commonwealth realm and he is not entitled to use the prefix "Sir". If recipients later become citizens of Commonwealth realms, then they are usually made substantive members of the Order, and are entitled to begin using the Sir prefix. For example, Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan was appointed an honorary KBE in 2005. He subsequently took dual British and Irish nationality, was made a substantive member, and is now entitled to use the name "Sir Terry Wogan".

Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also entitled to be granted heraldic supporters. They may, furthermore, encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of the latter. Knights and Dames Commander and Commanders may display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet.

Criticism

The order has attracted some criticism for its connection with the idea of the British Empire. Benjamin Zephaniah, a British Jamaican poet, publicly rejected an OBE in 2003 because, he said, it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality". He went on to say, "It reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised".

Others have declined honours, but, at the request of the Prime Minister's office, did not reveal the fact until some years later. In 2004, a House of Commons Select Committee recommended changing the name of the award to the "Order of British Excellence" and changing the rank of "Commander" to "Companion", as the former was said to have a "militaristic ring".

A notable person to decline the offer of an Order of the British Empire was the author C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), who had been named on the last list of honours by George VI in December 1951.

The members of The Beatles were made MBEs in 1965. John Lennon justified the comparative merits of his investiture by comparing military membership in the order, saying "Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war – for killing people... [W]e received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more." Later, Lennon returned his MBE on 25 November 1969 as part of his ongoing peace protests. Other criticism centres on the claim that many recipients of the Order are being rewarded with honours for simply doing their jobs. The civil service and judiciary receive far more Orders of the British Empire than leaders of other professions and charity workers.

Chin Peng, long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party, was granted the OBE for his share in fighting against the Japanese during the Second World War, in close cooperation with the British commando Force 136. It was withdrawn by the British government (and became undesirable for Chin Peng himself) when the Communist leader headed his party's guerrilla insurgency against the British in the Malayan Emergency.

See also

British honours system

Knight Bachelor

List of celebrities appointed to the Order of the British Empire

List of Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

List of Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire

List of honorary British Knights

List of Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire

United Kingdom order of precedence

References

External links

Honours, Decorations & Awards UK Government

The London Gazette lists recipients of honours

Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society, (2002), "The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire"

"Knighthood and Chivalry" (1911). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press

Velde, F. R. (2003). "Order of Precedence in England and Wales

'' The Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire'' by Frederic Hood, with a foreword by Prince Philip

Search recommendations for the Order of the British Empire on The UK National Archives' website

The Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – OBE Chapel Exterior detail

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Orders of knighthood of the United Kingdom Category:1917 establishments in the United Kingdom

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name	John Thaw, CBE
birth name	John Edward Thaw
birth date	January 03, 1942
birth place	Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire, England
death date	February 21, 2002
death place	Luckington, Wiltshire, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1960–2002
spouse	(divorced); 1 child (his death); 1 child }}

John Edward Thaw, CBE (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as ''Redcap'', ''The Sweeney'', ''Inspector Morse'' and ''Kavanagh QC''.

Early life

Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire, to parents John and Dorothy (née Ablott). His father was a long distance lorry driver. He had a difficult childhood as his mother left him when he was seven years old and he didn't see her again until twelve years later. He had a younger brother called Ray. He grew up in the Burnage area of the city and attended Ducie Technical High School for Boys in Manchester. He entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 17, where he was a contemporary of Tom Courtenay.

Career

Soon after leaving RADA he made his stage début in ''A Shred of Evidence'' at the Liverpool Playhouse and was awarded a contract with the theatre. His first film role was a bit part in the 1962 adaptation of ''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' starring Tom Courtenay and he also acted on-stage opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in ''Semi-Detached'' (1962) by David Turner. He appeared in several episodes of the BBC police series ''Z-Cars'' in 1963–64 as a detective constable with a drink problem. Between 1964 and 1966 he appeared as the central role of hard-nosed military policeman, Sgt John Mann, in two series of the ABC Weekend Television/ITV production ''Redcap''. He was also a guest star in an early episode of ''The Avengers''. In 1967 he appeared in the Granada TV/ITV series, ''Inheritance'', alongside James Bolam and Michael Goodliffe, as well as appearing in TV plays such as ''The Talking Head'' and episodes of series such as ''Budgie'', where he played against type (opposite Adam Faith) as an effeminate failed playwright with a full beard and a Welsh accent.

Thaw will perhaps be best remembered for two roles: the hard-bitten Flying Squad detective Jack Regan in the Thames Television/ITV series (and two films) ''The Sweeney'' (1974 – 1978), which established him as a major star in the United Kingdom, and as the quietly spoken, introspective, well-educated and bitter detective ''Inspector Morse'' (1987 – 1993, with specials from 1995 – 1998 and 2000). Starring alongside Kevin Whately as the put upon Detective Sergeant Lewis, Morse became a cult character - "a cognitive curmudgeon with his love of classical music, his vintage Jaguar and spates of melancholy". Morse became one of the UK's most loved TV series - the final three episodes, shown in 2000, were seen by 18 million people - about one third of the British population. He won "Most Popular Actor" at the 1999 National Television Awards and won two BAFTA awards for his role as Morse.

He subsequently played liberal working class Lancastrian barrister James Kavanagh in ''Kavanagh QC'' (1995 – 1999, and a special in 2001). Thaw also tried his hand at comedy with two sitcoms — ''Thick as Thieves'' (London Weekend/ITV, 1974) with Bob Hoskins and ''Home to Roost'' (Yorkshire/ITV, 1985 – 1990). Thaw is best known in America for the Morse series, as well as the BBC series ''A Year in Provence'' with Lindsay Duncan.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Thaw frequently appeared in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre. He appeared in a number of films, including ''Cry Freedom'', where he portrayed the conservative South African justice minister Jimmy Kruger, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and ''Chaplin'' alongside Robert Downey Jr. for director Richard Attenborough.

Thaw also appeared in the TV adaptation of the Michelle Magorian book ''Goodnight Mister Tom'' (Carlton Television/ITV), which also starred Nick Robinson as William Beech. It won "Most Popular Drama" at the National Television Awards, 1999. In September 2006, Thaw was voted by the general public as number 3 in a poll of ''TV's Greatest Stars''.

Personal life

In 1964, Thaw married Sally Alexander (a theatre stage manager), but they divorced four years later.

He met actress Sheila Hancock in 1969 on the set of a London comedy ''So What About Love?''. She was married to fellow actor Alexander "Alec" Ross, and after Thaw professed his love to Hancock, she told him that she would not have an affair. After the death of her husband (from oesophageal cancer) in 1971, Thaw and Hancock married on 24 December 1973 in Cirencester, and he remained with her until his death in 2002 (also from oesophageal cancer).

Thaw had three daughters (all of whom are actors): Abigail "Abs" Thaw from his first marriage, Joanna "Jo" Thaw from his second, and he also adopted Sheila Hancock's daughter Melanie Jane "Ellie" from her first marriage. Melanie legally changed her name from Ross to Thaw.

Thaw was a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party.

Thaw was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in March 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II.

In September 2006, Thaw was voted by the general public as number 3, after David Jason and Morecambe and Wise, in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars for the past 50 years.

A heavy drinker, and a smoker from the age of twelve, Thaw was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in June 2001. He underwent chemotherapy in hope of overcoming the illness, and at first seemed to be responding well to the treatment, but in early January 2002 was told that the cancer had spread.

He died on 21 February 2002, seven weeks after his 60th birthday, the day after he signed a new contract with ITV, and the day before his wife's birthday. At the time of his death he was living at his country home, near the villages of Luckington and Sherston in Wiltshire, and was cremated at Westerleigh Crematorium in South Gloucestershire in a private service. A memorial service was held on 4 September 2002 at St Martin's in the Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, attended by 800 people including Prince Charles and Cherie Blair.

Honours and awards

1989 British Academy Award

1992 British Academy Award

1994 CBE

1999 "Most Popular Actor" - National TV Awards

2001 BAFTA fellowship

Performances

Television series

1961 ''The Younger Generation''

1965–66 ''Redcap''

1966–67 ''Inheritance''

1974 ''Thick As Thieves''

1975–78 ''The Sweeney''

1983 ''Mitch''

1985–89 ''Home to Roost''

1987–2000 ''Inspector Morse''

1991 ''Stanley and the Women''

1992 ''A Year in Provence''

1995–2001 ''Kavanagh QC''

1999 ''Plastic Man''

2000 ''Monsignor Renard''

2001 ''The Glass''

TV movies

1961 ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance''

1963 ''The Lads''

1964 ''I Can Walk Where I Like, Can't I?''

1964 ''The Other Man''

1966 ''The Making of Jericho''

1974 ''Regan''

1978 ''Dinner at the Sporting Club''

1980 ''Drake's Venture''

1984 ''The Life and Death of King John''

1984 ''Killer Waiting''

1985 ''We'll Support You Ever More''

1987 ''The Sign of Four''

1992 ''Bomber Harris''

1993 ''The Mystery of Morse''

1994 ''The Absence of War''

1996 ''Into the Blue"

1998 ''Goodnight Mister Tom''

1999 ''The Waiting Time''

2000 ''Inspector Morse: Rest in Peace''

2001 ''Hidden Treasure'' / ''Buried Treasure''

Film

1962 ''Nil Carborundum''

1962 ''Smashing Day''

1962 ''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner''

1963 ''Five to One''

1965 ''Dead Man's Chest''

1968 ''The Bofors Gun''

1970 ''Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition''

1970 ''The Last Grenade''

1972 ''Dr. Phibes Rises Again''

1976 ''The Sensible Action of Lieutenant Holst''

1977 ''Sweeney!''

1978 ''Sweeney 2''

1978 ''Dinner at the Sporting Club''

1981 ''The Grass is Singing''

1987 ''Asking for Trouble''

1987 ''Business As Usual''

1987 ''Cry Freedom''

1992 ''Chaplin''

1996 ''Masculine Mesculine''

Stage

1960 ''A Shred of Evidence''

1961 ''The Fire Raisers''

1962 ''Women Beware Women''

1962 ''Semi-Detached'' (with Sir Laurence Olivier)

1964 ''The Father''

1969 ''So What About Love?''

1970 ''Random Happenings in the Hebrides'' by John McGrath

1971 ''The Lady from the Sea''

1973 ''Collaborators''

1976 ''Absurd Person Singular''

1978 ''Night and Day''

1982 ''Serjeant Musgrave's Dance''

1983 ''Twelfth Night''

1983 ''The Time of Your Life''

1983 ''Henry VIII''

1984 ''Pygmalion''

1988 ''All My Sons''

1993 ''The Absence of War'' by David Hare

References

Bibliography

Hancock, Sheila (2004). ''The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw''. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-7020-2

John Thaw.The Biography.Stafford Hildred and Tim Ewbank.London:Andre Deutsch.ISBN 0 233 99475 0

External links

Category:1942 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:English television actors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:Actors from Manchester Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Gorton Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:Inspector Morse Category:Cancer deaths in England

bg:Джон Тоу fr:John Thaw nl:John Thaw no:John Thaw ru:Тоу, Джон fi:John Thaw sv:John Thaw

name	John Nicholls
birth date	August 13, 1939
birth place	Maryborough, Victoria
originalteam	Maryborough
heightweight	189cm / 108kg
debutdate	1957
debutteam	Carlton
debutopponent	Hawthorn
debutstadium	Princes Park
playingteams	Carlton (1957–1974) 328 Games, 307 goals
coachingteams	Carlton (1972–1975) 75 matches Glenelg Football Club (1977–1978) Coburg Tigers (1981)
statsend	1981
careerhighlights	* Australian Football Hall of Fame – inaugural legend (1996) AFL Team of the Century – back pocket Carlton Football Club Team of the Century – ruck Carlton Premiership side: 1968, 1970, 1972 Carlton Premiership captain/coach: 1972 Carlton captain: 1963, 1968–1974 Carlton Best and Fairest: 1959, 1963, 1965-66-67 * (Award renamed in his honour in 2004) Carlton Best First Year Player: 1957 Victorian State Representative: 31 occasions (record) Represented Australia in "The Galahs" Australian Football World Tour: 1968 }}

John Nicholls (born 13 August 1939) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton Football Club in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Carlton career

The Carlton Football Club recruited Nicholls from the Maryborough Football Club in 1957, after recruiting his elder brother Don the previous year, after Nicholls' father ensured that both brothers would play together at one club. Don who went on to play 77 senior games as a centreman for Carlton from 1956, when he was Carlton's best first-year player, to 1961.

His immense size, characterised by tree trunk-like legs, earned Nicholls the nickname "Big Nick." Nicholls was first made Captain in 1963 for one season, and then again in 1968, holding the position from then until retirement. In 1972, he became captain/coach of the club, and after retirement as a player in 1974, continued coaching through 1975.

Nicholls played in three premierships, all as captain:

1968 against Essendon;

1970 against Collingwood, the game remembered for Carlton's seven-goal comeback; and

1972 as captain/coach, where an ultra-attacking game-plan against a high-scoring Richmond team saw the then-highest scoring game in VFL history, and saw Nicholls kick six goals.

He would also play in three losing Grand Finals:

1962, against Essendon;

1969, against Richmond; and

1973, again as captain/coach, against Richmond; in which he was felled early by Laurie Fowler, causing Nicholls to have double vision, and concussing him.

Nicholls finished his VFL career with a then-record 331 games (three state games played during Carlton games were added to his 328 Carlton games). He played for Victoria 31 times in interstate football, a record which, due to the lack of top-level interstate football since 1999, is very unlikely to be broken. Following his retirement from Carlton, Nicholls coached two seasons with the Glenelg Football Club, from 1977–1978, and one season at the Coburg Football Club (1981). He also scored 307 goals in his career.

Honours

Nicholls won the Robert Reynolds Trophy for Carlton's best and fairest player on five occasions: 1959, only his third season, and then in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1967. In the eleven seasons from 1959 to 1969, Nicholls never placed outside the top three for the award. The trophy was renamed in Nicholls' honour in 2004. He was also named in Carlton's Team of the Century in the first ruck.

With the inception of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Nicholls was named as one of the twelve inaugural "Legends." He was also named in the AFL Team of the Century, as the resting ruckman in the back pocket, with Graham Farmer taking the first ruck position. He is depicted contesting a boundary throw-in against Farmer in Jamie Cooper's painting ''the Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.

References

External links

AFL Statistics: John Nicholls

Blueseum: John Nicholls Profile

Full Points Footy Biography: John Nicholls

Category:Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Carlton Football Club players Category:Carlton Football Club coaches Category:Glenelg Football Club coaches Category:Coburg Football Club coaches Category:John Nicholls Medal winners Category:All-Australians Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria Category:Maryborough Football Club players

name	Dick Francis
birth date	October 31, 1920
birth place	Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales
death date	February 14, 2010
death place	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Caribbean
occupation	Jockey-turned-novelist
nationality	British
ethnicity	Welsh
citizenship	United Kingdom
period	1957–2010
genre	Crime fiction
language	English
debut works	The Sport of Queens
notable awards	Edgar Award 1967, 1969
website	http://www.dickfrancis.com/ DickFrancis.com
spouse	Mary Margaret (née Brenchley; m. 1947-2000)
children	Merrick, Felix }}

Richard Stanley "Dick" Francis CBE (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a British jockey and crime writer, many of whose novels centre around horse racing.

Personal life

Francis was born in Coedcanlas, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Some sources report his birthplace as the inland town of Lawrenny, but at least two of his obituaries stated his birthplace as the coastal town of Tenby. His autobiography says that he was born at his maternal grandparent's farm at Coedcanlas on the estuary of the River Cleddau, roughly a mile north-west of Lawrenny. He was the son of a jockey and stable manager and he grew up in Berkshire, England. He left school at 15 without any qualifications, with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938. During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force, piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane. In October 1945, he met Mary Margaret Brenchley (17 June 1924 - 30 September 2000), whom he married in June 1947 in London; they had two sons, Merrick and Felix (born 1953). In the 1980s, Francis and his wife moved to Florida; in 1992, they moved to the Cayman Islands, where Mary died of a heart attack. In 2006, Francis had a heart bypass operation; in 2007 his right leg was amputated. He died of natural causes on 14 February 2010 at his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman, survived by both sons.

Horse racing career

After leaving the RAF in 1946, Francis became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing. He won over 350 races, becoming champion jockey in the 1953–54 season.

From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1957 he was forced to retire from racing as the result of a serious fall. His most famous moment as a jockey came while riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National when the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race.

Writing career

Francis wrote more than 40 international best-sellers. His first book was his autobiography ''The Sport of Queens'' (1957) which led to him becoming the racing correspondent for London's ''Sunday Express'' newspaper, remaining in the job for 16 years. In 1962 he published his first thriller ''Dead Cert'', set in the world of racing. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection). Although all his books were set against a background of horse racing, his male heroes held a variety of jobs from artist (''In the Frame and To the Hilt'') to private investigator (''Odds Against'', ''Whip Hand'', ''Come to Grief'', ''Under Orders''—all starring injured ex-jockey Sid Halley, one of only two heroes used more than once). All the novels are narrated by the hero, who in the course of the story discovers himself to be more resourceful, brave, tricky, than he had thought, and usually finds a certain salvation for himself as well as bestowing it on others. Details of other people's occupations fascinated Francis, and the reader finds him—or herself immersed in the mechanics of such things as photography, accountancy, the gemstone trade, restaurant service on transcontinental trains—but always in the interests of the plot. Dysfunctional families were a subject which he exploited particularly well (''Reflex'', a baleful grandmother, ''Hot Money'', a multi-millionaire father and serial ex-husband, ''Decider'', the related co-owners of a racecourse).

Francis is the only three-time recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for ''Forfeit'' in 1970, ''Whip Hand'' in 1981, and ''Come To Grief'' in 1996. Britain's Crime Writers Association awarded him its Gold Dagger Award for fiction in 1979 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award in 1989. In 1996 he was given the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, the highest honour bestowed by the MWA. He was created an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1983 and promoted to Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000.

Many of Francis' books are featured in volumes of ''Reader's Digest Condensed Books''.

Francis' manager (and co-author of his later books) was his son Felix Francis, who left his post as teacher of A-Level Physics at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire in order to work for his father and who was the inspiration behind a leading character in the novel ''Twice Shy''. His other son Merrick, formerly a racehorse trainer, later ran his own horse transport business, which inspired the novel ''Driving Force''.

He was elected in 1999 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Bibliography

1962 1964 1965 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Title

! Year

! ISBN of first edition

! Main character

! Notes

''The Sport of Queens''

1957

|

autobiography

''Dead Cert''

|

Alan York, amateur jockey

Dead Cert (1974 film)>Dead Cert'' (1974)

''Nerve (book)

Nerve''

|

Rob Finn, jockey

Basis of the audio drama Breaking Point starring Michael Kitchen

''For Kicks''

|

Daniel Roke, Australian horse breeder temporarily turned UK investigator

''Odds Against''

|

ISBN 0-330-10597-3

Sid Halley, investigator

Edgar Award nominee

''Flying Finish''

|

Henry Grey, groom/heir to earldom, pilot

Edgar Award nominee

''Blood Sport''

|

Gene Hawkins, government security agent

Edgar Award nominee

''Forfeit''

|

ISBN 0-425-20191-0

James Tyrone, reporter

Edgar Award winner

''Enquiry''

|

Kelly Hughes, jockey

''Rat Race''

|

Matt Shore, former airline pilot now flying charter

''Bonecrack''

|

Neil Griffon, formerly antique dealer,then business consultant, acting as temporary trainer whilst his father is hospitalised

''Smokescreen''

|

Edward Lincoln, movie actor who does his own stunts

''Slay Ride''

|

ISBN 0-671-83271-9

David Cleveland, investigator

''Knockdown''

|

Jonah Dereham, bloodstock agent

''High Stakes''

|

Steven Scott, toy inventor

''In the Frame''

|

Charles Todd, painter

''Risk''

|

Roland Britten, accountant

''Trial Run''

|

Randall Drew, gentleman and ex-jockey

''Whip Hand''

|

ISBN 0-449-21274-2

Sid Halley, investigator

Edgar Award winner, Gold Dagger winner

''Reflex''

|

Philip Nore, jockey and photographer

''Twice Shy''

|

Jonathan Derry, teacher, second part narrated by younger brother William Derry, jockey & later racing manager

''Banker''

|

Tim Ekaterin, merchant banker

''The Danger''

|

Andrew Douglas, anti-kidnapping consultant

''Proof''

|

Tony Beach, wine merchant

''Break In''

|

Kit Fielding, jockey

''Bolt''

|

Kit Fielding, jockey

''A Jockey's Life

1986

Biography of Lester Piggott, later reissued as ''Lester''

''Hot Money''

|

Ian Pembroke, former asst trainer, amateur jockey

''The Edge''

|

Tor Kelsey, investigator for the Jockey Club

''Straight''

|

Derek Franklin, jockey & later jewellery firm owner

''Longshot''

|

John Kendall, writer and survival expert

''Comeback''

|

Peter Darwin, diplomat

''Driving Force''

|

Freddie Croft, trucking company owner

''Decider''

|

Lee Morris, architect

''Wild Horses''

|

Thomas Lyon, film director

''Come to Grief''

|

ISBN 0-330-34777-2

Sid Halley, investigator

Edgar Award winner

''To the Hilt''

|

Alexander Kinloch, painter

''10 LB. Penalty''

|

ISBN 0-399-14302-5

Ben Juliard, jockey/politician's son

''Field of 13''

|

ISBN 0-515-12609-8

short stories:

The Times>''The Times'' of London, 1975)

*2. "Dead on Red"

*3. "Song for Mona"

*4. "Bright White Star" (first appeared in ''Cheshire Life'', Christmas 1979)

*5. "Collision Course"

*6. "Nightmare" (first appeared in ''The Times'' of London, 13 April 1974)

*7. "Carrot for a Chestnut" (first appeared in ''Sports Illustrated'', 1970)

*8. "The Gift" (first appeared as "A Day of Wine and Roses" in ''Sports Illustrated'', 1973)

*9. "Spring Fever" (first appeared in ''Women's Own'' magazine, 1980)

*10. "Blind Chance" (first appeared as "Twenty-one Good Men and True" in ''Verdict of Thirteen: A Detection Club Anthology'', 1979)

*11. "Corkscrew"

*12. "The Day of the Losers" (first appeared in ''Horse and Hound'', February 1977)

*13. "Haig's Death"

''Second Wind''

|

Perry Stuart, meteorologist

''Shattered''

|

ISBN 0-399-14660-1

Gerard Logan, glass blower

''Under Orders''

|

ISBN 978-0-330-44833-8

Sid Halley, investigator

'' Dead Heat''

|

ISBN 978-0-399-15476-8

Max Moreton, chef

with Felix Francis

'' Silks''

|

ISBN 978-0-718-15457-8

Geoffrey Mason, barrister

with Felix Francis

'' Even Money''

|

ISBN 978-0-399-15591-8

Ned Talbot, bookmaker

with Felix Francis

'' Crossfire''

|

US ISBN 978-0-399-15681-6UK ISBN 978-0-718-15663-3

Captain Tom Forsyth, military officer

with Felix Francis

See also

John Francome

References

External links

Obituary: Dick Francis ''BBC News'', news.bbc.co.uk

2001 audio interview by Bill Thompson of Eye on Books, discussing the end of his writing, eyeonbooks.com

Official Dick Francis Website, dickfrancis.com

Dick Francis Reading Group, dickfrancisbooks.com

Czech Dick Francis Website, dick-francis.cz

Dick Francis - Daily Telegraph obituary, telegraph.co.uk

Category:1920 births Category:2010 deaths Category:20th-century novelists Category:21st-century novelists Category:Agatha Award winners Category:British World War II pilots Category:Cartier Diamond Dagger winners Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Edgar Award winners Category:English crime fiction writers Category:English expatriates Category:English jockeys Category:English writers Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Category:Members of the Detection Club Category:Old Summerfieldians Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II

cs:Dick Francis cy:Dick Francis da:Dick Francis de:Dick Francis es:Dick Francis fr:Dick Francis (écrivain) it:Dick Francis he:דיק פרנסיס ka:დიკ ფრენსისი hu:Dick Francis nl:Dick Francis ja:ディック・フランシス no:Dick Francis pl:Dick Francis pt:Dick Francis ru:Френсис, Дик sk:Dick Francis fi:Dick Francis sv:Dick Francis uk:Дік Френсіс vi:Dick Francis

playername	Sir Alex Ferguson
fullname	Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson
dateofbirth	December 31, 1941
cityofbirth	Glasgow
countryofbirth	Scotland
position	Forward
currentclub	Manchester United (manager)
years1	1957–1960 |clubs1 Queen's Park |caps1 31 |goals1 15
years2	1960–1964 |clubs2 St. Johnstone |caps2 37 |goals2 19
years3	1964–1967 |clubs3 Dunfermline Athletic |caps3 89 |goals3 66
years4	1967–1969 |clubs4 Rangers |caps4 41 |goals4 25
years5	1969–1973 |clubs5 Falkirk |caps5 95 |goals5 36
years6	1973–1974 |clubs6 Ayr United |caps6 24 |goals6 9
totalcaps	317 |totalgoals 170
nationalyears1	1967 |nationalteam1 Scottish Football League XI |nationalcaps1 2 |nationalgoals1 1
nationalyears2	1967 |nationalteam2 Scotland XI |nationalcaps2 7 |nationalgoals2 9
manageryears1	1974 |managerclubs1 East Stirlingshire
manageryears2	1974–1978 |managerclubs2 St. Mirren
manageryears3	1978–1986 |managerclubs3 Aberdeen
manageryears4	1985–1986 |managerclubs4 Scotland
manageryears5	1986– |managerclubs5 Manchester United }}

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE, popularly known as Sir Alex or Fergie (born 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow), is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986. His tenure has seen the club go through an era of success and dominance both in England and in Europe, giving Ferguson a reputation as one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game.

Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. Briefly manager of the Scotland national team — in a temporary capacity owing to the death of Jock Stein — he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986.

With 24 years as manager of Manchester United, he is the longest serving manager in their history after overtaking Sir Matt Busby's record on 19 December 2010. His tenure is also the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup on more than one occasion.

He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.

Early life

Born to Alexander Beaton Ferguson, a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Hardie, Alex Ferguson was born at his grandmother's home on Shieldhall Road, Govan, on 31 December 1941, but grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road (which has since been demolished) where he lived with his parents as well as his younger brother Martin.

He attended Broomloan Road Primary School and later Govan High School, and supported Rangers.

Playing career

Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with Queen's Park, where he made his debut as a striker aged 16. He described his first match as a "nightmare", but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer. As Queen's Park were an amateur team he also worked in the Clyde shipyards as an apprentice tool-worker, where he became an active trade union shop steward. 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. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer.

Despite scoring 20 goals in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St. Johnstone in 1960. Although he continued to score regularly at St. Johnstone, he was still unable to command a regular place and regularly requested transfers. Ferguson was out of favour at the club and he even considered emigrating to Canada, however St. Johnstone's failure to sign a forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers, in which he scored a hat trick in a surprise victory. Dunfermline signed him the following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer.

The following season (1964–65), Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish League and reached the Scottish Cup Final, but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St. Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic, then failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with Joe McBride of Celtic, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish League with 31 goals.

He then joined Rangers for £65,000, then a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He was blamed for a goal that they conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final, in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic captain, Billy McNeill, and was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side instead of for the first team. According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away. There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers after his marriage to his wife Cathie, who was a Catholic but Ferguson himself makes it clear in his autobiography that Rangers knew of his wife's religion when he joined the club and that he left the club very reluctantly, due to the fall-out from his alleged cup final mistake.

The following October, Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Ferguson, but his wife was not keen on moving to England at that time so he went to Falkirk instead. He was promoted to player-coach there, but when John Prentice became manager he removed Ferguson's coaching responsibilities. Ferguson responded by requesting a transfer and moved to Ayr United, where he finished his playing career in 1974.

Early managerial career

East Stirlingshire

In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of East Stirlingshire, at the comparatively young age of 32. It was a part-time job that paid £40 per week, and the club did not have a single goalkeeper at the time. He immediately gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start." His players admired his tactical decisions, however, and the club's results improved considerably.

The following October, Ferguson was invited to manage St. Mirren. While they were below East Stirlingshire in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt a degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join St. Mirren after taking advice from Jock Stein.

St. Mirren

Ferguson was manager of St. Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the old Second Division watched by crowds of just over 1,000, to First Division champions in 1977, discovering talent like Billy Stark, Tony Fitzpatrick, Lex Richardson, Frank McGarvey, Bobby Reid and Peter Weir while playing superb attacking football. The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20.

St. Mirren have been the only club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According to a Billy Adams ''Sunday Herald'' article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was sacked for various breaches of contract including unauthorised payments to players. He was counter-accused of intimidating behaviour towards his office secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax free. He didn't speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated only through a 17-year-old assistant. The tribunal concluded that Ferguson was "particularly petty" and "immature" . It was claimed during the tribunal by St. Mirren chairman, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability".

On 31 May 2008, ''The Guardian'' published an interview with Todd (by now aged 87), who had sacked Ferguson all those years earlier. He explained that the fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the ''Daily Mirror'' that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen with him. He also told the St. Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his club to discuss compensation.

Managing Aberdeen

Early disappointment

Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeill who had only managed the club for one season before he was offered the chance to manage Celtic. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in 1955 under Dave Halliday. The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost a league match since the previous December, having finished second in the league the previous season. Ferguson had now been a manager for four years, but was still not much older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of some of the older ones such as Joe Harper. The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup Final, but losing both matches and finishing fourth in the league.

Aberdeen also lost the 1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final, this time to Dundee United after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay.

Silverware at last

Aberdeen had started the season poorly but their form improved dramatically in the new year and they won the Scottish league that season with a 5–0 win on the final day. It was the first time in fifteen years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic. Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, later saying "That was the achievement which united us. I finally had the players believing in me".

He was still a strict disciplinarian, though, and his players nicknamed him ''Furious Fergie''. He fined one of his players, John Hewitt, for overtaking him on a public road, and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half. 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, in order to motivate the team. The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982. Ferguson was offered the managers' job at Wolves but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble and "[his] ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled".

European success

Ferguson led Aberdeen to even greater success the following season (1982–83). They had qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as a result of winning the Scottish Cup the previous season, and impressively knocked out Bayern Munich, who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. According to Willie Miller, this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition, which they did, with a 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in the final on 11 May 1983. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish team (and, to date, last) to win a European trophy and Ferguson now felt that "he'd done something worthwhile with his life". Aberdeen had also performed well in the league that season, and retained the Scottish Cup with a 1–0 victory over Rangers, but Ferguson was not happy with his team's play in that match and upset the players by describing theirs as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match—a statement that he later retracted.

After a sub-standard start to the 1983–84 season, Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson was awarded the OBE in the 1984 honours list, and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85 season, but had a disappointing season in 1985–86, finishing fourth in the league, although they did win both domestic cups. Ferguson had been appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald, their chairman, that he intended to leave that summer.

Ferguson had been part of coaching staff for the Scottish national side during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, but manager Jock Stein had collapsed and died on 10 September 1985 – at the end of the game in which Scotland qualified from their group for a play-off against Australia. Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him to fulfil his international duties he appointed Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to progress past the group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down as national team manager on 15 June 1986.

Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur offered Ferguson the chance to take over from Peter Shreeves as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to Luton Town's David Pleat instead. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace Don Howe as Arsenal manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot George Graham took the post instead.

That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a 10-match winning start had made title glory seem inevitable.

It was not the first time that Ferguson had been linked with a move to England. In February 1982, Wolverhampton Wanderers had approached him about succeeding John Barnwell as manager as they were heading for relegation from the First Division. He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial stability, as they were more than £2million in debt at the time and narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1985–86 season, both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur had approached him about becoming their new manager, but he rejected the offers from both North London clubs.

Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986.

Managing Manchester United

Appointment and first years

Ferguson was appointed manager at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up the table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second from bottom) when he took over.

His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at underdogs Oxford United on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted Norwich City, and then his first win (1–0 at home to QPR) on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by the time they recorded what would be their only away win of the league campaign at title challengers and deadly rivals Liverpool on Boxing Day, it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season, with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the final table.

Ferguson endured a personal tragedy three weeks after his appointment, when his mother Elizabeth died of lung cancer aged 64.

Ferguson appointed Archie Knox, his assistant at Aberdeen, as his assistant at Manchester United.

In the 1987–88 season, Ferguson made several major signings, including Steve Bruce, Viv Anderson, Brian McClair and Jim Leighton.

The new players made a great contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. However, Liverpool's points lead had been in double digits for most of the season and while United had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games and there was clearly still some way to go before United could be a match for their north western rivals.

United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes returned to the club two years after leaving for Barcelona, but the 1988–89 season was a disappointment for them, finishing eleventh in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup Sixth Round. They had begun the season slowly, going on a nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to third place and the fringes of the title challenge by mid February. However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid table.

During the season, United played in friendly matches against the Bermudan national team and Somerset County Cricket Club as part of the Bermudan team's tour of England. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant, Archie Knox, took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match remains Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team.

For the 1989–90 season, Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders Neil Webb, Mike Phelan and Paul Ince, as well as defender Gary Pallister and winger Danny Wallace. The season began well with a 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against fierce rivals Manchester City. Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declaring "Three years of excuses and it's still crap...ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone.

However, Ferguson later revealed that the board of directors had assured him that they were not considering dismissing him. Although naturally disappointed with the lack of success in the league, they understood the reasons for the sub-standard results (namely the absence of several key players due to injury) and were pleased with the way that Ferguson had reorganised the club's coaching and scouting system.

Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 thanks to a Mark Robins goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career, even though it has since been stated that his job was never at risk. United went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace 1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's defensive frailties in the first match were unilaterally blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton, forcing Ferguson to drop his former Aberdeen player and bring in Les Sealey.

The first league title

Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990–91, they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. There were some excellent performances that season, including a 6–2 demolition of Arsenal at Highbury, but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted Sunderland, a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by Everton in early March (the game where 17-year-old hot prospect Ryan Giggs made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go.

Even after the FA Cup Final victory in the previous season, some still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other managers since Busby had failed — to win the league title. They were runners-up in the League Cup, losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday. They also reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona 2–1. After the match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job.

During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to Glasgow Rangers to become assistant to Walter Smith, and Ferguson promoted youth team coach Brian Kidd to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There was much anticipation about the breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another impressive young winger in the shape of Lee Sharpe, who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added the Ukrainian Andrei Kanchelskis to the right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older right footed midfielders Mike Phelan and Bryan Robson.

The 1991–92 season did not live up to Ferguson's expectations and, in Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that [his] mistakes had contributed to the misery". United won the League Cup and Super Cup for the first time, but lost out on the league title to rivals Leeds United after leading the table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season.

Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the signing of Mick Harford from Luton Town had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to the team if they were to win the league the following season.

During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton, but lost out to Blackburn Rovers. He also made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst, but manager Trevor Francis rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In the end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old Cambridge United striker Dion Dublin – his only major signing of the summer.

After a slow start to the 1992–93 season (they were 10th of 22 at the beginning of November) it looked as though United would miss out on the league title (now the Premier League) yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker Eric Cantona from Leeds United for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed a strong partnership with Mark Hughes and fired the club to the top of the table, ending United's 26-year wait for a League Championship, and also making them the first ever Premier League Champions. United had finished champions with a 10-point margin over runners-up Aston Villa, whose 1–0 defeat at Oldham on 2 May 1993 had given United the title. Ferguson was voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association.

Two doubles

The 1993–94 season brought more success. Ferguson added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder Roy Keane to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career.

United led the 1993–94 Premier League table virtually from start to finish.

Ferguson was the very first winner of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the accolade for August 1993.

Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson. In the FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against Chelsea, winning Ferguson his second League and Cup Double, following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983.

Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn Rovers £1.2million for David May. There were newspaper reports that Ferguson was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn Rovers instead.

1994–95 was a harder season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a Crystal Palace supporter in a game at Selhurst Park, and it seemed likely he would leave English football. An eight month ban saw Cantona miss the final four months of the season. He also received a 14-day prison sentence for the offence but the sentence was quashed on appeal and replaced by a 120-hour community service order. On the brighter side, United paid a British record fee of £7million for Newcastle's prolific striker Andy Cole, with young winger Keith Gillespie heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the breakthrough of young players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who provided excellent cover for the long periods that United were left without some of their more experienced stars.

However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them the a third successive league title. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1–0 defeat to Everton.

Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Ince moved to Internazionale of Italy for £7.5 million, long serving striker Mark Hughes was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton.

Ferguson made an approach for Tottenham Hotspur winger Darren Anderton, but the player signed a new contract with the North London club. He then made a bid to sign Dutchman Marc Overmars from Ajax Amsterdam (the European Cup winners), but the player suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out for months. Media reports suggested that United were going to make an approach for Juventus and Italy forward Roberto Baggio, who was generally regarded as the best player in the world at this time, but the player remained in his homeland and signed for AC Milan instead.

It was widely known that Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were ready to play in the first team. The youngsters, who would be known as "Fergie's Fledglings", included Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who would all go on to be important members of the team. And so the 1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United were making the headlines with big money signings.

When United lost the first league match of the 1995–96 season 3–1 to Aston Villa, the media swooped upon Ferguson with undisguised glee. They wrote United off because Ferguson's squad contained so many young and inexperienced players. Match of the Day pundit, Alan Hansen proclaimed that "you can't win anything with kids".

However, the young players performed well and United won their next five matches, exacting their revenge over Everton for the FA Cup defeat with a 3–2 win at Goodison Park and achieving a 2–1 away win over defending champions Blackburn Rovers who were now looking rather like relegation battlers than title contenders.

Cantona's return from suspension was a boost, but they found themselves 10 points behind Newcastle United by Christmas 1995. A 2–0 home win over the Tynesiders on 27 December narrowed the gap to seven points and a subsequent win over struggling QPR narrowed it to four points, but a 4–1 defeat for United at Tottenham on New Year's Day 1996 and a 0–0 home draw with Aston Villa saw the Magpies re-establish their wide lead and it looked certain that the league title was Newcastle's.

However a series of good results starting in mid January 1996 saw the gap close, and when United travelled to Newcastle and won 1–0 on 4 March, the gap was down to a single point.

United went top of the league soon after the win at Newcastle, who continued to drop points in crucial games.

Early April saw Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan's famous outburst on live television ("I'd love it if we beat them! Love it!"), and is generally regarded as the moment that Ferguson gained the upper hand against his opponent. United's Premier League title success was confirmed on the final day of the season, when they defeated a Middlesbrough side managed by former United captain Bryan Robson in a game which ended in a 3–0 win despite strong displays by Boro confounding pre-match reports that Robson would give his old team an easy ride.

They played Liverpool in that year's FA Cup final, winning 1–0 with a late goal by Cantona. This made them the first team in English football to repeat the double of the league title and FA Cup, and more impressive was the fact that it had been achieved with a similar set of players to the ones who achieved the first double.

1996–97 saw Ferguson guide Manchester United to their fourth Premier League title in five seasons. In late autumn, they suffered three league defeats in a row and conceded 13 goals in the process. They also lost their 40 year unbeaten home record in Europe to unfancied Turkish side Fenerbahçe. But they still reached the Champions League semi final, where they lost to Borussia Dortmund of Germany. At the end of the season, Cantona surprisingly retired from football.

Other success stories of the 1996–97 season were two Norwegian signings, striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (the club's top scorer that season) and defender Ronny Johnsen, who were bargain buys as they were little known outside the Premier League on their arrival the previous summer but went on to be key factors in United's fourth Premier League title.

The treble

Ferguson made two new signings to bolster United's challenge for the 1997–98 season, 31-year-old England striker Teddy Sheringham and defender Henning Berg. However the season ended trophyless as Arsenal won the Premier League under French manager Arsène Wenger, who started a long-lasting rivalry with Ferguson. For much of the season United had looked to be on the road to success. They led the table for much of the season before a series of disappointing results in the final quarter – combined with Arsenal taking advantage of games in hand – saw the league title head to North London. There was much promise in the European Cup as United recorded an impressive 3–2 win over Juventus in the group stages before being eliminated by AS Monaco in the quarter finals. Their FA Cup challenge began with an excellent 5–3 away win over holders Chelsea before a shock fifth round replay exit at a Barnsley side who ended the season relegated from the Premier League.

The summer of 1998 saw striker Dwight Yorke, Dutch defender Jaap Stam and the Swedish winger Jesper Blomqvist join Manchester United for a combined total of nearly £30million.

In December 1998, Ferguson's assistant Brian Kidd accepted an offer to manage Blackburn Rovers and he recruited Steve McClaren from Derby County as his successor. Ironically, Kidd's side were relegated in the penultimate game on the league season when United held them to a 0–0 draw.

1998–99 saw the club winning an unprecedented treble of the Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League. The season was characterised by highly dramatic matches. In the Champions League semi-final second leg, United conceded two early goals away to Juventus; however, inspired by Roy Keane, who would later miss the final through suspension, United came back to beat Juventus 3–2 and reach their first European Cup final since 1968. In the FA Cup semi-final, United faced close rivals Arsenal and appeared to be heading for defeat when Keane was sent off and Arsenal were awarded a last-minute penalty. Peter Schmeichel saved the penalty, and in extra time Ryan Giggs ran the length of the pitch to score perhaps the most memorable goal of his career to win the match. They then defeated Newcastle United 2–0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley thanks to goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. The European triumph was the most incredible of all. With 90 minutes on the clock they were 1–0 down to Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp in Barcelona following a Mario Basler free kick, but in 3 minutes of injury time allowed by referee Pierluigi Collina, Teddy Sheringham, a substitute, equalised and extra time looked certain. But with just seconds left on the clock, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, also a late substitution, scored the winning goal and history was made.

On 12 June 1999, Ferguson received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the game.

Title hat-trick

Manchester United ended the 1999–2000 season as champions with just three Premier League defeats, and a cushion of 18 points. The massive gap between United and the rest of the Premier League, although they had faced stiff competition from the likes of Arsenal and Leeds United until the final weeks of the season, caused some to wonder if the club's financial dominance was developing into a problem for the English game.

In April 2000, it was announced that Manchester United had agreed to sign Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for a British record fee of £18million. But the move was put on hold when van Nistelrooy failed a medical, and he then returned to his homeland in a bid to regain fitness, only to suffer a serious knee injury which ruled him out for almost a year.

28-year-old French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was signed from Monaco for £7.8million—making him the most expensive goalkeeper to be signed by a British club, and United won the title again, becoming only the fourth side in history to win the English league title three seasons in succession. They also matched Liverpool's record (set in 1991) of 10 successive top two finishes.

However, the press largely saw the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 campaigns as failures as United had failed to win the European Cup, falling at the quarter final stages to Real Madrid in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001.

During the 2001 close season Ruud van Nistelrooy joined, and soon after Manchester United again broke the British transfer record—this time paying Lazio £28.1million for Argentine attacking midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón, although he failed to live up to the high expectations his transfer fee suggested and he was sold to Chelsea for £15million only two years later.

Rebuilding and transition

Two games into the 2001–02 season, Dutch central defender Jaap Stam was sold to Lazio in a £16million deal. The reason for Stam's departure was believed to have been claims in his autobiography ''Head to Head'' that he had been illegally spoken to about a move to Manchester United by Ferguson, before his previous club PSV Eindhoven had been informed. Ferguson replaced Stam with Internazionale's 36-year-old central defender Laurent Blanc.

Before the season began, Ferguson also lost his assistant Steve McClaren, who took over as manager of Middlesbrough, and gave the role to long-serving coach Jim Ryan until a more permanent successor could be found.

By 8 December 2001, after a terrible run of form which saw one win and six defeats on a period of seven league games, Manchester United were ninth in the Premier League — 11 points behind leaders Liverpool who had a game in hand. There were widespread fears that they might not even qualify for Europe, let alone win the league title.

Then came a dramatic turn around in form: between mid-December and late January, as eight successive wins saw Manchester United climb to the top of the Premier League and put their title challenge back on track. Despite this, United finished third in the League as rival Arsène Wenger clinched the title for Arsenal at Old Trafford with a 1–0 win in the penultimate game of the season after United dropped points in a couple of other crucial games during the run-in.

United were also unsuccessful in Europe, losing the Champions League semi-final on away goals to Bayer Leverkusen. Early exits from the League Cup and FA Cup meant that the season ended trophyless. As they were third in the league and had not reached a cup final, it was the first time since 1989 that they had finished a season without being winners or runners-up of a major competition.

The 2001–02 season was to have been Ferguson's last as Manchester United manager, and the looming date of his retirement was cited as a reason for the team's loss of form. Ferguson himself admitted that the decision to pre-announce his retirement had resulted in a negative effect on the players and on his ability to impose discipline. But in February 2002 he agreed to stay in charge for at least another three years.

The close season saw Manchester United break the British transfer record yet again when they paid Leeds United £30million for 24-year-old central defender Rio Ferdinand.

That summer, Ferguson brought in Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz as his assistant.

Manchester United won their eighth Premier League title yet just over two months before the end of the season they were eight points behind leaders Arsenal. But an improvement in form for United, and a decline for Arsenal, saw the Premier League trophy gradually slip out of the Londoners' grasp and push it back in the direction of Old Trafford. Ferguson described the 2002–03 title triumph as his most satisfying ever, due to the nature of a remarkable comeback. The excellent run-in had produced 10 wins and a draw (including 4–0 home win over Liverpool and a 6–2 away demolition of Newcastle United) from the final 11 games, and no defeats since Boxing Day.

Not for the first time, Ferguson had proven to be a master of managerial mind-games, successfully rattling the composure of Arsenal and their otherwise unflappable manager Arsène Wenger.

Ferguson guided Manchester United to their eleventh FA Cup at the end of the 2003–04 season, but it was a disappointing season which had seen them finish third in the Premier League (which was won by an undefeated Arsenal side) and suffer Champions League elimination at the hands of eventual winners FC Porto. Rio Ferdinand missed the final four months of the season, as he served the beginning of an eight-month ban for missing a drugs test. New signings like Eric Djemba-Djemba and José Kléberson were disappointing, United tried to sign Ronaldinho and Fergie believed the deal was as good as done before Peter Kenyon caused it to fall apart, but there was at least one productive signing in teenage Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Striker Louis Saha, added in January, also proved to be reasonably successful covering for the injured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in attack.

At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, teenage striker Wayne Rooney (the world's most expensive teenager at more than £20million) and Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze joined United while Cristiano Ronaldo continued where he had left off the previous season by putting in more match-winning performances. But the lack of a striker after van Nistelrooy spent most of the season injured saw the club finish third for the third time in four seasons. In the FA Cup they lost on penalties to Arsenal. A second round exit from the European Cup at the hands of AC Milan and a semi-final exit from the League Cup at the hands of eventual winners Chelsea (who also clinched the Premier League title) meant that 2004–05 was a rare instance of a trophyless season for United.

Ferguson's preparations for the season were disrupted by a high-profile dispute with major shareholder John Magnier, over the ownership of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar. When Magnier and business partner J. P. McManus agreed to sell their shares to American business tycoon Malcolm Glazer, it cleared the way for Glazer to acquire full control of the club. This sparked violent protests from United fans, and disrupted Ferguson's plans to strengthen the team in the transfer market. In spite of this, United looked to solve their goalkeeping and midfield problems. For this, they signed the Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar from Fulham and Korean star Park Ji-Sung from PSV.

The season was one of transition. On 18 November, Roy Keane officially left the club, his contract ended by mutual consent. United failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions' League. In the January transfer window Serbian defender Nemanja Vidić and French full-back Patrice Evra were signed, and the side finished in second place in the league, behind runaway leaders Chelsea. Winning the League Cup was a consolation prize for lack of success elsewhere. Ruud van Nistelrooy's future at Old Trafford seemed to be in doubt after not starting in the Carling Cup final, and he departed at the end of the season.

Second European trophy

In 2006, Michael Carrick was signed as a replacement for Roy Keane for £14 million, although the figure may eventually rise in the future to £18.6 million depending on appearances and results. United started the season well, and for the first time ever won their first four Premier League games. They set the early pace in the Premier League and never relinquished top spot from the tenth match of the 38–game season. The January 2006 signings had a huge impact on United's performances; Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidić came in to form a solid back line along with already existing players Rio Ferdinand and skipper Gary Neville. The signing of Michael Carrick, which was questioned and criticised by a large portion of the media, brought stability and further creativity in the United midfield, forming an effective partnership with Paul Scholes. Park Ji-Sung and Ryan Giggs both underlined their value to the first team squad by adding significant pace and incisiveness in attack with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ferguson celebrated the 20th anniversary of his appointment as manager of Manchester United on 6 November 2006. Tributes also came from Ferguson's players, both past and present, as well as his old foe, Arsène Wenger, his old captain, Roy Keane, and current players. The party was spoiled the following day when United endured a single-goal defeat at the hands of Southend in the fourth round of the Carling Cup. However, on 1 December it was announced that Manchester United had signed 35 year old Henrik Larsson on loan, a player that Ferguson had admired for many years, and attempted to capture previously. On 23 December 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the club's 2000th goal under the helm of Ferguson in a match against Aston Villa.

Manchester United subsequently won their ninth Premier League title but were denied a unique fourth double by Chelsea's Didier Drogba scoring a late goal in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

In the Champions League, the club reached the semi-finals, recording a 7–1 home win over Roma in the quarter-final second leg, but lost at the San Siro to Milan 3–0 in the second leg of the semi-final after being 3–2 up from the first leg. Still, it was a strong sign that United were on their way back to dominance after a couple of years of being overshadowed by Arsenal and more particularly Chelsea.

For the 2007–08 season, Ferguson made notable signings to reinforce United's first team. Long-term target Owen Hargreaves joined from Bayern Munich, bringing an end to a year of negotiations. Ferguson further bolstered the midfield with the additions of young Portuguese winger Nani and Brazilian playmaker Anderson. The last summer signing was of West Ham United and Argentina striker Carlos Tévez after a complex and protracted transfer saga.

United had their worst start to a season under Ferguson, drawing their first two league games before suffering a 1–0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City. However, United recovered and began a tight race with Arsenal for the title. After a good run of form, Ferguson claimed that throughout his time at Manchester United, this was the best squad he had managed to assemble thus far.

On 16 February 2008, United beat Arsenal 4–0 in an FA Cup Fifth Round match at Old Trafford, but were knocked out by eventual winners Portsmouth (a mid table side in the league) in the quarter final on 8 March, losing 1–0 at home. United having had a penalty claim turned down, Ferguson alleged after the game that Keith Hackett, general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, was "not doing his job properly". Ferguson was subsequently charged by the FA with improper conduct, which he decided to contest. 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.

On 11 May 2008, Ferguson led Manchester United to a tenth Premier League title, exactly 25 years to the day after he led Aberdeen to European glory against Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Nearest rivals Chelsea – level on points going into the final round of matches, but with an inferior goal difference – could only draw 1–1 at home to Bolton, finishing two points adrift of the champions. United's title win was sealed with a 2–0 win over Wigan Athletic, managed by former United captain Steve Bruce, who before the game blew the whistle on suggestions that he would give his old club an easy ride – just as Bryan Robson had done 12 years earlier.

On 21 May 2008, Ferguson won his second European Cup with Manchester United as they beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the first ever all-English UEFA Champions League Final. A penalty miss from Cristiano Ronaldo meant that John Terry's spot-kick would have given the trophy to Chelsea if successfully converted, but Terry blew his chance of glory and in the end it was Edwin van der Sar's blocking of a Nicolas Anelka penalty which gave the trophy to Manchester United for the second time under Ferguson and for the third time overall.

After winning the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League Ferguson had stated that his intention to leave Manchester United within the next three years, meaning that he would be gone by the summer of 2011. Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill moved quickly to calm the speculation about Ferguson's pending retirement.

Another two league titles and League Cups

Although the team had a slow start to the 2008–09 season, United won the Premier League with a game to spare, making Ferguson the first manager in the history of English football to win the Premier League three times consecutively, on two separate occasions. Ferguson had now won 11 league titles at Manchester United, and the 2008–09 season title success put them level with Liverpool as league champions on a record 18 occasions in total. They also won the Football League Cup on penalties after a goalless Wembley draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

They contested the 2009 Champions League final against FC Barcelona on 27 May 2009 but lost 2–0.

After the presentation ceremony, Ferguson conceded that he would stay on at United for as long as his health permitted him and that he would be glad to win the league title once more. This would make United's total league wins one more than rivals Liverpool, becoming the outright leader in total wins.

In 2009–10, Ferguson added another Football League Cup to his honours list as United defeated Aston Villa 2–1 in the Wembley final on 28 February 2010. However, his dreams of a third European Cup were ended a few weeks later when United were edged out of the competition in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich on away goals. And their hopes of a record 19th league title were ended on the last day of the season when Chelsea beat them to the Premier League title, crushing Wigan Athletic 8–0 and rendering United's 4–0 win over Stoke City meaningless. Around this time, several newspapers carried reports that Ferguson was due to retire at the end of the 2010–11 season, but he denied these rumours and insisted that he wants to go out on a high and will not retire during a time of struggle.

On 8 August 2010, Ferguson added another FA Community Shield to his honours list as United defeated Chelsea 3–1 in the final in Wembley. On 19 December 2010, Ferguson became Manchester United's longest serving manager in history, overtaking Sir Matt Busby's record of 24 years, 1 month and 13 days in charge of the club. He ended the season by winning his 12th and Manchester United's 19th league title and thus overtaking Liverpool's record of 18. Manchester United faced Barcelona again on 28 May 2011 in the 2011 Champions League Final, their third in four years, but United lost 3–1. Analyst Alan Hansen stated that he believed Ferguson was "the key component" in United's success that season, so key in fact that "[he] would have claimed the crown with any of the other top sides had he been in charge of them". With Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes all retiring in 2011, Ferguson spent big by signing defender Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers and winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa for around £17 million each, and goalkeeper David de Gea from Atlético Madrid for around £19 million.

1999 testimonial

On 11 October 1999, a special testimonial match was played in honour of Ferguson's contribution to the team. Manchester United played against a team dubbed "Rest of the World XI", managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld, with his team consisting of names such as Henrik Larsson, Gianluca Vialli, Cafu, Paul Gascoigne, George Weah, Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona, but with 20 minutes to go there was a mass substitution of their players, who were replaced by a former Manchester United XI; Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker, Clayton Blackmore, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Darren Ferguson, Mark Hughes, Lee Sharpe, and three number sevens: Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Eric Cantona. The World XI won the game 4–2.

Controversies

Ferguson has been involved in numerous controversial incidents during his United career.

Gordon Strachan

In his 1999 autobiography Ferguson stated of Strachan "I decided this man could not be trusted an inch – I would not want to expose my back to him in a hurry". Strachan's reaction to the attack, in is own autobiography, ''My Life in Football'', was one of being "surprised and disappointed", but did not sue for libel, and more recently they have "declared something of a truce".

David Beckham and draw fixing

In 2003, Ferguson was involved in a dressing room argument with United player David Beckham, resulting in an injury to Beckham, alleged to have been caused by Ferguson kicking a football boot in frustration which hit the player in the face. On 5 April 2003, Ferguson claimed that the Champions League draw was fixed in favour of Spanish and Italian teams, resulting in a fine on 1 May of 10,000 Swiss francs (£4,600).

Rock of Gibraltar

In 2003, Ferguson launched legal action against the then major United shareholder John Magnier over stud rights for race horse Rock of Gibraltar. Magnier counter-sued Ferguson filing a "motion to comply" requiring Ferguson to substantiate his claim for half of Rock of Gibraltar's stud fees. The legal issues were further compounded by the request for "99 Questions" to be answered over Ferguson's transfer dealings, including those of Jaap Stam, Juan Verón, Tim Howard, David Bellion, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kléberson. The case was eventually settled out of Court.

The BBC

Ferguson refused to give interviews to the BBC after a documentary called ''Father and Son'' was shown on UK television in 2004. According to an article in ''The Independent'' newspaper, the documentary had "portrayed his agent son, Jason, as somebody who exploited his father's influence and position to his own ends in the transfer market." The same newspaper article made it clear that "Ferguson Jnr" was never found guilty of any wrong-doing, and it quoted Ferguson Senior as follows: "They [the BBC] did a story about my son that was whole lot of nonsense. It all made-up stuff and 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on. It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that.". Subsequent interviews on BBC programmes such as ''Match of the Day'' were done by his assistant Carlos Queiroz, and later Mike Phelan.

Under new Premiership rules intended for the 2010–11 season, Ferguson was required to end his BBC boycott. However he refused to end his boycott and Manchester United confirmed the club would pay the resulting fines. On 25 August 2011, Ferguson met with BBC director general Mark Thompson and BBC North director Peter Salmon; the result of which was that Ferguson agreed to end his seven year boycott.

Mind games and relationships with other managers

Ferguson is well known for using what the press have called "mind games" with fellow Premiership managers. This approach normally involves making a derogatory comment at a pre-match press conference about the opposition Manager or their team. This has led to several spats in the past with managers such as Kevin Keegan, Arsène Wenger, Rafael Benítez and Mark Hughes.

Recalling of loan players

Following the sacking of his son, Darren by Preston North End, Ferguson immediately recalled loaned players Ritchie De Laet, Joshua King and Matthew James from Preston under its new managerial system. He later explained that it was the players' own request not to return to Preston after the change of manager. Stoke City Boss, Tony Pulis followed soon after in recalling 2 former Manchester United players from Preston as well, stating the need for the players to supplement his team's intensive schedule.

Referees

Ferguson has received numerous punishments for abusing and publicly criticising match officials when he has perceived them to be at fault:

20 October 2003 – Two match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards fourth official Jeff Winter.

14 December 2007 – Two match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after using abusive and/or insulting words towards Mark Clattenburg.

18 November 2008 – Two match touchline ban and fined £10,000 after confronting Mike Dean after a game.

12 November 2009 – Four match touchline ban (two suspended) and fined £20,000 for comments made about the fitness of Alan Wiley.

16 March 2011 – Five match touchline ban (three plus the two suspended for the above offence) and fined £30,000 for comments made questioning the performance and fairness of Martin Atkinson.

It has also been suggested that Ferguson's intimidation of referees results in ''Fergie Time'', that is, unusually generous injury time being added in matches where Manchester United are behind. The phrase is at least as old as 2004, and a statistical analysis by ''The Times'' suggests that this comment might be valid, though the article points out other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between extra added time and United being behind.

Legacy

One recurring theme of Ferguson's management of Manchester United has been his view that no player is bigger than the club. He has consistently taken a "my way or the highway" approach in his dealings with players and the pressure of this management tactic has often been the cause of many notable players' departures. Over the years players such as Gordon Strachan, Paul McGrath, Paul Ince, Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gabriel Heinze have left the club after varying degrees of conflict with Ferguson. It is also suggested that one of the most inspirational players in the club's history, Roy Keane, was a victim of Ferguson's wrath following damning criticism of his teammates on the club's in-house television channel, MUTV. This disciplinary line that he takes with such highly paid, high-profile players has been cited as a reason for the ongoing success of Manchester United.

Personal life

Ferguson lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire, with his wife, Cathy Ferguson, Lady Ferguson (née Holding). They married in 1966 and have three sons: Mark (born 1968) and twins (born 1972) Darren, current manager of Peterborough United and former manager of Preston North End, and Jason, who runs an events management company.

In 1998, Ferguson was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party. He is also a lifelong Labour voter.

Honours

Player

; St. Johnstone

Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1962–63

; Falkirk

Scottish Football League Division 2 (2nd tier) (1): 1969–70

Managerial

Ferguson was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a manager. In 2003, Ferguson became an inaugural recipient of the FA Coaching Diploma, awarded to all coaches who had at least 10 years' experience of being a manager or head coach.

He is the Vice-President of the National Football Museum, based in Preston, and a member of the Executive Committee of the League Managers Association.

In addition to being the only manager to win the top league honours, and the 'Double', North and South of the England–Scotland border (winning the Premier League with Manchester United, and the Scottish Premier Division with Aberdeen), he is also the last manager to win the Scottish championship with a non Old Firm team, achieving this in the 1984–85 season with Aberdeen. He is also the only mananger in English football to have managed to finish in the top three league places in 20 consecutive seasons, since the 1991–92 season.

He has won 48 trophies as a manager, making him the most successful British football manager in history.

; St. Mirren

Scottish First Division (1): 1976–77

; Aberdeen

Scottish Premier Division (3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85

Scottish Cup (4): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86

Scottish League Cup (1): 1985–86

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1982–83

UEFA Super Cup (1): 1983

; Manchester United

Premier League (12): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11

FA Cup (5): 1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04

League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10

FA Charity/Community Shield (10): 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011

UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1990–91

UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991

Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999

FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

Football Writers' Association Tribute Award: 1996

Mussabini Medal: 1999

UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year: 1998–99

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 1999

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award: 1999

IFFHS Club Coach of the Year: 1999

LMA Manager of the Decade: 1990s

LMA Special Merit Award: 2011

Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year: 2000

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2001

English Football Hall of Fame: 2002

Onze d'Or Coach of the Year (2): 1999, 2007

Professional Footballers' Association Merit Award: 2007

UEFA Team of the Year (2): 2007, 2008

Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992/3 – 2001/2)

* Manager of the Decade

* Most Coaching Appearances (392 games)

Premier League Manager of the Year (10): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11

Premier League Manager of the Month (25): August 1993, October 1994, February 1996, March 1996, February 1997, October 1997, January 1999, April 1999, August 1999, March 2000, April 2000, February 2001, April 2003, December 2003, February 2005, March 2006, August 2006, October 2006, February 2007, January 2008, March 2008, January 2009, April 2009, September 2009, January 2011

LMA Manager of the Year (3): 1998–99, 2007–08, 2010–11

World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year (4): 1993, 1999, 2007, 2008

Orders and special awards

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE): 1983

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): 1995

Knight Bachelor: 1999

Statistics

As a player

|- |1957–58||rowspan="4"|Queen's Park||rowspan="3"|Second Division | || || || || || || || || || |- |1958–59|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1959–60|| || || || || || || || || || |- !1957–60 !! Total !31 !! 15 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! |- |1960–61||rowspan="5"|St. Johnstone||rowspan=2|First Division | || || || || || || || || || |- |1961–62|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1962–63||Second Division|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1963–64||First Division|| || || || || || || || || || |- !1960–64 !! Total !37 !! 19 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! |- |1964–65||rowspan="4"|Dunfermline Athletic||rowspan="3"|First Division | || || || || || || || || || |- |1965–66|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1966–67|| || || || || || || || || || |- !1964–67 !! Total !89 !! 66 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! |- |1967–68||rowspan="3"|Rangers||rowspan=2|First Division | || || || || || || || || || |- |1968–69|| || || || || || || || || || |- !1967–69 !! Total !41 !! 25 !! 6 !! 10 !! 4 !! 9 !! 6 !! 0 !! 57 !! 44 |- |1969–70||rowspan="5"|Falkirk||rowspan="4"|First Division | || || || || || || || || || |- |1970–71|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1971–72|| || || || || || || || || || |- |1972–73|| || || || || || || || || || |- !1969–73 !! Total !95 !! 36 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! |- |1973–74||rowspan=2|Ayr United||First Division |24||9|| || || || || || || || |- !1973–74 !! Total !24 !! 9 !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! 317||170|| || || || || || || || 317||170|| || || || || || || ||

As a manager

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
G	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win %
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Total

Notes

References

External links

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United Managerial Record at mufcinfo.com

A look back at 20 years in charge at Man United, includes video interview with Bryan Robson and Ian Rush

Alex Ferguson celebrates 1,000th game with Manchester Utd

English Football Hall of Fame

Sir Alex Ferguson: A career profile with pictures

Sir Alex Ferguson's managerial stats according to the official Manchester United statistics website

Vujadin Boškov |after= Otto Rehhagel|years=1990–91}} Jupp Heynckes |after= Vicente del Bosque|years=1998–99}} Carlo Ancelotti |after= Josep Guardiola|years=2007–08}} }}

Category:Scottish football managers Category:Aberdeen F.C. managers Category:East Stirlingshire F.C. managers Category:Manchester United F.C. managers Category:Expatriate football managers in England Category:Scotland national football team managers Category:St. Mirren F.C. managers Category:Premier League managers Category:The Football League managers Category:1986 FIFA World Cup managers Category:Scottish footballers Category:Ayr United F.C. players Category:Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Category:Falkirk F.C. players Category:Queen's Park F.C. players Category:Rangers F.C. players Category:St. Johnstone F.C. players Category:British racehorse owners and breeders Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Football players and officials awarded knighthoods Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:People educated at Govan High School Category:People from Govan Category:Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees

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