Busby is the English name for the Hungarian prémes csákó or kucsma, a military head-dress made of fur, worn by Hungarian hussars. In its original Hungarian form the busby was a cylindrical fur cap, having a bag of coloured cloth hanging from the top. The end of this bag was attached to the right shoulder as a defense against sabre cuts. In Great Britain busbies are of two kinds: (a) the hussar busby, cylindrical in shape, with a bag; this is worn by hussars and the Royal Horse Artillery; (b) the rifle busby, a folding cap of astrakhan (curly lambswool) formerly worn by rifle regiments, in shape somewhat resembling a Glengarry but taller. Both have straight plumes in the front of the headdress. The popularity of this military headdress in its hussar form reached a height in the years immediately before World War I (1914–18). It was widely worn in the British (hussars, yeomanry, and horse artillery), German (hussars), Russian (hussars), Dutch (cavalry and artillery), Belgian (Guides and field artillery), Bulgarian (Life Guards), Romanian (cavalry), Austro-Hungarian (Hungarian generals) Serbian (Royal Guards), Spanish (hussars) and Italian (light cavalry) armies.

Possibly the name's original sense of a 'busby wig' came from association with Dr Richard Busby, headmaster of Westminster School in the late seventeenth century; it is also derived from buzz, in the phrase ~ buzz wig.

The busby should not be mistaken for the much taller bearskin cap, worn most notably by the five regiments of Foot Guards of the Household Division (Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards). Around 1900 the word "busby" was used colloquially to denote the tall bear and racoonskin "caps" worn by foot-guards and fusiliers and the feather bonnets of highland infantry. This usage is now obsolete.

See also

Canadian military fur wedge cap

References

Category:Hats Category:Military uniforms Category:History of clothing (Western fashion)

ca:Colbac de:Kalpak nl:Kolbak pt:Colbaque

Christopher Busby (born 1 September 1945) is a British scientist known for his controversial theories about the negative health effects of very low-dose ionising radiation. Busby is the director of Green Audit, an environmental consultancy agency, and scientific advisor to the Low Level Radiation Campaign (LLRC) which he set up in 1995. Busby is a visiting professor at the University of Ulster. Busby was the National Speaker on Science and Technology for the Green Party of England and Wales.

Career

Busby obtained a BSc in Chemistry with First Class Honours from the University of London, and then did research for the Wellcome Foundation (applying spectroscopic and analytical methods to chemical pharmacology and molecular drug interactions). He became and elected member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He later gained a PhD in Chemical Physics at the University of Kent, researching Raman spectro-electrochemistry.

In 1999 Busby stood as an Election Candidate for the European Parliamentary elections.

Busby was a member of the British government sponsored Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters (CERRIE), which operated from 2001 to 2004.

In 2001 he was appointed to the UK Ministry of Defence Oversight Committee on Depleted Uranium (DUOB).

In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool, in the Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology.

In 2004 he was named Leader of Science Policy for (EU) Policy Information Network for Child Health and Environment PINCHE based in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

Busby is a visiting professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster researching the toxicity of heavy metals to the human body. In 2008 he was a visiting researcher at the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Julius Kuhn Institute.

According to his CERRIE biography: :As member of the International Society for Environment Epidemiology, he was invited to Iraq and Kosovo to investigate the health effects of depleted uranium in weapons used by allied forces on populations. He has also given presentations on depleted uranium to the Royal Society and to the European Parliament. He was a member of the UK Ministry of Defence Oversight Board on Depleted Uranium."

Busby was the scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risks, an informal committee based in Brussels, which produced a report for CERRIE.

Second Event Theory and Photoelectric Effect Controversy

320px|thumb|right|The Biphasic Curve: The cancer risk vs. radiation level in the low-dose regime (0 to 200 [[Seivert|mSv) for LNT and the promoted by Busby. radiation is ~2.4 mSv/year (diagram adapted by Busby from Burlakova et al. (1998)).]] From 1987 onwards Busby has worked in particular on the health effects of ionizing radiation, developing the 'Second Event Theory' and 'Photoelectric Effect Theory' which distinguishes between hazards from external radiation and internal irradiation from ingested radioisotopes, upon which he claims the widely accepted linear no-threshold (LNT) model substantially underestimates the risk of low level radiation (the LNT model is largely constructed from the 1958 to 2001 'Life Span Study' of the 120,321 Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors () who were exposed to a powerful external burst of neutron and gamma radiation). Busby claims that in the low dose regime, radiation moderately above background causes more cancer than much higher levels of radiation i.e. a biphasic (bimodal) curve; a claim based on the work of Elena Burlakova.

Busby initially proposed the Second Event Theory (SET) in 1995, in his self-published book 'Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human Health', in which isotopes that decay sequentially i.e. emit two or more particles in a short decay chain, have far greater genotoxic effects than predicted by the LNT model. In particular, Busby's SET predicts that the ⁹⁰Sr-⁹⁰Y decay chain might be some ~30 times more carcinogenic than predicted by LNT; because according to Busby primary exposure to a beta particle alters a cells to the G₂ Phase, which he claims are highly radio-sensitive, and a second particle "hit" within a few hours then causes carcinogenesis.

SET was criticized by Cox & Edwards (2000) who pointed out that if Busby's "biologically implausible" theory was correct and all irradiated cells undergo transformation to the G₂ Phase, it would cause an increased risk factor of just 1.3 times and predict, on the contrary, substantial risk reduction at low doses for single emitting radioisotopes. Furthermore, it was established in 1906 (The Law of Bergonié and Tribondeau) that cells in the G₂ Phase are more resistant to radiation than cells in the M Phase (Radiosensitivity and Cell cycle). The Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE) report, on which Busby was one of twelve members, exhaustively examined the biological plausibility of SET and commissioned an independent consultant to conduct a literature review. In 2004 CERRIE rejected the SET by a 10 to 2 majority consensus (Bramhall and Busby dissented). The rejection was made for following reasons:

The lack of biological plausibility for the basic preconditions of the SET

The paucity of supporting evidence in the proponents’ reviews of the SET

The weakness of studies cited in support of the SET

The absence of supporting evidence found by the independent review commissioned by the Committee

CERRIE also considered and rejected by 10 to 2 consensus the the biphasic (bimodal) curve of Burlakova et al. (1999), due to the studies "substantial shortcomings".

Busby responded by publishing a 3 person minority report on his website, which claims internal low-level radiation is 300 times more dangerous than predicted, the currently accepted LNT model is meaningless, and in Sweden and Belarus cancer rates have risen by 40% since Chernobyl.

Later work by Busby focused on the health effects of ingested Depleted Uranium particles. In particular he proposes that ingested Uranium particles cause photoelectric enhancement that increases the genotoxic effect of natural background gamma radiation by 500 to 1000 times (he claims natural gamma rays strike Uranium and generate via the photoelectric effect secondary electrons that damage cells). Recent work by Busby (2008) focusing on the photoelectric enhancement as a mechanism of cells damaged by ingested Uranium particles has been covered by New Scientist magazine, with most of the scientists quoted in response expressing interest but also some skepticism that the effect could be as large as claimed. Additionally, according to Busby, photoelectric enhancement is not limited to radioactive isotopes but involves all heavy atoms (high-Z) e.g. stable platinum particles from catalytic converters are similarly theoretically capable of enhancing the effects of natural gamma radiation if ingested.

However, subsequent computer simulations by Pattison, Hugtenburg & Green (2010) indicate a radiation enhancement factor of only 1 to 10 fold for uranium particles, considerably lower than Busby's preliminary estimate. Indeed, a large body of research has accumulated into the efficacy of gold nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy (GNRT), where the effects of radiotherapeutic intense gamma ray and x-ray sources are modestly enhanced via the photoelectric effect by 0.3 to 1.16 fold, a lower range than estimated for uranium particles.

Conflicts with other Low-Dose Radiation researchers

Busby is the author of two self-published books on cancer incidence in Wales, Wings of Death and Wolves of Water; the latter was lauded in a review published by a group that "aims to provide a safe forum for the critical and open minded discussion of ideas that go beyond conventional paradigms in science, medicine and philosophy [and to] challenge the adequacy of "scientific materialism" as an exclusive basis for knowledge and values." According to the reviewer, described as a former research immunologist, "Busby dissects the workings of the government advisory establishment, the biased science and institutional cover-ups of the causes of cancer and other illnesses".

The books were criticised in the Journal of Radiological Protection as "erroneous in consequence of various mistakes". According to Richard Wakeford, the editor-in-chief of the journal, a fellow CERRIE committee member representing the nuclear industy, and a specialist in the health effects of low-dose radiation (formerly with British Nuclear Fuels) :... much of Chris Busby's work is self-published and difficult to access; he seems mainly to avoid publication in the recognised scientific literature, which presents difficulties for a proper review of the evidence underlying his conclusions.".

Busby has since alleged that Wakeford created a website specifically to attack him, using the pseudonym "Richard D". Busby subsequently gained title to the domain.

Busby served on the UK Government's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE), which operated between 2001 and 2004, and included medical professionals, scientists, delegates from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, and Richard Wakeford representing the nuclear industry. Busby ultimately disagreed with the committee's conclusions and published a "minority report" with another committee member from LLRC On the LLRC website page selling the minority report, it's claimed (without citation) that north Sweden cancer rates have increased by 40% since Chernobyl. A doctoral dissertation from 2007 was reported as saying that the area "has shown a small but statistically significant increase in the incidence of cancer."

Busby has criticized other researchers studying health effects from low-dose radiation, for being "stupid" and "ignorant", and in particular Prof. Wade Allison (emeritus) of Oxford who had quoted a UN report saying that only 28 people have died as of 2005 from radiation releases at Chernobyl and who has said there is an "over-reaction" to low-dose radiation. In particular, he seems to have taken exception to Allison on philosophical grounds: :I have chosen to pitch into him since he epitomises and crystallises for us the arguments of the stupid physicist. In this he has done us a favour, since he is really easy to shoot down. All the arguments are in one place. Stupid physicists? Make no mistake, physicists are stupid. They make themselves stupid by a kind of religious belief in mathematical modelling. The old Bertie Russell logical positivist trap.

Busby went on to say, claiming support from a New York Academy of Sciences publication, that "more than a million people have died between 1986 and 2004 as a direct result of Chernobyl." In actuality, the NYAS report was a translation (not put under peer review by NYAS) of a Russian book that, contrary to the UN report cited by Allison, claims several hundred thousand deaths and projects the number to go higher, with some support from mathematical modeling. He can be equivocal about modelling—in earlier comments on BBC, he'd claimed "significant" plutonium releases from Fukushima detected far north of the reactor complex, supposedly established in part through the use of "a very advanced, sophisticated, computer air-flow model."

Antone Brooks (recently retired as the Technical Research Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Low Dose Radiation Research Program) has also had differences with Busby.

Televised comments on Fukushima I nuclear accidents

In a March 14 broadcast on BBC, Busby was interviewed along with Ian Fells, and characterized the accident as "exactly the same scenario" as Chernobyl. While admitting that the containment structure for Fukushima Dai-ichi was more much advanced than that at Chernobyl, he claimed there could be "nuclear explosion" rather than (as reported) a hydrogen explosion, if fuel elements had melted down and collected at the bottom of the vessel. He also asserted that a brief spike in radiation levels at a reactor north of Fukushima Dai-ichi indicated "up to 100 kilometers away, we are getting concentrations of plutonium, cesium and iodine" (sic - presumably radionuclides thereof) released from Fukushima Dai-ichi, making the releases comparable in his opinion to Chernobyl, in terms of human health impact. In response to Fells' characterization of the worst immediate effects being loss of power to an advanced industrial society, Busby said "this is a radiological catastrophe already", asserting in particular that plutonium releases were the major cause of concern.

On 30 March 2011 Busby first appeared on Russia Today stating that the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster was worse than being reported. During the follow up interview on April 13, 2011, Busby stated that Fukushima radiation pollution could cause up to 400,000 added cancer cases among those living within 200 km of the reactor, with " reports of significant radiation ... even south of Tokyo".

On April 25 Busby stated on Russia Today that he believed one of the explosions at the Fukushima I nuclear reactors was a "nuclear" one, rather than a hydrogen explosion as reported. In the same Russia Today broadcast, he referred to calculations made with his colleagues estimating that Chernobyl had killed 1,400,000 people, and that Fukushima's death toll would be in the same range, if not worse.

Membership/Peak Bodies/Committees

Royal Society of Chemistry Royal Society of Medicine International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Ukraine Committee: Physicians of Chernobyl

(Department of Health and DEFRA) CERRIE Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters 2001-2004 www.cerrie.org

Ministry of Defence DUOB Depleted Uranium Oversight Board 2002-2007 www.duob.org Scientific Secretary: European Committee on Radiation Risk www.euradcom.org Science Policy group Leader: Policy Information Network on Child Health and Environment PINCHE www.pinche.org

Publications

Busby, Chris; Hamdan, Malak; Ariabi, Entesar. (2010) Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005–2009. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 7, no. 7: 2828-2837.

Busby C.C. (2009) Very Low Dose Fetal Exposure to Chernobyl Contamination Resulted in Increases in Infant Leukemia in Europe and Raises Questions about Current Radiation Risk Models. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.; 6(12):3105-3114. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/12/3105

Busby Chris (2009) Depleted Uranium, Why all the fuss? Disarmament Forum 3 25-33 Geneva: United Nations

Busby Chris, Lengfelder Edmund, Pflugbeil Sebastian, Schmitz Feuerhake, Inge (2009) The evidence of radiation effects in embryos and fetuses exposed by Chernobyl fallout and the question of dose response. Medicine, Conflict, Survival 25(1) 18-39

Busby Chris (2008) Is there a sea coast effect on childhood leukaemia in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, 1975-2002 ? Occupational and Environmental Medicine 65, 4, 286-287

Busby Chris and Schnug Ewald (2008) Advanced biochemical and biophysical aspects of uranium contamination. In: (Eds) De Kok, L.J. and Schnug, E. Loads and Fate of Fertilizer Derived Uranium. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, ISBN/EAN 978-90-5782-193-6.

Busby C C and Howard CV (2006) ‘Fundamental errors in official epidemiological studies of environmental pollution in Wales’ Journal of Public Health March 22, 2006

Busby C and Fucic A (2006) Ionizing Radiation and children’s health: PINCHE conclusions Acta Paediatrica S 453 81-86

Van den Hazel P, Zuurbier M, Bistrup M L, Busby C, Fucic A, Koppe JG et al (2006) Policy and science in children’s health and environment: Recommendations from the PINCHE project. Acta Paediatrica S 453 114-119

Koppe JG, Bartonova A, Bolte G, Bistrup ML, Busby C, Butter M et al (2006) Exposure to multiple environmental agents and their effects. Acta Paediatrica S 453 106-114

Van den Hazel P, Zuurbier M, Babisch W, Bartonova A, Bistrup M-L, Bolte G, Busby C et al, (2006) ‘Today’s epidemics in children: possible relations to environmental pollution’ Acta Paediatrica S 453 18-26

Elsaesser A, Busby C, McKerr G and Howard CV (2007) Nanoparticles and radiation. EMBO Conference: Nanoparticles. October 2007 Madrid

C.V.Howard,A.Elsaesser&C.Busby; (2009) Thebiologicalimplicationsofradiation induced photoelectron production, as a function of particle size and composition. International Conference; Royal Society for Chemistry

NanoParticles 2009 www.soci.org/News/~/media/Files/.../Oral_18_32.ashx

Busby CC (2005) Does uranium contamination amplify natural background radiation dose to the DNA? European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1 (2) 120-131

Busby CC (2005) Depleted Uranium Weapons, metal particles and radiation dose. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(1) 82-93

Busby CC and Coghill R (2005) Are there enhanced radioactivity levels near high voltage powerlines? European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(2) Ch 7.

Busby Chris and Bramhall Richard (2005) Is there an excess of childhood cancer in North Wales on the Menai Strait, Gwynedd? Concerns about the accuracy of analyses carried out by the Wales Cancer Intelligence Unit and those using its data. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 1(3) 504-526

Busby Chris and Morgan Saoirse (2005) Routine monitoring of air filters at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston, UK show increases in Uranium from Gulf War 2 operations. European J. Biology and Bioelectromagnetics 1(4) 650-668

Busby C.C (2002). ‘High Risks at low doses.’ Proceedings of 4th International Conference on the Health Effects of Low-level Radiation: Oxford Sept 24 2002. (London: British Nuclear Energy Society).

Busby, C. C. and Cato, M. S. (2000), ‘Increases in leukemia in infants in Wales and Scotland following Chernobyl: evidence for errors in risk estimates’ Energy and Environment 11(2) 127-139

Busby C.,(2000), ‘Response to Commentary on the Second Event Theory by Busby’ International Journal of Radiation Biology 76 (1) 123-125

Busby C.C. and Cato M.S. (2001) ‘Increases in leukemia in infants in Wales and Scotland following Chernobyl: Evidence for errors in statutory risk estimates and dose response assumptions’. International Journal of Radiation Medicine 3 (1) 23

Busby Chris and Cato, Molly Scott (1998), ‘Cancer in the offspring of radiation workers: exposure to internal radioisotopes may be responsible.’ British Medical Journal 316 1672

Busby C, and M. Scott Cato, (1997)`Death Rates from Leukemia are Higher than Expected in Areas around Nuclear Sites in Berkshire and Oxfordshire’, British Medical Journal, 315 (1997): 309.

Busby, C. (1994), `Increase in Cancer in Wales Unexplained', British Medical Journal, 308: 268.

Busby C and Creighton JA (1982)' Factors influencing the enhancement of Raman spectral intensity from a roughened silver surface'. J.Electroanal. Chem. 133 183-193

Busby CC and Creighton JA (1982)' Efficient silver and gold electrodes for surface enhanced Raman spectral studies' J. Electroanal Chem 140 379-390 Busby CC (1984) J.Electroanal Chem 162 251-262

Busby CC (1984) 'Voltage Induced intensity changes in surface Raman bands from silver electrodes and their variation with excitation frequency'. Surface Science 140 294-306

Books

Busby, C. C. (1992), Low level radiation from the nuclear industry: the biological consequences. (Aberystwyth: Green Audit)

Busby C.C (1992) Peledriad isaf o'er diwydiant niwcliar: yr canleniadau biolegol. (Aberystwyth: Green Audit)

Busby, C. C. (1994), Radiation and Cancer in Wales (Aberystwyth: Green Audit).

Busby, C. C. (1995), Wings of Death: Nuclear Pollution and Human Health (Aberystwyth: Green Audit) ISBN 1-897761-03-1

Busby C.C (2003) ed with Bertell R, Yablokov A, Schmitz Feuerhake I and Scott Cato M. ECRR2003: 2003 recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk- The health effects of ionizing radiation at low dose—Regulator's edition. (Brussels: ECRR-2003) 2004 Translations of the above into French Japanese Russian and Spanish (see www.euradcom.org for details)

Busby CC, with Bramhall R and Scott Cato MS (2000) I don’t know Much about Science: political decision making in scientific and technical areas. Aberystwyth: Green Audit (this book influenced the structure and formation of the CERRIE committee and advocates an oppositional structure to science advisory committees in order to allow for cultural bias in science advice. It has now been carried forward by PINCHE in Europe.).

Busby CC, Bramhall R and Dorfman P (2004) CERRIE Minority Report 2004: Minority Report of the UK Department of Health/ Department of Environment (DEFRA) Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE) Aberystwyth: Sosiumi Press

Busby CC and others (2004) Report of the Committee Examining Radiation Risk from Internal Emitters (CERRIE) Chilton, UK: National Radiological Protection Board

Busby C and Yablokov AV (2006) ECRR 2006. Chernobyl 20 year On. The Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident. Brussels: ECRR/ Aberystwyth: Green Audit

Busby Chris (2006) Wolves of Water. A Study Constructed from Atomic Radiation, Morality, Epidemiology, Science, Bias, Philosophy and Death. Aberystwyth: Green Audit ISBN 1-897761-26-0

Busby Christo (2009) Our Mother who art in Everything. Poems 2004-8 Llandrinddod Wells, Wales: Sosiumi Press

Busby C and Yablokov AV (2009) ECRR 2006. Chernobyl 20 year On. The Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident. 2nd Edition Brussels: ECRR/ Aberystwyth: Green Audit ISBN 1-897761-15-5

Busby C, Yablolov AV, Schmitz Feuerhake I, Bertell R and Scott Cato M (2010) ECRR2010 The 2010 Recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk. The Health Effects of Ionizing Radiation at Low Doses and Low Dose Rates. Brussels: ECRR; Aberystwyth Green Audit

Busby C (2010) The health effects of exposure to uranium and uranium weapons. Documents of the ECRR 2010 No 2. Brussels: ECRR download free from www.euradcom.org

Also: Busby C (2004) Nuclear Cover-Ups Video DVD Aberystwyth: Green Audit Films Busby Christo (2009) Songs from a Cold Climate (CD) Aberystwyth: Green Audit See also www.myspace.com/christobusby

Book Chapters

Busby, C. C. (1996a), ‘ in Bramhall, R. (ed.), The Health Effects of Low Level Radiation: Proceedings of a Symposium held at the House of Commons, 24 April 1996 (Aberystwyth: Green Audit).

Busby, C. C. (1998), ‘Enhanced mutagenicity from internal sequentially decaying beta emitters from second event effects.’ In ‘Die Wirkung niedriger Strahlendosen- im kindes-und Jugendalter, in der Medizin, Umwelt ind technik, am Arbeitsplatz’. Proceedings of International Congress of the German Society for Radiation Protection. Eds: Koehnlein W and Nussbaum R. Muenster, 28 March 1998 (Bremen: Gesellschaft fur Strahlenschutz)

Busby C.C and Scott Cato M (1999) 'A Planetary Impact index' in Molly Scott Cato and Miriam Kennett eds. Green Economics- beyond supply and demand to meeting peoples needs. Aberystwyth: Green Audit

Busby C (2004) Depleted Science: the health consequences and mechanisms of exposure to fallout from Depleted Uranium weapons. In The Trojan Horses of Nuclear War Kuepker M and Kraft D eds. Hamburg: GAAA

Busby Chris (2007) New nuclear risk models, real health effects and court cases. pp 35–46 in- Updating International Nuclear Law Eds—Stockinger H, van Dyke JM et al. Vienna: Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag

Busby C (2008) Depleted Uranium. Why all the fuss? United Nations Disarmament Forum Journal UNIDIR, Nov 2008

References

See also

Radiation hormesis

Arnold Gundersen

External links

Low Level Radiation Campaign

Category:British chemists Category:Living people Category:1945 births Category:Radiation health effects researchers

name	Busby Berkeley
birth name	Busby Berkeley William Enos
birth date	November 29, 1895
birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death date	March 14, 1976
death place	Palm Desert, California, U.S.
occupation	film director, choreographer
years active	1901–1971 }}

Busby Berkeley (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.

Career

Berkeley was born to stage actress Gertrude Berkeley. Among Gertrude's friends were actress Amy Busby and actor William Gillette, then only four years away from playing Sherlock Holmes. Gertrude apparently named her son after both Busby and Gillette after they agreed to be the boy's godparents. The boy was named Busby Berkeley William Enos.

In addition to her stage work, Gertrude played mother roles in silent films while Berkley was still a child. Berkeley made his stage debut at five, acting in the company of his performing family. During World War I, Berkeley served as a field artillery lieutenant. Watching soldiers drill may have inspired his later complex choreography. During the 1920s, Berkeley was a dance director for nearly two dozen Broadway musicals, including such hits as A Connecticut Yankee. As a choreographer, Berkeley was less concerned with the terpsichorean skill of his chorus girls as he was with their ability to form themselves into attractive geometric patterns. His musical numbers were among the largest and best-regimented on Broadway.

His earliest movie jobs were on Samuel Goldwyn's Eddie Cantor musicals, where he began developing such techniques as a “parade of faces” (individualizing each chorus girl with a loving close-up), and moving his dancers all over the stage (and often beyond) in as many kaleidoscopic patterns as possible. Berkeley's top shot technique (the kaleidoscope again, this time shot from overhead) appeared seminally in the Cantor films, and also the 1932 Universal programmer Night World (where he choreographed the number "Who's Your Little Who-Zis?"). His numbers were known for starting out in the realm of the stage, but quickly exceeding this space by moving into a time and place that could only be cinematic, only to return to shots of an applauding audience and the fall of a curtain. As choreographer, Berkeley was allowed a certain degree of independence in his direction of musical numbers, and they were often markedly distinct from (and sometimes in contrast to) the narrative sections of the films. The numbers he choreographed were mostly upbeat and focused on decoration as opposed to substance; one exception to this is the number “Remember My Forgotten Man” from Gold Diggers of 1933, which dealt with the treatment of soldiers in a post-World War I Depression.

Berkeley's popularity with an entertainment-hungry Great Depression audience was secured when he choreographed four musicals back-to-back for Warner Bros.: 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, the aforementioned Gold Diggers of 1933 and Fashions of 1934, as well as In Caliente and Wonder Bar with Dolores del Río. Berkeley's innovative and often sexually-charged dance numbers have been analyzed at length by cinema scholars. In particular, the numbers have been critiqued for their display (and some say exploitation) of the female form as seen through the “male gaze”, and for their depiction of collectivism (as opposed to traditionally American rugged individualism) in the spirit of Roosevelt's New Deal. Berkeley always denied any deep significance to his work, arguing that his main professional goals were to constantly top himself and to never repeat his past accomplishments.

As the outsized musicals in which Berkeley specialized became passé, he turned to straight directing. The result was 1939's They Made Me a Criminal, one of John Garfield's best films. Berkeley had several well-publicized run-ins with MGM stars such as Judy Garland. In 1943, he was removed as director of Girl Crazy because of disagreements with Garland, although the lavish musical number "I Got Rhythm", which he directed, remained in the picture.

His next stop was at 20th Century-Fox for 1943's The Gang's All Here, in which Berkeley choreographed Carmen Miranda's “Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” number. The film made money, but Berkeley and the Fox brass disagreed over budget matters. Berkeley returned to MGM in the late 1940s, where among many other accomplishments he conceived the Technicolor finales for the studio's Esther Williams films. Berkeley's final film as choreographer was MGM's Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962).

Later career

In the late 1960s, the camp craze brought the Berkeley musicals back to the forefront. He toured the college and lecture circuit, and even directed a 1930s-style cold medication commercial, complete with a top shot of a dancing clock. In his 75th year, Busby Berkeley returned to Broadway to direct a successful revival of No No Nanette, starring his old Warner Brothers colleague and “42nd Street” star Ruby Keeler.

Berkeley was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 1988.

Personal life

Berkeley was married six times and was survived by his wife Etta Dunn. He was also involved in an alienation of affections lawsuit in 1938 involving Carole Landis. In September 1935, Berkeley was the driver responsible for an automobile accident in which two people were killed, five seriously injured; Berkeley himself was badly cut and bruised. Berkeley, brought to court on a stretcher, heard testimony that Time magazine said made him wince: :'Witnesses testified that motorist Berkeley sped down Roosevelt Highway in Los Angeles County one night, changed lanes, crashing headlong into one car, sideswiped another. Some witnesses said they smelled liquor on him'. After the first two trials for second degree murder ended with hung juries, he was acquitted in a third trial.

Berkeley died on March 14, 1976 in Palm Springs, California at the age of 80 from natural causes. He is buried in the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Selected works

A Connecticut Yankee (1927) (Broadway)

Whoopee! (1930) (choreographer)

Kiki (1931) (choreographer)

Palmy Days (1931) (choreographer)

Flying High (1931) (choreographer)

The Kid from Spain (1932) (choreographer)

42nd Street (1933) (choreographer)

Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) (choreographer)

Footlight Parade (1933) (choreographer)

Roman Scandals (1933) (choreographer)

Fashions of 1934 (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

Wonder Bar (1934) (designer of musical numbers)

Dames (1934) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) (also director)

In Caliente (1935) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

I Live For Love (1935) (director)

Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

Stage Struck (1936) (director)

The Singing Marine (1937) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

Hollywood Hotel (1937) (director)

Varsity Show (1937) (director of finale)

Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) (director/choreographer of musical numbers)

They Made Me a Criminal (1939) (director)

Fast and Furious (1939) (director)

Broadway Serenade (1939) (director of finale)

Babes in Arms (1939) (director)

Strike Up the Band (film) (1940) (director)

Forty Little Mothers (1940) (director)

Ziegfeld Girl (1941) (director of musical numbers)

Babes on Broadway (1941) (director)

Lady Be Good (1941) (director of musical numbers)

For Me and My Gal (1942) (director)

Cabin in the Sky (1943) (director of "Shine" sequence)

Girl Crazy (1943) (director of "I Got Rhythm" finale)

The Gang's All Here (1943) (director)

Cinderella Jones (1946) (director)

Romance on the High Seas (1948) (choreographer)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) (director)

Two Weeks with Love (1950) (choreographer)

Call Me Mister (1951) (choreographer)

Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) (choreographer)

Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) (choreographer)

Small Town Girl (1953) (choreographer)

Easy to Love (1953) (choreographer)

Rose Marie (1954) (choreographer)

Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) (choreographer)

No, No, Nanette (1971) (production supervisor) (Broadway)

See also

Busby Berkeley using alternate takes to circumvent censorship

References

;Notes

External links

Hooray for Hollywood: Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley at Classic Movie Favorites Tribute site: galleries, bio, filmography and more.

bio & pics on Busby Berkeley

Category:1895 births Category:1976 deaths Category:Burials at Desert Memorial Park Category:American choreographers Category:American film directors Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Film choreographers

ca:Busby Berkeley de:Busby Berkeley es:Busby Berkeley fr:Busby Berkeley it:Busby Berkeley he:באזבי ברקלי ja:バスビー・バークレー pl:Busby Berkeley pt:Busby Berkeley ru:Беркли, Басби sv:Busby Berkeley

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 %
align=left
align=left
align=left
align=left
align=left
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

ar:أليكس فيرغسون az:Aleks Ferqyuson bn:অ্যালেক্স ফার্গুসন bs:Alex Ferguson bg:Алекс Фъргюсън ca:Alexander Chapman Ferguson cs:Alex Ferguson cy:Alex Ferguson da:Alex Ferguson de:Alex Ferguson et:Alex Ferguson el:Άλεξ Φέργκιουσον es:Alex Ferguson eu:Alex Ferguson fa:الکس فرگوسن fr:Alex Ferguson ga:Alex Ferguson gd:Alex MacFhearghais gl:Alex Ferguson gu:એલેક્સ ફર્ગ્યુસન ko:앨릭스 퍼거슨 hi:एलेक्स फर्ग्यूसन hr:Alex Ferguson id:Alex Ferguson is:Alex Ferguson it:Alex Ferguson he:אלכס פרגוסון jv:Sir Alex Ferguson kn:ಅಲೆಕ್ಸ್ ಫರ್ಗುಸನ್ ka:სერ ალექს ფერგიუსონი sw:Alex Ferguson lv:Alekss Fergusons hu:Alex Ferguson ml:അലക്സ് ഫെർഗൂസൺ mt:Alex Ferguson mr:अॅलेक्स फर्ग्युसन ms:Alex Ferguson my:အဲလက်စ်ဖာဂူဆန် nl:Alex Ferguson ja:アレックス・ファーガソン no:Alex Ferguson nn:Alex Ferguson pl:Alex Ferguson pt:Alex Ferguson ro:Alex Ferguson ru:Фергюсон, Алекс sq:Alex Ferguson simple:Alex Ferguson sk:Alex Ferguson sr:Алекс Фергусон fi:Alex Ferguson sv:Alex Ferguson ta:அலெக்ஸ் ஃபெர்குஸன் te:అలెక్స్ ఫెర్గూసన్ th:อเล็กซ์ เฟอร์กูสัน tr:Alex Ferguson uk:Алекс Фергюсон vi:Alex Ferguson wo:Alex Ferguson zh:亚历克斯·弗格森

name	Sir Bobby Charlton
fullname	Sir Robert Charlton CBE
birth date	October 11, 1937
birth place	Ashington, England
height
position	MidfielderForward
youthyears1	|youthclubs1 East Northumberland Schools
youthyears2	1953–1956 |youthclubs2 Manchester United
years1	1956–1973 |clubs1 Manchester United |caps1 758 |goals1 249
years2	1973–1975 |clubs2 Preston North End |caps2 38 |goals2 8
years3	1976 |clubs3 Waterford |caps3 3 |goals3 1
years4	1976 |clubs4 Arcadia Shepherds |caps4 1 |goals4 0
years5	1978 |clubs5 Bangor City |caps5 1 |goals5 1
years6	1978 |clubs6 Newcastle KB United |caps6 1 |goals6 0
years7	1980 |clubs7 Blacktown City |caps7 1 |goals7 1
totalcaps	803 |totalgoals 260
nationalyears1	1953 |nationalteam1 England Schoolboys |nationalcaps1 4 |nationalgoals1 5
nationalyears2	1954 |nationalteam2 England Youth |nationalcaps2 1 |nationalgoals2 1
nationalyears3	1958–1960 |nationalteam3 England U23 |nationalcaps3 6 |nationalgoals3 5
nationalyears4	1958–1970 |nationalteam4 England |nationalcaps4 106 |nationalgoals4 49
manageryears1	1973–1975 |managerclubs1 Preston North End
manageryears2	1983 |managerclubs2 Wigan Athletic (caretaker manager) }}

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE (born 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland) is an English former professional football player who was a member of the England team who won the World Cup and was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1966. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot. His former team-mate at United, Johnny Giles, in his new autobiography, titled 'A Football Man', describes Charlton as "the greatest player I ever played with or against". His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup-winning team, is an ex-defender for Leeds United and coach.

He began to play for Manchester United's first team in 1956, and over the next two seasons gained a regular place in the team, during which time he survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, scoring two goals in the final to help his team be the first English side to win the competition. He has scored more goals for England and United than any other player. Charlton held the record for most appearances for Manchester United (758), but this was surpassed by Ryan Giggs on 21 May 2008 (the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final). Charlton also held the club record for most league appearances (606) until this too was overtaken by Ryan Giggs on 6 March 2011.

In January 2011 Charlton was voted the 4th greatest Manchester United player of all time by the readers of Inside United and ManUtd.com, behind Ryan Giggs (who topped the poll), Eric Cantona and George Best.

At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level. This record has since been eclipsed by Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and then David Beckham.

He left Manchester United to become manager of Preston North End for the 1973–74 season. He changed to player-manager the following season, but early in the 1975–76 season left them after having decided management was not for him. He next accepted a post as a director with Wigan Athletic, then became a member of Manchester United's board of directors in 1984 and remains one as of June 2011. He set goalscoring records for both the England team and Manchester United, with both records remaining intact some 35 years after the end of his playing career. He was knighted in 1994.

Sir Bobby Charlton is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Background

Charlton was related to several professional footballers on his mother's side of the family: his uncles were Jack Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jim Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), and legendary Newcastle United and England footballer Jackie Milburn was his mother's cousin. However, Charlton credits much of the early development of his career to his grandfather Tanner and his mother Cissie. His elder brother, Jack, initially went to work applying to the Police Service before also becoming a professional footballer with Leeds United.

On 9 February 1953, Bedlington Grammar School pupil Charlton was spotted playing for East Northumberland schools by Manchester United chief scout Joe Armstrong. Charlton went on to play for England schoolboys, and despite offers that followed from several other clubs, the 15-year-old signed with United on 1 January 1953, along with Wilf McGuinness, also aged 15. Initially his mother was reluctant to let him commit to an insecure football career, so he began an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer; however he went on to turn professional in October 1954.

Charlton became one of the famed Busby Babes, the collection of precociously talented footballers who emerged through the system at Old Trafford in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as Matt Busby set about a long-term plan of rebuilding the club after the Second World War. He worked his way through the pecking order of teams, scoring regularly for the youth and reserve sides before he was handed his first team debut against Charlton Athletic in October 1956. At the same time, he was doing his National Service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Shrewsbury, where Busby had advised him to apply as it meant he could still play for United at the weekend. Also doing his army service in Shrewsbury at the same time was his United team-mate Duncan Edwards.

Early career

Charlton played 14 times for United in that first season, scoring twice on his debut and managing a total of 12 goals in all competitions, and including a hat-trick in a 5–1 away win over Charlton Athletic in the February.

United won the League championship but were denied the 20th century's first "double" when they controversially lost the 1957 FA Cup final to Aston Villa. Charlton, still only 19, was selected for the game, which saw United goalkeeper Ray Wood carried off with a broken cheekbone after a clash with Villa centre forward Peter McParland. Though Charlton was a candidate to go in goal to replace Wood (in the days before substitutes, and certainly before goalkeeping substitutes), it was teammate Jackie Blanchflower who ended up between the posts.

Charlton was an established player by the time the next season was fully underway, which saw United, as current League champions, become the first English team to compete in the European Cup. Previously, the Football Association had scorned the competition but United made progress, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to holders Real Madrid. Their reputation was further enhanced the next season as they reached the quarter finals to play Red Star Belgrade. In the first leg at home, United won 2–1. The return in Yugoslavia saw Charlton score twice as United stormed 3–0 ahead, although the hosts came back to earn a 3–3 draw. However, United maintained their aggregate lead to reach the last four and were in jubilant mood as they left to catch their flight home, thinking of an important League game against Wolves at the weekend.

The Munich air disaster

The aeroplane which took the United players and staff home from Zemun Airport needed to stop in Munich to refuel. This was carried out in worsening weather, and by the time the refuelling was complete and the call was made for the passengers to re-board the aircraft, the wintry showers had taken hold and snow had settled heavily on the runway and around the airport. There were two aborted take-offs which led to concern on board, and the passengers were advised by a stewardess to disembark again while a minor technical error was fixed.

The team was back in the airport terminal barely ten minutes when the call to reconvene on the plane came, and a number of passengers began to feel nervous. Charlton and teammate Dennis Viollet swapped places with Tommy Taylor and David Pegg, who had decided they would be safer at the back of the plane.

The plane clipped the fence at the end of the runway on its next take-off attempt and a wing tore through a nearby house, setting it alight. The wing and part of the tail came off and hit a tree and a wooden hut, the plane spinning along the snow until coming to a halt. It had been cut in half.

Charlton, strapped into his seat, had fallen out of the cabin and when United goalkeeper Harry Gregg (who had somehow got through a hole in the plane unscathed and begun a one-man rescue mission) found him, he thought he was dead. That said, he grabbed both Charlton and Viollet by their trouser waistbands and dragged them away from the plane in constant fear that it would explode. Gregg returned to the plane to try to help the appallingly injured Busby and Blanchflower, and when he turned around again, he was relieved to see that Charlton and Viollet, both of whom he had presumed to be dead, had got out of their detached seats and were looking into the wreckage.

Charlton suffered cuts to his head and severe shock and was in hospital for a week. Seven of his teammates had perished at the scene, including Taylor and Pegg, with whom he and Viollet had swapped seats prior to the fatal take-off attempt. Club captain Roger Byrne was also killed, along with Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, Eddie Colman and Geoff Bent. Duncan Edwards died a fortnight later from the injuries he had sustained. In total, the crash claimed 23 lives. Initially, ice on the wings was blamed, but a later inquiry declared that slush on the runway had made a safe take-off almost impossible.

Charlton was the first survivor to leave hospital. He arrived back in England on 14 February 1958, eight days after the crash. As he convalesced with family in Ashington, he spent some time kicking a ball around with local youths, and a famous photograph of him was taken. He was still only 20 years old, yet now there was an expectation that he would help with the rebuilding of the club as Busby's aides tried to piece together what remained of the season.

Not unexpectedly, United went out of the European Cup to Milan in the semi-finals to a 5–2 aggregate defeat and fell behind in the League. Yet somehow they reached their second consecutive FA Cup final, and the big day at Wembley coincided with Busby's return to work. However, his words could not inspire a side which was playing on a nation's goodwill and sentiment, and Nat Lofthouse scored twice to give Bolton Wanderers side a 2–0 win.

United and England

At the same time, Charlton's emergence as the country's leading young football talent was completed when he was called up to join the England squad for a British Home Championship game against Scotland at Hampden Park. It would be the start of a long, prolific, record-breaking and globally respected career for his country.

Charlton was handed his debut as England romped home 4–0, with the new player gaining even more admirers after scoring a magnificent thumping volley dispatched with authority after a cross by the left winger Tom Finney. He scored both goals in his second game as England beat Portugal 2–1 in a friendly at Wembley; and overcame obvious nerves on a return to Belgrade to play his third match against Yugoslavia. England lost that game 5–0 and Charlton played poorly. He was selected for the squad which competed at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but didn't kick a ball, something at which critics expressed surprise and bewilderment, even allowing for his lacklustre performance in Belgrade.

Charlton began to settle back into his footballing life with Manchester United and England and enhanced his reputation as a scorer of great goals as well as a great goalscorer – rarely is a player regarded as both. In 1959 he scored a hat-trick as England demolished the USA 8–1; and his second England hat-trick came in 1961 in an 8–0 thrashing of Mexico. He also managed to score in every British Home Championship tournament he played in except 1963 in an association with the tournament which lasted from 1958 to 1970 and included 16 goals and ten tournament victories (five shared). He played in qualifiers for the 1962 World Cup in Chile against Luxembourg and Portugal and was named in the squad for the finals themselves. His goal in the 3–1 group win over Argentina was his 25th for England in just 38 appearances, but his individual success could not be replicated by that of the team, which was eliminated in the quarter final by Brazil, who went on to win the tournament.

Further success with Manchester United came at last when they beat Leicester City 3–1 in the FA Cup final of 1963, with Charlton finally earning a winners' medal in his third final. Busby's post-Munich rebuilding programme continued to progress with two League championships within three seasons, with United taking the title in 1965 and 1967. In between, there was the pressing matter for Charlton of the 1966 World Cup for which England, as hosts, had not needed to qualify. A successful (though trophyless) season with Manchester United had seen him take the honours of Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and European Footballer Of The Year into the competition.

By now, England were coached by Alf Ramsey who had managed to gain sole control of the recruitment and team selection procedure from the committee-based call-up system which had lasted up to the previous World Cup. Ramsey had already cleared out some of the older players who had been reliant on the loyalty of the committee for their continued selection – it was well known that decorum on the pitch at club level had been just as big a factor in playing for England as ability and form. Luckily for Charlton, he had all three.

A hat-trick in the 8–1 rout of Switzerland in June 1963 took Charlton's England goal tally to 30, equalling the record jointly held by Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse and Charlton's 31st goal against Wales in October the same year gave him the record alone. Charlton's role was developing from traditional inside-forward to what today would be termed an attacking midfield player, with Ramsey planning to build the team for the 1966 World Cup around him. His goals became a little less frequent, and indeed Jimmy Greaves, playing purely as a striker, would overtake Charlton's England tally in October 1964. Nevertheless, he was still scoring and creating freely and as the tournament was about to start, he was expected to become one of its stars and galvanise his established reputation as one of the world's best footballers.

World Cup winner

England drew the opening game of the tournament 0–0 with Uruguay, and Charlton scored the first goal in the 2–0 win over Mexico. This was followed by an identical scoreline against France, allowing England to qualify for the quarter finals.

England defeated Argentina 1–0 – the game was the only one in which Charlton received a caution – and faced Portugal in the semi finals. This turned out to be one of Charlton's most important games for England.

Charlton opened the scoring with a crisp side-footed finish after a run by Roger Hunt had forced the Portuguese goalkeeper out of his net; his second was a sweetly struck shot after a run and pull-back from Geoff Hurst. Charlton and Hunt were now England's joint-highest scorers in the tournament with three each, and a final against West Germany beckoned.

The final turned out to be one of Charlton's quieter days; he and a young Franz Beckenbauer effectively marked each other out of the game. England won 4–2 after extra time.

European Cup winner

Charlton's next England game was his 75th as England beat Northern Ireland; 2 caps later and he had become England's second most-capped player, behind the veteran Billy Wright, who was approaching his 100th appearance when Charlton was starting out and ended with 105 caps.

In 1968, Manchester United reached the European Cup final, ten seasons after Munich. Even though other clubs had taken part in the competition in the intervening decade, the team which got to this final was still the first English side to do so. On a highly emotional night at Wembley, Charlton scored twice in a 4–1 win after extra time against Benfica and, as United captain, lifted the trophy. Weeks later he scored his 45th England goal in a friendly against Sweden, breaking the record of 44 set the previous year by Jimmy Greaves. He was then in the England team which made it to the semi-finals of the 1968 European Championships where they were knocked out by Yugoslavia in Florence but he did not play in the semi-final itself having picked up an injury in a friendly against Sweden. England defeated the Soviet Union 2–0 in the third place match.

In 1969, Charlton was awarded the OBE for services to football. More milestones followed as he won his 100th England cap on 21 April 1970 against Northern Ireland, and was made captain by Ramsey for the occasion. Inevitably, he scored. This was his 48th goal for his country – his 49th and final goal would follow a month later in a 4–0 win over Colombia during a warm-up tour for the 1970 World Cup, designed to get the players adapted to altitude conditions. Charlton's inevitable selection by Ramsey for the tournament made him the first – and still, to date, only – England player to feature in four World Cup squads.

World Cup 1970 and retirement

Shortly before the World Cup Charlton was involved in the Bogotá Bracelet incident in which he and Bobby Moore were accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellery store. Moore was later arrested and detained for four days before being granted a conditional release, while Charlton was not arrested.

England began the tournament with two victories in the group stages, plus a memorable defeat against Brazil. Charlton played in all three, though was substituted for Alan Ball in the final game of the group against Czechoslovakia. Ramsey, confident of victory and progress to the quarter final, wanted Charlton to rest.

England duly reached the last eight where they again faced West Germany. Charlton controlled the midfield and suppressed Franz Beckenbauer's runs from deep as England coasted to a 2–0 lead. Beckenbauer pulled a goal back for the Germans and Ramsey replaced the ageing and tired Charlton with Colin Bell who further tested the German keeper Maier and also provided a great cross for Geoff Hurst who uncharacteristically squandered the chance. West Germany, who had a habit of coming back from behind, eventually scored twice – a back header from Uwe Seeler made it 2–2 after which Gerd Müller's goal finished England off. England were out and, after a record 106 caps and 49 goals, Charlton decided to end his international career at the age of 32. On the flight home from Mexico, he asked Ramsey not to consider him again. His brother Jack, two years his senior but 71 caps his junior, did likewise.

Despite popular opinion the substitution did not change the game as Franz Beckenbauer had scored before Charlton left the field, hence Charlton had failed to cancel out the German. Charlton himself conceded that the substitution did not affect the game in a BBC documentary. His caps record lasted until 1973 when Bobby Moore overtook him, and Charlton currently lies fourth in the all-time England appearances list behind Moore, David Beckham and Peter Shilton, whose own England career began in the first game after Charlton's had ended. As of April 2011, Charlton's goalscoring record still stands.

During the early 1970s, Manchester United were no longer competing among the top teams in England, and at several stages were battling against relegation. At times, Charlton was not on speaking terms with United's other superstars George Best and Denis Law, and Best refused to play in Charlton's testimonial match against Celtic, saying that "to do so would be hypocritical". Charlton left Manchester United at the end of the 1972–73 season, having scored 249 goals and set a club record of 758 appearances, a record which Ryan Giggs broke in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. His goalscoring record, however, is still intact by a comfortable margin.

His last game was against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and before the game the BBC cameras for Match Of The Day captured the Chelsea chairman handing Charlton a commemorative cigarette case.

International goals

:Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Wembley Stadium (1923)Windsor Park, BelfastWembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)Wembley Stadium (1923)Hampden Park, GlasgowWindsor Park, BelfastStade Municipal, Luxembourg-VilleWembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Arsenal StadiumWembley Stadium (1923)Estadio El Teniente, RancaguaTehelné Pole, BratislavaZentralstadion, LeipzigSt. Jakob-Park, BaselNinian Park, CardiffEstádio Nacional, LisbonDowning Stadium, New York City Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Hampden Park, GlasgowWembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Ninian Park, CardiffWembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Stadio Olimpico, Rome Wembley Stadium (1923)Wembley Stadium (1923)Estadio El Campín, Bogotá

Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Result !! Competition !! Scored
19 April 1958	Hampden Park, Glasgow	|	4–0	1958 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (1)
7 May 1958	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–1	Friendly match	2 (3)
4 October 1958	|		3–3	1959 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	2 (5)
22 October 1958	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		5–0	Friendly match	1 (6)
11 April 1959	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		1–0	1959 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (7)
6 May 1959	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–2	Friendly match	1 (8)
28 May 1959	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles ||		8–1	Friendly match	3 (11)
28 October 1959	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–3	Friendly match	1 (12)
9 April 1960	|		1–1	1960 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (13)
8 October 1960	|		5–2	1961 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (14)
15 October 1960	|		9–0	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification	3 (17)
23 November 1960	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		5–1	1961 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (18)
10 May 1961	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		8–0	Friendly match	3 (21)
28 September 1961	Highbury, London ||		4–1	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification	2 (23)
22 November 1961	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		1–1	1962 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (24)
2 June 1962	|		3–1	1962 FIFA World Cup	1 (25)
29 May 1963	|		4–2	Friendly match	1 (26)
2 June 1963	|		2–1	Friendly match	1 (27)
5 June 1963	|		8–1	Friendly match	3 (30)
12 October 1963	|		4–0	1964 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (31)
17 May 1964	|		4–3	Friendly match	1 (32)
27 May 1964	|		10–0	Friendly match	1 (33)
11 April 1965	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–2	1965 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (34)
20 October 1965	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–3	Friendly match	1 (35)
2 April 1966	|		4–3	1966 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (36)
4 May 1966	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–0	Friendly match	1 (37)
16 June 1966	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–0	1966 FIFA World Cup	1 (38)
26 July 1966	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–1	1966 FIFA World Cup	2 (40)
16 November 1966	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		5–1	1967 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (41)
21 October 1967	|		2–1	1968 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (42)
22 November 1967	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–0	1968 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (43)
3 April 1968	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		1–0	1968 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying>1968 UEFA European Football Championship qualifier	1 (44)
22 May 1968	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		3–1	Friendly match	1 (45)
8 June 1968	|		2–0	1968 UEFA European Football Championship	1 (46)
7 May 1969	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		2–1	1969 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (47)
21 April 1970	Empire Stadium, Wembley ||		3–1	1970 British Home Championship>British Home Championship	1 (48)
20 May 1970	|		4–0	Friendly match	1 (49)

Later life

Charlton became the manager of Preston North End in 1973, signing his former United and England team-mate Nobby Stiles as player-coach. His first season ended in relegation and although he began playing again he left Preston early in the 1975–76 season after a disagreement with the board over the transfer of John Bird to Newcastle United. He was awarded the CBE that year and began a casual association with the BBC for punditry on matches which continued for many years. In early 1976, he scored once in 3 league appearances for Waterford United.

In 1978 he made 1 appearance for Shrewsbury Town in a friendly against the Zambia national team at Gay Meadow, Shrewsbury.

He then joined Wigan Athletic as a director, and was briefly caretaker manager there. He then spent some time playing in South Africa. He also built up several businesses in areas such as travel, jewellery and hampers, and ran soccer schools in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and China. In 1984, he was invited to become member of the board of directors at Manchester United, partly because of his football knowledge and partly because it was felt that the club needed a "name" on the board after the resignation of Sir Matt Busby. He remains a director of Manchester United as of 2011 and his continued presence was a factor in placating many fans opposed to the club's takeover by Malcolm Glazer. Charlton led the Manchester United side in receiving the European Cup in 2008, 50 years on from the Munich air disaster – Charlton initially refused UEFA President Michel Platini's offer of a winners' medal, having not participated in the match itself.

Charlton helped to promote Manchester's bids for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, England's bid for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. He received a knighthood in 1994 and was an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. On accepting his award he commented "I'm really proud to be included in the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame. It's a great honour. If you look at the names included I have to say I couldn't argue with them. They are all great players and people I would love to have played with." He is also the (honorary) president of the National Football Museum, an organisation about which he said "I can't think of a better Museum anywhere in the world.". On 14 December 2008 Charlton was awarded the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.

On 2 March 2009, Charlton was given the freedom of the city of Manchester, stating "I'm just so proud, it's fantastic. It's a great city. I have always been very proud of it."

Charlton is involved in a number of charitable activities including fund raising for cancer hospitals, and the land mine clearance charity Mines Advisory Group.

Tranmere enthusiasts Half Man Half Biscuit refer to Bobby in their song God Gave Us Life, from the album Back in the DHSS.

Personal life

He met his wife, Norma Ball, at an ice rink in Manchester in 1959and they married in 1961. They have two daughters – Suzanne and Andrea. Suzanne was a weather forecaster for the BBC during the 1990s. They now have grandchildren, including Suzanne's son Robert, who is named in honour of his grandfather.

In 2007, while publicising his forthcoming autobiography, Charlton revealed that he has a long-running feud with his brother, Jack. They have rarely spoken since a falling-out between his wife Norma and his mother Cissie (who died on 25 March 1996 at the age of 83). Charlton did not see his mother after 1992 as a result of the feud.

It would appear that the two brothers are again on speaking terms, as Jack presented him with his BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 December 2008. He said that he was 'knocked out' as he was presented the award by his brother. He received a standing ovation as he stood waiting for his prize.

Charlton began to lose his hair in the early 1960s and for a while refused to go bald gracefully, sporting a style of stranded, isolated hairs which would often flop around when he was running before he would tug them back over his head. This style is today still known as "the Bobby Charlton Comb-Over".

Portrayal in television and film

In the 2011 film United, centred on the successes of the Busby Babes and the decimation of the team in the Munich crash, Charlton was portrayed by actor Jack O'Connell.

Statistics

|- |1956–57 |rowspan="17"|Manchester United |rowspan="17"|First Division |14||10||2||1||||||1||1||17||12 |- |1957–58 |21||8||7||5||||||2||3||30||16 |- |1958–59 |38||29||1||0||||||||||39||29 |- |1959–60 |37||18||3||3||||||||||40||21 |- |1960–61 |39||21||3||0||||||||||42||21 |- |1961–62 |37||8||6||2||||||||||43||10 |- |1962–63 |28||7||6||2||||||||||34||9 |- |1963–64 |40||9||7||2||||||6||4||54||15 |- |1964–65 |41||10||7||0||||||11||8||59||18 |- |1965–66 |38||16||7||0||||||8||2||54||18 |- |1966–67 |42||12||2||0||||||||||44||12 |- |1967–68 |41||15||2||1||||||9||2||53||20 |- |1968–69 |32||5||6||0||||||8||2||48||7 |- |1969–70 |40||12||9||1||8||1||||||57||14 |- |1970–71 |42||5||2||0||6||3||||||50||8 |- |1971–72 |40||8||7||2||6||2||||||53||12 |- |1972–73 |36||6||1||0||4||1||||||41||7 |- !colspan=3|Total !606!!199!!78!!19!!24!!7!!45!!22!!758!!249 |- |1974–75 |Preston North End |Third Division |38||8||4||1||3||1||||||45||10 |- !colspan=3|Total !38!!8!!4!!1!!3!!1!!!!!!45!!10 |- |1975–76 |Waterford United |League of Ireland | || || || || || || || ||4||1 |- !colspan=3|Total ! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!31!!18 644||207||82||20||27||8||45||22||803||259 ||||||||||||||||4||1 ||||||||||||||||834||277

|- |1958||6||7 |- |1959||7||5 |- |1960||8||6 |- |1961||9||6 |- |1962||8||1 |- |1963||10||6 |- |1964||8||2 |- |1965||5||2 |- |1966||15||6 |- |1967||4||2 |- |1968||8||3 |- |1969||9||1 |- |1970||9||2 |- !Total||106||49 |}

Honours

International

FIFA World Cup (1): 1966

British Home Championship (10, 5 shared): 1958 (shared), 1959 (shared), 1960 (shared), 1961, 1964 (shared), 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 (shared)

Club

;Manchester United

Football League First Division (3): 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67

FA Cup (1): 1962–63

European Cup (1): 1967–68

Charity Shield (4): 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967

FA Youth Cup (3): 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56

Individual

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1966

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966, 1970

FIFA World Cup All-Time Team: 1994

FIFA 100: 2004

FIFA International Football Hall Of Champions: 1998

UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll: 2004

UEFA President's Award: 2009

European Player of the Year: 1966, 2nd: 1967,1968

FWA Footballer of the Year: 1966

FWA Tribute Award: 1989

PFA Merit Award: 1974

PFA Team Of The Century: 2007

Football League 100 Legends: 1998

France Football's Football Player Of The Century : 1999

France Football's World Cup Top-100 : 1994

France Planete Foot's 50 Meilleurs Joueurs du Monde : 1996

Italy Venerdi's World All-Time Top-100 (100 Magnifici) : 1997

Italy Guerin' Sportivo's Top-50 Of The 20th Century : 1999

Brazil Placar's Best 100 Players Of All-Time : 1999

Brazil Placar's World Cup Top-100 : 2005

AFS Top-100 World Players of All-Time : 2007

World Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century: 1999

IFFHS' World Players of the Century (Top-50)

IFFHS' Europe Players of the Century (Top-100)

IFFHS' England Players of the Century (1st)

Carling Legends' All-Time England XI: 1999

Guardian David Lacey's England Team Of The 20th Century: 2000

A Fan's All-Time England Squad: 2002

Green Flag Post-War England Great XI: 1996

Times The Top 50 Manchester United players: 2009 (1st)

Manchester United Opus 50 Greatest Players of All-Time: 2007 (1st)

England National Football Team All-Time Top Goal Scorer: 49 Goal (1st)

Manchester United All-Time Top Goal Scorer: 249 Goal (1st)

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2008

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award: 2nd: 1958,1959

English Football Hall of Fame: 2002

The National Football Museum President

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE): 1969

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): 1974

Knight Bachelor: 1994

Freedom of the City of Manchester: 2009

References

Notes

External links

FIFA World Cup: Bobby Charlton

International Football Hall of Fame: Bobby Charlton

Planet World Cup: Bobby Charlton

Manchester United Legends: Bobby Charlton

English Football Hall of Fame Profile

Bobby Charlton Manchester United photo 1, biography & stats at sporting-heroes.net

Bobby Charlton Manchester United photo 2, biography & stats at sporting-heroes.net

A fans view: Bobby Charlton – legend

BBC radio interview with Bobby Charlton, 1999

Painting of Bobby Charlton in the National Portrait Gallery portrait by Peter Edwards

Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:English footballers Category:English expatriate footballers Category:England international footballers Category:English football managers Category:Expatriate soccer players in Australia Category:Expatriate association footballers in South Africa Category:Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Preston North End F.C. managers Category:Preston North End F.C. players Category:Waterford United F.C. players Category:Arcadia Shepherds F.C. players Category:Bangor City F.C. players Category:Newcastle KB United players Category:Blacktown City Demons players Category:League of Ireland players Category:European Footballer of the Year winners Category:FIFA 100 Category:1958 FIFA World Cup players Category:1962 FIFA World Cup players Category:1966 FIFA World Cup players Category:1970 FIFA World Cup players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:UEFA Euro 1968 players Category:Football players and officials awarded knighthoods Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Ashington Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Category:The Football League players Category:FIFA Century Club Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers

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