This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

Auguste Rodin, The Thinker, Bronze, c.1902, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen, Denmark

A statue is a sculpture in the round representing one or more people or animals (including abstract concepts allegorically represented as people or animals), normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger. Its primary concern is representational.

The definition of a statue is not always clear-cut; sculptures of a person on a horse, called Equestrian statues, are certainly included, and in many cases, such as a Madonna and Child or a Pietà, a sculpture of two people will also be. A small statue, usually small enough to be picked up, is called a statuette or figurine.

Many statues are built on commission to commemorate a historical event, or the life of an influential person. Many statues are intended as public art, exhibited outdoors or in public buildings.

Some statues gain fame in their own right, separate to the person or concept they represent, as with the Statue of Liberty.

There is an urban legend concerning a code for mounted statues, whereby the horse's hooves are supposed to indicate how the rider met his end. One hoof off the floor would indicate the rider died of wounds received in battle, or perhaps was just wounded in battle; two hooves off the floor would indicate the rider was killed in battle. An examination of the equestrian statues in most major European cities shows this is not true. If it ever was true, the practice appears to have died out in the 19th century.^[1][2]

Statues are amongst the wonders of the world, with the Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Moai of Easter Island among the wonders of the modern world.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Lion man, from Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany, now in Ulmer Museum, Ulm, Germany, the oldest known zoomorphic statuette, Aurignacian era, 30,000 BC-26,000 BC

• 

  Venus of Dolní Věstonice, ceramic figurine, 29,000 to 25,000 BC

• 

  Venus of Willendorf, one of the oldest known Statuettes, Upper Paleolithic, 24,000 BC-22,000 BC

• 

  Great Sphinx of Giza, c. 2558–2532 BC, the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and 20.22 m (66.34 ft) high. Giza, Egypt.

• 

  The Charioteer of Delphi, 474 BC, Delphi Archaeological Museum, Greece

• 

  Hermes and the Infant Dionysus by Praxiteles, 4th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece

• 

  Venus de Milo, c. 130 - 100 BC, Greek, the Louvre

• 

  Laocoön and his Sons, Greek, (Late Hellenistic), circa 160 BC and 20 BC, White marble, Vatican Museum

• 

  Moai of Easter Island facing inland, Ahu Tongariki, c. 1250 - 1500 AD, restored by Chilean archaeologist Claudio Cristino in the 1990s

• 

  The Great Buddha of Kamakura, c. 1252, Japan

• 

  Michelangelo's David, 1504,The Accademia Gallery, Florence, Italy

• 

  Auguste Rodin, The Burghers of Calais (1884–c. 1889) in Victoria Tower Gardens, London, England.

• 

  The Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, USA, c.1886

• 

  Henry Bain Smith's bronze of Robert Burns, 1892, above Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen, Scotland

• 

  Thomas Brock, John Everett Millais, at Tate Britain 1905

• 

  Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1931

• 

  U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, located in Arlington, Virginia, 1954

• 

  A closeup of the replica statue of Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, 1981, The original c. 200 AD is in the nearby Capitoline Museum, Rome

• 

  Juscelino Kubitschek in Belo Horizonte, c.1981.

• TsDKh Moscow Statue1.jpg

  Stone statue outside Moscow's New Tretyakov Gallery c.1985.

• 

  Statue of a priest in Avenida Amazonas, Belo Horizonte, 1990.

• 

  The Ushiku Daibutsu, Amitabha Buddha, 1995, Japan. The third tallest statue in the world, overall 394 feet in height.

• 

  The Kailashnath Mahadev, Bhaktapur. The world's tallest Statue of Lord Shiva, 143 feet.

• 

  Spring Temple Buddha, the world's tallest statue, overall 502 feet in height, completed 2002.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Statues

• UK Public Monument and Sculpture Association
• Ranking of the favourite statue
• Casting Methods & Statue Materials

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Edwin Serrano (born July 12, 1988) better known by his stage name Lil' Eddie, is an American R&B/Soul singer-songwriter.

Career[link]

Previously signed to Yellowman/Big 3 Records in 2004, he parted ways with the label the following year, leaving an unreleased album behind, "Nobody's Fool". He later released an album "City Of My Heart" in 2009. His third studio release "Already Yours" was released in 2011.

Currently, Eddie is signed as a songwriter to the industry powerhouse EMI Publishing. Eddie has written for today's top artist such as Usher,, Janet jackson, Pink, Nelly Furtado, K'Naan, Jessie J, Cody Simpson, Big Time Rush, and many more.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 2004: Nobody's Fool (Shelved)
• 2009: City Of My Heart
• 2011: Already Yours

Singles[link]

Songwriting credits[link]

External links[link]

• Lil' Eddie on Myspace
• Lil' Eddie-EMI Publishing

References[link]

System of a Down
System of a Down at Download Festival On June 12, 2005.
Background information
Also known as	Soil (1992–1994) SOAD System
Origin	Los Angeles, US
Genres	Alternative metal, progressive rock, hard rock, experimental
Years active	1994–2006, 2011–present
Labels	Sony Music, American, Columbia
Associated acts	Achozen, Axis of Justice, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, Scars on Broadway, Serj Tankian and The F.C.C., The Apex Theory
Website	www.systemofadown.com
Members
Daron Malakian Serj Tankian Shavo Odadjian John Dolmayan
Past members
Ontronik Khachaturian

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California, formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums).

The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums; from which three debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and won the award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "B.Y.O.B.". The group went on hiatus in August 2006, but reunited in November 2010, embarking on a worldwide tour in 2011.

History[link]

Soil (1992–1994)[link]

Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, and Shavo Odadjian all attended Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School while children, although because of their eight-year age difference they did not meet until 1992 while working on separate projects at the same recording studio.^[1] They formed a band named Soil with Tankian on vocals and keyboards, Malakian on vocals and guitar, Dave Hakopyan (who later played in The Apex Theory/Mt. Helium) on bass and Domingo "Dingo" Laranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian (another Rose and Alex Pilibos alumnus) as manager, although he eventually joined Soil as rhythm guitarist. After three years, only one live show, and one jam session recording, Hakopyan and Laranio quit the band, feeling that it was not going anywhere.

Demo tapes and signing (1994–1997)[link]

After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian, and Malakian formed a new band, System of a Down. The group took its name from a poem that Malakian had written titled “Victims of the Down."^[2] The word "victims" was changed to "system" because Odadjian believed that the alteration would appeal to a much wider audience and also because the group wanted their records to be alphabetically shelved closer to their musical heroes, Slayer. Odadjian switched from guitar to bass and passed on his managerial duties to Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and its founder David “Beno” Benveniste.^{[citation needed]} The band recruited drummer Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, an old school friend of Malakian's and Odadjian's who had played with Malakian in a band called Snowblind during their teens.^[2]

System of a Down quickly made what is known as Untitled 1995 Demo Tape, which was not commercially released but appeared on file sharing networks around the time of the band's success with Toxicity about six years later. Demo Tape 2 was released in 1996. At the beginning of 1997, System of a Down recorded their final publicly released demo tape, Demo Tape 3. In mid 1997, drummer Khachaturian left the band because of a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan).^[2] Khachaturian was replaced by John Dolmayan.

The band's first official release of a professionally recorded song was on a collection called Hye Enk ("we're Armenian" in English), an Armenian Genocide recognition compilation, in 1997. Soon after playing at notable Hollywood clubs such as the Whisky-A-Go-Go and Viper Room the band caught famed producer Rick Rubin's attention who asked them to keep in touch with him. Showing great interest, the group recorded Demo Tape 4 near the end of 1997. Unlike the previous demo tapes, however, Demo Tape 4 was made only to be sent to record companies (although it has since been leaked onto the internet). Rubin signed the group onto his American/Columbia Records, and System of a Down began to record in Rubin's studio, laying down tracks that would eventually be released on their debut album.

Also in 1997, the group won the Best Signed Band Award from the Rock City Awards.^[3]

Debut album (1998–2000)[link]

In June 1998, System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down. They enjoyed moderate success as their first singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" became radio favorites and the music videos for both songs were frequently aired on MTV. After the release of the album, the band toured extensively, opening for Slayer and Metallica before making their way to the second stage of Ozzfest. Following Ozzfest, they toured with Fear Factory and Incubus before headlining the Sno-Core Tour with Puya, Mr. Bungle, The Cat and Incubus providing support.

In November 1998, System of a Down appeared on South Park's Chef Aid album, providing the music for the song "Will They Die 4 You?" Near the end of the song Tankian can be heard saying, "Why must we kill our own kind?" a line that would later be used in the song "Boom!" Although System of a Down is credited on the album, South Park character Chef doesn't introduce them as he does for all other artist featured on the record.

System of a Down's former drummer, Ontronik Khachaturian, briefly reunited with the band at a show at The Troubadour in 1999, filling in on vocals for an ill Tankian.^[2] In 2000, the band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.

[edit] Toxicity and Steal This Album! (2001–2003)

Guitarist Daron Malakian met Serj Tankian for the first time in 1993 before forming the band a year later.

On September 3, 2001, System of a Down had planned on launching their second album at a free concert in Hollywood as a "thank you" to fans. The concert, which was to be held in a parking lot, was set up to accommodate 3,500 people, however, an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 fans showed up. Because of the large excess number of fans the performance was cancelled by police officers just before the group took the stage. No announcement was made that the concert had been cancelled. Fans waited for more than an hour for the group to appear, but when a banner hanging at the back of the stage that read "System of a Down" was removed by security, the audience rushed the stage, destroying all the band's touring gear (approximately $30,000 worth of equipment) and began to riot, throwing rocks at police, breaking windows, and knocking over portable toilets. The riot lasted six hours, during which six arrests were made. The band's manager, David "Beno" Benveniste, later said that the riot could have been avoided if the group had been permitted to perform or had they been allowed to make a statement at the concert regarding the cancellation. System of a Down's scheduled in-store performance the next day was cancelled to prevent a similar riot.^[4]

The group's big break arrived when their second album Toxicity debuted at No.1 on the American and Canadian charts, despite the events of September 11. The album eventually achieved multi-platinum certification^{[citation needed]} and has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]} It was still on top in America during the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding the album's hit single "Chop Suey!" The song was taken off the radio as it contained politically sensitive lyrics at the time such as "(I don't think you) trust in my self-righteous suicide." Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the album's second single, "Toxicity". Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!" (which earned a Grammy nomination), System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with "Toxicity" and "Aerials". In May 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the No.14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

In 2001, the band went on tour with Slipknot throughout the United States and Mexico. Following a performance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Odadjian was harassed, ethnically intimidated, and was physically assaulted by security guards backstage, who then dragged him out of the venue. Odadjian received medical attention from police and later filed a suit against the security company.^[5] Despite the incident, the tour was a success and System of a Down and Slipknot went on the Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein in 2001.

In late 2001, unreleased tracks from the Toxicity sessions made their way onto the internet.^[6] This collection of tracks was dubbed Toxicity II by fans. The group released a statement that the tracks were unfinished material and subsequently released the final versions of the songs as their third album, Steal This Album!, which was released in November 2002. Steal This Album! resembled a burnable CD that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the band. The name of the album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book, Steal This Book as well as a message to those who leaked the songs onto the internet. The song "Innervision" was released as a promo single and received constant airplay on alternative radio. A video for "Boom!" was filmed with director Michael Moore as a protest against the War in Iraq.

[edit] Mezmerize and Hypnotize (2004–2006)

Serj Tankian has gained reputation for his large vocal range along with his unusual vocal tactics.

Between 2004 to 2005, the group recorded the follow-up to Steal This Album!, a double album, which they released as separate installments six months apart from each other, notably including album cover artwork by Malakian's father, Vartan Malakian, which was designed to connect the two separate album covers. The first album, Mezmerize, was released on May 17, 2005 to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at No.1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it System of A Down's second No.1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning single "B.Y.O.B.", which questions the integrity of military recruiting in America, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!" was released with Shavo Odadjian co-directing the music video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip supporting.

The second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at No.1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with The Beatles, Guns 'N Roses, and rappers 2Pac and DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at No.1 in the same year.^[7] In February 2006, System of a Down won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B.", beating out other established artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Robert Plant. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. System of a Down released "Kill Rock 'N Roll" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" as their next promo singles. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the main stage.

Whereas on System of a Down's previous albums most of the lyrics were written and sung by Tankian and the music was co-written by Tankian and Malakian (and sometimes Odadjian) much of the music and lyrics on Mezmerize/Hypnotize were written by Malakian who also took on a much more dominant role as vocalist on both albums, often leaving Tankian providing keyboards and backing vocals.

Concert footage and interviews with the band concerning the importance of helping create awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide were featured in the 2006 film Screamers, directed by Carla Garapedian. An interview with Tankian's grandfather, a survivor of the Genocide, was also included in the film as well as Tankian's and Dolmayan's meeting with (then) Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert during which the two musicians campaigned for the United States government's official recognition of the Genocide. Footage of Tankian and Dolmayan marching with protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington D.C. was also used in Screamers.

System of a Down was honored at a University of Southern California game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The Trojan Marching Band, along with Dolmayan and Odadjian, performed three System of a Down songs: "Toxicity," "Sugar," and "Hypnotize." System of a Down's song "Lonely Day" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, but lost to "Woman" by Wolfmother.

In May 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Malakian confirmed the break would probably last a few years, which Odadjian specified as a minimum of three years in an interview with Guitar magazine. He told MTV, "We're not breaking up. If that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this Ozzfest. We're going to take a very long break after Ozzfest and do our own things. We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take some rest."^[8]

May 2006 also saw the UK publication of a biography of the band entitled System Of A Down: Right Here In Hollywood by writer Ben Myers. It was published in the US in 2007 through The Disinformation Company.

Hiatus (2006–2010)[link]

Malakian announced he was forming a band called Scars on Broadway, which was joined by Dolmayan. System of a Down's final performance before their hiatus took place on August 13, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."^[9]

Tankian released his debut solo album Elect the Dead in the autumn of 2007 to great critical and commercial acclaim. Malakian and Dolmayan released Scars On Broadway's debut self-titled album on July 29, 2008. Dolmayan, alongside working with Scars on Broadway, formed his own band, Indicator, as well as opened Torpedo Comics, an online comic book store.^[10] Odadjian pursued his project with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, a hip-hop group named AcHoZeN, worked on his urSESSION website/record label, and performed as a member of funk legend George Clinton's backing band.

Reunion and tour (2011–present)[link]

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would be reuniting for a string of large European festival dates in June 2011.^[11] Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download Festival, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival and Finland's Provinssirock. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts – we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans."^[12] On March 1, 2011 the band announced they will play several shows in western North America in May and June. The reunion tour commenced on May 10, 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta.^[13] On May 4, 2011, Brazil event organiser and promoter Roberto Medina announced that System will be headlining, alongside Guns N' Roses, his Rock in Rio 2011 festival on October 2 in Rio de Janeiro.^[14]

System's first tour through Mexico and South America began on September 28, 2011 in Mexico City, ending in Santiago, Chile on October 7, 2011.^[15] From late February to early March 2012, they will headline five dates at the Soundwave festival.^[16] This will be the band's first visit to Australia since 2005.

Asked in October 2011 whether System of a Down will record a new album, drummer John Dolmayan replied, "We're gonna take it day by day. [...] For the people who are waiting for an album — I know there's a lot of people waiting for an album; I'm waiting for an album just like they are. It's gonna happen when it's right and when we can make something that tops what we've done in the past. Because we don't really wanna rest on our laurels — where what you've done in the past is what you depend on. Well, I don't wanna do that, and I know the rest of the guys don't wanna do that. Instead of resting on our laurels, we wanna throw them away and create something new and specific for this generation that they can say that's their System of a Down."^[17]

On August 11 and 12, 2012, System will play the Heavy MTL and Heavy T.O. music festivals in Montreal and Toronto, respectively.^[18]

On April 23, 2012, it was announced on the band's website that they would do a summer tour of the eastern United States and Canada with special guests, Deftones.

Style[link]

Lyricism[link]

System of a Down's lyrics are often oblique^[19] or dadaist,^[19] and have discussed topics such as drug abuse,^[19] politics^[19][20] and sexual intercourse.^[19][20]

All four members are of Armenian descent, and are widely known for their outspoken views expressed in many of their songs confronting the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as well as the ongoing War on Terrorism.

Music[link]

The stylistic variety and level of experimentation^[21] in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe, but the group has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal,^[22] alternative rock,^[23] art rock,^[24][25] avant-garde metal,^[26] experimental rock,^[27][28] hard rock,^[22][29] heavy metal,^[22] new prog,^[30] nu metal,^[31][32] progressive metal^[33][34] and progressive rock.^[35][36]

Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene"^[37] and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet."^[38] In interview with Mike Lancaster, he also said, "People always seem to feel the need to put us into a category, but we just don't fit into any category."^[39] According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, [our music] is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. [...] But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."^[40]

The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars.^[41] According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E♭ tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band.^[38] Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound—most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway—but it's also thicker and ballsier."^[38]

Influences and comparison to other artists[link]

The band's influences include Middle Eastern music,^[42] Ozzy Osbourne,^[37][42] Dead Kennedys,^[43] Frank Zappa,^[44] Slayer^[42] and Van Halen.^[43] One reviewer claimed that their music encompasses different sounds, from sounding like "Fugazi playing Rush" to sometimes "tread[ing] close to Frank Zappa territory."^[35] Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band."^[45] Dolmayan stated "I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down."^[46] Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are."^[46]

Awards and nominations[link]

System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song B.Y.O.B.. The band has also been nominated for several Kerrang! and MTV awards.

Grammy Awards

General

• In 2005, System of a Down won for Best Alternative Act in the Europe Music Awards
• In 2006, System of a Down won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!"
• In 2006, System of a Down's song "Toxicity" was No.14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs list

Band members[link]

Occasional contributors

• Arto Tunçboyacıyan – percussion, composition (on Toxicity: "Science" and "Arto". Steal This Album!: "Bubbles" and some live concerts in 2005)^[47]
• Harry Perry – rhythm guitar (Ozzfest 2006)

Discography[link]

• System of a Down (1998)
• Toxicity (2001)
• Steal This Album! (2002)
• Mezmerize (2005)
• Hypnotize (2005)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: System of a Down

• Official website

vep:System of a Down

Sir Alex Ferguson

Personal information
Full name	Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson[1]
Date of birth	(1941-12-31) 31 December 1941 (age 70)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Manchester United (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1957–1960	Queen's Park	31	(15)
1960–1964	St. Johnstone	37	(19)
1964–1967	Dunfermline Athletic	89	(66)
1967–1969	Rangers	41	(25)
1969–1973	Falkirk	95	(36)
1973–1974	Ayr United	24	(9)
Total		317	(170)
National team
1967	Scottish League XI[2]	2	(1)
1967	Scotland XI[3]	7	(9)
Teams managed
1974	East Stirlingshire
1974–1978	St. Mirren
1978–1986	Aberdeen
1985–1986	Scotland
1986–	Manchester United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish football manager and former player who has managed Manchester United 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.^[4]

Ferguson previously managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren, before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. After a brief stint as manager of the Scotland national team following the death of Jock Stein, he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986.

With 25 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[link]

Born to Alexander Beaton Ferguson, a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Hardie,^[5] 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.^[6]

He attended Broomloan Road Primary School and later Govan High School,^[7][8] and supported Rangers.^[9]

Playing career[link]

Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with Queen's Park, where he made his debut as a striker aged 16.^[10] He described his first match as a "nightmare",^[11] 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.^[12]

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,^[13] 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.^[14]

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,^[15] 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.^[16] According to his brother, Ferguson was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away.^[17] There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers after his marriage to a Catholic, Cathy Holding,^[18] but Ferguson himself makes it clear in his autobiography^[19] 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,^[20] 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[link]

East Stirlingshire[link]

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.^[21] He 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."^[22]

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.^[23]

St. Mirren[link]

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.^[24] The average age of the league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20.^[25]

St. Mirren have the distinction of being 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.^[24] 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".^[26] 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 (then 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.^[27]

Aberdeen[link]

Late 1970s[link]

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.^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[30]

1980s and silverware[link]

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".^[31]

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,^[32] and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half.^[33] 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.^[34] 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^[35] and "[his] ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled".^[36]