The Sports Bookshelf

Sir Alex Ferguson can expect to earn himself another sizeable supplement to his pension when the paperback version of his record-breaking autobiography appears in the shops ready for the Christmas market. The hardback edition was the best selling print book of 2013 with UK outlets, its sales of 803,084 copies in less than 10 weeks beating the Dan Brown novel Inferno. Sales of 115,000 in the first week on the shelves set another record, for the fastest selling non-fiction book, knocking cook book queen Delia Smith off that particular perch. Ferguson would have pocketed at least £1 million from last year's sales alone, even assuming he was on no better than the standard royalty arrangement with his publisher. The former Manchester United manager's personal account of his fall-outs with Roy Keane, David Beckham and other ex-United players provided a major selling point for the book, along with his views on rival managers such as Arsene Wenger. And there is more in th

Sir Alex Ferguson was not known for shying away from confrontation during his reign as Manchester United's manager and anyone who offended him by deed or word tended sooner or later to feel the hot blast of his wrath. Yet even he would acknowledge the need to bow to diplomacy at certain times, while the threat of fines or sanctions from the Football Association persuaded him to bite his tongue on others. Now that he is no longer an active manager, however, Fergie is free to let rip against anyone who has incurred his displeasure without fear of the consequences.  Publishers Hodder and Stoughton clearly hope he take his retirement as the cue to release the shackles - they have paid him an advance of £2 million, according to reports, to reveal all in a new autobiography to be published in the autumn. Sir Alex verbally agreed to write the book three years ago and Daily Telegraph journalist Paul Hayward is the man entrusted with faithfully reproducing Fergie's views on a