Sir Alex Ferguson – His Biggest Moments as Manager of MUFC

Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager of Manchester United after a glittering career that spans four decades and includes 49 trophies. Over 27 years at Old Trafford, Sir Alex has given fans some of the greatest memories in the history of this storied club. Here, in no particular order, are five of his greatest moments.

1. Winning the 1990 FA Cup

Things were not going well when Ferguson assumed the reins at United. After a humiliating 5-1 defeat to arch rivals Manchester City, a banner reading “Three years of excuses and it’s still c**p” was hung
by angry supporters at Old Trafford. As incredible as it may seem today, Ferguson was facing the sack after a run of seven winless games when United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. Manchester United would go on to win the game, and then lift the cup at Wembley in 1990. This gave Sir Alex his first of his 38 trophies with United, and put an end to what he called his “darkest days” in football.

2. Winning the “treble” in 1999

Arch rivals Liverpool had won a double in 1986, and Ferguson’s own United teams had pulled it off in both 1994 and 1996, but combining this domestic feat with club football’s ultimate honour, the European Cup, had never been done by an English club. United held off a dogged challenge from Arsenal to win back their League crown, and then defeated Newcastle in the FA Cup final to wrap up a third double. But United still had one more game to play. They beat German powerhouse Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, and pulled off the only ever treble for an English club.

3. Signing Eric Cantona

The list of great players that Ferguson has brought to Old Trafford goes on and on. But it was the signing of Cantona that United supporters hold most dear. Brought in from arch rivals Leeds United in 1992 for 1.2 million, the charismatic Frenchman would inspire the club and become one of its most iconic figures. Donning the hallowed number 7, formerly worn by George Best, Cantona led the renaissance of Manchester United as he led them to their first title in 26 years.

4. Beating Chelsea in the Champions League final

After 20 years at Old Trafford Ferguson’s domestic record was without equal. But many harboured doubts about his ability to get the most out of his team in Europe. Premier League clubs had been doing very well in the Champions League, culminating with an all English final between United and Chelsea in 2008. Chelsea had been a particular thorn in the Scotsman’s side, and when Ronaldo missed his penalty, it looked like the night would belong to the Blues. But John Terry missed the penalty that would have taken the trophy to London, and when Van Der Sar saved from Anelka, Ferguson claimed his second European Cup.

5. Winning United’s 19th League title

Sir Alex won the Premier League an astonishing 13 times during his reign at Old Trafford, but the title that means most to United supporters was the one he picked up in 2012. That was United’s 19th League crown, giving them one more than their nemesis Liverpool. The two biggest clubs in English football had a bitter rivalry that went back generations. United had been dominant in recent years, but Liverpool could always point at their superior trophy haul. Not any more.

As David Moyes takes the reins at United he will always feel the presence of the man who preceded him. There is a statue of Sir Alex outside Old Trafford, one of the ground's stands is named after him, and trophy cabinet holds 38 pieces of silverware that he won. Big shoes to fill.

About the author: This Guest Post was written by Mark Colman, who specialises in writing about the business of sport and global sponsorship deals for AON.

Is It All Over Now Manchester United Have Won?

After Robin van Persie's hat-trick against Aston Villa wrapped up Manchester United's 20th league title, some United fans may feel that the season is done and dusted. For those of us supporting other Premier League teams, however, there is plenty still to play for.

Manchester City seem certain to claim the runners-up spot and a Champions League place as a result, but the chasing pack are still jousting for the two other Champions League qualification places. Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs all have strong hopes of finishing in the top four, although Everton's recent defeat at Sunderland seems to have fatally damaged their chances.

The parochial nature of the league means that Evertonians can at least enjoy the novelty of looking down on their neighbours from across Stanley Park. For Liverpool, of course, this has been yet another season of transition. Although Suarez has certainly added some bite to their attack, it seems clear that Brendan Rodgers will be thinking about strengthening the team in the summer.

For those chasing glory, the end of the season promises excitement and the potential to end on a high note. For those at the wrong end of the table, however, pure pain awaits. As teams battle to avoid the drop, fans of the clubs involved in the relegation scrap will struggle to contain their feelings.

Queens Park Rangers and Reading appear doomed. Both sides decided that a managerial change was in order during the course of the season, but neither has seen an improvement in results since appointing new men. It's safe to say that Harry Redknapp won't be looking forward to life in the Championship with any great amount of glee. Whether other clubs will be keen to sign Rangers' expensively paid stars remains to be seen.

Above the bottom two, a number of sides will still fear the worst. Wigan have an impressive track record when it comes to escaping from the clutches of relegation and the TV companies may well hope that the deciding game is their last one, when they face fellow strugglers Aston Villa.

But other clubs may yet be drawn into the battle. Paolo Di Canio appears to have revitalised Sunderland and has had the added advantage of making Newcastle start to panic. The Magpies had an impressive Europa League run, but their small squad has made it difficult for Alan Pardew to rotate. There must be a danger that they will tire as the season reaches its climax.

Supporters of teams securely placed in mid-table may not have concerns about relegation or hopes of European football, but they may enjoy the thought of being able to have an impact at the business end of the season.

While United fans can sit back and enjoy their success, plenty of other fans will be studying the football table on a daily basis between now and the end of the season. The Premier League still has the ability to provide that unique mixture of enjoyment and pain.

About the author: This article was written by David Hughes, who writes for table football table supplier Liberty Games where you can play out the games your team may not have won, and who knows, maybe change the score!

Guest Post- Some of the nastiest football injuries

You might think that football is a pretty safe and easy sport, especially if you regularly enjoy a kick about with your mates. However, it can be all too easy to seriously injure yourself on the football pitch, and there have been some pretty nasty accidents in the history of professional football.

If you want to make sure you don’t get yourself hurt when playing football, you must ensure you wear the right kind of gear. Shin guards, for example, can help to protect your legs, as you can very easily scrape your legs or even suffer fractures from misjudged tackles.

That is another thing you will need to learn to do – to play the game properly. People that don’t follow the rules of football can actually cause some horrible injuries, as there are some moves which are highly ill advised due to the fact that they can be so dangerous. For instance, sliding tackles and tackles that aim for the ankles can cause horrific injuries.

To give you an idea of just how bad these injuries can be, here are four of the worst in football history. Brace yourself!

1) Djibril Cissé
French footballer Cissé snapped his leg during a game in 2006 and had it not been for the excellent medical attention he received directly after the accident, he would have lost his leg below the knee. The accident happened during a match between Marseille and China when Cissé was challenged by China's Zheng Zhi for the ball. When he fell from the challenge, he twisted his leg so severely that it completely snapped in two.

2) Iñigo Díaz de Cerio
Díaz de Cerio suffered a horrific injury in 2008 when he collided with Zigor Goikuria, the goalkeeper for SD Eibar. Díaz de Cerio, who was a striker for CD Mirandés at the time, broke both his tibia and fibula of his right leg, leaving the lower part of his leg literally dangling by a thread. Nasty! As a result of the injury, he was out of the game for almost a year in order to recover.

3) Ewald Lienen
In 1981, German midfielder Ewald Lienen suffered an awful injury when playing for Arminia Bielefeld. During a match against Werder Breman, he was tackled by Norbert Siegmann, whose football studs caused a gaping wound in Lienen's outer thigh. The wound was 25 centimetres long and required 23 stitches to close. Due to shock, outrage and adrenaline though, directly after the wound Lienen jumped up and ran for Werder Breman manager, Otto Rehhagel, as he believed the accident had happened because Rehhagel had encouraged Werder Breman players to 'play rough'. Despite the severity of the wound, Lienen was back in training just 17 days later.

4) Patrick Battiston
During the 1982 FIFA World Cup semi final between France and West Germany, French footballer Patrick Battiston was seriously injured. He had only been on the pitch for ten minutes, having been taken off the bench during the second half, when he had a clear shot of the German goal. He went for it but missed the goal, just as the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher ran towards him in defence and jumped into the air. As he jumped, Schumacher's hip hit Battiston in the face, instantly knocking him out. He fell to the floor and was unresponsive when medics rushed to his aid, and it was found that he had damaged his vertebrae and knocked out a number of teeth. Oxygen was administered on the pitch and game-play resumed once he had been removed and taken to hospital.

As you can see, injuries can occur when players are too rough on the pitch, as was the case in many of these examples. However, the type of equipment used, as it was for Ewald Lienen’s injury, can also cause injury. This is why so much research goes into football equipment, and also why taking out sports injury insurance is so incredibly important!


Author Bio

Lauren Belfield is a 26 year old University of Manchester Graduate. Now working as a freelance sports writer Lauren involves herself in several sports, mainly Football, focusing on the more academic side of the sport, working with Insure4Sport to promote sports insurance & the importance of insurance in many walks of life.