Alex Ferguson Quotations

The culmination of three trophies was the pinnacle of my career and it has been rewarded with a knighthood.

The time I have already spent at Harvard has been a stimulating experience, and I look forward to developing my relationship and activities with the students, faculty and friends of the Harvard Business School community.

As long as there are games to play it is not over.

I don't like losing but I've mellowed. I maybe have a short fuse but it goes away quicker now.

Football management is such a pressurised thing - horseracing is a release. I'm also learning to play the piano - I'm quite determined - it's another release from the pressure of my job.

In England, it's a rare thing to see a player smoking but, all in all, I prefer that to an alcoholic. The relationship with alcohol is a real problem in English football and, in the short term, it's much more harmful to a sportsman. It weakens the body, which becomes more susceptible to injury.

I tell the players that the bus is moving. This club has to progress. And the bus wouldn't wait for them. I tell them to get on board.

Sometimes in football you have to hold your hand up and say, yeah, they're better than us.

I've never played for a draw in my life.

The work of a team should always embrace a great player but the great player must always work.

Myths grow all the time. If I was to listen to the number of times I've thrown teacups then we've gone through some crockery in this place. It's completely exaggerated, but I don't like people arguing back with me.

If my parents were still alive, they would be very proud. They gave me a good start in life, the values that have driven me, and the confidence to believe in myself.

There are members of the London press who seek to antagonise me, deliberately.

Sometimes you're not sure about a player. Sometimes you doubt. Sometimes you have to guess. Sometimes you just know.

You are responsible to each other because when you win a game of football, you only need eight players to perform well.

I feel sympathy for the working class lad. I've always championed about ticket prices and try to equate that to people's salaries.

If I have my health I can carry on. There will be a point when I do quit but I have absolutely no idea when that is.

If we can play like that every week well get some level of consistency.

Her Majesty said she hoped I would have time for my horses - I own two and have shares in four.

Well, football is a hard game; there's no denying it. It's a game that can bring out the worst in you, at times.

We're in great form at the moment and looking forward to every match.

This was not a decision we wanted to make. But every time I picked the team and Phil's name was not on the team sheet, it was very difficult for me. You couldn't meet a better professional.

Maybe it was a bit of a gamble playing Patrice. I am not singling anyone out. The defending was poor and that is what has cost us the game.

But for me it's always going to be about how we can improve the team and nothing changes in that respect. I go to David Gill and say 'this is a player I'd like', then we assess how much it's going to cost.

He's had a difficult time, obviously, but he trained yesterday and will train today so he will be okay.

He has been a great servant and played some terrific games for us and I think next season he will get a good club.

He has had one or two injuries in the past but he overcame those and I am sure he will do so again. He is mentally strong, that's a great advantage.

He has had a lot of problems over the years. We are all rooting for him and hope he pulls through. Everyone has their own opinion about football and their favorite players but in terms of British players, you would find it difficult to think of anyone better.

He has got three fractures in his cheekbone and it will be plated,

He is in a very influential position and I think people do listen to what he has got to say.

We maybe could have got a goal, but I suppose with 10 men and the other team entrenched in their own half still with one up front they went for the point and got it.

I think the first goal was a nice one-two with good play from Ruud and Quinton Fortune but that second goal was superb.

I think that early goal helped Celtic a lot. We looked all right at times, but we need to make some changes.

It gives me an opportunity to use all my squad. Keeping players happy is not easy and I think anyone with a big squad will tell you that.

I think today was probably a fair result. We cannot do anything about Chelsea, all we can do is concentrate on our own results. We have to collect as many points as we can and try to stay as close as possible.

I will make some changes. I think I played the right team in the first game and it won't be far away from that team again.

I think they (FIFA) are quite happy to take up smaller issues, like talking about a player at Manchester United who is 19 years of age, rather than pursue the really important issues in the game at this present day,

I think the sensible opinion is that Chelsea have got the title as long as they don't throw it away.

Paul's had about 10 fouls against him but there were bookings (against him),

The Arsenal game is a must-win one for us and we want to win it, that's the most important thing, ... Showing great desire will be important next week.

We'll carry on and won't give up, but whatever happens it's important we hold on to second spot. Hopefully we can achieve that.

We were lucky to be winning at halftime. But in the second half we could have scored four or five.

We're capable of winning the league but we need to get the form that's capable of winning the league -- and we're not showing that at the moment.

We needed somebody to open up the game and Roy did that for us, he was unbelievable today.

Tyler did a really good job for us. He threw a scoreless inning in the first game. He allowed three runs but none were earned in the second game. He did a good job closing games out.

We didn't play well enough in the first half, we gave the ball away too much and our last-third play wasn't good enough.

Players know that they can trust me which is really important. They know that I had the ability to adapt to change, and they have seen that many times over the years. I think these are important parts of being in control of footballers.

I always said to the directors that the minute a player becomes more powerful than the manager of Manchester United, it's not Manchester United. You have lost control of the whole club. So I always made sure that I was in control. They always knew who the manager was.

I think that fear does come into it in some respect in the sense of when I lost my temper I didn't hide behind a bush on it in respect to the times that I did lose my temper. But you know the quality that I had when I lost my temper, I never, ever brought it back again.

It's a horrible part of the game when you have to tell a player, probably somebody who has helped you win so much that his time is up. You treat them like family, and because they are your family it becomes even more hurting in the sense that you have got to say "well son, I'm sorry, you won't be a regular here, but you will still have a career elsewhere.' It's happened more than a few times but it is not an easy thing to handle.

I realized I was good at developing young people. Eventually I started to believe in young people. I think when you give a young person an opportunity, he always believes who gave him his first chance. You create a loyalty that lasts a lifetime.

I'm a Pele fan from way back when I was a kid, and then there was always this thing later about Pele and Maradona. I was young and impressionable as a kid but it was always Pele for me.

I was doing all the coaching schools so that I'd be able to stay in the game, and I gave myself a chance by doing that. I was only an average player, could score a goal or two, that sort of thing, but I wasn't a Bobby Charlton or a Messi, or Ronaldo. There are very, very few really great players who have become great coaches.

I never worried about teams who spend what they want to spend. It never bothered me. At the moment we have a lot of Middle Eastern owners, we have American owners of course, Russian owners. It never bothered me one bit. All I was concerned about was that we at United maintained our level of expectation, be competitive, be at the top part of the Premier League.

I do like to try and see myself in football players. Everybody is different and express themselves in different ways. There are different kinds of talents of course and there are many who I would never have had the talent that they have when I was a player. But I still had that determination to be successful and try my best.

The best have the courage and I say this all the time. The courage to take the ball all the time, the courage to make sure that they are not going to be intimidated by their opponents, and the courage to express themselves at all times and I think that all the great players have got that.

It was time for me to spend more time with my wife. I'm not saying I do spend more time with my wife, because she would throw me out of the house, but we have breakfast together. I never did.

Everywhere I go the coaches all tell me that Scholsey is the player they admire. But if they think they'll get him they're wasting their time! Paul is a Manc lad pure and simple. He loves the club and there's no chance of him leaving here. If ever he decided to go there would be a stampede, but he won't be going, he's here for life.

I am such a bloody talented guy. I might go into painting or something like that.

I was lying in bed on a Saturday morning, reading the paper, when my phone went. The caller was Rangers director, Jack Gillespie, and he offered me the manager's job at Ibrox. I was flattered but declined with thanks. John Greig was a good friend of mine and I had no intention of being involved in ousting him.

Scholes was probably the best English midfielder since Bobby Charlton. He was such a brilliant long passer that he could choose a hair on the head of any team-mate answering the call of nature at our training ground. Gary Neville once thought he had found refuge in a bush, but Scholesy found him from 40 yeards. He inflicted a similar long-range missile strike, once, on Peter Schmeichel, and was chased round the training ground for his impertinence. Scholesy would have made a first class-sniper.

I'm privileged to have followed Sir Matt because all you have to do is to try and maintain the standards that he set so many years ago.

I think Paul Scholes is the best player in England. He's got the best skills, the best brain. No one can match him. There isn't a player of his mould anywhere in the world. Paul is irreplaceable.

I've got a temper if I need it. Nothing wrong with losing your temper, if it's for the right reasons.

I'm-A-God-Look-At-Me.

The most important thing in a game like that is to win it.

They had Jan Venegoor of...whatever you call him.

We got anxious at the end of the weekend in our urgency to try to score the winning goal. Ended up playing far too many long balls forward. That style of play doesn't suit Manchester United. We must continue to play football and enjoy the game. If we do that, eventually things will come right for us.

They (the press) have a hatred of Manchester United.

Kindness is a universal language regardless of age, nationality or religion.

I understand the intensity of the supporters. I wonder how they could turn up for work on Monday morning after we lost 5-1 to Manchester City.

Everyone remembers Stuart Pearce as a determined, aggressive player, who played with great heart and enthusiasm that gave him a great career in the game.

We have to try to beat Everyone.

If Chelsea drop points, the cat's out in the open. And you know what cats are like - sometimes they don't come home.

He could start a row in an empty house.

The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn't fit.

He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous.

Everest in his slippers. That's what he was like.

Wayne is truly blessed. He doesn't just have ability, he has a fire inside him.

If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona. He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he was asking: 'I'm Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?'

Pardew has come out and criticized me. He is the worst at haranguing referees. He shoves them and makes a joke of it. How he can criticize me is unbelievable. He forgets the help I gave him, by the way. The press have had a field day. The only person they have not spoken to is Barack Obama because he is busy. It is unfortunate but I am the manager of the most famous club in the world. Not Newcastle, a wee club in the North-East. I was demonstrative. I am always demonstrative. Everyone knows that. I am an emotional guy but I was not abusive.

We are very focused this time and our preparation has been better. We maybe made one or two mistakes last time, but not this time.

He's fiery, he's competitive, ... I think it was an unfair booking, and Wayne reacts like this against injustice.

Once you shake hands with the devil, you have to accept they are in control.

David impresses by his example on the field. He never stops running, he plays with supreme confidence, he always tries his hardest and he scores important goals. (on David Beckham)

In any normal season, most of the teams below Chelsea would think they are doing quite well.

Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today. Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question fits into that category.

Evolution happens. There's no football team in the world that has stayed together for time ever more.

He's a normal, likable, straightforward boy. (on David Beckham)

Well he's only 20. Without question, he's the best youngest player I've seen in my time... If he keeps developing and matures ? goodness knows what he will become. At the moment he's a breathe of fresh air. (on Wayne Rooney)

I think his team are mirroring Stuart Pearce as the player he was. (on Manchester City)

But there is always that unpredictability about a derby match and that's what it was today.

Never give in or give up easily on a cause.

Liverpool can play for only five minutes and win the game, that is the way they are. They pump the ball into the box and with good set-piece delivery they keep you under pressure.

Look at me – it's taken 10 years off me today. It's these tablets, they're great!

Jose understands winning and losing are twins in a way. When you win you don't gloat and when you lose you don't go bananas.

If he was an inch taller he'd be the best center half in Britain. His father is 6 ft 2 in - I'd check the milkman.

He's such a great threat because of his power and pace. (on Cristiano Ronaldo)

The credit to them, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about that now.

I'm no f****** talking to you. He's a f****** great player. Yous are f******* idiots.