Sir Alex Ferguson Interview Transcript

8/12/2019 Sir Alex Ferguson Interview Transcript

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Fergie interview transcript... on holding

grudges, listening to American Civil War

tapes on the way to work, handling ManUnited's millionaires and why he thinks Pele

is THE all-time No 1

PUBLISHED:08:23 EST, 2 October 2013 | UPDATED:11:57 EST, 2 October 2013

Sir Alex Ferguson has given a wide ranging interview to American network

PBS on the Charlie Rose show.

The former Manchester United manager discussed multiple topics, includinglistening to Civil War tapes on the way to work and how to handle the club's

millionaire stars.

He also spoke about why Pele is the best player of all time, why he doesn't hold

grudges and the type of player he wanted at United while he was in charge.

Candid: Sir Alex Ferguson reveals all in an interview with Charlie Rose (right)

Partiall y transcribed by rednews.co.uk
http://www.rednews.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/139316-Alex-Ferguson-FULL-TRANSCRIPT-of-his-interview-with-the-Charlie-Rose-Show-last-night-Part-1-of-2-typed-up-by-Tom-Clare-for-Red-News?p=842195#post842195http://www.rednews.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/139316-Alex-Ferguson-FULL-TRANSCRIPT-of-his-interview-with-the-Charlie-Rose-Show-last-night-Part-1-of-2-typed-up-by-Tom-Clare-for-Red-News?p=842195#post842195http://www.rednews.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/139316-Alex-Ferguson-FULL-TRANSCRIPT-of-his-interview-with-the-Charlie-Rose-Show-last-night-Part-1-of-2-typed-up-by-Tom-Clare-for-Red-News?p=842195#post842195


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Sir Alex Ferguson:I never worried about teams who spend what they want to

spend. It never bothered me. 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 ofthe League.

We might not win it every year, but wed always be up there competing for it

every year. The only consideration I had was to make sure that we are there.

You do things different ways. Ive spokenabout young players, and yes, thats

really important that part, but from time to time we have spent big money and

brought in the player who could make a difference.

Char lie Rose:Who is the best player that you ever saw?

AF:Im 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. Today, I think that you have got to look at

Messi and Ronaldo. They are unbelievable. The best today. They are fantastic

absolutely.

Old favourite: Ferguson says that Pele is his best player of all time

CR:The best have what it takes - is that correct?


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AF: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.

CR:Are they born with it?

AF:Possibly, yes. You can develop them through coaching, but I dont think

that you can ever develop the courage. I think that makes a big difference you

either have courage or you have not.

CR:In some ways its like a game of basketball, you always want the best

players to have the ball in the last 15 seconds.

AF:When we assessed teams, we looked at who was their player who wantedthe ball all the time, who is the one who wants to take the free-kicks all the time,

who wants to dominate, and hes the one that you concentrate upon.

CR:This is what the Economist Magazine said about you; Mr Ferguson could

reasonably be described as Britains Steve Jobs, given his unorthodox talent

obsessed, and sometimes bruising approach to making something beautiful.Well talk about all those things, but didyou think that you were making

something beautiful?

AF: I think that the encouragement that I got from the club during the early

days when they stood by me when the times were really difficult, really helped

me a lot.

CR:People wanted you fired didnt they?

AF: Yes, thats correct. One or two banners were up saying time up and things

like that, but I think it would be true to say that at that period I did lose a little

bit of confidence. However, I didnt lose my determination. I knew that the

things which I was doing at youth level were correct.

So the Board, Martin Edwards and Bobby Charlton in particular, stood by me

because they knew what was happening. So by doing that, I then knew that I

was doing something special with these young playersBeckham, Giggs,Scholes, Butt, the Nevilles. They all came into the first team round about the

same time. So when people assess United today, they maybe dont understand


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that those boys were the spirit of the club. They created the fantastic spirit of

Manchester United as it is today.

CR:Looking at the Harvard Business Review. You went up there and they

developed a key study. What was the question? Generally these things have aquestion.

AF: The main central point of the discussion was love and hate. Do the players

love me or, do they hate me, or was there a balance? Of course there was also

many different opinions about that, but the central thing to it all was respect.

That was always looked forrespect.

CR:So you could have the love or the hate, but you looked for the respect everytime?

AF: Yes, that was it.

CR:Suppose that they said love or fear?

AF:Yes, I think that fear does come into it in some respect in the sense of when

I lost my temper I didnt hide behind a bush on it in respect to the times that Idid lose my temper. But you know the quality that I had when I lost my temper,

I never, ever brought it back again. The next day was another day for me.

CR:You never held grudges?

AF:No, neverI never held a grudge and thats really, really important. And

then they understand what you are and who you are. And they could get support

from that.

CR:You are a fan of Doris Kearns Goodwin and her book Team of Rivals

which was about Lincoln choosing his rivals for his cabinet because herespected their talent plus he wanted them where he could see them.

AF:Yes, he wanted to see who they were and how they would fit into his

Cabinet, pretty clever really. And of course I think that Lincoln at that time was

facing the most difficult period for a President in terms of the South and the

North. He was also very good at not making quick decisions. He thought it all

through and allowed his Cabinet to have their say and then he would decide

thereafter. Its a great book, a fabulous book.


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CR:Did you see the movie Lincoln?

AF:Yes.

CR:Did you like it?

AF:I didnt think that it was a great movie but I thought that the central pieceabout the period that it had to deal with was fantastic. The acting in that movie

was unbelievable.

CR:By understanding that he had to do everything that he could push, pull, in

order to get emancipation because that was the goal and he understood the

consequences, so lets go all out for emancipation.

AF:There was the situation at Antietam when he was able to announceemancipation, and winning that particular battle allowed to give that

proclamation. It was such an important time.

CR:You are a kind of student of the Civil War?

AF:Yes, I love it. I think that it is a great history, its a young history. The

funny thing about it is that I bought a couple of books when I was in Chicago

having a weeks holiday. I went to a bookstore, and this is about 14-15 years

ago now, and I picked these two books up. Then later in I was in London doing

a thing about young apprentices, and Gordon Brown came over and asked mewhat I was reading at the time, and I told him that I had started to read a couple

of books about the Civil War. He said to me; 'Ill send you some tapes.'

So he sent me a dozen tapes by a Professor Gary Gallagher, and I was playing

them in my car every morning going into work. I got really fascinated by it. It is

a fantastic history. Ive since been to Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas the Bull

Run where the first battle; there was two battles there of course, and I went up

to Princeton to meet James McPherson, the great historian of the Civil War who

wrote the book Battle Cry of Freedom. He was very engaging, and veryaccommodating to me in terms of how he saw it.

CR:But not WWII, not WWI, not the War of 1812it is the Civil War thatfascinates you?


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AF: I took it on and I grew interested and more interested, and I went to a

gentlemans house down south in Atlanta, and he had every armament that was

used in the Civil War, and then he showed me the battle plans of Sherman who

burned Atlanta.

CR:Famously saying 'War is Hell'.

AF: They destroyed all the rail tracks

CR:I think he may have said, Im not sure, 'the people who hate war the most

are those who fight it.'

AF:Of course and thats a fact.

CR:Patton may have been the exception! Remember he said 'I love it!'

AF:How can you love war?

CR:I think that it was probably command that he loved. Napoleon probably

loved war too.

AF:I think that before you enter a war and first go into the army, you think thatoh! its great to join the army but when you get there and go into these

combats its entirely different, it changes you.

CR:So you go to Harvard Business School and they want to do this case study

about all this and the question of love versus hate, and you come up with this

thing called the Ferguson Formula. A formula for leadership, a formula for

what? Management?

AF:I think that leadership comes along, theres no question about that, how you

have control of a bunch of millionaires, you know. But there it is, it is quiteextraordinary. You have to control that part. I think that there are certain things

that I would like to put across, and it was always to make the players betterhuman beings, to develop their character, so that when they leave me they could

No everabout teaching them history or mathematics, its about inspiring them to

be the best that they could possibly be.

CR:You are teaching them life?


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AF:Yes, I think that is really important. You also develop their character. You

know that if you develop the right character, they wont let you down. Once

they go out on that football field, they are playing for all the things that you

have ever taught them. Of the winning mentality, of the determination. How to

handle defeat which is always just as important. It helps you develop a group ofpeople that are you. You can see yourself in them, and I think that I have always

tried to do that.

Determined: Wayne Rooney has a strong mentality and played despite wanting to leave United

CR:So every team member that plays for you, you look at him and see yourself?

AF:Not always, but I do like to try and see myself in them. Everybody isdifferent 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.

CR:We met a few days ago and you were talking about the idea that often the

best players dont make good coaches or good managers because they dont

understand someone who doesnt have the same level of skill.

AF: Yes, its a fact that. I remember that I was talking to Bobby Charlton about

that, and hed been the manager at Preston North End, and he couldnt

understand why the players could not understand him. So he gave up on it and

he was honest enough to say to himself that it wasnt for him.


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AF:Well you start with what you believe in. I believe in building a football

club rather than building a football team. I can understand coaches who

concentrate on building a football team because it gives them a job. Its a results

industry. You only have to look at Paolo Di Canio last week5-6 games into

his first season at Sunderland. They allow him to spend 19 million and thenthey sack him. To me, there is no evidence that that is going to bring success. So

in building a football club I wasnt interested in losing my job because of the

results of the first team.

I knew that I had to do a job in terms of building the football club, so we

worked really hard with the youth system and we made sure that we had a solid

foundation that would hold the fort for years and years. So when you see a

Manchester United team, we got to a position where I could plan ahead. So I

could see three years ahead where this team was going knowing that I had

certain players coming through the youth system who would step up when the

time was right.

CR:The second one wasdare to rebuild your team which you have brieflytouched upon. Even though team may have another great season ahead of them,

if in fact you know that to have a good team the next year, the next year, and the

next year, you have to rebuild. Even at the sacrifice say of winning?

AF:Well the horrible part of the job really is when you have players who have

been with you for years the evidence is always on the football field. So whenyou see a player and you notice that the level has started to dip, there is no point

on waiting another two years. You have to act because you will only hurtyourself. Hell not want to recognise that the day has come when he has had his

time. To have to say that to a player and make the change is very, very difficult.

You can only do that if you have a system where you can fill the gaps and

rebuild the team.

Over the years I have probably built maybe five teams, through the consistency

of being there as a manager, and the continuity of the youth system, and the

players that you have are not joining last. Even the ones that we buy are not

going to last for two or three years. You want them to be lasting six, seven,

eight years. So you have to buy at a good age, maybe 22/23 because they have

had good experience playing elsewhere and they have got plenty of years left inthem. So you can build a continuity of team.


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CR:So the main point here is that you have got to be ruled by your head and

not your heart?

AF:Oh! Absolutely. Its 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 evenmore hurting in the sense that you have got to say well son, Im sorry, you

wont be a regular here, but you will still have a career elsewhere. Its

happened more than a few times but it is not an easy thing to handle.

CR:Then you say that you have got to set high standards and hold everyone to

them.

AF:Absolutely. Every training session there is high expectation. The

concentration has to be right, and any deficiencies will always manifestthemselves on a Saturday, and thats what we look for at United. I would never

envisage having a bad session in terms of the training. We wanted to make sure

that the players were completely concentrated on what they were doing.

CR:The training sessions had purpose. You knew exactly what they would be

doing in order to get ready for Saturday.

AF:Exactly.

CR:The other one isnever cede controlever. You have to be in control?

AF:Well the point Ill make is that you are dealing with very rich young men. I

always said to the directors that the minute a player becomes more powerful

than the manager of Manchester United, its not Manchester United. You havelost control of the whole club. So I always made sure that I was in control. They

always knew who the manager was.

CR:Your word was law?

AF:If you want to put it as blunt as that - yes. But you dont necessarily need touse power in that situation. the control is nice but they know who the manager

is, and they know that it is me who is going to make the decisions. They know

that they can trust me which is really important. They know that I had the abilityto 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.


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CR:What does this meanmatch the message to the moment?

AF:The moment that we look for is that they are aware that every game is

about winning. We try to get the message across that this is the moment that we

have got to win. Every week, my expectation of you is to win the match.

CR:But to come back, and be able to say to yourself that youre that close to

defeat?

AF:There has to be a moment when they realise that they have to show their

character to overcome this. Weve had some great moments. Weve been behind

at half-time and winning games late on.

CR:You liked that didnt you?

AF:Oh! yes. I loved that. I was a bit of a gambler that way because I always

used to say to them at half-time, 'Be patient. The last fifteen minutes throw the

kitchen sink at them. Its worth a gamble'. You are going to lose the game

anyway. There is nothing better than when you get to that last fifteen minutes

and you actually win the game late on. The fans are going out of the gates I gave

it a try and it worked.

CR:Rely on the power of observation.

AF:Its an important part that people dont recognise. I remember when it firstdawned on me. I had a young coach at Aberdeen. He said to me, Why am I

here? So I says What are you talking about? He said, Well, I do nothing.

You shouldnt be doing all the training sessions, you should be in control of the

training sessions and let me get on with it. I said No, Im not having that. Hetold me that he thought that I was wrong. We had an old trainer there at the

time, teddy Scotthe was a great old man.

He said to me, Boss hes right. So I thought about it. We gave it a try and it

worked. It was amazing what you were actually watching. Seeing the playershabits. Seeing the little defects in their performance. You could see sometimes

that a player was not quite right on the day and you would wonder what was

wrong with him. It could be a million things. And that observation Ive carried

through with me all my career and Ive used that really well.


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CR:You have to make sure that you really are in the moment because it is

only when you are in the moment that you can see with great focus. You always

have to say to yourself, What is happening here? What is going on?

AF:Thats the power of observation. You dont take your eyes of it. By doingthat all the time you increase your ability to see things happening.

CR: Let me talk about some of the great players. Ryan Giggs you mentioned.

You and I talked about it the other night. You said to me youve got to get to

their mother.

AF: So I go tell my assistant, (inaudible) Ive been up every second night to his

house. And it got to a level when Ryans mother says well be back onThursday. She was buying tea for us, getting us supper.

CR: You were becoming the best friend of the family.

AF: Absolutely. The mothers the secret -- the mothers are always the strong

(inaudible) in the family without question. I say always get the mother.

CR:You get the mother, youll get them.

AF: Yes.

CR:Yes. Because the mothers have, and they want whats best. Sometimes theywant the best coach because they think that that coach or that manager willbring their sons or daughter's talent out.

AF: Yes. Theres always danger with the father. He tries to live his life through

the boy, you know. You get a little bit of that. Not all of them. But you do. Ive

seen evidence of that and therefore the mothers, no, she wont do it that way.

Shes -- my boy, I want more of this for my boy.'

CR: Gary Neville.

AF:Fantastic character. Gary gets up every morning at 6am reads every

newspaper. He wants to know whats going on in the world and more abouteverything, you know. Hes such a successful person. Hes no genius

(inaudible) but hes really good, really good. Hes also doing his


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very own business. I wanted to bring him on the staff. He didnt want to do that

-- hes never (inaudible) -- very, very determined character.

CR:And then there was a fellow named David Beckham.

AF: David, yes - amazing boy. I mean how hes created himself. Hes

(inaudible) conquering young people, its fantastic. I mean hes a wonderful

boy.

CR:How did he do that?

AF: Well, he always had a lovely smile, you know, and he always presents

himself well. But as a young kid when I got him at 12 years of age, his great

desire was to do the best. He was a fantastic trainer, practiced all the time and at

night he would come back with the school boys and practice with them.

And he was in that collection along with Giggs and Scholes. And then of course

his life changed when he married the girl from -

CR: Spice Girls.

AF:Yes. And his focus changed.

CR: What did it become?

AF:Well, he got drawn into that celebrity status, you know. For me Im a

football man. Im a football man. It wasnt my --

CR: So you had to go to David and say -

AF: Yes, he has to focus. And so theyll be trying to -

CR:So what did you do? I mean did you go - tell me what you said to him when

you believed that he was becoming more interested in celebrity than football?

AF: I just think hes over his head. I dont think he could listen. I always

remember in the (inaudible) he says "Im in love" and there was nothing you

can do with that, you know. And therefore he lost the focus. But I saw them in

Real, Madrid. He did well.


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The thing I couldnt believe - (inaudible) - I couldnt believe that. I couldnt

understand that. I would never have allowed him to do that, you know. He was

going to make sure he went to the best and Real Madrid was the best outside

United.And he reinvented himself, of course, and plays for the English team

after a couple of years. He goes and plays for Milan. And well done. You cantargue with the status he has in life.

Head over heels: David Beckham fell for Spice Girl Victoria

CR: Yes. But would it have been better if he stayed at Manchester United and

still have all the celebrity?

AF: For me? For me it would have pleased me more to see him in a great

(inaudible), you know, to see him with a woman. But how can you argue with

life? Hes an icon for young people; represents himself the proper way. And I

say well done.

CR: Was he one of those guys? You have said you looked for guys who are badlosers.

AF: Oh David, definitely.

CR:He was a bad loser.

AF: Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Grumpy, yes.

CR: Grumpy.


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AF: The bad losers are all grumpy.

CR:They are.

AF:Oh yes. Theyre (inaudible) really.

CR: Those are the ones you want, though.

AF: Yes.

CR:Because theyre driven not to be unhappy.

AF: Absolutely, yes. Winnings the name of the game, they dont forget that.

CR:Again are you born with that or is that something you acquire? Is that in

your DNA?

AF: I think it must come from part of your family somewhere along the line.

Some people look back and ensure theyll win entirely in a different way. Some

are very emotional and demonstrative about it. And David was very

demonstrative as a young man and loved winning. I think it must come from

somewhere in the genes.

CR:Youve given advice to Tony Blair, even about some strategic and how to

handle people, yes.

AF: Yes, I used to. I always think Tony was best at question time. I loved him

at question time. He destroyed those boys.

CR: You like the competition.

AF: I love to see him unite, yes. We spoke of many things. One thing I always

said to him at the election time, why dont you take your physical therapist with

you.

CR: The other thing thats interesting me about you is that, you know, is that the

sense of mission. You know how to infuse the sense of mission. And you know

how so that everybody knows theyre playing for themselves. Theyre playing

for their person to their right and their left. And theyre playing for something

larger than themselves.


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AF:The team ethic.

CR:The team ethic.

AF:Work on aggression, looking at each team member beside you and trust

him. And thats the essence of a team where they can understand the qualities

and the failures and weaknesses of the team-mates.

CR:And accountability too.

AF: Yes, absolutely. So if you were in a game of football always think you need

maybe eight to win the game. Three can on an off day or semi off day but you

always hard. And the players recognize that and theyll do that extra to make

sure they get winning. And the next week can

be changed around of course. But thats the essence of the team is to understandand trust each other and to trust me.

CR: To trust you.

AF:Absolutely.

CR:In other words, trust your plan, trust your strategy.

AF: Yes.

CR: Trust your -

AF:My team selection -

CR:Yes, team selection -

AF: - which is always difficult because I have to maybe weed five or six

players out each week. I always bring them in individually to explain to them

why theyre not playing. Its not easy because they all want to play. But next

week they may -

CR: So what would you say to them? Give me a speech.

AF:I say to them I could be wrong. But Im thinking of the team -

CR:I could be wrong.


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AF: Yes. I always say that. I could be wrong but I think its the right team for

this game. On other occasions, maybe picking a team for two or three weeks

ahead so I maybe leaving an older player for that occasion. And I would say get

yourself ready for three weeks from now youll be playing in that game. So

therefore youre giving them a boost.

CR: Something to look forward to.

AF: Yes.

CR:Not playing tonight but I will be playing three weeks from now.

AF: Yes. Of course Ive been manager there for a long time. I was able to go on

that way. And also the confidence to make changes for three or four games

ahead.

CR:Now what about this? In 1999 when you won all three major competitions,

which is unheard of. And up until the last minute of the European Cup final, it

looked to everyone like you were not going to win, you were going to lose.

And your assistant manager at the time has said that your belief, your beliefnever wavered. Even though it looked like you were going to lose you didnt

think so.

AF: Going at your goals and then to attain them is not an accident. That was thecharacter of the team. Too many times we did it that season coming back from a

goal down to winning matches. So it wasnt an accident. But you have to say a

little bit of faith, you know, a little bit of luck. It happens. You dont know

where that happens or how it happens but it happens.

CR: When the Glazer family first got involved, it was 1995, was it?

AF: Yes.

CR: What did it change?

AF:It changed nothing, Charlie.

CR:Nothing.


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AF: Oh, absolutely. I was going nowhere. And my wife came in and says

whats wrong with you. Isaid we lost 5-1. She said no, you couldnt have lost 5-

1. Now, it was a mad one, you know.

CR:There is also - your wife is wonderful and you told me a story the othernight about when they - theyre putting a statue up of you and they got it under

the hood and she comes to you and you said to her, who do you think should behere for the presentation? Maybe Prince William.

AF:She said Prince William, and I said no. But hes president of the FA, it

could be him.

CR:Yes.

AF:And Im standing there and David Gill announces my wife. I couldntbelieve it. I said how did you manage to do that.

CR:She never told you.

AF:No. She doesnt go to the games either.

CR:She never would go to the games.

AF:No. Shes been in a few cup finals -

CR: Why would she not come?

AF:I dont think she's comfortable.

CR: Yes. So shes getting ready to jerk the cover off and she says - she does it

rather gently.

AF: Yes, she fairly - she -

CR:Decapitated it.

AF: Yes. Absolutely. When the head comes rolling down. It was amazing. I

think she was absolutely the correct person to do it.

CR:What did she mean to you?


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AF: Well, she brought the kids, we went over that -

CR: She was?

AF:She brought all the kids. You know the children, she brought them up.

Strong relationship: Ferguson with his wife Cathy after receiving a CBE at Buckingham Palace

CR:She brought up the kids.

AF:Yes, yes. Because when you go back to my older days and 32 years of age I

went into football and we had two public houses in Glasgow. We were running

two bars in Glasgow and part-time at football you know. Cathys got them -

getting them dressed, going to school, doing the homework with them, putting

them to bed. All the same - and so that role was fantastic, theres no question.

I always remember she used to say to me when they get to 16 they will bedaddys boys. I say why do you make that kind of statement. You wait.

CR:She was right.

AF: Shes always right. Even at home shes always right.

CR: You just didnt like the conclusion.

AF:Yes, yes.

CR:And theyre right.

AF:The (inaudible) years is always the support system. And always agreed to

tell the truth, you know, when she says youre wrong.


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CR:She would tell you.

AF: Or not good enough.

CR: She would tell you.

AF: Absolutely.

CR:Never.

AF: Absolutely. She was good at that.

CR:There are two things that remind me of you and its interesting. What

happened to you and Wayne Rooney.

AF:Well, I dont think anything really happened -

CR:Really? Really?

AF:- that I would get upset about. He came in the day after the (inaudible) and

its just an expectation thing again. I manage a team who I see, but at that

particular moment it wasnt

doing particularly well. But now we see him today, hes got his energy back.

And hes doing great.

So maybe that was a good timing for the boy, you know.

CR:But you thought of him - didnt you think of him as a son in a way.

AF: Well, he came as a 17-year-old boy and of course, all the (inaudible) will

support him and look after him. Do our best to make him better. And there were

some great moments.

CR:But did it end badly.

AF:No, I dont think so. I think if Wayne walkedin here today, he would shake

my hand. I dont think -

CR: When was the last time you shook his hand?


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AF:The day we won the league. When he was presented with the cup was the

last time. You see you've got to also look at the media. Whats unfortunate in

this (inaudible) is anyones big white hope internationally hes a big white hope.

So therefore the medias always centered around Wayne.

And he has people who advise him and I think thats where all thats comingfrom. I never felt at any time, you know. Sometimes I would discipline him but

sometimes theyre only discipline. But not to the extent that you would think

there was some sort of -

CR:How would you discipline them?

AF: Well, its set. You fine them a weeks wages.

CR:Oh yes, like that. But not put them in the line-up.

AF:No, no. I wouldnt do that.

CR:You never do. That would hurt you.

AF: Yes. You see hes back to his form and in some way Ive helped to bring

that right then Ive done the right thing for him. Make him awinner basically.

CR: Yes, but you werent thinking about what Im doing for him, you were

thinking it just doesnt work.

AF: Its for the team.

CR: Yes. Good for the team.

AF:Yes, absolutely.

CR:But it so happened that it became good for him because he had to bring it

together.

AF: Yes. When the club could very well refuse him to sell him to Chelsea, you

realised his only job is with Manchester United and its brought back his focus,

its brought back his work ethic and his purpose and hes doing well again.

CR: What do you think of Roman Abramovich - speaking of Chelsea?


23/27

AF: Its a strange one, Chelsea, you know, the change of managers so many

times. The European Cup (inaudible) in Abramovichs time and they keep

changing the coach, you know. That was in terms of winning.

But you look at the teams and (inaudible). They have been, the last few yearstheyve been our main competitor. So its a very competitive situation betweenChelsea and us.

CR:Suppose he came to you, maybe he has.

AF:There was - he used an agent when he first came and approached me and I

said no, no chance.

CR: You couldnt do that. No chance. You didnt even want to have the

conversation.

AF:No.

CR:You didnt want to see what they would offer.

AF:No.

CR: You just said no chance. I could never be that way for the team that was a

rival where I made my home.

AF: Manchester United is my team, my club.

CR: So anybody who speculates that you may be back in football in any way is

simply wrong.

AF: The job came up there, they always say the odds are 80-1 Ferguson. Good

odds, huh? You will be wasting your money. Youll be throwing your money

down the drain.

CR:No way. No way Ferguson is back in football.

AF: I made my decision Charlie. The timing was perfect. I went out a winner.

Theres no way back. I look forward to the challenges of a new life and doing

the things Ive been waiting maybe 35 years to do.

CR:Yes.


24/27

AF: You know, I want to go to the Kentucky Derby. I want to go to The

Masters. I want to go to the Melbourne Cup but dont tell Cathy that (inaudible)

. There are a lot of things I want to do. I want to go to the vineyards in Tuscany

and France.

CR: Oh, yes. You did that.

AF: Ive done France a couple times but Id love to go to Tuscany, the

beautiful (inaudible) wine, you know.

CR: So you are now having a very good time.

AF: Yes. Im enjoying it.

CR: Youre enjoying what youre seeing. You can go to a battlefield. You can goto The Masters, you can go to the Kentucky Derby.

AF: Absolutely. Correct.

CR:You can go to - what else is on the list? You have a bucket list. Do you

know what a bucket list is?

AF: Yes, of course, yes. From the movie - its in a movie.

CR: With De Niro and Morgan Freeman.

AF: Yes, thats right.

CR: No, no, no. Jack Nicholson.

AF: Jack Nicholson, right.

But you know that Ive mentioned the Kentucky Derby and I mentioned The

Masters and the Melbourne Cup and doing France. There are a lot of things that

are coming up, you know. And in terms of doing them (inaudible) a lot ofpeople when we do these things and these are challenges which I see because

once I made my mind up to leave United I was never going to think that Ive

made a wrong decision.


25/27

I was just about looking forward. Im not interested in managing. Im not

interested in getting myself worked up over United results. In good times, I do -

you might as well do a good job.

CR: Youre still behind him (David Moyes).

AF: Absolutely, 100 per cent. And all the club will be. Thats the great thing

about the club. They will support the manager and he will be fine, he will be

good.

CR:Heres my scenario.Lets say - Roman Abramovich has got a lot of money,

you know that. Hes got more money than God.

AF:Thats a good one.

CR:You love horses.

AF: Yes.

CR:Hell say to you look, come manage Chelsea. I will give you the greatest

stable of horses -

AF: Youve ever seen?

CR:-youve ever seen.

AF:The temptation - everyone dreams.

CR: You have to know a mans weakness do you know what I mean?

AF: I know. You always dream you have the derby winner. I have a share in

the horse that was a favorite for the Derby this year - Telescope - good horse. It

will come back next year, but its a very, very good horse. Everyone dreams we

have a winner, Derby winner, whatever. But you know, as I said, I made my

mind up. Im looking forward to my new career and my new challenges.

CR: Whats the new career?

AF:Im ambassador of United (inaudible). Im an ambassador for UNICEF

which is great work.


26/27

CR: Yes, its good work.

AF: Iveseen children in poverty and also child prostitution in Thailand, Ive

seen all that. You know the work that UNICEF do, they need support with that,

they need funding, of course, but you see what theyre doing and its reallyworthwhile stuff. I kind of enjoyed doing that with them. Its a challenge, youknow, its a different type of challenge.

CR: Youre a big labour party man, arent you?

AF: Yes. That wont change ever, I wont change that ever. Ive been tempted

to go to the National Party.

CR:I know, why dont you like Scottish nationalism? I dont understand that. I

mean my friend Sean Connery is all aboard.

AF:Oh yes, Sean is very much -

CR: You know, whats wrong with you?

AF:Hes from Edinburgh. No, I grew up in a socialist background. My father

was a socialist. My mother was a socialist.

CR: So there you are. Socialist -

AF:Yes. Why change?

CR:OK.

More to follow.

AF: Its never hurtme not changing. So I wont change. And I think that

United is OK.

CR:But with Ed Miliband, you know, theyre ahead in terms of the pollsagainst the Tories, you know. They have an election, maybe he wins he might

have a job for you, another job.

AF: Oh no, its one thing. I wont get into politics, you know. Thats a different

life for me. Thats not my scene.


27/27

CR: All right. Let me close with this. Youve written your own biography, you

did that about 10 years ago. You got this case study at Harvard in which you

talk about leadership. Whats the best moment ever for you in football?

AF:The best moment has to be Barcelona, of course. That was the trophy Inever won. This is always the albatross around my neck. Winning that

particular one and the way we did it, you can never forget it.

But I think that to encapsulate my life, to have 27 years at Manchester United is

a feat - its an achievement - the continuity and the consistency that I created

there and going out at the top, I cant ask for anything more. Thats for me, you

know, Ive achieved everything I ever wanted to achieve. And Im going a

happy man.

CR: Thank you for coming.

AF:Thanks Charlie, it was great.

CR:Sir Alex Ferguson. Thank you for joining us. See you next time.

Going out at the top: Ferguson was delighted to leave with another Premier League title

Sir Alex Ferguson Interview Transcript

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