SIR ALEX FERGUSON FACTFILE

1941: Born December 31 in Govan, Glasgow.

1957: Joins Queen's Park as amateur while apprentice toolmaker in Glasgow factory.

1960: Joins St Johnstone as part-timer.

1964: Quits toolmaking to join Dunfermline.

1967: Moves to Rangers for £65,000.

1969: Another move, this time to Falkirk, for £20,000.

1973: Joins Ayr, returning to part-time ranks while running his Glasgow pub.

1974: Appointed manager of East Stirling in September, but moves to St Mirren three months later.

1978: Sacked by St Mirren and appointed at Aberdeen as successor to Billy McNeill.

1980: First managerial honour as Aberdeen win Scottish championship.

1982: Aberdeen win the Scottish Cup, beating Rangers 4-1.

1983: Aberdeen retain Scottish Cup, this time beating Rangers 1-0, and defeat Real Madrid 2-1 in Gothenburg to lift European Cup Winners' Cup.

1984: Aberdeen win League and Cup double, beating Celtic 2-1 in the Cup final. Ferguson awarded OBE.

1985: Appointed caretaker manager of Scotland following death of Jock Stein during Wales v Scotland World Cup qualifier.

1986: Scotland bow out of Mexico World Cup after first round. Ferguson leaves Aberdeen to take over at Manchester United after sacking of Ron Atkinson.

1989: Breaks British transfer record to sign Gary Pallister for £2.3million from Middlesbrough.

1990: First trophy at Old Trafford as United beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in an FA Cup final replay after a 3-3 draw.

1991: United beat Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam to win Cup Winners' Cup.

1992: European Super Cup arrives at Old Trafford as United beat Red Star Belgrade, while first League Cup triumph booked with 1-0 defeat of Nottingham Forest. Championship dream dies as Leeds overhaul United in final weeks of the season.

1993: Old Trafford's 26-year wait for title is ended as United finish 10 points clear of Aston Villa to win inaugural Premier League title; Signs Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest for British transfer record £3.75million.

1994: United become only sixth team to complete championship and FA Cup double.

1995: Breaks British transfer record again to sign Andy Cole from Newcastle for £7million; United finish runners-up to Blackburn in the league and Everton in the FA Cup.

1996: United become the first club ever to complete the championship and FA Cup double twice, overcoming one-time runaway leaders Newcastle in the Premier League and then beating Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley.

1997: Claims fourth championship title in five seasons.

1998: Finishes season trophyless as Arsenal win double.

1999: Leads United to the treble of European Cup, Premier League and FA Cup; Knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

2000: Guides United to a sixth Premier League title, finishing the campaign 18 points clear of Arsenal.

2001: Wins seventh title in nine years.

2002: Changes plans to retire to sign a new three-year deal as United manager; United finish outside top two in Premier League for first time.

2003: Involved in dressing room bust-up with star player David Beckham, who it emerges was cut in the face by a boot kicked by Ferguson in frustration; Courts controversy by claiming Champions League draw is fixed; United win title again; Launches a legal action against major United shareholder John Magnier over stud rights to top racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.

2004: United win FA Cup with victory over Millwall in final; Signs Everton star Wayne Rooney for a fee which could rise to £27million.

2005: United lose FA Cup final to Arsenal on penalties.

2006: Wins the League Cup for only the second time thanks to a 4-0 thrashing of Wigan.

2007: Wins first Premier League title for four years but United are denied the double after FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea.

2008: Beats Chelsea to the Premier League title again before defeating the Blues on penalties in the Champions League final in Moscow. United subsequently add the Club World Cup before the end of the year.

2009: Retains Premier League title having already won the League Cup against Tottenham. United reach Champions League final in Rome but lose to Barcelona 2-0.

2010: Forced to settle for just the League Cup, against Aston Villa, as Carlo Ancelotti helps Chelsea reclaim the title; becomes United's longest-serving manager.

2011: Given a five-match touchline ban and a £30,000 fine for his verbal attack on referee Martin Atkinson at Chelsea in February. "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that," said Ferguson in the aftermath of the 2-1 defeat. "I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst."

2012: May - United are pipped to the Premier League title on a dramatic final day of the season, with bitter rivals Manchester City instead taking top spot on goal difference.

September - Ferguson manages his 1000th league game with United against Southampton. Two weeks later, he wins his 100th game in the Champions League be beating Galatasaray at Old Trafford.

2013: April 22 - United land a record 20th league title with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

May 8 - United announce he will retire at the end of the season.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/alex-ferguson-retires-manchester-united-1875254

FERGIE'S TOUGHEST TESTS OF 27 YEARS IN THE OLD TRAFFORD HOTSEAT

EARLY SURVIVAL AND ESTABLISHING HIMSELF
Ferguson may have had a strong reputation in Scotland when he arrived but that would not have saved him had the troubles of his first few seasons continued much longer. United flirted with relegation in 1989-90 but crucially kept the season alive by shining in the FA Cup. They went on to win the trophy with victory over Crystal Palace in a replayed final and Ferguson's reign gathered momentum.

RECLAIMING THE LEAGUE TITLE
United had enjoyed occasional cup successes since last winning the league in 1967 but they were largely living off past glories until Ferguson finally ended their title drought. In 1991-92 they made a strong challenge only to lose out to Leeds at the last hurdle. There was no mistake 12 months later, however, and a further 11 titles have since followed.

WINNING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
With a 26-year league hoodoo broken, United's 'holy grail' became success in Europe's elite competition. Admittedly rules regarding foreign players were a hindrance, but mid-1990s European challenges were characterised by struggles and disappointing defeats to teams such as Galatasaray, IFK Gothenburg and Fenerbahce - as well as one infamous footballing lesson from Barcelona. Ferguson ensured they were a far tougher outfit by the end of the decade, though, and they finally threw the monkey off their back in 1999, when victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona completed a glorious treble.

REBUILDING THE TEAM
To maintain his phenomenal success, Ferguson has continually regenerated his team. Arguably he never did this better than after his initial flurry of trophies when the likes of Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis moved on. Ferguson put faith in youngsters such as David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes and was derided for doing so, but it paid off handsomely. Similarly after Arsenal and Chelsea shared the titles from 2004-06, Ferguson hit back with a new side built around Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

DEALING WITH PLAYER POWER
The rise of player power over the past two decades has given managers at many clubs huge problems, but Ferguson rarely bows to it. He is very much the boss at Old Trafford and his position is virtually untouchable. There have been controversies involving big-name players including David Beckham, Roy Keane, Jaap Stam and Paul Ince but Ferguson has not only won each time, but been proved right. Last year Rooney appeared to burn bridges in dramatic fashion but he was coaxed back into the fold, and with remarkable results.

SILENCING THE NOISY NEIGHBOURS
When Manchester City, backed by the seemingly endless wealth of Sheikh Mansour, became champions of England last season for the first time in 44 years, it seemed the power balance in the city may have shifted indefinitely. But while Roberto Mancini's men struggled to recreate the football that took the Premier League trophy to Eastlands, Ferguson made another key signing - bringing in Robin van Persie from rivals Arsenal - and took title number 13 to Old Trafford to quieten City down for another season.

FERGUSON FACT

Sir Alex Ferguson's all-time Manchester United record (from 06/11/1986):

Played: 1604

Won: 965

Drawn: 360

Lost: 279

Liam O'Brien was Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing at Manchester United. Who do you think was Ferguson's best signing for the club? Let us know via #fergieretires

Possible Replacements

10/11 – Moyes

6/4 – Mourinho


14/1 – Klopp
20/1 – Laudrup
25/1 – Giggs
25/1 – Wenger
25/1 – Neville
33/1 – Solskjaer
33/1 – Cantona
66/1 – Mancini
66/1 – Di Canio
80/1 – Keane
250/1 – Darren Ferguson

1) stats

2) sitting out gloomy from his first game first defeat by Oxford