![]() ![]() March 2013: Sir Alex Ferguson is "distraught" after Real loss, says his assistant Mike Phelan Phelan told the media Ferguson was "distraught" and "in no fit state" to talk to them. The feeling was Ferguson might say something he would regret. In addition, the only time the United manager conducted the separate post-match media conferences was after European games when it was a contractual requirement.ĭespite the magnitude of the game and the unprecedented nature of the request in a European context, Gill told Phelan that he would have to take the place of an upset and angry Ferguson in front of the media. Phelan had been Ferguson's regular stand-in for post-match interviews with the BBC during the manager's seven-year boycott of the broadcaster over a disputed documentary about his son Jason. When the teams returned to the dressing room, Gill went to speak to Mike Phelan, Ferguson's assistant. They had been ahead in the tie when United winger Nani was sent off. On 5 March, United were knocked out of the Champions League in controversial fashion by Real Madrid. However, looking back, there was a giant clue. Long after the 31 March deadline passed, only a select few, including United's owners, the Glazer family, knew of Ferguson's impending exit. However, Gill was surprised to hear Ferguson reveal that the current season would also be his last at Old Trafford. Having worked closely with Ferguson for more than a decade, Gill wanted the manager to be among the first to know he intended to stand down the following summer, hoping a lack of club ties would improve his chances of taking a seat on Uefa's powerful executive committee. Gill had initially called their meeting to tell Ferguson of his own departure. Latest Manchester United news, analysis and fan viewsįerguson told United chief executive David Gill of his plans early in 2013. ![]() ![]() It was also the beginning of an attempt to keep one of the biggest stories of the Premier League era under wraps at perhaps its most-scrutinised club.īBC Sport has spoken to a number of sources around United at that time for an insight into the process that ended with an amazing 5-5 draw in Ferguson's last game as a manager at West Brom on 19 May. So set in motion the wheels for Ferguson's departure. Contractually, I was obliged to tell the club by 31 March if I was going to stand down that summer," wrote Ferguson. "Cathy, who had lost her sister Bridget in the October and was struggling to come to terms with that bereavement, soon agreed it was the right course. '"Why are you going to do that," she replied. '"I'm going to retire," he told wife Cathy, around Christmas 2012. Now 81, in his autobiography 'Alex Ferguson', he detailed why he decided to quit after nearly 27 years in one of the game's toughest and most high-profile jobs. He won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, two Champions Leagues, a European Cup Winners' Cup, a European Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup during his time at Manchester United.Īdd to that the three Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups, Scottish League Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup he won as manager of Aberdeen. The Scot remains the most decorated manager in British football. A decade on, it could be argued the club still hasn't recovered from Ferguson's exit. ![]()
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