Football - Bloody Hell!


Book Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS Sir Alex Ferguson is the most controversial and compelling figure in football. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful. It's been more than ten years since Ferguson's Manchester United triumphed over Bayern Munich in the dying seconds of the Champions League final. Since then he has presided over the rise and fall and rise again of José Mourinho; the arrival and departure of the world's best player, Ronaldo; the removal of one English talisman - Beckham - and the irresistible instalment of another - Rooney. Ferguson has been instrumental in making the Premier League the most successful competition in football, and he has endured while the mountains of cash have turned to valleys of debt. Throughout, award-winning journalist Patrick Barclay has been pitch-side and spoken to all those who know Ferguson best - fellow managers, former players, colleagues and commentators. The result is Football - Bloody Hell!: the definitive work on the game's greatest living legend.




Alex Ferguson


Book Description

The celebratory, revealing, inspiring, and entertaining autobiography of the greatest manager in the history of British soccer--fully updated one year later Sir Alex Ferguson's compelling story is always honest and revealing, and he reflects on his managerial career that embraced unprecedented European success for Aberdeen and 26 triumphant seasons with Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson's best-selling autobiography has now been updated to offer reflections on events at Manchester United since his retirement, as well as his teachings at the Harvard Business School, a night at the Oscars, and a boat tour round the Hebrides, where he passed unrecognized. The extra material adds fresh insights and detail on his final years as United's manager. Both the psychology of management and the detail of soccer strategy at the top level can be complex matters but no one has explained them in a more interesting and accessible way for the general reader than Sir Alex does here. Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography is revealing, endlessly entertaining, and above all, inspirational.




Leading


Book Description

*THE ORIGINAL BESTSELLING BOOK ON LEADERSHIP AND SUCCESS, BY THE GREATEST FOOTBALL MANAGER OF ALL TIME* 'One of the World's all-time great leaders' Professor Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School 'The foundation for success' Financial Times What readers are saying: 'Worth reading for anyone who wants to know how to succeed.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'You will enjoy the book even if you are not a football lover.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'One of the great leaders of the last century' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A formula for getting the best from people' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ __________ What does it take to lead a team to world-class success over a sustained period of time? Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the few leaders who truly knows. In his 38 years in management, Sir Alex won an astonishing 49 trophies and helped grow Manchester United into one of the biggest commercial brands in the world. In this inspirational and straight-talking book, Sir Alex reveals the secrets behind his record-breaking career. Leading is structured around the key skills that Sir Alex values most highly. It includes subjects we immediately associate with his managerial style: Discipline, Control, Teamwork and Motivation. But it also addresses subjects that are less obvious but no less important when seeking success: Delegation, Data Analysis and Dealing with Failure. Written with the investor Sir Michael Moritz, a longstanding friend of Sir Alex, Leading is packed with insight, wisdom, humour and honesty. The individual stories inevitably concern themselves with football, and the phenomenal success that came along the way, but the lessons can be applied by anyone. Whether you run a business, teach in a classroom, or work in a small team, Leading will help you become a better leader. __________ Perfect for fans of High Performance, Atomic Habits, Surrounded by Idiots and The Diary of a CEO




How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson


Book Description

‘How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson is an insightful and interesting book packed with leadership ideas and real life examples taken from the cutting edge of sport that apply in leading any top team or business. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those currently in leadership positions and those aspiring to get there, as Damian Hughes draws out the inspirational qualities required from one of the greatest managers in football.’ Stuart Lancaster, Former England Head Coach, Rugby Football Union Delve deep into the mind of one of the world’s most successful leaders and discover 10 powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business, with this unique and inspiring handbook for anyone looking to improve performance in turbulent, changing times. Distilling the primary lessons of Ferguson's phenomenal success as manager at Manchester United and showing how you can apply them to you own personal goals, this book explains Ferguson's approach to people-management, changing mind-sets, visualisation, building confidence and embracing change – all techniques at the heart of turning Manchester United into a winning machine. Discover how he remained at the forefront of one of the world's most competitive industries and how to make this count with your own ambition, as well as learning about the techniques he employed to extract the finest qualities from his team, and how to lead other individuals and teams in their pursuit of success within changing times. With exercises for you to work on, drawing from Professor Hughes's practical and academic background within sport, organisation and change psychology, this is the perfect handbook for the business of winning and managing success.




Managing My Life


Book Description

This book is about the beginning of Sir Alex's football career, until the year 2000. 1999 was an outstanding year for Alex Ferguson - not only did he lead Manchester United, the most glamorous club in the world, to a unique and outstanding treble triumph, but he was awarded the highest honour for his sporting achievements; a Knighthood from the Queen. Universally respected for his tough, but caring managerial style, Ferguson is an unusually intelligent man with a fascinating life story. Covering his tough Govan upbringing through to his playing days and onto his shift into management, Managing My Life is told with the fine balance of biting controversy and human sensitivity which made it such an unprecedented success in hardback. Alex Ferguson is a legend in his lifetime.




Life with Sir Alex


Book Description

This is the story of one of the most successful football clubs in history under one of the greatest football managers of our time. But it is also a book about what it has meant to be a Manchester United supporter during the remarkable 25-year reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. The book begins in the winter of 1986 - when Sir Alex found himself in charge of a demoralised club facing relegation - and describes the creation of his first great side, including Schmeichel, Bruce, Pallister, Keane, Ince, Giggs, Hughes and Cantona. It goes on to introduce Fergie's Fledglings - the generation of David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville - who were thrown straight into Ferguson's side as teenagers, won the double in 1995 and went on to seal the treble in Barcelona in 1999. It then describes how, after Beckham left for Real Madrid in 2003, United were knocked off their perch first by Arsenal, then by cash-rich Chelsea. Ferguson needed a response to Jose Mourinho's spectacular revolution ... And in Rooney and Ronaldo, playing alongside Rio Ferdinand, Scholes, Giggs, Tevez and Vidic, he found one. As much an homage to a great man as it is a passionate account of one fan's lifelong devotion to his team, Life with Sir Alex is a the perfect read for football fans all over the world.




The Alex Ferguson Quote Book


Book Description

Football. Bloody hell.' The longest serving and most successful manager in British football history shocked the world by finally retiring in May 2013 and instantly created more column inches and twitter mentions that the death of Margaret Thatcher. And he wasn’t just the greatest, but also one of the most outspoken, engaging and witty voices from the game, as this book proves. Here is the history of his supreme verbal sparring during his years at Manchester United - the man in his own words (with a few additional thoughts from those who knew him best and crossed swords with him most). 'There's nothing wrong with losing your temper once in a while if it's for the right reasons' 'If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre-half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I’d check the milkman' On Gary Neville 'He could start a row in an empty house' On Denis Wise 'The list of gentle, naturally retiring men who have been successful in their attempts at running clubs isn't a long one, is it?




Alex Ferguson


Book Description

Alex Ferguson, once king of Scottish football, gave up the easy life in Aberdeen to follow in the famous footsteps of Sir Matt Busby. Others had flickered and then faded in the shadow cast by the legendary Busby but Ferguson couldn’t resist the call. ‘Football is a strange obsession. Winning is a drug and when I got the invitation to manage Manchester United I simply could not resist,’ he says. For nearly six years he has chased the end of the rainbow and spent millions of pounds to bring the coveted championship to Old Trafford for the first time in 25 years. Now he feels it is time to tell the inside story of the best-supported club in Britain and his struggle to fulfil the title dream of thousands of supporters. He found the famous club in disarray and he admits he came close to the sack himself. ‘No manager is prepared for the job at Old Trafford. The legend is huge. It’s different from any other club with its traditions and expectations. It took me three or four years to understand the particular politics and demands. Only through success can a manager get control of his destiny.’ Ferguson fought his battles and won the trophies which slowly but surely see him now established as a manager who has laid the old ghosts to rest and created a new vision. Winning the FA cup in 1990 bought him valuable time, and success in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup, beating Barcelona in a memorable final in Rotterdam, gave him the right platform for the most convincing championship challenge since the days of Busby. After seven years at Aberdeen, Ferguson wrote A Light in the North, an account of how he broke the Glasgow stranglehold on Scottish football. Now comes the sequel of how he conquered English football at the helm of their greatest club.




The Boss


Book Description

Ferguson's own autobiography was a great bestseller on its publication in 1999. But Fergie's book told the story through only one pair of eyes. Now, Michael Crick, acclaimed biographer of Jeffrey Archer, writes the first fully rounded, independent portrait of Sir Alex. From his roots as a Govan trade unionist to the current peaks of world football, Crick applies the same forensic skills he applied to his study of the disgraced Tory peer. Through hundreds of interviews with those who've known and worked with Sir Alex, and delving back through the archives, Michael Crick explores the money and the politics of football, the bust-ups, the fights, and those memorable moments of glory. Charismatic and charming, volcanic and ruthless, searingly ambitious and astonishingly successful. What makes Sir Alex Ferguson tick? How did this complex character become the most successful manager in British football, producing -- first at Aberdeen and now at Manchester United -- two of the most prolific trophy-grabbing machines in the modern game? THE BOSS is essential reading not just for Manchester United fans and football followers in general, but for anyone interested in the skills of successful management.




Managing My Life: My Autobiography


Book Description

The best football autobiography I have ever read The Sunday Times Alex Ferguson is a legend in his lifetime, universally respected for his tough, but caring managerial style. This book covers the beginning of his football career, including his triumphant 1999 run to the treble and a Knighthood from the Queen. Covering his tough Govan upbringing through to his playing days and onto his shift into management, Managing My Life is told with the fine balance of biting controversy and human sensitivity.