Football - Bloody Hell!': The Story of Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson is without doubt the most controversial and compelling figure in football today. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful. His reign at Manchester United has seen him win every major footballing honour. And then win them again. Its been over ten years since that unforgettable night in Barcelona when Fergusons embattled players triumphed over Bayern Munich in the dying seconds of the Champions League final. Since then Ferguson has presided over the rise and fall and rise again of Jos Mourinho, the arrival and departure of the worlds best player, Ronaldo, the removal of one English talisman Beckham and the irresistible instalment of another Rooney. He 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. It is only now, as Ferguson nears the end of his career, that conclusions can be drawn about this fascinating man. From Fergusons combative working class youth in Govan to his role in ushering in the debt-laden Glazer era, 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. Barclay reveals Ferguson to be a relentless character whose ability to intimidate, control, cajole and encourage has driven his unparalleled success. In the pages of Football Bloody Hell! the games biggest living legend is finally laid bare. Alex Ferguson is the most fascinating and controversial figure in football today. He is also the most successful. His twenty five year tenure of the Manchester United dugout has seen him win everything there is to be won in football, many times over. His reign as manager has led to the rise of Manchester United to become the biggest football club in the world. This book, written by the award-winning and critically acclaimed Patrick Barclay, will fill in the gaps left by the Ferguson's own book, Managing My Life. Everyone who bought that book will want Barclay's comprehensive, objective analysis of Ferguson, the good and the bad, and the occasionally ugly and it will also appeal hugely to those outside the Manchester United extended family for whom Ferguson has often acted as a red rag. Having known Ferguson for a quarter of a century, Barclay believes him to be generous-spirited as well as ruthless and relentlessly competitive; in such an almost larger than life character, there is room for countless facets. And it is these facets that Barclay seeks to explore and explain 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.