Meet the philosophical Alex Ferguson

By Liam Mackey

Saturday, January 23, 2010

HERE’S one for your next pub quiz: what do Archbishop Tutu, The Edge, Salman Rushdie, Al Pacino, Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Alex Ferguson have in common?

As of last Wednesday, when the Manchester United boss was awarded his medal, they are all Honorary Patrons of the Philosophical Society in Trinity College.

For such a high-falutin’ title, the mood was very informal at the ceremony in the College’s Graduates Memorial Building where Ferguson cut a relaxed and engaging figure as, in the company of his good horse-racing friend and MC for the night Des Scahill, he spoke about his life and times and offered answers to a series of pre-submitted questions.

So, no chance then of Sir being ambushed on such thorny subjects as the Glazers or Carlos Tevez, although at the very start there was the briefest hint that Fergie might have been in a somewhat less philosophical mood the evening before after Manchester City had taken the initiative in the League Cup. With the applause and cheers of the students in attendance threatening to raise the roof, Des Scahill observed that the welcome in Trinity was rather warmer than the one he’d received at Eastlands. "Oh, aye," Ferguson replied, as he settled into his seat, before adding with smile, "I hope it’s better next Wednesday."

Then, with only the occasional recourse to notes, he proceeded to enrapture his audience with reflections on what it takes to be successful, illustrated by personal experiences from his working class upbringing in Govan through to his stewardship of one of the biggest clubs in world football. This was the football coach as life coach, and it was impressive stuff.

He began by talking about the people who had inspired him in his youth, from his parents to his primary school teacher to the great Jock Stein, whose European Cup-winning Celtic side of 1967 was drawn entirely from within a long goal-kick of the club’s Glasgow home. "All local boys," Fergie mused, "whereas at United now we have players of 18 different nationalities. The change in 43 years has been incredible."

But inspiration can take more prosaic forms too. His dad, said Ferguson, used to wake him up at six every morning, and it’s a habit which has never left him. "I still don’t use an alarm clock," the 68-year-old said, adding that he’s never missed a day’s work in my life. Now, he sees it as his obligation to light a fire in others.

"I try to inspire my players," he said, "make their dreams come true, make them better than they’ve ever been. That’s my job."

But young people must also, he stressed, be prepared to seize the day. He told of how, as an apprentice tool-maker and shop steward in the shipyards, he’d combined his day job with part-time football but, after falling out of favour at St Johnstone where he’d not been picked to play for a few games, he was on the brink of packing it all in and emigrating to Toronto – where family on his father’s side were already well established – when his mother took an urgent phone call from the St Johnstone manager to say that, owing to an injury crisis, the young striker would be required to play against Rangers at Ibrox that Saturday.

"I scored a hat-trick that day, "he recalled, "the first player ever to score one against Rangers at Ibrox. And it changed my life. Fate intervened, I seized the opportunity and I never looked back. Otherwise, I could have gone to Canada and you’d never have heard of me."

Inspiration. Hard work. Decisiveness. Learning to delegate. The ability to adjust to changing circumstances while remaining true to core principles. Ferguson ticked off the keystones of his approach to his profession noting that, when he started off at Manchester United he had a staff of eight. Now he has 40.

"It’s hard to adjust to success," he said. "You have to learn how to handle it. And not just me, it’s all those young players who suddenly sprout wings. You have to think about them more than yourself. Success changes people. But I always say to them, don’t change, try to keep your feet on the ground.

"Football now, with all the self-adulation, the tattoos, the earrings, it’s not my world, sorry, but I’ve had to adjust. Control is important. If I lose control of all these multi-millionaires in my dressing room, I’m dead. And if they lose control, they’re dead (laughs). The manager is always the most important person at Manchester United."

And on that bombshell (not), he wished his audience of young admirers well and submitted to the pre-arranged questions.

The best player he never signed? Paul Gascoigne. Ferguson recalled the Geordie kid playing against Manchester United on a day when the Reds had such "shrinking violets" in midfield as Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside. At one point, Gazza nut-megged Remi Moses right in front of the United dug-out – and then patted his hapless opponent on the head. Laughing, Ferguson recalled himself leaping to his feet and shouting, "Get the fat..." United made a bid for Gascoigne but the player opted for Spurs. "I think he was badly advised," was Ferguson’s verdict.

Fergie’s brand of chewing gum? "Orbit. And I don’t get paid a penny for it – and I never chew gum any other time."

How does he relax? Books, especially on history ("I always have three or four books on the bedside") and television, movies in particular. Current reading includes biographies of Michelangelo and Ted Kennedy, and Andrew Marr’s history of modern Britain. He has recently seen the sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’ on DVD. "Quite phenomenal the special effects these days," he observed.

Does he have trouble motivating fabulously wealthy players? "No, and I don’t resent the money they get either. What I don’t like is bad players asking for the same money."

Would Mark Hughes be welcome back at Old Trafford? "Absolutely. He was one of our best players. Players move on, that’s football. I didn’t realise until I saw it in the match programme (for the League Cup semi-final first leg) that 41 players have played for both Manchester City and Manchester United."

And, finally, who will retire first: Alex Ferguson or Ryan Giggs?

(Big grin) "I think we’ll ride into the sunset together."

And with that he was gone, all smiles and waves and autographs and more cheers ringing his ears, leaving behind the refreshing sense that, for all the faults of the game in the modern era, it’s still people not product which makes it so eternally compelling.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, January 23, 2010