United’s many late victories down to Fergie the gambler

Alex Ferguson believes his natural gambler’s instinct led to so many late wins for Manchester United down the years.

So often did United score in the latter stages of matches it was almost a surprise when they did not manage it. The epic 1999 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich, when United scored twice in stoppage time to turn the game on its head, was the most obvious example.

But, Ferguson indicated such triumphs did not occur by accident. “I am a gambler – a risk taker – and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches,” said Ferguson in a series of interviews to Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse.

“If we were down with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. I was perfectly happy to lose 3-1 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or win. So in those last 15 minutes, we’d go for it. We’d put in an extra attacking player and worry less about defence.”

Ferguson also stressed the need for any manager to maintain control of the dressing room, something he managed to do at United, often at the cost of the biggest names.

“There are times you have to ask whether certain players are affecting the dressing room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and staff. If they are, you have to cut the cord. There is no other way. It doesn’t matter if the person is the best player in the world. Some English clubs have changed managers so many times that it creates power for the players in the dressing room. That is very dangerous.”