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Widely revered as one of the greatest managers in the history of football, Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly the greatest Manchester United manager of all time and on a larger scale the Premier League as well.
With 49 major honours won, the legendary Scotsman is one of the most successful managers of all time and was deservedly knighted for his services to the British kingdom in 1999.
The mere mention of his name attracts instant reverence anywhere in the world and he is universally acclaimed by even rival fans for his contributions to the round leather game.
However, for all his greatness, Sir Alex Ferguson was not without his flaws, having been embroiled in a couple of controversies during his day. In this piece, we would be taking a look at six high profile controversies which Sir Alex Ferguson had as Manchester United manager.
Dishonourable mentions - Calling Manchester City the Noisy Neighbours, saying he wouldn't sell Real Madrid a virus (months before selling Ronaldo to them).
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#6 Constant clashes with referees
A common theme associated with Sir Alex Ferguson throughout his tenure as Manchester United boss was his constant criticism of match referees, with the Scotsman not afraid of calling the officials all sorts of names when he felt they had been below par.
Many people believed that his greatness gave him a sense of entitlement from referees, as he often indicated to match officials that a certain number of minutes should be added to injury time especially when his team was behind (mostly by pointing to his watch), leading to the coinage of the term 'Fergie Time'.
Ferguson received a total of 15-match touchline bans and fines totalling £75,000 for insulting and/or abusive words towards match officials.
Some of the more disparaging remarks made by Fergie towards referees include questioning the fitness of referee Alan Wiley in 2009 (for which he received a four-match ban), accusing Martin Atkinson of being unfair to his team (received a five-match ban) as well as insulting Mark Clattenburg after a Premier League match in 2007 among others.
#5 The David Beckham incident
David Beckham was a member of the famed 'Class of '92', going on to become arguably its most famous export.
The United and England legend was a delight to behold on the United wings, delighting fans with his pinpoint deliveries and freekick precision and was a major component in the early success enjoyed by Ferguson at Old Trafford.
It was a match made in heaven, as Fergie proved to be the father figure on the touchline, while Beckham did his magical thing on the field of play, even finishing second on two occasions in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.
Their relationship, however, began to go downhill following Beckham's very public romance (now marriage) with former spice Spice Girl Victoria 'Posh', as Fergie saw it as a big distraction to the young player's career.
The Spice Girls were the hottest thing in Britain back then, as passionate fans sought to know everything about them (including their love life) and thus Beckham was thrust into the glitterati lifestyle of celebrities, with paparazzi following him around to know his every move.
This proved to be the breaking point in their relationship, as 'Becks' became more interested in his looks and public appearances than his football, with matters coming to a head in 2003 when Ferguson allegedly threw a boot at him at halftime which facilitated his move to Real Madrid.
Ferguson stated in his 2013 biography that he believed Beckham would have become an even better player but for his marriage to Victoria.
The infamous boot incident in 2003 saw Beckham's United career come to a premature end, although most fans would see it as a blessing in disguise as it prompted the arrival of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.
#4 The BBC silent treatment
Following a documentary aired by the BBC in 2003 titled Fergie and Son, which portrayed the Fergusons in a negative light, as it implied that Jason (Fergie's son) who was an agent exploited his relationship with his father to make illicit gains in the transfer market.
A livid SAF branded the documentary 'rubbish, made up stuff and brown paper bags'. As a result of this, Ferguson went on a self-imposed silence with the BBC, refusing to give the media outfit interviews, with their flagship 'Match of the Day' being conducted by his assistants Carlos Queiroz and later Mike Phelan.
Subsequent Premier League rules from the 2010/2011 season required coaches to mandatorily grant interviews to the BBC as part of the new TV deal, but Ferguson still refused to end his boycott, with Manchester United agreeing to pay the resultant fines on his behalf.
A meeting in August 2011 with BBC director general and North director finally resulted in Ferguson calling a truce and ending his seven-year boycott of the BBC.
#3 His implicit role in Preston's relegation
Sir Alex Ferguson has a son Darren who played under him before going into management.
He has largely had mediocre a career as a coach (understandable considering the lofty heights reached by his father) and was appointed coach of Preston North End in the Championship in January 2010.
His spell at Deepdale was to be shortlived however, as he was relieved of his duties later that year with Preston bottom of the Championship having lost 24 out of its first 49 games under Darren.
Upon hearing the news of his son's sack, Sir Alex Ferguson recalled three players who were on loan at the club, while close friend Tony Pulis also followed suit by recalling two Stoke players who were on loan at Preston.
This vengeful act saw Preston lose five key senior players in the space of three days, with the result being that they were relegated to League One at the end of the season.
Fans of Preston still hold resentment to Ferguson and Manchester United till this day as they hold them responsible for the club's 2010 relegation which saw security beefed up ahead of a Cup clash with United in 2015.
#2 Feud with Roy Keane
A dominant box-to-box midfielder, Roy Keane was a warrior during his playing days, possessing aggression which saw him abhor losing and go all out in a bid to secure victory for his team.
For 12 years, Ferguson relished this side of Keane, as the Irishman proved to be an integral part of the United setup, even going on to become a fan favourite and captain of the team.
However, things began to go downhill between both men towards the middle of the last decade, as Keane continuously criticized the quality of the signings made by United.
Later through his biography, Ferguson revealed that it came as a relief to him when Keane departed for Celtic in 2005, as the then United captain was influential enough to have turned other players against Ferguson had he remained.
Their feud reportedly remains till this day, with Keane even going as far as to state that he regrets attempting to make peace with Sir Alex Ferguson.
#1 Clashes with numerous managers
Fergie was famed for his hairdryer approach to his players, but the 77-year-old was also no shrinking violet when it came to other managers.
The legendary manager had more than his fair share of clashes with other coaches, with Arsene Wenger, Kevin Keegan and Rafa Benitez among those to have been at loggerheads at one point or the other with Ferguson.
He welcomed Arsene Wenger with the rather disparaging remarks 'that he's a novice and should keep his opinions restricted to Japanese football as both men were engrossed in a battle to be the top dog in the Premier League, with their relationship reaching a head with the infamous 'Pizzagate' incident of 2004.
Though Wenger and Ferguson ended up having mutual respect for one another, it was not always so.
Perhaps the earliest high profile recipient of Ferguson's mind games was then manager of Newcastle Kevin Keegan who went on a now immortalized 'I will love it' rant on the radio before Newcastle fell by the wayside in their Title push.
Rafa Benitez also went head to head in a war of words with Ferguson, with the Spaniard unfurling a list of 'facts' which showed Ferguson's duplicity from a sheet of A4 paper which was read out on live television, while Ferguson replied that Benitez speaks a whole lot of bulls***.
