Who was your sporting hero growing up?
My hero was Denis Law; as a player I loved Denis Law even though he is only a couple of years older than me. He epitomised to me everything about a Scotsman. He could start a row in an empty house, fight his own shadow, unbelievable courage, electric pace, exciting and dynamic to watch – I always loved Denis as a player. Also as I was growing up there were a couple of Rangers players like Willy Woodburn and Willy Waddell, who were great Rangers players of the time. As I got older and got more involved in football Dennis Law was a great Scottish player.
Who is the most talented player you’ve ever worked with?
Well there are so many at the club, even during my Aberdeen days there were some very talented players. United has been very lucky with a 25year spell; Norman Whiteside was a fantastic talent, Cantona, Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney, Scholes and having Beckham. There is an incredible array of talent and I always try to make this point. I always think that it is always forwards, who can entertain and win games, and although we have had fantastic defenders, for me, they don’t come in the same category when you are talking about great players, because I think about the players that have entertained and have great courage to play the game and I think that is the deciding factor.
Are there any of those or maybe other players you could pick out as being the best player in the 20 years of the Premier League?
I think we have a few in that category without question because our success is unequalled in the Barclays Premier League. There is no club that has created the success we have. So when people say who are the best players in the Premier League?… they have to come from Manchester United without question as far as I am concerned.
Outside of football who is the person you admire the most and why?
There are a few iconic names that come into it. I met Nelson Mandela and listened to one of his speeches many years ago and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up, it was fantastic. I think without doubt he was a great man of his time without question.
In terms of sport the greatest sportsman as far as I am concerned is Muhammad Ali. I think his stance against going to war maybe elevated him to that status but as far as a boxer he was phenomenal. I remember every time he had a fight I would get up early morning and go to the cinema in Glasgow or Aberdeen to watch his fights at three or four in the morning. He was such an attraction in that respect. I had the pleasure of meeting him once but by that time he had Parkinson’s and it was a struggle for him to even talk, but he is in terms of sport and Mandela in terms of his status in life and what he meant to the world was very important.
Also JFK, I look at JFK and his period as President of America. There is a lot of criticism about him of course as you understand it because everyone gets that kind of criticism, but he had to deal with five issues that no other President of America had to deal with. He had to deal with the Cuban crisis, he had the cold war at the time and Vietnam, the race issue in the south, the Medicare which has always been a big problem in America. He had those five important issues during the time of his presidency which only lasted three years. He must have been an incredible charismatic figure to be around at that time.
In terms of my own personal Scottish connections Jimmy Reid in Glasgow. I think what he meant to social justice and his time as a human being was phenomenal. His speech as the rector of Glasgow University was printed in full in the New York Times, and regarded as one of the greatest speeches of all time. He had a big impact on the people in my area in Glasgow, Govan, where he meant a lot to the workers who he stood up for.
Who would be your dream dinner party guests?
I would definitely have to start getting a few Hollywood actresses in there for Gods sake! (laughs)There is a few isn’t there. I think that Marilyn Monroe would be great company. I love the new movies and great actors. Spencer Tracy was a great actor or Gregory Peck, all the older actors of my time as I grew up as a youth. I loved those kinds of actors. Susan Hayward was a great favourite of mine, but if you are talking about sitting down at a dinner table then if you could get Mandela, Muhammad Ali, JFK Kennedy, maybe Sinatra just to add a bit of spice to it you would have a fantastic table. Jimmy Reid just to cause trouble… it would be a great table.
What food would you serve?
It would have to be Pasta; Sinatra wouldn’t sit down unless it was a pasta; pasta and fish.
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Ha haa! Start a row in an empty house!
How can a man love another man so much and it not be his brother? Fergie is just the Don.
Glad he mentioned Norman. Been on the lash with the fella and he’s just a fuckin’ legend to me.
Sir Alex interviews are only surpassed by United playing football.
Here’s the video of this transcripted interview.
http://au.eurosport.com/football/the-dugout/2011/sir-alex-names-heroes_sto3102171/story.shtml
Imagine the great stories with SAF, Mandela,Ali and JFK at the table. You’d sit there listening in silence and never want it to end.
James
I’d get a game of fuzzy duck going!
Before reading this I had pasta and fish (salmon actually) for dinner. Can’t be a coincidence.
Mikekelly12 – I’m still laughing! The image is clear, and hysterically funny!
M19ke
SAF. I fucking love you!!!
Marilyn piyin haha
Surprised the boss did not give me a mention, ah well I guess he wants me to remain anonymous!
Cedars- if that’s weird ha ha
soren – haha
You see Sir Alex and I correspond on a regular basis but its all very hush hush and we all know that the boss likes to keep this under wraps! haha
Wow what a man!!!
I loved Ali as a kid.
It would take a Mandela to trump SAF!!! hehe
Cedars and the Mexican Marliyn, cool
Tree I have some incredible green, wow we it so helps my pain………
Hiya Zibbie
How did you doc appointment go? Get well soon and enjoy the green buddy! sounds yummy!
LOL Fergie’s just like us all. I’d love Marilyn Monroe in my bed too.
Cedars I’m doing better thanks. It could be so much worse. As you know head down and beat back bad heath mate. I did get some bad news from the Neurologist, she does not want me to fly for a year. If I were to hit bad turbulence it could undo good work in my neck. So boo whoo for me. I must wait anther year to go to Old Trafford. so sad BUT I HAVE TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO MAN UTD!!!!!!!!
And we HAVE RoM!!!!! THANKS STR!!!
Fergie will retire and take up his new profession as the Ghost Whisperer.
Pretty much have to be dead to get on his dinner list!
Fletch LOL!
The Queen Mary if I can not fly in 3 years!! I have to get to Old Trafford.
JANUARY 13, 2012 AT 0:31
smartalex says:
Zibbie – for you!
Rare footage of a 10 year old Wayne Rooney scoring a wonder goal and giving the world a sneaky preview of his talent – 25 second video posted by 7even on the forum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gyKVUwc2xE&feature=player_embedded
Thank You Smartalex RC
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
JANUARY 12, 2012 AT 19:46
GoatinaUnitedShirt says:
Zibbie
Of course you are right, United has turned into a money making venture not that dissimilar to a hollywood movie but where did the order come from for Rooney to fuck a whore whilst his Wife was pregnant. Was it the Glazers, Nike or the gaffer who set that up?
I for one dont condone him for doing it even though I fully understand, because his missus is a fucking cowpat with dangly earrings and given the choice of fucking coleen or slapping my dick around Africa in the search for AIDS then anyone know where I can get a cheep flight to Timbuktoo.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
One in a million!
Can anyone suggest some good books on SAF? i want to know more about him as a person/manager
The thing with Sir Alex is I don’t know if he realises just how much he has accomplished. He is a great man, and I mean that in the context of humanity in general. Very, very few men are as tested in life as he has been, and almost none succeed in the face of those tests. And I know that it’s only football, he’s not written the great novel of the 20th Century or won a Nobel Prize or invented a machine to count the moon, but he has to be considered a titan of that sport, and it is the greatest sport. So what else can be but a great man? A great player in his time, and now the greatest manager of the greatest club.
He can’t be praised highly enough, in my opinion. Particularly when you see his peers, men like Wenger and Dalglish, struggling to stay in the game, and the young whippersnappers like Mourinho and Villas Boas unable to outfox him. He’s the best there is, the best there has ever been, and very likely the best there will ever be.
Joey717 – where better to start than the great man’s very own autobiography?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Managing-My-Life-Autobiography/dp/0340728558/
Humility is the sign a great man/woman, that’s what I read from this article.
Doghouse, I’m sure he does… the one thing I don’t know is whether some supporters do!
Zibbie, get well soon mate. Sorry to hear about the flight-ban, that’s tough.
Great to see Fergie hasn’t lost his radical shit-stirring spirit. His choice of heroes is fascinating. Please note that the first two and most important are black, both at the fore-front of combating racism.
Regarding the players, I was delighted that Denis the Menace is still his favourite. Also nice that he mentions Big Norm in such illustrious company, given that he ushered him to the exit door as a player as he dealt with the drinking club. Also nice to see Beckham mentioned positively. I’d like to think that a full, warm-hearted reconciliation is not too far away. I was not surprised to see that Keane wasn’t mentioned among the greats after his recent snipes at United. It was more surprising that Robbo was not included, although that was perhaps because if he mentioned him it would be even more pointed that Keano was excluded. Fergie’s always one jump ahead in the politics of these things, even when he’s apparently in relaxed mode.