Fergie Shunned England For United Three Times

Former FA chief, David Davies, has revealed that England tried to recruit Sir Alex Ferguson as their manager on three occasions.

When Kevin Keegan was given the job, Davies had been really keen for Fergie to take over. He concedes now though that Ferguson was amused by their attempts to lure him to England, and was never really interested.

“After Terry Venables, I wanted Fergie,” Davies told the Herald. “I was absolutely clear he was the best person for the job. I was a personal friend of Sir Roland Smith, then chairman of Manchester United, and he didn’t totally kick the idea into touch. I was vaguely encouraged.”

However, it appears as though Davies was the only one excited by the prospect, with Ferguson telling him where to go.

“I don’t think he ever came near becoming the England manager,” added Davies. “The idea of Alex leading England out at Hampden is somewhat far-fetched. He is a very, very proud Scot.”

Davies concedes that whilst Fergie was interested in the job, he found it amusing that England kept coming for him. The FA had to settle for Kevin Keegan after Fergie turned them down once more.

“He was, I think, tickled by the idea,” Davies said. “When I recruited Keegan, I would have loved Ferguson to become manager. But the conversations were very brief.”

All together now, “Ferrrrgieee agrees, United are better than England!”