Full disclosure before you read this review: I proper hate Manchester United.
As I grow older and my testosterone levels wane, I find it more and more difficult to really, truly “hate” anything. But every time I watch a match at Old Trafford, see those fans, and see the United players celebrating anything…it all comes back. It’s one of the purest, least complicated emotions that I have in all of my sports viewing. I want Manchester United to fail and I get upset when they achieve anything.
When Sir Alex Ferguson prowled the touchline at United, there was always a sense of fear in the pit of my soul. No matter how secure the lead, it always felt like United would come back to equalize or even win the match. If United were behind in the 90th minute, those extra minutes would seem like an eternity, to say nothing of how frequently the “4 minutes of estimated time” somehow led to 6 or 7 minutes. Or just long enough for United to get that goal. If United was winning, Sir Alex would scrunch up his face and point to his watch as the seconds ticked by, irritated at the gall of the referee to not blow the final whistle. And it would drive me insane.
Sir Alex Ferguson doing what he does best...win trophies.
So, it is with that backdrop that I recently began reading Sir Alex Ferguson’s cleverly-titled autobiography, “My Autobiography.” The autobiography takes the reader into the mind of this managerial legend and covers the last 15 or so years of his career in charge of United. The book is broken up in a somewhat random fashion, and does not proceed in a strict chronological manner. He has chapters on each of his most famous players: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney, among others. He discusses how the players were brought to the club (and how/why they left) and his analysis of each of the players, both good and bad. He also has chapters on his relationships with his famous managerial rivals, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, and his insights into those two characters are very entertaining.
Ultimately, I couldn’t help but enjoy the book immensely. Although I had more than my share of eye-rolling moments when he would go on and on about the greatness of Manchester United (we get it, you won a lot of trophies), I really appreciated the insight that he provided on some of today’s top players. One of the more controversial parts of the book was when he stated that he did not believe that Steven Gerrard was a “top, top player.” Although I disagree (and think perhaps his rivalry with Liverpool is influencing that opinion), Sir Alex was certainly not afraid of offending people or speaking his mind in this book.
For those looking for insights into his managerial or tactical styles in this book, you will not find a ton of that. He continually stressed throughout the memoir the need for the manager to be in complete control of the club and that no player can be bigger than the manager. This philosophy led many of his best and most famous players to leave the club. But, other than that, the book is mostly a collection of stories and his impressions of prominent individuals (players & managers) from the last 15 years of the Premier League.
In the most recent edition of the book, Sir Alex has added an additional chapter that deals with everything that has happened since his retirement in 2013. He discusses what he did with his time, which included a cruise, teaching a class at Harvard Business School, and attending the Oscars. But the more interesting section of the epilogue concerns what happened with David Moyes, his successor at United. Sir Alex praises Moyes’s ability, but also is quick to point out that Moyes’s selection as his successor was not entirely his decision. Sir Alex’s decision to distance himself from Moyes is not terribly surprising, but to be fair, he could have been a lot harder on his fellow Scotsman than he was.
For all Manchester United fans, this is simply a must-read and provides the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the club and its legendary manager. Even for someone that dislikes Manchester United with every fiber of his being, I felt like I learned a lot from reading “My Autobiography.” Love him or hate him, Sir Alex Ferguson is the preeminent manager of the Premier League era and this book will educate you about the last 15 years or so of his career, straight from the horse’s mouth.
For me, this clip sums up my feelings about Sir Alex Ferguson better than I ever could express.
“My Autobiography” is available wherever books are sold, including amazon.com.
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
He’s the Wes Mantooth of The18.
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