Fergie's 25: Things you never knew about the Manchester United boss

Sir Alex Ferguson

In the latest in our series celebrating Sir Alex Ferguson's 25 years in charge of Old Trafford - we reveal 25 things you may not know about the Reds boss.

1. As the good people of Scotland were preparing for Hogmanay, baby Fergie was born to parents Alexander and Elizabeth on December 31, 1941 in the working-class district of Govan, Glasgow. The family lived in tenement 667 Govan Road.

2. It was no surprise that the newcomer to the Ferguson family was christened Alexander. What was a surprise is that mum and dad didnt add on The Great. Or is that me being clever with hindsight?

3. Many years later Alex Jnr recalled his father as a quiet man who liked to read in silence. But he did admit that when his dad lost his temper it was like a volcano erupting. You know what they say like father, like son.

4. After completing his schooldays the teenage Fergie found employment as an apprentice toolmaker with the giant Remington Rand company. Within just a few years he had been elected as shop steward for the tool making room. Who would have believed that eh? Fergie fighting the establishment. Not like him is it?

5. At a strike meeting in the early Sixties amorous Alex met for the first time a lovely young lassie named Cathy Holding, who he later went on to marry. Who said romance was dead? Clearly it was love at first strike.

6. Away from the toolmakers room and the romantic trysts with Miss Holding, Fergie in the early Sixties was making a name for himself as a free-scoring centre-forward in Glasgows amateur football circles. He was taken on board by Dunfermline and in season 1965-66 became a hot property after netting 45 goals in 51 matches.

7. On March 12, 1966 Alex the Adonis took beautiful Cathy as his lawfully wedded wife. The new! lyweds m oved into a semi-detached house in Simshill, south Glasgow which set him back all of 3,505. That was a lot of money in those days.

8. In February 1972 Cathy presented Alex with twin sons Jason and Darren as welcome playmates for their first-born son Mark. So Mrs Fergie now had three mini Fergies to bring up and look after as well as her husband. It was her who deserved the knighthood.

9. In his playing career Fergie graced Queens Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United.

10. While playing for Rangers between 1967-1969 he was hotly tipped for a call up to Scotlands international side but had to be content with an appearance for the Scottish League against the Irish League in Belfast where he scored one goal in his sides 2-0 victory.

11. After retiring from professional football at Ayr in 1974 Alex set sail on a new career as a pub licensee. He dipped into his savings to buy a bar in his native Glasgow but youll never guess what he named it. He named it Fergies. Hows that for imagination? He must have spent many a sleepless night thinking that one up.

12. Realising that running a pub brought more problems than it was worth, Fergie jumped at the chance to become manager of East Stirlingshire in July 1974. Pity he didnt read the small print before signing on the dotted line. He had taken over a club with only eight players on the books and no goalkeeper.

13. Not surprisingly Fergie left East Stirling after only five months to take a major step up the managerial ladder by taking over at St Mirren where he spent four successful seasons.

14. In 1973 he was appointed manager of Aberdeen and it was in Scotlands oil capital that he became one of the most sought after young managers in British football.

15. After breaking the monopoly of Glasgow giants Rangers and Celtic and winning the European Cup Winners Cup he turned down managerial offers from Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur because h! e had on e dream only to manage Manchester United.

16. Fergies dream became a reality on November 5, 1986 when, in a telephone call from United chairman Martin Edwards, he was offered the chance to take over from Ron Atkinson at Old Trafford.

17. His dream move almost came to nothing when wife Cathy refused point blank to leave Aberdeen, the city she had learned to love. But Fergie quickly talked his better half around being the smooth tongued charmer we all know he is.

18. When he officially agreed to become Uniteds manager on November 6, 1986 his salary was considerably less than what he had been earning at Aberdeen. A Scotsman agreeing to a pay cut? Well, theres a first for everything.

19. In his early months at Old Trafford Fergie was determined to stamp down on the champagne Charlie lifestyle of some of his big name stars. Amongst his austerity measures was no more five-star hotels for away matches. But he soon abandoned that idea after realising that prospective big transfer signings wouldnt fancy kipping down at the YMCA on away trips.

20. Despite his unrivalled success after a shaky start to his Old Trafford career, Fergie came close to walking out on the Reds on two separate occasions. The first came at the start of season 1993-94 when he learned that his Arsenal counterpart George Graham was earning twice his United salary. For similar reasons he thought of resigning after landing a League and FA Cup double in 1996. Fortunately, the United board wisely decided to pay him something near what he deserved.

21. After Uniteds amazing treble success in 1999 Fergie became a Knight Bachelor of the British Empire for his services to football. For this old hack, who had often referred to Fergie as Taggart, that presented a problem. I no longer knew how to address him. Was it Sir Alex or Sir Ferguson? Several days after his knighthood I phoned him and asked him. He paused for a moment or two and then replied: Hincey, you can call me Sir Taggart.

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22. Outside of football and family, Fergies other great love is horse racing the sport of kings. Hes mixed with royalty and millionaires who traditionally toast a victory with champagne. But not Sir Alex. He has never acquired a taste for champers. You can take the boy out of Govan but you cant take Govan out of the boy. Along with racing Sir Alex is a big art fan and is fond of Salford artist Harold Rileys work.

23. During the course of the detailed investigation into Fergies life and career one of those mysterious sources contacted me to solemnly inform me that Fergie never eats cheese or bread. When I asked him what Fergie DOES eat he replied: I dont know but not cheese or bread. Make of that what you will.

24. Fergies infamous hairdryer treatment is not a figment of someones imagination. Ive experienced it only once in the 25 years Ive known him. I got the treatment by phone after making a hash of an interview I had done with him for this newspaper. After 10 minutes the earpiece was starting to melt. I had to be surgically detached from it when the one-sided conversation ended.

25. Throughout this trawl through Fergies career at Old Trafford Ive been as cheeky and disrespectful as I possibly could be. Im confident that if he reads this he will have a giggle. Because heres one thing I suspect you WONT know about him. Hes got a wonderful sense of humour. Happy 25th anniversary Alexander The Great.

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