Best 123 quotes of Alex Ferguson on MyQuotes

All they can talk about is Manchester United.

Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.

At the last minute, from what I can gather, either Emmanuel Adebayor or his agent phoned us after they had agreed a deal with City and then did the same with Chelsea. He was desperate to get to either Chelsea or us.

But there is always that unpredictability about a derby match and that's what it was today.

Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today. Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question fits into that category.

David Beckham is Britain's finest striker of a football not because of God-given talent but because he practises with a relentless application that the vast majority of less gifted players wouldn't contemplate.

David impresses by his example on the field. He never stops running, he plays with supreme confidence, he always tries his hardest and he scores important goals.  (on David Beckham)

Distinguish between power and control, delegate, be decisive - and always remember people's first names.

Everest in his slippers. That's what he was like.

Everyone remembers Stuart Pearce as a determined, aggressive player, who played with great heart and enthusiasm that gave him a great career in the game.

Evolution happens. There's no football team in the world that has stayed together for time ever more.

Football, bloody hell!

Football management is such a pressurized thing - horse racing is a release. I'm also learning to play the piano - I'm quite determined - it's another release from the pressure of my job.

Funnily enough we have never had one enquiry for Paul Scholes. You know why? Because they all know he will never leave. in my time he would be in the top six or seven (best United players ever) without a doubt. His contribution and quality have been great, even without the fantastic goals he has scored. [ . . . ] He has that wonderful velvet touch on the ball. When he gets it, it goes stone dead. It is wonderful to see that amidst all the mayhem that can happen in a football match.

Gianfranco Zola once sent Gary Pallister the wrong way to such an extent that he needed a ticket to get back in.

Go make your mistakes in the first team. You'll learn more in a month in the first team than you will in two years in the reserves.

Hard work will always overcome natural talent when natural talent does not work hard enough.

He could start a row in an empty house.

He has an awareness of what's happening around him on the edge of the box which is better than most players. As a kid he always had a knack of arriving in the penalty area just at the right time, but he's proving just as effective from outside the box because he's using his experience in the right way. It doesn't matter who I am thinking about bringing into my midfield, Paul Scholes will be included, as he would in any side in the world.

He is improving all the time. He is only 21 and who knows what he is capable of.  (on Cristiano Ronaldo)

Her Majesty said she hoped I would have time for my horses - I own two and have shares in four.

He's a normal, likable, straightforward boy.  (on David Beckham)

He's a novice - he should keep his opinions to Japanese football

He's such a great threat because of his power and pace.  (on Cristiano Ronaldo)

He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous.

I always said to the directors that the minute a player becomes more powerful than the manager of Manchester United, it's not Manchester United. You have lost control of the whole club. So I always made sure that I was in control. They always knew who the manager was.

I always say prepare to be a coach to anybody who wants to be a coach. At 24 years of age when I left engineering to become full time in football, I made sure that I was never going back to engineering.

I always used to say to players at half-time, 'Be patient. The last fifteen minutes throw the kitchen sink at them. It's worth a gamble'. You are going to lose the game anyway. There is nothing better than when you get to that last fifteen minutes and you actually win the game late on. The fans are going out of the gates I gave it a try and it worked.

I am such a bloody talented guy. I might go into painting or something like that.

I bet him he wouldn't get 15 league goals and I'm going to have to change my bet with him. If he gets to 15 I can change it and I am allowed to do that because I'm the manager. I'm going to make it 150 now!

I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football. Bloody hell.

I do believe in fate.

I do like to try and see myself in football players. Everybody is different and express themselves in different ways. There are different kinds of talents of course and there are many who I would never have had the talent that they have when I was a player. But I still had that determination to be successful and try my best.

I don't like losing but I've mellowed. I maybe have a short fuse but it goes away quicker now.

If he was an inch taller he'd be the best center half in Britain. His father is 6 ft 2 in - I'd check the milkman.

If Chelsea drop points, the cat's out in the open. And you know what cats are like - sometimes they don't come home.

I feel sympathy for the working class lad. I've always championed about ticket prices and try to equate that to people's salaries.

If ever there was one player, anywhere in the world, that was made for Manchester United, it was Cantona. He swaggered in, stuck his chest out, raised his head and surveyed everything as though he was asking: 'I'm Cantona. How big are you? Are you big enough for me?'

If I have my health I can carry on. There will be a point when I do quit but I have absolutely no idea when that is.

If my parents were still alive, they would be very proud. They gave me a good start in life, the values that have driven me, and the confidence to believe in myself.

If we can play like that every week well get some level of consistency.

If you're going to be a footballer, be a great one.If you're going to have a dream, dream big.

If you were in a game of football always think you need maybe eight to win the game. Three can on an off day or semi off day but you always hard. And the players recognize that and they'll do that extra to make sure they get winning. The essence of the team is to understand and trust each other and to trust me.

I have nothing but praise for the boy. He is easily the best player in the world. His contribution as a goal threat is unbelievable. His stats are incredible. Strikes at goal, attempts on goal, raids into the penalty box, headers. It is all there. Absolutely astounding.

I'm-A-God-Look-At-Me.

I'm a Pele fan from way back when I was a kid, and then there was always this thing later about Pele and Maradona. I was young and impressionable as a kid but it was always Pele for me.

I'm going to tell you the story about the geese which fly 5,000 miles from Canada to France.

I'm going to tell you the story about the geese which fly 5,000 miles from Canada to France. They fly in V-formation but the second ones don't fly. They're the subs for the first ones. And then the second ones take over - so it's teamwork.

I'm no f****** talking to you. He's a f****** great player. Yous are f******* idiots.

I'm privileged to have followed Sir Matt because all you have to do is to try and maintain the standards that he set so many years ago.