Since arriving at Old Trafford on November 6th
1986, Sir Alex Ferguson has broken record after record in a dominant managerial
era.
Now the 70 year old is ready to take charge of his 1000th league
game for the reds. In a phenomenal tally, Sir Alex has claimed 598 wins in his
999 league matches to date, with 233 draws and 168 defeats. That means a
remarkable average of 2.03 points per game for almost 26 years. In that time,
United have scored 1863 goals and conceded just 890, meaning a goal difference
of 973.
Ferguson’s reign hasn’t always been so successful,
however. He suffered his worst season with United in the 1989-90 campaign, where
the reds slumped to 13th in the table, gaining just 1.26 points per
game.
In contrast, 10 years later in the 1999-2000
season, Sir Alex experienced his most imperious league victory, as he watched
his side cruise to the title with 91 points (2.39 per game), winning 28 of their
38 games and losing just 3, ratios Ferguson is yet to better.
Over the years, Sir Alex has watched his team
perform many rampant displays. His biggest victory came on March 4th
1995, when new £7million signing Andy Cole hit 5 against Ipswich in a
spectacular 9-0 win.
Ferguson’s biggest away win came at Nottingham
Forest on 6th February 1999, after 4 late strikes from substitute Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer steered United to a commanding 8-1 victory.
United’s most recent destruction act came in the
first home game of last season, as Arsenal were hammered 8-2 thanks to a
hat-trick from Wayne Rooney.
At the other end of the spectrum, United have also
had their fair-share of beatings. Sir Alex’s biggest defeat as manager at the
Theatre of Dreams came in October last term as arch rivals Manchester City ran
riot en route to a 6-1 victory that most reds would like to quickly
forget.
Sir Alex has also viewed two 5-0 away defeats in
the league, to Newcastle in 1996 and to Chelsea in 1999.
Incidentally, Ferguson’s three largest defeats as
United manager in the league have all come in the month of
October.
Sir Alex has created a number of consistent United
sides during his tenure which has led to 12 Premier League titles. Ferguson’s
stars were particularly dominant in 2000 with 12 consecutive victories between
March 11 and August 20. As well as winning games, United have also been hard to
beat under the Scot, with two spells of 29 league games unbeaten
(26/12/1998-25/09/1999 & 11/04/2010-01/02/2011).
Other Fergie Facts:
Most wins in a league season - 28: 1999/00,
2006/07, 2008/09 & 2011/12
Fewest defeats in a league season - 3:
1998–99 & 1999–2000
League Clean Sheets in a row - 14:
15/11/2008-18/02/2009
Most Premier League goals scored in a season -
97: 1999–2000
Fewest League goals conceded in a season -
22: 2007–08
1.86 goals per game
60% win percentage
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