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Managing My Life: My Autobiography (Hardcover)

by Alex Ferguson (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 388 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; First Edition, First Impression edition (10 Aug 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340728558
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340728550
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 36,342 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #87 in  Books > Biography > Sport > Football

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

When considering the public face of Sir Alex Ferguson--the unsmiling, world-beating football manager who has taken just about all the honours the British game has to offer--it is difficult to imagine that he grew up as the son of a ship builder on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow. Yet Ferguson's story is much the same as many others who have made it to the top in the sport: a boy with talent who rose above the expectations of his working-class background to become a household name throughout the world.

Such is the power of football; but more relevantly, such is the power of raw talent, pure determination and a bit of good luck. In Managing My Life Ferguson tells the story of just how he developed from a football-mad youngster to the first British manager to win the FA Cup, the Premiership and the European Cup in one season; but whereas others with a similar experience romanticise their tough upbringing and eulogise it from the comfortable position success affords them, with Ferguson there is the feeling that the tough, uncompromising way he runs his team is a direct product of values instilled in childhood that he still holds close.

I grew up accepting that shipbuilding was part of the fabric of my existence. In a community that reliews heavily on a single industry, there is an intensity of shared experience that draws people together and tends to make them appreciate the need to support one another. It has been said that the values great managers like Jock Stein, Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley brought to their jobs in football were rooted in their mining background. I have no doubt it is true and I am sure, too, that any success I have had in handling men, and especially in creating a culture of loyalty and commitment in teams I have managed, owes much to my upbringing among the working men of Clydesdale.
Opening the book with a word on his recent Treble success (after all, who could be expected to wait until the end of this extraordinary story for all the gory details?), Ferguson soon reveals the big secret of his success--family support. The constants throughout his life have been close friend and family relationships and an absolute passion for winning, and both are constantly recurring themes throughout the book. Candid, thoughtful and passionate, this is certainly a story no Ferguson lover can miss. But, more importantly, it is one those who hate him should be made to read--if you thought the dour face and frequent complaints to the referee were his whole character, you are sorely mistaken; they are symptoms of his never-ending quest for perfection. --Lucie Naylor


Review

'Revealing and entertaining' -- Listen 2 Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Toy boxes, second-hand boots and foreign holidays, 24 Sep 2008
By Mr. S. Bailey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Managing My Life: The Autobiography (Paperback)
There are many football fans who would turn their noses up at the idea of reading a book about the manager of another club, particularly, Manchester United's boss. They would be wrong to do so. Managing My Life, instead of merely retelling the all too familiar story of Manchester United's ascendancy to the top of English football under Alex Ferguson's stewardship, charts the full span of his interesting, occasionally tumultous, life and career; from his rough and tumble childhood in Glasgow's Govan through to the ups-and-downs of the 1999 Champions League Final. Indeed, we are given glimpses of aspects of Ferguson's personality hitherto subdued or obscured in his many media appearances. His almost child-like innocence and glee about being selected for the Scottish international team's world tour in the summer of 1967 shows that vividly. Detailing the itinerary, which included Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Canada he notes that he had "never been further than Spain, but the Govan boy was ready for the faraway places with strange-sounding names". In his description of his troubled times, as a player, with his boyhood heroes Glasgow Rangers, a suggestion of vulnerability and self-doubt creeps into his words. Pointedly, he remarks that in his forty years in professional football no experience had "created a scar comparable with that left by the treatment I received at Ibrox".

That is not to suggest that with this autobiography Ferguson has grown soft, sensitive and likable. Many of his reflections show why he is respected and admired rather than loved and adored. He derides his one-time player Paul Ince's desire to be called by the tag of the `Guvnor' as "nonsense [which] should have been left in his toy box", despite recognising that it was just a mask for the player's insecurity. Aberdeen player Gordon Strachan's statement in the 1983-84 season that he was bored and intended to quit the club was met with the plain, uncomplicated 'advice' to "Go and get yourself unbored". In many of the more bullish statements on subjects he is reminiscent of managers of a bygone age, like, Bill Shankly and Brian Clough; individuals who are willing to say what they feel and believe without regard for the consequence or affect their words will have. Ferguson's comments about his eight successful years at Aberdeen, where he picked up the League, Scottish Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup with Aberdeen, indicate that clearly. Boldly, he declares in a statement which may come across as heresy to followers of Manchester United that, "no matter how well things go at Old Trafford it will be difficult to surpass the satisfaction of turning a provincial club... into the benchmark of quality in the Scottish game".

Alex Ferguson's choice of Hugh McIlvanney, his friend and fellow Scot, as a ghost-writer for this forthright autobiography is as shrewd as any manoeuvre he has made in the transfer market. The highly-acclaimed sportswriter has brought structure, coherence and a touch of linguistic flair to this (successful) attempt to explain how Ferguson went from a childhood where he had to wait for a neighbour to give him second-hand boots so that he could turn out for his street team to becoming a knight of the realm.

As with all autobiographies there is an element of hubris in Ferguson's recollections upon matches, events and his actions. Those who are looking for a critical, dissenting voice, therefore, may wish to consider political journalist Michael Crick's well-researched, unauthorised biography The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson [2003].
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book About a Great Manager, 22 Mar 2007
By Jay "The Amazon Reviewer" (Mauritius) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Managing My Life: The Autobiography (Paperback)
Despite not being an avid supporter of Manchester United I have always been very keen to have an insight into the life and times of club's greatest ever manager.

The book clearly portrays the great mans early days and his tough upbringing in Govan, Glasgow. Uniquely, in a city which had major religous differences Alex's parents were from a mixed marriage. We get a great insight into Alex's early footballing life and the tough times that his family endured in surviving.
A fascinating discussion about Alex Ferguson's time as a player were amongst other clubs represented Glasgow Rangers. Even as a player we could to realize that he had a volatile temperament which would continue to serve him as a natural football leader.

From success at the unfashionable Aberdeen football Club to the pressures of managing one of the biggest sports clubs in the world Alex remains how much his childhood upbringing continues to be a major backbone of his life.

A truly great read into the one of soccers most respected characters.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What Makes Him Tick, 17 Dec 2002
This review is from: Managing My Life: The Autobiography (Paperback)
A lot of people myself included do not know of Alex Fergusons early beginnings. It was interesting to read how he started at the bottom and worked his way up through sheer grit, determination and being able to nurture his players.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Takes tedium to a whole new level
Even by the standards of football autobiography this is very dull. There is nothing juicy or interesting here. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2007 by Sam Hispam

4.0 out of 5 stars Read Between The Lines
There is a genre of British autobiographies you could call "man from tough working class background makes good". Read more
Published on 20 May 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive , triumphant autobiography
This book is not exactly a "page turner" , but it is well worth reading. Sir Alex Ferguson emerges from it not only as a phenomenally successful football manager , but as a... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2002 by L. Davidson

5.0 out of 5 stars A Leeds fan who (arm up my back!!) recommends this book
I am a Leeds United season ticket holder - so why did I pick up a book from the manager of our rivals? Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2001 by leedsutd40@hotmail.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Questions unanswered
Previous reviewers have praised Ferguson's forthrightness, and yet I can't help but feel he has left one or two unanswered questions. Read more
Published on 27 Jul 2001 by davidnesbit@hotmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars From a 12yr. old reviewer: Loved the book and the pictures!
In the book, there are sentences like this: "a minute later, one sub supplied the cross for the equaliser...". These are exciting bits to read. Read more
Published on 12 Jul 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Football Book I ever read
This book is amazing because it goes right from when he was 7 years old and up to present. A must buy for all United and Football lovers.
Published on 12 April 2001 by jbroadway@btinternet.com

4.0 out of 5 stars From Govan to Barcelona...captivating stuff!
As a Liverpool fan, I was still intrigued to understand the man mainly responsible for Liverpool's demise in English football. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible insight to the life of an incredible man.
This book reveals sides to the Manchester United manager that are never apparent whilst he is in the public eye. Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars good read and swirch off--reveals a lot about the man and hi
Among the best of ghost written soccer books. There must have been enough material to interest Hugh McIlvaney to co author. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2000

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