Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography: The autobiography of the legendary Manchester United manager Hardcover – 24 Oct. 2013

Brilliant book and very honest. He's the greatest premiership manager of all time (in not a Man Utd supporter) and its good to get an insight to everything he did.

Firstly, I am a United fan and will always defend Ferguson to anyone because of the scale of what he did for my club. Despite this, I attempted to read this as impartially as I could given the negative headlines it attracted.Having done so, I must say I can scarcely believe some of the nonsense I've heard against the book, most of which was begun by Roy Keane and what he said on ITV about Ferguson criticising players that had brought him success and have also recently been taken on by Robbie Savage who said that this book shouldn't have been written. Perhaps in Savage's eyes it would have been better for Ferguson to have gone on Strictly Come Dancing because that's what you should do when you retire.Don't believe the headlines, this book is not a massive two-fingers to the high-profile players he let go. He does not begin each chapter with "Ah, now him, yes terrible, I hate him." This was pure deflection by Keane to avoid answering questions about his own unprofessional attitude that caused him to be released.If you read the chapters you will find that the reasons he dispensed with the players in question have been documented before so Ferguson merely confirms what has been public knowledge for some time. Yes, there is a degree of criticism there, but it is mild, the sort you would give during an appraisal at work: What he did well, what he could've done better. As a United fan, Keane, Beckham, Van Nistelrooy and Rooney were big issues that I wanted to know the inside story on. What should he have done, written "I sold them, I sacked them." Next chapter? As it is the chapters themselves are really time-lines about the moments that lead to their departures.Ferguson makes the point that he has no issue with David Beckham and describes the reasons why he decided to sell him to Real Madrid. He also spends most of the chapter describing Beckham's attributes and praises him for still playing in the Champions League at 37, whilst also saying that the choice he made to become a celebrity prevented him from becoming a "top dog player".Roy Keane was released because what he did was wrong and he made Ferguson make a decision (that's my opinion). Great player yes, but that doesn't give you the licence to bad mouth your team-mates to the media (do you know the meaning of loyalty Roy? Does that phrase sound familiar at all?). Ferguson describes the chain of events that led to Keane's release and then suggests why he has not made a successful manager and let's be honest he'd know better than anyone.His reasoning for Van Nistelrooy was also cut and dried and there is very little actual criticism in there about him, again merely the reason why he was allowed to leave. Owen Hargreaves, he says, was a massive disappointment because of his injuries. News flash, he was! And after paying for all of his treatment for three years and showing all the patience in the world, Hargreaves comes out and criticises United's medical staff! Baffling.It is clear that Ferguson does not like Benitez and that chapter does come across as a bit petty when he derides his managerial record. I thought he did great for Chelsea, but again it's an autobiography and you shouldn't be pulling any punches. Similarly his comments about Jordan Henderson are seen as this massive insult, are they? Really? He describes why United didn't go for him and that involves what he sees as a potential problem with his physique in his later career. He's not saying that Henderson will be crocked for life, just that he didn't want to take the chance.The world today is an overly sensitive place where people who reveal an opinion that someone else doesn't like has to be hung, drawn and quartered or hounded into submission. An autobiography by its very nature should be honest and filled with opinion, that's what you pay the money for. That being said, this book is not as good as the 1999 one, Managing My Life, even thought the issues covered in this one are more high profile than in that book. However, the fact they've been covered before and the reasons behind them it turns out were actually accurate means this is not as explosive as it might have been had there not been as much access to the media these days. I would still advise you to read it though, if only to see how good the newspapers are at over dramatizing whatever they desire.

I didn't find this a riveting read. It has merit in that we get a retrospectiveaccount of Sir Alex's view on players, games and how he manages people.He would like us to believe that he is a canny judge of character, is an avidreader and enjoys to chew the fat on a variety of topics. The narrative speaksabout a close knit family, an affection for players that tow the line and a mixof criticisms of players and himself.One has to admire Sir Alex's frank approach, yet his reference to players asboys or lads is clearly patronising. He lets the reader know that part of hissuccess lies in management by fear and discipline. His main weapon beingpunishment. That of removing the right to play being the primary weapon.Throughout the book, one has to remember that the writer is providing thereader with Sir Alex's take on proceedings. While it tells us about the man, thisobviously doesn't help with objectivity. Wise words from a successful and sagemanager do not permeate. We read his candid views, as is. Take it or leave it,with a pinch of salt. Consequently, criticisms from people he has a go at, areinevitable from the sensitive.I never gained the impression from the book that Sir Alex was anything buta sombre, melancholic man, focused on his will to win. He chose his teamof followers to manage the coaching, scouting and information flow andbetween them they plotted and planned the downfall of competitors and therecycling of players to improve the chances winning. Authority, respect,compliance and loyalty is absolute in the Ferguson factory.There are criticisms of Beckham (celebrity seeker) Keane (anger management)Rooney (slow learner & loss of fitness fast) to name a few. Counter to this, Ronaldo,Giggs and the likes of Scholes can do no wrong. Overall, the criticisms throughoutthe book seem rather sanitised. I think this is because it was Sir Alex's job not toknow and like people, but to identify their strengths and weaknesses and leverageoff that. This then makes a series of superficial takes on his sizeable number ofrelationships with household heroes.There are references attempting to make Sir Alex appear to be a man of the people.His wife is the decision-maker at home, he is proud of all of his son's achievements(but wasn't around much to raise them) and he does have moments of self deprecationwhich seem honest enough.That all said, I don't feel after reading the book, that I know Sir Alex any better thanbefore I read it. I think he attempted to reveal more of himself, but the soul, the spiritand the drive of the man - and his emotional intelligence are left wanting in the readersmind.We are not told about how he built the club around the Class of '92, his views onsuccession planning, his relationships with captains, who did his bidding, thinkingand research. Little is said about the Glazers, the business model as it affects thestrategic thinking, the players lifestyle management or travelling repeatedly withplayers or his relationships with fans.My view is that the chapter topics are rather dumbed down and lacks freshcreativity. I found the book rather safe, facile and not particularly revealing,considering the vantage point and experience the subject has. It is a book thatpromised much, but in actual fact delivered little more then what is in the publicdomain already. My sympathies are for those readers that are well versed inManchester United culture - who may have been able to contribute quite a fewmore interesting anecdotes themselves.I think the book, sadly....is OK, nothing more.