Five things Sir Alex Ferguson did in his first season at Manchester United

Manchester United made one of their best-ever decisions in 1986 when Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed manager following a successful spell at Aberdeen.

Today marks the 39th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson becoming Manchester United manager.

The Scot, who went on to become to club’s most successful manager ever, spent 26 years at Old Trafford before announcing his retirement in 2013.

Ferguson was appointed midway through the 1986/87 season, on November 6, to replace Ron Atkinson.

In the first season, Ferguson’s job was to steady the ship after a dire start to the campaign.

United finished 11th in the First Division and were knocked out of the FA Cup in the Fourth Round, after suffering elimination in the Third Round of the League Cup under Atkinson.

Without further ado, here are five things Ferguson did in his first season at United.

Man Utd’s results improved under Sir Alex Ferguson

United were struggling near the relegation zone when Ferguson initially arrived at Old Trafford, sitting in 20th place in a 22-team First Division.

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A significant improvement in results led to United finishing 11th in the league. These were early signs that Ferguson was getting more out of the players than Atkinson during the early stages of the campaign.

Foundations laid for future success

A drinking culture existed at United when Ferguson arrived at the club, but this was something the Scot cracked down on by instilling a more professional environment.

The players’ physical condition improved as a result of Ferguson stamping his authority on the dressing room. He would eventually lead the way in building an extremely competitive environment that brought lots of success to the club.

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Sir Alex Ferguson arrived at Manchester United focused on building a football club

“From the moment I got to Manchester United, I thought of only one thing: building a football club. I wanted to build right from the bottom. That was in order to create fluency and a continuity of supply to the first team.”

Sir Alex Ferguson

By getting rid of the drinking culture at United, Ferguson raised the standards through his discipline.

Man Utd complete league double over Liverpool

The highlight of the season came on Boxing Day when Ferguson recorded his first win at Anfield. United won the match 1-0, with Norman Whiteside scoring in the 78’ minute.

United also beat Liverpool at Old Trafford that season when Peter Davenport scored the only goal.

Ferguson would go on to enjoy many battles against Liverpool before famously knocking them off their perch.

Conscious decision to make no signings

United made no signings after Ferguson arrived. As the manager, he made the conscious decision to assess the squad over the course of the season.

Ferguson made his first signing ahead of the 1987/88 season when Viv Anderson joined from Arsenal in a deal worth £250,000.

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Sir Alex Ferguson’s first interview as Manchester United manager

Built a support structure with emphasis on Man Utd’s academy

Ferguson knew he would need a strong support network when he moved from Aberdeen to United, so he brought his assistant manager, Archie Knox, with him to Old Trafford.

He also emphasised the need to develop the academy to ensure more players were generated for the first team.

It was reminiscent of how Sir Matt Busby and Jimmy Murphy viewed youth development as the lifeblood of the football club.

United would expand their scouting network to ensure it covered all bases in Manchester to secure the brightest local talents.

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