The fourth of a new Guardian Print Shop series featuring classic sports images from the likes of Gerry Cranham, Mark Leech and Tom Jenkins – yours to own for only £55 including delivery
What better way to depict Sir Alex Ferguson in a photograph? If there’s one football manager synonymous with ranting on the sidelines at players and officials, it’s the fiery Scotsman. This picture of Fergie was shot during a first division match against Luton in October 1987, less than a year after he joined Manchester United. At that point in time, he had every reason to chastise his players: old, unfit and too keen on booze, many of them were soon shipped out of the club and, over time, replaced with young academy prospects, precipitating the greatest period of domestic dominance in the
Premier League era. Ferguson claimed 38 trophies at United – including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues. By the time of his retirement in 2013, everyone from
David Beckham to
Cristiano Ronaldo could attest to the fury of Fergie’s so-called ‘hairdryer treatment’.