Here's what Brian McClair said about Fergie:
“And the other thing about him: he’s a lucky b*astard. His brother-in-law told me if he fell into the Clyde he’d come out with a salmon in either pocket.
“I think that he signed players who he thought were lucky. I’ve never asked him. But just look at me. Every club I was at they won something. Villa won the league, Motherwell won the first division, Celtic won the league and the cup. And United won a couple when I was there.
"Needless to say, any manager under pressure will need a bit of luck and we certainly had our fair share on the road to Wembley in 1990, but show me a successful side that hasn’t had its slice of bad fortune or two along the way.
I remember talking to a close associate of Fergie once and he told me "he considered him to be the luckiest man on the planet".
Against Forest, the home side had what looked to be a perfectly good goal disallowed. While in the next round, a rogue whistle from the crowd stopped what could have been a certain goal for Hereford but for the quick thinking of Jim Leighton.
Combine that with my scuffed effort from all of six yards at Newcastle and my equally scrappy goal from half that distance at Sheffield United, along with Oldham being a ball’s width from knocking us out in the semi-final, and you can see why some people thought our name was on the trophy."
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There have been quotes that he was considered by others to have been lucky from a young age and had even gone so far as to ask certain players before signing them if they thought they were lucky.
Add in "Fergie Time" - the 7 minutes of extra time out of nowhere against Sheffield Wednesday to effectively get United back on top in the title race, The two goals against Bayern in the CL final, the John Terry penalty slip in the CL final, Vidic not getting sent off against Villa in the cup final, and many more and Ferguson could make even the skeptical person ponder.
Three principles stood out to me:
- Match the message to the moment
- Never Stop Adapting
- Prepare to win