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'Football. Bloody hell!'
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's time at Manchester United has produced some memorable quotes. Following is a selection of some of them:
AFTER WINNING THE 1999 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL WHEN THEY CAME BACK FROM A GOAL DOWN WITH TWO STOPPAGE-TIME GOALS
"I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football. Bloody hell!"
'My greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their perch'
ON ARCH RIVALS LIVERPOOL:
"My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their perch. And you can print that."
DURING THE 2003 PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE RACE:
"It's getting tickly now - squeaky bum time, I call it."
'He just floated over the ground
ON RYAN GIGGS
"The first time I saw him, he was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of paper in the wind."
'It was a freakish incident'
AFTER KICKING A BOOT THAT HIT DAVID BECKHAM IN THE FACE:
"It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing."
'He's a novice'
SOON AFTER ARSENE WENGER WAS APPOINTED ARSENAL MANAGER:
"He's a novice and should keep his opinions to Japanese football."
'There are some offers and options'
ON HIS RETIREMENT PLANS BEFORE A U-TURN IN 2002:
"I will be leaving Manchester United at the end of the season and that is it. Then I will have to decide what I want to do. There are some offers and options, so I will make a decisions over the next few months."
'I wouldn't sell them a virus'
ON NOTION OF SELLING CRISTIANO RONALDO TO REAL MADRID, MONTHS BEFORE DOING JUST THAT:
"Do you think I would enter into a contract with that mob? Absolutely no chance. Jesus Christ, I wouldn't sell them a virus. That's a 'No' by the way. There is no agreement whatsoever between the clubs."
'What he gave me was paint-stripper'
ON JOSE MOURINHO:
"He was certainly full of it, calling me 'boss' and 'big man' when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper."
'He must have been disturbed for some reason'
ON RAFA BENITEZ AFTER SPANIARD'S 'FACT' RANT
"I think he was an angry man. He must have been disturbed for some reason. I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he'll reflect and understand what he said was absolutely ridiculous."
'The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit'
ON REFEREE ALAN WILEY, EARNING HIMSELF A TOUCHLINE BAN:
"The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butchers' dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn't fit. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous."
'I don't like people arguing back with me'
ON HIS INFAMOUS HAIRDRYER TREATMENT:
"Myths grow all the time. If I was to listen to the number of times I've thrown teacups then we've gone through some crockery in this place. It's completely exaggerated, but I don't like people arguing back with me."
'And it never really works out that way'
DURING WAYNE ROONEY'S CONTRACT SAGA IN 2010:
"Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in your own field. It's a fact. Right? And it never really works out that way."
'Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour'
ON THE EMERGENCE OF MANCHESTER CITY AS TITLE RIVALS:
"Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder."
ON RETIRED ITALIAN STRIKER FILIPPO INZAGHI
"Inzaghi was born in an offside position."
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