'It didn't work out for David'

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Fergie: Moyes wasn't a mistake (Oct 6th 2015)

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted Manchester United did not make a mistake in appointing David Moyes as his successor as manager.

Moyes left Everton to take charge at Old Trafford following Ferguson's retirement in 2013 but lasted just 10 months before being sacked.

Ferguson, who recommended Moyes, recently suggested the former Everton boss had not been first choice but defended the process by which he was appointed.

Now he has gone further by saying Moyes was definitely the right choice at the time the decision was made.

Ferguson told a BBC documentary: "I don't think we made a mistake at all. I think we chose a good football man - [he] did a great job at Everton, had 11 years there. We picked the right man. Unfortunately it didn't work for David."

Ferguson also said that long-serving player Ryan Giggs could have been his successor had he retired earlier.

Giggs played on under Moyes and later took over as caretaker-manager after the former Everton boss was sacked in April 2014. He hung up his boots at the end of that season and took up a backroom role under new manager Louis van Gaal.

Ferguson said: "If Ryan Giggs had retired six or seven years ago - say he'd retired at 35, quite likely I'd have made him my assistant, and quite likely he could have moved right into the job, with the experience of being assistant manager to me, as he is helping Louis van Gaal at the moment. But I would never ask a player to quit."

Ferguson, who recently released his new book Leading, touched on a number of other subjects and felt Liverpool scored an own goal when they arrived at the 1996 FA Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to United, wearing cream suits.

The 73-year-old said: "Why did they do that? I said to [assistant] Brian Kidd, '1-0!'.


"I think that's - what would you call it? - arrogance or over-confidence? I don't know. It was absolutely ridiculous. Blue shirt, red-and-white tie and a white suit, and a blue flower. Who designed that? They said it was Armani. I bet his sales went down!"

Ferguson was also asked to give a motivational team talk to the European Ryder Cup team prior to last year's match against the United States at Gleneagles by captain Paul McGinley.

Little detail of the talk was made public at the time, although players spoke of the positive effect it had throughout what proved a successful week for Europe.

Ferguson says that as well as telling the players they were the best in Europe, he also used a favourite teamwork analogy of geese migrating in formation. As Giggs confirms, Ferguson often spoke of this in training.

McGinley said: "That became something that we mentioned a number of times during the week. And it was a phrase we used - 'remember the geese'.

"The ironic thing is, when we won and were getting our photograph taken, this perfect 'V' of geese flew right overhead."