Analysing Fergie's master class: Sportsmail takes a closer look at Sir Alex's blueprint for success

University challenge: Sir Alex Ferguson opened up earlier this year for an essay at Harvard

An in-depth study of Sir Alex Ferguson and his management techniques has revealed the Manchester United manager at his most candid.

Put together with Ferguson’s help by Harvard Business School in America, the study is entitled ‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Managing Manchester United’ and provides a genuine insight into how the 70-year-old has been so successful for so long.

Here, Sportsmail’s Ian Ladyman picks out his highlights and provides his own analysis of Ferguson’s methods...

ON PLAYER POWER

Sir Alex Ferguson: Some English clubs have changed managers so many times that it creates power for the players in the dressing room. That is very dangerous. Football management in the end is all about the players. You think you are a better player than they are, and they think they are a better manager than you are.

Ian Ladyman: At one English club in the North West the captain tries to tell the manager what he is doing wrong. That wouldn’t happen at Old  Trafford. Ferguson welcomes input from his players, but only when he asks for it.

ON HOW ANDREA BOCELLI INSPIRED A TEAM TALK

SAF: I once heard a coach start with: ‘This must be the thousandth team talk I’ve had with you,’ and saw a player respond with: ‘Yeah and I’ve slept through half of them.’ So I tell different stories and use my imagination. I remember going to see Andrea Bocelli, the opera singer. I had never been to a classical concert in my life. But I am watching this and thinking about the co-ordination and the teamwork — one starts and one stops, just fantastic. So I spoke to my players about the orchestra — how they are a  perfect team. You can get help from some of the players. Bryan Robson, for example, was brilliant.

IL: To Ferguson, the team ethic is everything. He encourages and seeks out individual  brilliance, but won’t tolerate anything or  anyone who begins to feel they are bigger or better than anybody else. Several players have discovered this to their cost over the years.

Tenor for a team talk: United boss Ferguson revealed Andrea Bocelli has inspired him

 

ON MOTIVATING PLAYERS

SAF: There is no room for criticism on the training field. For a player — and for any human being — there is nothing better than hearing ‘well done’. Those are the two best words ever invented in sports. Also, you can’t always come in (after a game) shouting and screaming. That doesn’t work. No one likes to get criticised. But in the dressing room, it’s necessary that you point out your players’ mistakes. I do it right after the game. I don’t wait until Monday, I do it, and it’s finished. I’m on to the next match. There is no point in criticising a player forever. And I never discuss an individual player in public. The players know that. It stays indoors.

IL: To hear Ferguson criticise a player in public is rare. He did it with Rio Ferdinand after the defender refused to wear a ‘Kick  It Out’ T-shirt this season and  regretted it immediately. The issue was sorted in private at the training ground the next day. Compare that with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, for example, who constantly seems to criticise Mario Balotelli. Two different methods. Who is to say which one is best?

ON MANAGING MILLIONAIRES

SAF: We fine them, but we keep it indoors. You can’t ever lose control — not when you are dealing with 30 top professionals who are all millionaires. And if anyone steps out of my control, that’s them dead.

IL: The speed at which United hustled Roy Keane out of the door in 2005 shows how quickly Ferguson moves when he feels one player has started to have a negative effect on the rest. As for fines and internal discipline, you can be sure it happens at United. It’s just that they never tell anyone.

Shifted: Roy Keane was shown out of the door at Old Trafford in 2005

 

 

ON UNITED’S YOUTH POLICY AND LETTING OLD PLAYERS GO

SAF: The first thought for 99 per cent of new managers is to make sure they win — to survive. They bring experienced players in, often from their previous clubs. But I think it is important to build a structure for a football club, not just a football team. You need a foundation. And there is nothing better than seeing a young player make it to the first team. The idea is that the younger players are  developing and meeting the  standards that the older ones have set before. The hardest thing is to let go of a player who has been a great guy. But all the evidence is on the football field. If you see the change, the deterioration, you have to start asking yourself what it is going to be like two years ahead.

IL: Players like Phil Neville and Nicky Butt — founder members of the modern United — were both struck dumb when Ferguson told them their time was up at Old Trafford. Did their manager and mentor make the right decision, though? Absolutely.

ON AGGRESSIVE PLAYERS

SAF: One of my players has been sent off several times. He will do something if he gets the chance — even in training. Can I take it out of him? No. Would I want to take it out of him? No. If you take the aggression out of him, he is not himself. So you have to accept that there is a certain flaw that is counter-balanced by all the great things he can do.

IL: So who is Ferguson talking about? Almost certainly it is Paul Scholes. So much for the theory that all the United midfielder’s tackles are merely ‘mistimed’

ON TALENT AND HARD WORK

SAF: I tell players that hard work is a talent, too. They need to work harder than anyone else. And if they can no longer bring the discipline that we ask for here at United, they are out. I am only interested in  players who really want to play  for United, and who, like me, are bad losers.

IL: Ferguson’s work ethic is legendary. He is at United’s training ground at 7am every day. It’s his club and he sets the mood  and the standards. As for him  being a bad loser, well, there are referees across the land who will testify to this.

Experience: Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes has not been tamed by Sir Alex

 

ON JOSE MOURINHO

SAF: He is very intelligent, he has charisma, his players play for him, and he is a good-looking guy. I think I have most of those things, too, apart from his good looks. He’s got a confidence about himself, saying ‘We’ll win this’ and ‘I’m the Special One’. I could never come out and say we’re going to win this game. It’s maybe a wee bit of my Scottishness?

IL: It’s nothing to do with being Scottish, Ferguson is merely too cute to brag before he has achieved anything. Ferguson has always liked Mourinho, ever since the two men first clashed in 2004. He particularly admires and empathises with the Portuguese’s ability to inspire and motivate players.

ON NAMING HIS TEAM

SAF: We never reveal the team to the players until the day of the game. We think of the media and the players’ agents. And my job is to give us the best chance possible of winning the match, so why should we alert our opponents to what our team is? For a three o’clock game, we tell them at one o’clock.

IL: Ferguson is an obsessive man and his obsession about his team line-ups leaking out has long been high on the list. He got rid of one very high-profile player, for  example, because he suspected  he had leaked the team to the  opposition before a big Champions League game.

Sparring partners: Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have had their fair share of battles over the years

ON DROPPING PLAYERS

SAF: I do it privately. It’s not easy, but I do them all myself. It is important. I have been dropped from a Cup final in Scotland as a player at 10 past two, so I know what it feels like. I’m not ever sure what they are thinking, but I tend to say: ‘Look, I might be making a mistake here,’ — I always say that — ‘but I think this is the best team for today.’  I try to give them a bit of  confidence, telling them that it is only tactical, and that there are  bigger games coming up.

IL: Some managers tell players  they are playing or not playing by text message. Sometimes the old-fashioned ways really are the best.

ON GETTING READY FOR THE HALF-TIME TEAM TALK

SAF: There are maybe eight minutes between you coming up through the tunnel and the referees calling you up on the pitch again, so it is vital to use the time well. Everything is easier when you are winning: you talk about concentrating, not getting complacent, and small things you can address. But when you are losing, you know that you are going to have to make an impact.

The last few minutes of the first half I’m always thinking of what I’m going to say. I’m a little bit in a trance. I am concentrating. I see other coaches take notes, but I don’t want to miss any of the game. And I can’t imagine going into the dressing room, looking at my notes, and saying: ‘Oh in the 30th minute, that pass you took...'. I don’t think it’s going to impress the players.

IL: Managers and their bits of paper can look ridiculous. What do they write on them? ‘In the second half we must try to score’? Each to their own, of course, and it’s certainly the case that Ferguson’s coaches write things down. Sometimes, though, your eyes are your best tool.

Getting ready for the break: Ferguson prefers not to take notes while watching

 

ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH DAVID GILL AND THE GLAZERS

SAF: My best relationship in this club is with David. Sometimes we disagree, but we respect each other and we know that arguments are just arguments. He’s very fair. The Glazers decide (on transfers). They have generally been very supportive. The Glazers are very low-key. If I owned United and they won the league, I would be over the moon. I remember when I played with Rangers, when the directors were under the shower with their clothes on, dancing about. But the Glazers shook a few hands and had some photographs taken, that was it.

IL: United fans feel uncomfortable when they hear Ferguson talk so fondly of the Glazers and that’s understandable. They don’t choose players, by the way, they merely sanction, or otherwise, the spending. Ferguson’s relationship with Gill, meanwhile, is the concrete on which the club is built. I have had run-ins with both men but were it not for Ferguson and Gill’s  combined effectiveness, United would have sunk during the years of Glazer ownership.

ON THE SHAPE OF THE SEASON

SAF: We don’t start the pre-season training at one hundred miles an hour. We do a gradual build-up. And we’re not normally the strongest in the early part of the season, but October is usually a month where we get ourselves going again.

I always tell the players, every  season, that if we are within three points from the top come New Year’s Day, we’ve got a great chance at the title.

IL: This is interesting because United have tweaked pre-season routines in recent years to try and keep pace with Chelsea and  Manchester City, who tend to come out of the blocks at lightning speed in August. Ferguson realised United were getting caught cold and has tried to address it. Mind you, they lost their opening game this season...

Mr Motivator: Sir Alex has his own ways of getting the best out of his players at Old Trafford

 

ON MOVING WITH THE TIMES

SAF: Some managers are ‘pleasing managers’. They let the players play 8-a-sides — games they enjoy. But here, we look at the training sessions as opportunities to learn and improve. Sometimes the players may think: ‘Here we go again,’ but it helps to win. The message is simple: we cannot sit still at this club.

IL: Ferguson admires managers like Sam Allardyce, younger men who innovate to improve. He is happy to take ideas from them. The club are currently building a ‘sleep room’ and have installed tanning booths at the training ground so players can top up their Vitamin D levels.

ON PRACTISING FOR FERGIE TIME

SAF: We practise for when the going gets tough, so we know what it takes to be successful in those situations.

IL: I have no idea how you can  replicate the pressure of added time but it clearly works. Look at what happened in the Manchester derby recently.

ON TELLING THE REFEREE ABOUT FERGIE TIME

SAF: All I do is point at my watch to help the referee make the right decisions.

IL: Ferguson has always intimidated referees, sometimes on purpose and other times not. Has it worked? Occasionally.

Watch it: Fergie time is usually a good time to grab a goal

 

ON HOW HAVING BEEN A PLAYER HELPS HIM AS A MANAGER

SAF: Do you think Rooney cares? He’ll laugh at me and say: ‘Boss, it was so long ago, and in Scotland. Are they still part-timers up there?’

IL: Ferguson’s success debunks the old myth that you need to be a successful player to earn respect as a coach. It’s brains and not medals that get the job done.

ON MELLOWING OVER THE YEARS

SAF: Players live more sheltered lives. They are more fragile than  25 years ago. I used to be very aggressive. I am still very passionate and want to win but I have  mellowed. Age does that to you.

IL: Try telling this to Nani, David de Gea and Alex Buttner, all of whom have been monstered by Ferguson in the United dressing room this season.

ON LOSING THE TITLE TO CITY

SAF: Another day in the history of Manchester United, that’s all it was. It created the drama that only United can produce. I’ve still got a wee bit of anger in me, thinking of how we threw the league away last season. My motivation to the  players will be that we can’t let City beat us twice in a row.

IL: This is slightly disingenuous. The drama last May was largely created by United’s neighbours across town. You can be sure of the anger he still feels, though. Very sure.

Agony: Ferguson was on the pitch at Sunderland on the final day of the season when Man City pipped United

 

ON WINNING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AGAIN

SAF: We are in a country where  tribalism is rife so that puts tremendous pressure on you to win your league. But the European Cup is the biggest trophy. I made a mistake last season in Europe.  I played too many young players and we went out. It was a shock.

IL: Ferguson is obsessed with  winning the Champions League again. Defeats by Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 hurt him more than he ever really lets on. He still refuses to talk about 2009.

ON A GLASS OF WINE WITH THE OPPOSITION MANAGER

SAF: You have to get the game out of your system quickly or it becomes an obsession. Win, lose or draw. We show our face and keep our dignity. We are Manchester United.

IL: Some of Ferguson’s post-match TV comments can lack the dignity he talks about, but he isn’t alone there. He does always offer visiting managers a drink, though. One of the reasons Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger is shown so little warmth by Premier League bosses is that he has never embraced this tradition.

Unpopular: Arsene Wenger never sticks around for a drink with other bosses

A few other choice cuts...

ON TACTICS

SAF: Tactics can change depending on whom we are playing I tend to concentrate on one or two players of my opponents—the ones that are the most influential. Who’s the guy who is taking all the free kicks? Who’s the guy who’s on the ball all the time? Who’s the one urging everyone on?

The rest of the time I concentrate on our own team. On Friday we take our players through a video analysis of our opponents: their strengths, their weaknesses, their set-pieces, what their team is likely to be, and so on.

On Saturday, we might give them another, shorter version—just a recap of the previous day.

ON PEP GUARDIOLA

SAF: Guardiola is an impressive guy. He’s brought about change in Barcelona, urging the team to always work hard to get the ball back within seconds after losing it. They are gifted but work hard. It was a fantastic achievement. He elevated the status of his players.

Pep talk: United boss Ferguson was impressed by the way Guardiola transformed Barcelona

 

ON THE HAIR-DRYER

SAF: You can’t always come in shouting and screaming. That doesn’t work. No one likes to get criticized. But in the football dressing room, it’s necessary that you point out your players’ mistakes.

I do it right after the game. I don’t wait until Monday, I do it, and it’s finished. I’m on to the next match. There is no point in criticizing a player forever.

ON HOW BEING A PLAYER HELPS HIM AS MANAGER

SAF: Do you think Rooney cares? He’ll laugh at me and say “Boss, it was so long ago, and in Scotland. Are they still part-timers up there?'"

EXCLUSIVE: Sturridge's £12m Liverpool switch hits skids after row over agents fees

Moving on: Sturridge has been told he can leave Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge's £12million move to Liverpool has hit a stumbling block due to a wrangle over agents fees.

Liverpool are stamping down on the money they pay agents after recently published figures showed their outlay since 2008-09 has been a staggering £31.3million - only Chelsea (£31.8m) and Manchester City (£39.02m) have paid more in the same period.

Liverpool had hoped that Sturridge - who has been told he can leave Chelsea after being left out of their squad for the Club World Cup - would have been in a position to complete a medical on Wednesday so that his switch from Stamford Bridge would be finalised in time for him to be unveiled on January 1.

However, the medical never took place as problems emerged in the discussions between Chelsea and Sturridge's advisors over the terms of his departure.

England international: But Sturridge can't find a way into the Chelsea side

There have also been some minor issues with Liverpool and Sturridge's advisors.

Though Liverpool remain confident the deal will eventually go through, manager Brendan Rodgers has other alternatives to turn to if discussions with Sturridge break down beyond repair.

Kevin Gamiero - a France international who is currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain - would be a potential target to come in on loan. The 25-year-old has not featured a great deal for PSG.

There are no such concerns, however, over Tom Ince's impending return from Blackpool. He should officially become a Liverpool player when the transfer window opens.

Fergie rules out buying Walcott or anybody else in January

Out of the running: Manchester United will not join the bidding if Arsenal decide to cash in on Theo Walcott

Sir Alex Ferguson will not be buying Theo Walcott - or anybody else in January. 

The Manchester United manager, who saw his team maintain their six-point lead over neighbours Manchester City with a 3-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday, is adamant he will not be doing any business in the transfer window unless it is to allow several of his reserve-team players to go out on loan.

Ferguson, who rarely takes advantage of the mid-season opportunity to augment his first-team squad, believes he has enough resources to cope with challenging for the Premier League title and the European and FA Cups.

'I will not be bringing anybody in, in January - definitely not,' he confirmed.

It means that while title rivals City are targeting Atletic Bilbao's Fernano Llorente; Chelsea are ready to splash on Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao and Walcott and Liverpool want Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge and Tom Ince from Blackpool, the United boss will stick with what he has as the club chase a 20th league title.

Boost: Vidic returned against Sunderland

Walcott's future at Arsenal is in doubt with the club refusing to agree to his contract demands. But if the Gunners decide to cash in on the winger in January, he is now more likely to end up at Stamford Bridge than Old Trafford.

Ferguson's confidence comes from now having a fully fit squad at his disposal after skipper Nemanja Vidic returned to the team as a second-half substitute against Sunderland.

'It will take him a bit of time but that is a start,' Ferguson said. 'He is a warrior and he is our captain. He always battles for you and sticks his head on that ball in the penalty area. That is what he is great at.'

Goals from Robin van Persie, Tom Cleverley and Wayne Rooney were enough to claim all three points and Ferguson added: 'People keep saying we are weak in midfield but these guys are very good players.'

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool issue grovelling apology to Fulham over Dempsey tapping-up affair

Centre of attention: Dempsey was courted by Liverpool in summer

  

Full apology: Ayre has expressed regret on Liverpool's behalf to Al Fayed

Liverpool have made a grovelling apology to Fulham over the tapping-up of Clint Dempsey in the summer.

A statement from Fulham, expected today, will confirm that in return the club have dropped their complaint to the Premier League over the affair.

The peace deal came only after a personal visit by Liverpool co-owner Tom Werner to Craven Cottage chairman Mohamed Al Fayed was followed up by a letter from Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre  admitting that the club’s behaviour ‘was wrong’ and ‘simply never should have occurred’.

Fulham blame Liverpool for unsettling the player and  creating the circumstances that led to his move to Tottenham on transfer-deadline day.

Ayre wrote: 'Please also consider this letter from me to be an additional expression of sincere regret and apology from our club to your club for our actions last summer. Our club can do better and  we pledge that it will.'

Fulham’s official complaint followed a series of clumsy bulletins from Liverpool and their owners, the Fenway Sports Group. The first was an announcement on the FSG website that Liverpool had signed Dempsey from Fulham. 

This was followed by an interview on the Liverpool website with manager Brendan Rogers, in which he talked of the USA forward in glowing terms.

Finally, pictures of Liverpool's new strip with Dempsey's name on the back were published.

The 29-year-old had been on a summer break in America when the FSG announcement was made, and Fulham’s complaint to the Premier League intimated that their relationship with the player who was last season’s top scorer had not recovered from that point.

Dempsey did not officially go on strike, but told Fulham he wanted to leave.

The club considered he was becoming a bad influence in the dressing room and he did not play a game for Fulham before signing for Tottenham.

On target: Dempsey scored in the recent defeat to Everton

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers today discovered the upside to being held up on the Reds' journey back from Italy in the week.

Following a 1-0 win away to Udinese, the Anfield club will now look forward to being seeded in the Europa League draw, and Rodgers produced a seedy turn of his own with LFC TV's Claire Rourke.

The Northern Irish manager bagged himself a window seat, and while Rourke introduced her interview with the new Liverpool boss, he couldn't resist what looks very much like a cheeky peek down the presenter's top!

Oh for a glance inside one of Brendan's three envelopes , where the name that lets him down might well be his own!

Reds have made an approach about a January deal but striker wants mega money and a guarantee he'll play only through the middle not out wide

Daniel Sturridge is demanding a staggering £80,000 a week to move to Liverpool in January. 

The Reds have already asked Chelsea about their reserve striker’s availability, and look set to follow up their interest, which dates back to the summer, in the winter transfer window.

There is a feeling at Anfield, however, that Sturridge has done little in the last 12 months to justify such big wages since his fine start to last season. 

Back then, he scored 10 goals playing wide in an attacking three under Andre Villas-Boas. 

But since last December, he has scored just five times for the European Champions.

The 23-year-old’s camp also insist he MUST play through the middle if he were to move to Liverpool next month. 

Liverpool are keen not to repeat the financial mistakes of past windows after big signings Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing struggled to make any sort of impact

Bad taste: Ridgewell landed himself in trouble after this picture was leaked

Wind-up: Ridgewell's locker draped with toilet rolls and a £20 note