Ferguson quiz: 25 years in charge - The Independent

Winners and losers

1 Who were United's opponents in Sir Alex Ferguson's first match in charge?

2 Which Dane scored the first United goal for him?

3 Where did United finish at the end of his first full season, 1987-88?

4 Which striker scored 31 goals in all competitions that season?

5 Who were the opponents when Ferguson won his first trophy at United?

6 Who scored the winning goal?

7 Which manager beat United in two League Cup finals in four years?

8 Who scored a hat-trick in a 6-2 win at Arsenal?

9 Which British club did United meet en route to winning the Cup-Winners' Cup in 1990-91?

10 Which game clinched thefirst Premier League title in 1992-93?

11 United opened the 1995-96 season with a defeat which famously prompted Alan Hansen to remark "You win nothing with kids". Who beat them?

12 Whose first game as Ferguson's first-team coach was an 8-1 win at Nottingham Forest in 1999?

13 Who did goalscoring substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replace when they came on in the Champions' League triumph in 1999?

14 In 2004-05, which Ferguson signing overtook Denis Law's record of 28 goals for United in European competition?

15 Which year did they agree not to compete in the FA Cup?

16 The day after Ferguson's 20th anniversary at the club, which Championship club beat United in the League Cup?

17 Which lowly Midlands club took United to an FA Cup replay in 2006?

18 Which is the only non-League team to gain a draw at Old Trafford in the FA Cup during Ferguson's reign?

19 How many times has Ferguson led United to the Premier League title? Is it a) 10, b) 12 or c) 14

20 Ferguson called last weekend's 6-1 defeat by Manchester City "the worst in my history", yet he has suffered two other five-goal losses in the Premier League. Chelsea inflicted one, 5-0 in 1999, but who was the other against?

Signings

21 Who was Ferguson's first signing, from Shamrock Rovers for £60,000?

22 And who was his first major signing, at £250,000 from Arsenal?

23 Which Scottish winger, signed in 1988, did Ferguson admit in 2009 was his worst signing?

24 Who crashed his car the day he was given a free transfer by Ferguson?

25 Who agreed to join United in the summer of 1988, then signed for Tottenham?

26 Which two hard-drinking Irishmen did he transfer for a combined £1.2m in the same week in 1989?

27 Who was photographed in a United shirt before the club had even spoken to him?

28 To which club did Ferguson pay a record fee for a YTS player when he signed Lee Sharpe?

29 Who did Ferguson try to buy back, six months after selling him to Newcastle?

30 Which player did Leeds ring Ferguson to discuss buying in the call that ended with their agreeing to sell him Eric Cantona?

31 Which Ferguson signing had his own cookery show on MUTV?

32 Which former England player was the goalkeeping coach whose report persuaded Ferguson to sign Peter Schmeichel?

33 Who did Ferguson make the most expensive player in British football in 2002?

34 Which player did he make the world's most expensive teenager in 2004?

35 Ferguson bought him from Venezia for £4.5m and sold him to Reggina after one season for £2.5m. Who was he?

36 Which future England player did Ferguson buy as a result of going to watch his son Darren play for Wrexham?

37 Which player, bought as a striker by Ferguson and still in the Premier League, has not scored since his goal in United's 7-1 rout of Roma in 2007?

38 Which player did Ferguson sign on loan from Swedish club Helsingborg during the 2006-07 campaign?

39 The sons of two key Ferguson players from the 1990s were together at which Championship club last season?

40 Which £30.75m signing failed to even make the bench for this year's Champions' League final against Barcelona?

Who was Ferguson talking about?

41 All this Guv'nor nonsense should have been left in his toy box

42 He had only two questions. He wanted to wear the No 9 shirt and take the penalties

43 He did not have two stitches put in his head. It was a graze

44 I decided that this man could not be trusted an inch

45 If he was an inch taller he'd be the best centre-half in Britain. His dad's 6ft 2in. I'd check the milkman

46 He's a fucking great player. You are all fucking idiots

47 I first saw him when he was 13. He just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind

48 Our players are always linked with moves abroad, but he doesn't fit into that. Oldham Athletic maybe – he's a big Oldham fan

49 Christ almighty, I wouldn't sell Real Madrid a virus, let alone him

50 Marriage helps footballers, and you know where they are. It'll help him settle down

51 Get your fucking hair cut!

52 I knew that managing him would have been no joy ride, but the hazards that went with the talent would never have put me off

53 That lad must have been born offside

54 I find the idea of me staying quiet to take a roasting from him quite hilarious

55 My biggest challenge was knocking them off their fucking perch. And you can print that

56 I don't know why you ask these questions. You're just looking for stupid little things

57 He has associates, colleagues, but only a few friends. There's nothing wrong with that...you only need six people to carry your coffin

58 I've told him I was against this (Iraq) war. He told me to calm down

59 Don't ever associate me with that woman

60 They're a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United. It's poor stuff

And who was talking about him?

61 I had been talking to Alex Ferguson, who was then at Aberdeen. We shook hands on a deal. However, he had second thoughts

62 Whatever he does – and maybe he has upset a few people – he'll always do what he thinks is best for the club

63 Sometimes people making comments at the end of a game become mental

64 I just used to hold the phone well away from my ear and let Alex rant on for a while

65 He's always got a smile, a laugh or a song for everyone. He sings all the time

66 Tell Alex we're coming to get him

67 I meet ministers and monarchs and my children aren't much impressed, but when we met Alex Ferguson they realised there was some point

68 He's a strange bloke, irritated by everyone I think

69 His weakness is that he doesn't think he has any

70 He's still a work alcoholic

71 I'm still on the transfer list but Alex Ferguson has yet to take the hint

72 If someone should be embarrassed it wasn't me. Get in your car, go to Manchester and ask Ferguson about it

73 I don't peruse the media as much now after some advice from Alex Ferguson. He said if it hurts when you lose, why hurt yourself twice by reading about it?

74 I loved the game but no longer had the passion to go to bed early, not to go out with friends, not to drink. Alex Ferguson loves the game and will die on the United bench, I am sure of that

75 I think the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson rested Howard Webb had a lot to do with the result. But if Carlsberg did weekends... it was one of the best

76 Being unfair after a defeat sometimes, that's his way of coping with losing

77 He's the toughest, meanest, most cussed competitor I've ever met. To be any use to him, you have to win

78 To Manchester United fans, he's the son of God

79 For all his horses, knighthoods and championships, he hasn't got two of what I've got. And I don't mean balls

80 He'll probably still be staggering out of the dug-out in 2020

Miscellaneous

81 Which Scot claimed he was bored with Manchester United and had played for Ferguson for too long?

82 Which Irishman said Manchester United were "too big for Ferguson to handle"?

83 Which Welshman defined the "hairdryer" as follows: "you would end up with your hair behind your head"?

84 Which 1980s United player said "I'd have decked him if he'd laid a finger on me"?

85 Who did Ferguson admit he should not have dropped because it "wrecked his career"?

86 Who was told to get rid of his new drum kit, pet dog and girlfriend and move back to club digs?

87 Who had to leave the club after an interview with MUTV that was never transmitted?

88 Which manager did Ferguson say was "beyond the pale" and talking "absolute bollocks"?

89 Who was transferred shortly after publishing a book that alleged United had tapped him up?

90 Ferguson played for United in a 1988-89 friendly against a team from which county cricket club?

91 Which of Ferguson's current rival managers in the Premier League was in the team that beat United in the 1997 Champions' League semi-final?

92 Which coach, now manager of Iran, has had two separate spells as Ferguson's assistant in the past decade?

93 What was the horse whose ownership Ferguson disputed with JP McManus and John Magnier in 2004?

94 In which season did Ferguson announce his intention to retire before later rescinding the decision? a) 2001-02, b) 2003-04, c) 2004-05?

95 How many managers have Manchester City had during Ferguson's reign? a) 8, b) 11, c) 14?

96 What celebrated phrase did Ferguson use to describe the tight title race in 2002-03?

97 Which year did Ferguson begin his refusal to talk to the BBC, which he ended in August?

98 Apart from Darren Fletcher, who was the last Scot to play a competitive match for Ferguson's first team?

99 Who sent Ferguson a £300 bottle of red wine after the United manager joked about the "paint stripper" he previously served him?

100 Which manager joked before a League Cup tie that he would have "a bottle of 1992 Blue Nun" ready for Ferguson?

Quiz answers...

Winners and losers 1 Oxford United (lost 2-0); 2 John Sivebaek; 3 Second; 4 Brian McClair; 5 Crystal Palace (in the 1990 FA Cup final); 6 Lee Martin; 7 Ron Atkinson, (with Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa); 8 Lee Sharpe; 9 Wrexham; 10 Aston Villa's home defeat by Oldham; 11 Aston Villa; 12 Steve McClaren; 13 Jesper Blomqvist and Andy Cole; 14 Ruud van Nistelrooy; 15 2000; 16 Southend United; 17 Burton Albion; 18 Exeter City; 19 b) 12; 20 Newcastle (5-0 in 1996).

Signings 21 Liam O'Brien; 22 Viv Anderson; 23 Ralph Milne; 24 Robbie Savage; 25 Paul Gascoigne; 26 Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath; 27 Paul Ince; 28 Torquay United; 29 Keith Gillespie; 30 Denis Irwin; 31 Jesper Blomqvist; 32 Alan Hodgkinson; 33 Rio Ferdinand (signed from Leeds for £29.1m); 34 Wayne Rooney; 35 Massimo Taibi; 36 Ben Foster; 37 Alan Smith; 38 Henrik Larsson; 39 Leeds United (Alex Bruce and Kasper Schmeichel); 40 Dimitar Berbatov.

Who was Ferguson talking about? 41 Paul Ince; 42 Alan Shearer; 43 David Beckham; 44 Gordon Strachan; 45 Gary Neville; 46 Juan Sebastian Veron; 47 Ryan Giggs; 48 Paul Scholes; 49 Cristiano Ronaldo; 50 Wayne Rooney; 51 Robbie Savage; 52 Paul Gascoigne; 53 Filippo Inzaghi; 54 Ron Atkinson; 55 Liverpool; 56 Kelly Cates (Kenny Dalglish's daughter); 57 Dalglish; 58 Alistair Campbell; 59 Margaret Thatcher; 60 Manchester City.

And who was talking about him? 61 Irving Scholar (Tottenham's chairman); 62 Roy Keane; 63 Jose Mourinho; 64 Terry Yorath (Wales manager); 65 Jesper Blomqvist; 66 Kevin Keegan; 67 Tony Blair; 68 Gary Lineker; 69 Arsène Wenger; 70 Gérard Houllier; 71 Vinnie Jones; 72 Sven Goran Eriksson; 73 Michael Atherton; 74 Eric Cantona; 75 Noel Gallagher; 76 Joe Royle; 77 Steve Bruce; 78 Denis Law; 79 Brian Clough (when Ferguson had one European Cup); 80 Steve Coppell.

Miscellaneous 81 Gordon Strachan; 82 Paul McGrath; 83 Mark Hughes; 84 Colin Gibson; 85 Jim Leighton; 86 Lee Sharpe; 87 Roy Keane; 88 Rafa Benitez; 89 Jaap Stam; 90 Somerset; 91 Norwich's Paul Lambert (then a Borussia Dortmund player); 92 Carlos Queiroz; 93 Rock of Gibraltar; 94 a) 2001-02; 95 c) 14; 96 "Squeaky bum time"; 97 2004; 98 David Gray (now at Preston, in 2006); 99 Jose Mourinho (then coach at Internazionale); 100 Aldershot's Dean Holdsworth.