Of course it was inevitable that Alex Ferguson would attract the attentions of other clubs during his spell at Pittodrie. His stature had grown by the year and there was no let up by the Dons who had now become without doubt, the No 1 team in Scotland. Following on from their European nSuper cup success in 1983, Ferguson demanded his side reclaim the league title. His players duly obliged with record points hauls in 1984 and 1985 as Aberdeen retained the Championship for the first time.
Hampden also became a second home for the Dons as they again created club
history by winning the Scottish Cup three times in succession in 1982,
1983 and 1984. These were heady days and Alex Ferguson could do little
wrong. Ferguson also endeared himself to the Aberdeen support when he
not only knocked back Tottenham and Wolves but ensured that Rangers' attempts to make
him and his captain Willie Miller to Ibrox were doomed to fail. For once
in recent Scottish football history the buying power of the Old Firm counted
for little. Ferguson had a job to finish and Rangers would not stand in
his way.Perhaps it was his treatment at Ibrox as a player that had some
bearing, but it was good news all round for Aberdeen who continued to
dominate their Glasgow rivals. In1985 the Dons clinched the Premier League
title in front of their own fans for the first time. Willie Miller led
the way with the goal that gave the Dons a 1-1 draw against Celtic and
the Party began. Some months later they won the only trophy that had eluded
Ferguson during his seven years at pittodrie, the League Cup. The Dons
boss had never been an admirer of the competition but had stated that
he wanted to win it that year to complete his set of successes. That may
have sounded arrogant outwith the confines of Pittodrie but he had just
cause for such optimism as the dons at that time were virtually unbeatable.
For the record Aberdeen won the League Cup to satisfy their manager and
did without conceding a single goal in any of their ties.
A year later it was all to come to an end. Events at Old Trafford had meant that Manchester Utd had dispensed with Ron Atkinson. Ferguson was top of the Old Trafford shopping list. Privately he had stated that he would only ever leave the Dons for perhaps three clubs in the world, unfortunately Manchester United was right up there.
On reflection it was a golden era under Ferguson and those days will never be repeated such as the unique circumstances that prevailed.
Despite a traumatic early spell at Manchester United, Ferguson has gone on
to become the most sucessful manager ever in British football, culminating
with his club's European Champions Cup success over Bayern Munich in 1999.
Defeating the German champions was nothing new to Fergie; Aberdeen supporters
had seen it all before.
Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Europe | 47 | 23 | 12 | 12 | 74 | 46 | 28 |
League | 304 | 175 | 76 | 53 | 592 | 243 | 349 |
LeagueCup | 63 | 42 | 10 | 11 | 148 | 45 | 103 |
ScotsCup | 42 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 89 | 30 | 59 |
Total | 456 | 270 | 106 | 80 | 903 | 364 | 539 |