United's league form improved as the season went on despite defeat by Liverpool in the 2003 Football League Cup Final and they overhauled Arsenal to win the Premier League for an eighth time in May 2003. The only constant element has been the quality of the manager's league-winning squad and United's run of success, which included winning the Champions League for a second time in 2008. Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over the summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986. Todd said that the fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. By sharing the technology that has grown World of Books Group into the business it is today, we're helping charities increase revenue and reduce waste through re-commerce.

Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, [78] and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won the game 1–0 due to a Mark Robins goal and eventually reached the final.During the season, Ferguson managed his 1,000th game in charge of United in a 2–1 home win against Lyon. On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced that he had decided to retire as manager at the end of the football season, but would remain at the club as a director and club ambassador.

To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in the game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone.

Around this time, Tottenham Hotspur offered Ferguson the chance to take over from Peter Shreeves as manager, but he rejected this offer and the job went to Luton Town's David Pleat instead.