Misplaced Pages

#525474

113-545: Pittodrie Stadium , commonly referred to as Pittodrie , from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen , Scotland. Used primarily for football , it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they were formed in 1903. Prior to then, the ground hosted the original Aberdeen F.C. from 1899 until

226-574: A 4–1 win over defending champions Arsenal on the opening day, but United's league form quickly turned sour. In September, United suffered a humiliating 5–1 away defeat against fierce rivals Manchester City . Following this and an early season run of six defeats and two draws in eight games, a banner declaring, "Three years of excuses and it's still crap ... ta-ra Fergie." was displayed at Old Trafford, and many journalists and supporters called for Ferguson to be sacked. Ferguson later described December 1989 as "the darkest period [he had] ever suffered in

339-501: A Govan shipyard with training at night in Perth . Although he regularly scored goals for St Johnstone, he was unable to command a consistent place in their team. He regularly requested transfers, and even considered emigrating to Canada. St Johnstone's failure to sign another forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers , in which he scored a hat-trick in a surprise 3–2 victory at Ibrox . Dunfermline signed him

452-584: A degree of loyalty towards East Stirlingshire, he decided to join St Mirren after taking advice from Jock Stein . Ferguson was manager of St Mirren from 1974 until 1978, producing a remarkable transformation of a team in the lower half of the old Second Division watched by crowds of just over 1,000, to First Division champions in 1977 , discovering talent like Billy Stark , Tony Fitzpatrick , Lex Richardson , Frank McGarvey , Bobby Reid and Peter Weir while playing superb attacking football. The average age of

565-526: A former dung hill for police horses was cleared and readied for football in 1899. The land was leased from Mr Knight Erskine of Pittodrie, with an agreement to construct a terrace on what is now the site of the Richard Donald Stand. The first game, a 7–1 win over Dumbarton , was played on 2 September 1899. The club was merged on 18 April 1903 with two other local clubs, Victoria United and Orion , to form Aberdeen FC . 8000 spectators turned up to watch

678-698: A highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen , winning three Scottish league championships , four Scottish Cups and both the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1983 . He briefly managed Scotland following the death of Jock Stein , taking the team to the 1986 World Cup . Ferguson was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986. During his 26 years with Manchester United he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups , and two UEFA Champions League titles. He

791-595: A league match since the previous December, having finished second in the league the previous season. Ferguson had now been a manager for four years, but was still not much older than some of the players and had trouble winning the respect of some of the older ones such as Joe Harper . The season did not go especially well, with Aberdeen reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup Final , but losing both matches and finishing fourth in

904-490: A portion of the game from a different angle (such as the bullpen area and centerfield terrace at Seattle's T-Mobile Park ), or are admission-free (such as an area at San Francisco's Oracle Park , where the game is visible from a public waterfront walk, through a series of fenced archways which form a part of the outfield wall). Notable exceptions to this are the NFL Washington Commanders' FedExField, which contains

1017-702: A public road, and kicked a tea urn at the players at half time after a poor first half. He was dissatisfied with the atmosphere at Aberdeen matches, and deliberately created a " siege mentality " by accusing the Scottish media of being biased towards the Glasgow clubs, to motivate the team. The team continued their success with a Scottish Cup win in 1982 . Ferguson was offered the manager's job at Wolverhampton Wanderers but turned it down as he felt that Wolves were in trouble and his "ambitions at Aberdeen were not even half fulfilled". Ferguson led Aberdeen to even greater success

1130-484: A relatively small section far from the playing field, and are often referred to as the "cheap seats" (in baseball stadiums, generally, the bleachers are often located along the outfield . One example of this is in San Diego , where the only ground-level bleachers are located beyond the right field corner, and others are on the top of a historic building in the left field corner). Because standing-room terraces are so uncommon,

1243-437: A strong partnership with Mark Hughes. On 10 April 1993, United were second in the league when they faced Sheffield Wednesday at home. United were losing with four minutes to go before Steve Bruce equalised. After 7 minutes of injury time – which was subsequently dubbed "Fergie Time", alluding to extra minutes allegedly being granted to Ferguson's teams to get a goal – Bruce scored the 97th minute winner, with Ferguson celebrating

SECTION 10

#1732863081526

1356-476: A terrace-style standing room only section in the higher areas above each end zone, and the Dallas Cowboys, who sell standing-room tickets for 4 large endzone terraces and smaller terraces located in the corners of AT&T Stadium . Plans for the future Buffalo Bills stadium include a 5,000-person standing room terrace to compensate for the fact that the stadium, once complete, will be the smallest capacity in

1469-596: A transfer and moved to Ayr United , where he finished his playing career in 1974. Ferguson's only involvement with the Scotland national team was during an overseas tour in 1967. For many years none of the tour matches were recognised by the Scottish Football Association as full internationals, and so Ferguson was deemed to have never played for Scotland. A BBC Sport article in June 2020 identified him as one of

1582-527: A youth club with a strong reputation for producing senior footballers. He also took an apprenticeship as a toolmaker at a factory in Hillington , being appointed a union shop steward . Ferguson's playing career began as an amateur with Queen's Park , where he made his debut as a striker , aged 16. He described his first match as a "nightmare", but scored Queen's Park's goal in a 2–1 defeat against Stranraer . Perhaps his most notable game for Queen's Park

1695-514: A £100,000 improvement of the ground. This coincided with a change of name from Pittodrie Park to Pittodrie Stadium . On 6 February 1971, a fire destroyed part of the Main Stand, and gutted the dressing rooms and club offices. The Scottish Cup trophy, which was held by Aberdeen at the time, had to be rescued by firemen. In 1978, Pittodrie became the first all-seated stadium in Great Britain, after

1808-424: Is a Scottish former football manager and player , best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of football. Ferguson is often credited for valuing youth during his time with Manchester United, particularly in the 1990s with the " Class of '92 ", who contributed to making

1921-578: Is commonly referred to as simply the "RDS". It was built by the present chairman's construction firm, the Stewart Milne Group, at a cost of £4.5 million. Within this stand are a number of banqueting rooms, which are used for corporate hospitality and outside bookings. Taking its name from the street behind it, the Merkland Stand (also known as 'the Paddock' or 'King Street End') sits behind the goal, on

2034-412: The 1968–69 edition which helped Rangers into the semi-finals, but on both occasions they were knocked out by English opposition. He was blamed for a goal conceded in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final , in a match in which he was designated to mark Celtic captain , Billy McNeill , and was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side instead of for the first team. According to his brother, Ferguson

2147-523: The 1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle were making the headlines with big-money signings. A youthful United team lost 3–1 in their opening league game of the 1995–96 season, against Aston Villa. On Match of the Day , pundit Alan Hansen criticised their performance, ending his analysis with the words, "You can't win anything with kids." United won their next five matches and were boosted by

2260-497: The 1996 FA Cup Final ; this was their second double in three years. A week after the cup final, Ferguson agreed a four-year contract to remain at United. United started the following season thrashing the previous year's league runners-up Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield . They went on to win their fourth league title in five seasons at the end of the 1996–97 campaign , made easier by the fact that their rivals were "not up to

2373-792: The 2006 FIFA World Cup ). Many cricket stadiums in South Africa , New Zealand and Australia are not all seaters, many areas of the ground provide grass banks offering cheaper entry, this means that spectators can sit on the grass. Examples of this include Adelaide Oval , the WACA Ground in Perth and the Basin Reserve in Wellington . North American stadiums rarely have standing-room terraces; rather, many stadiums have bleacher seating, which are tiered seating areas using flat benches and are usually uncovered. In most large facilities, bleachers are in

SECTION 20

#1732863081526

2486-641: The Govan district of Glasgow on 31 December 1941, the son of Elizabeth (née Hardie) and Alexander Beaton Ferguson. His father was a plater's helper in the shipbuilding industry. He grew up in a tenement at 667 Govan Road, which has since been demolished, where he lived with his parents and his younger brother Martin , who also became a footballer. He attended Broomloan Road Primary School and later Govan High School . He began his football career with Harmony Row Boys Club in Govan, before progressing to Drumchapel Amateurs ,

2599-453: The Scotland national team . The ground has also staged rugby union , with four Scotland international fixtures being held there including a match against the Barbarians. In club football, Inverness Caledonian Thistle temporarily shared Pittodrie during part of the 2004–05 season. The original Aberdeen football club was formed in 1881. They played at various venues within the city, until

2712-403: The Scottish Cup . With increased success came more additions to Pittodrie. The record attendance occurred on 13 March 1954, when 45,061 spectators turned up for a Scottish Cup match against Hearts . Floodlights were introduced at Pittodrie on 21 October 1959, when English league side Luton Town were beaten 3–2 in a friendly. By 1 August 1968, the Main Stand had become all-seated as part of

2825-516: The Ultra fans require terraced areas for their choreography. For instance, Borussia Dortmund 's Westfalenstadion (commercially known as Signal Iduna Park) has an all-seated capacity of 65,829, but during Bundesliga games the attendance limit is set to 81,360. (If the general rule "two standing occupies the same space as one sitting" applies, then around 15,000 seats are replaced by 30,000 standing attenders at Bundesliga games.) Meadowbank Stadium ,

2938-473: The city's beachfront close to Pittodrie were released. Since its construction, there have been fifteen Scotland international matches staged at Pittodrie. Normally the national team's home matches are played at Hampden Park in Glasgow , but during times of redevelopment of the national stadium, or matches which are expected to draw a low crowd, the Scottish Football Association has made use of other stadia in

3051-531: The final on 11 May 1983. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish team to win a European trophy and Ferguson now felt that "he'd done something worthwhile with his life". This was followed up with victory in the European Super Cup in December 1983, when Hamburger SV , the reigning European Cup champions, were beaten 2–0 over two legs. Aberdeen had also performed well in the league that season, and retained

3164-558: The Dons through to the semi-finals, and they went on to win the trophy by defeating Real Madrid in the final . The club installed 24 executive boxes in the Main Stand, and built a new roof over the Merkland Road End in 1985. Undersoil heating was installed in 1987. The most recent development of the stadium came in the 1992–93 season when the Beach End stand on the east side of the ground

3277-619: The FA Cup final, Manchester United achieved an impressive 4–0 scoreline against Chelsea , winning Ferguson his second League and Cup Double , following his Scottish Premier Division and Scottish Cup titles with Aberdeen in 1984–85, though the League Cup final defeat meant that he had not yet achieved a repeat of the treble that he had achieved with Aberdeen in 1983. Ferguson made only one close-season signing, paying Blackburn £1.2 million for David May . There were newspaper reports that Ferguson

3390-550: The FA Cup victory in the previous season, some still had doubts about Ferguson's ability to succeed where all the other managers since Matt Busby had failed – to win the league title. They were runners-up in the League Cup , losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday . However, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup , beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona 2–1. It would be United's only Cup Winners' Cup title. After

3503-600: The First Division. He rejected this offer, perhaps concerned about the club's financial stability, as they were more than £2 million in debt at the time and narrowly avoided going out of business. At the end of the 1984–85 season, it was reported that Ferguson was being considered for the Liverpool manager's job after the retirement of Joe Fagan was announced, but the job was quickly accepted by Liverpool striker Kenny Dalglish . Although Ferguson remained at Aberdeen over

Pittodrie Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue

3616-454: The NFL. The Boston Red Sox baseball team offers standing room tickets when a game is sold out. The Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers both offer standing room only seating. There are no major standing room terraces; rather, people stand along the edges of the concourses directly at the back of the seating areas. Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941)

3729-529: The Premier League began indifferently because of their commitments to other competitions. He was willing to "pay for the progress" made in the Champions League; the team finished second in their Champions League "group of death", behind Bayern Munich and ahead of Barcelona. United's win against Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round was a portent for the remainder of the season. A goal down after three minutes,

3842-474: The Scottish Cup with a 1–0 victory over Rangers, but Ferguson was not happy with his team's play in that match and upset the players by describing theirs as a "disgraceful performance" in a televised interview after the match, a statement he later retracted. After a sub-standard start to the 1983–84 season , Aberdeen's form improved and the team won the Scottish league and retained the Scottish Cup. Ferguson

3955-439: The ambition of the club, reasons which Ferguson understood. Striker Teddy Sheringham was signed as Cantona's replacement from Tottenham Hotspur, with Blackburn defender Henning Berg the other significant purchase that summer. In the close season, United appointed Keane as their new captain. Ferguson described him as "the best all-round player in the game" after the team's 1997 FA Charity Shield win and believed Keane had "all

4068-461: The best Scottish players to have never played a full international. The SFA announced in October 2021 that some of the tour matches would be reclassified as full internationals, which meant that Ferguson was belatedly awarded an international cap. In June 1974, Ferguson was appointed manager of East Stirlingshire , at the comparatively young age of 32. It was a part-time job that paid £40 per week, and

4181-407: The champions retaining their title. Arsenal collected maximum points, sealing the title with a win against Everton on 3 May 1998. Ferguson congratulated his opponent Arsène Wenger , who in his first full season at the club, later completed the double: "I think it's good for my young players to lose on this occasion. I wholeheartedly acknowledge what Arsenal achieved between Christmas and the end of

4294-421: The club did not have a single goalkeeper at the time. He gained a reputation as a disciplinarian, with club forward Bobby McCulley later saying he had "never been afraid of anyone before but Ferguson was a frightening bastard from the start." In October 1974, Ferguson was invited to manage St Mirren . While they were below East Stirlingshire in the league, they were a bigger club and although Ferguson felt

4407-408: The club offices, dressing rooms and trophy room are located, was constructed in 1925. This was partly funded by the sale of Alex Jackson to Huddersfield Town . Also in the 1920s, the dugout was introduced to football by Aberdeen coach Donald Colman , who was interested in sitting lower to the pitch in order to inspect the players' footwork. The club won its first major trophy in 1947, when it won

4520-441: The club one of the richest and most successful in the world. Ferguson played as a forward for several Scottish clubs, including Dunfermline Athletic and Rangers . While playing for Dunfermline, he was the top goalscorer in the Scottish league in the 1965–66 season. Towards the end of his playing career he also worked as a coach, then started his managerial career with East Stirlingshire and St Mirren . Ferguson then enjoyed

4633-500: The club two years after leaving for Barcelona , alongside Jim Leighton from Aberdeen ; but the 1988–89 season was a disappointment for them, finishing 11th in the league and losing 1–0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup sixth round . They had begun the season slowly, going on a nine-match winless run throughout October and November (with one defeat and eight draws) before a run of generally good results took them to third place and

Pittodrie Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue

4746-418: The club's two major shareholders agreed a plan to sell the land on which the stadium sits to clear some of the club's debt. During the late 2010s, construction began at Kingsford on the western edge of the city which led to the completion of a new training facility, Cormack Park , in 2019; however, the proposed stadium on the same site was put on hiatus due to economic issues, and in 2021 alternative designs at

4859-650: The club. In March 2021, he added that when he was signed, a Rangers director had questioned whether the Fergusons had been married in a (Catholic) chapel , and that the director had replied "oh, that's okay" when told they had married in a registry office . Ferguson left Rangers reluctantly, as he had grown up locally and had dreamed of succeeding there. He was upset by how newspapers would refer to him as an "ex-Rangers player" after he had left, and rarely attended gatherings of their former players. The following October, Nottingham Forest wanted to sign Ferguson, but his wife

4972-711: The coaching staff for the Scottish national side during qualifying for the 1986 World Cup , but manager Jock Stein had collapsed and died on 10 September 1985 – at the end of the game in which Scotland qualified from their group for a play-off against Australia . Ferguson promptly agreed to take charge of the Scottish national side against the Australians and subsequently at the World Cup. To allow him to fulfil his international duties he appointed Archie Knox as his co-manager at Aberdeen. However, after Scotland failed to progress past

5085-548: The consequences of the Luton Town vs Millwall hooligan riot during their FA Cup sixth round match on 13 March 1985. The first English professional football club to convert to all-seats following the watershed of the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster was Ipswich Town's Portman Road in 1992. The other ground often cited as all-seated in Britain before 1990 was Ibrox , home of Rangers . However, although Ibrox had no terracing after

5198-508: The country. Playing at Pittodrie, Scotland have won ten matches, drawn two and lost three. The most recent was a 1–0 loss to Netherlands on 9 November 2017. Since 2005, Pittodrie has hosted four rugby union internationals. Pittodrie has been used for concerts; both Elton John and Rod Stewart have played at Pittodrie. All-seater stadium Some European countries do not have all-seater stadiums. In Germany for example standing places are priced more reasonably than seats and

5311-536: The early part of the 2004–05 season . This was required because Inverness CT's own Caledonian Stadium did not meet the requirements for entry into the Scottish Premier League until improvements were carried out and the seating capacity increased. In 2005 the stadium size criterion for entry to the SPL was reduced to 6,000, thereby allowing Inverness Caledonian Thistle to return to their home stadium partway during

5424-498: The end, he paid £1 million for 23-year-old Cambridge United striker Dion Dublin – his only major signing of the summer. After a slow start to the 1992–93 season by sitting 10th at the beginning of November, it looked as though United would miss out on the league title yet again. However, after the purchase of French striker Eric Cantona from Leeds for £1.2 million, the future of Manchester United, and Ferguson's position as manager, began to look bright. Cantona formed

5537-433: The following season, 1982–83. They had qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as a result of winning the Scottish Cup the previous season, and impressively knocked out Bayern Munich , who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 in the previous round. According to Willie Miller , this gave them the confidence to believe that they could go on to win the competition, which they did, with a 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in

5650-647: The following summer (1964), and Ferguson became a full-time professional footballer. In the following season ( 1964–65 ) Dunfermline were strong challengers for the Scottish league title and reached the Scottish Cup Final , but Ferguson was dropped for the final after a poor performance in a league game against St Johnstone. Dunfermline lost the final 3–2 to Celtic , then failed to win the League by one point. The 1965–66 season saw Ferguson notch up 45 goals in 51 games for Dunfermline. Along with Joe McBride of Celtic, he

5763-414: The fringes of the title challenge by mid February. However, another run of disappointing results in the final quarter of the season saw them fall down to mid-table. For the 1989–90 season , Ferguson further boosted his squad by paying large sums of money for midfielders Neil Webb , Mike Phelan , and Paul Ince , as well as defender Gary Pallister and winger Danny Wallace . The season began well with

SECTION 50

#1732863081526

5876-553: The fundamental reason for the dismissal was a breach of contract relating to Ferguson having agreed to join Aberdeen. Ferguson told journalist Jim Rodger of the Daily Mirror that he had asked at least one member of the squad to go to Aberdeen with him. He told the St Mirren staff he was leaving. Todd expressed regret over what happened but blamed Aberdeen for not approaching his club to discuss compensation. In 1977, Ferguson turned down

5989-462: The future of Pittodrie as a football stadium is uncertain. Plans are in action for the club to move to a New Aberdeen Stadium . The principle of a move, rather than a redevelopment of Pittodrie, has already been recommended by Aberdeen City Council . An earlier plan to move to the edge of the city, which corresponded with Scotland's failed joint bid for the Euro 2008 tournament, was scrapped. In June 2006,

6102-470: The game 1–0 due to a Mark Robins goal and eventually reached the final. This cup win is often cited as the match that saved Ferguson's Old Trafford career. United went on to win the FA Cup, beating Crystal Palace 1–0 in the final replay after a 3–3 draw in the first match, giving Ferguson his first major trophy as Manchester United manager. United's defensive frailties in the first match were blamed on goalkeeper Jim Leighton. Ferguson dropped Leighton for

6215-603: The game and famous all over the world. The first such notable casualties were Manchester United's Stretford End and Arsenal's North Bank, both of which were demolished in 1992 to be replaced by new all-seated stands. Two years later, Liverpool demolished their iconic Spion Kop and replaced it with an all-seater stand, while a similar redevelopment occurred with Aston Villa's Holte End. FIFA , UEFA , and CONCACAF also mandate that all matches in competitions that they control be held in all-seater stadiums. This means that in countries where standing terraces are commonplace, either

6328-443: The game", as United ended the decade just outside the relegation zone. Following a run of seven games without a win, Manchester United were drawn away to Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. Forest were performing well that season and were in the process of winning the League Cup for the second season running, and it was expected that United would lose the match and Ferguson would consequently be sacked, but United won

6441-458: The goal by running from his dugout on to the touch line, while assistant Brian Kidd ran on to the field. Seen as being a decisive victory, it put United top of the league, where they remained. Winning the title ended United's 26-year wait for a league title, and also made them the first Premier League champions . United finished with a ten-point margin over runners-up Aston Villa , whose 1–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 2 May 1993 had given United

6554-550: The ground, the South Stand was originally an undeveloped embankment which was later remodelled as a standing terrace. Seating and a cantilever roof were later added, although some of the 8,400 seats remain uncovered. Since 1993, the easternmost part of the stand has been used to house away fans. Sections P, Q and R are designated for this purpose. The television gantry and commentary positions are housed in this stand. Despite improvements and its ground-breaking past, it appears that

6667-449: The group stages of the World Cup, Ferguson stepped down as national team manager on 15 June 1986. 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. There was also an offer for Ferguson to replace Don Howe as Arsenal manager, but he rejected this offer as well, and fellow Scot George Graham took

6780-505: The home of Meadowbank Thistle from 1974 until 1995, was the first all-seated football ground in the United Kingdom. Aberdeen reconstructed Pittodrie in 1978, putting benches on the open south terrace as the final part of a longer-term plan to make the ground all-seated. Subsequent to this, the south side of the ground was covered over, and Pittodrie Stadium was proclaimed as the country's first all-seated, all-covered ground, although

6893-542: The introduction of an electronic stadium entry system for the 2006–07 season , have been carried out. The site of the stadium is only 550 yards away from the North Sea , and with only the King's Links golf course between the stadium and the beach, the ground is one of the coldest football grounds in Britain. As a result of a ground sharing agreement, Pittodrie was used by Inverness Caledonian Thistle for their home matches during

SECTION 60

#1732863081526

7006-554: The job". Under Ferguson, the team made a better go in the Champions League and reached the semi-final stage for the first time in 28 years. United did not advance any further, after defeat by Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Norwegian signings Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Ronny Johnsen were the notable additions to the squad, with the former ending the season as the club's top goalscorer. In May 1997, Cantona informed Ferguson of his decision to retire from football. The player "felt exploited by United's merchandising department" and questioned

7119-403: The league . Aberdeen lost the 1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final , this time to Dundee United after a replay. Ferguson took the blame for the defeat, saying he should have made changes to the team for the replay. Aberdeen had started the 1979–80 season poorly but their form improved dramatically in the new year and they won the Scottish league that season with a 5–0 win on the final day. It

7232-519: The league campaign at title challengers and rivals Liverpool on Boxing Day , it was clear that United were on the road to recovery. The year 1987 began on a high note with a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United and United gradually pulled together in the second half of the season, with relatively occasional defeats on the way, and finished 11th in the final table. Ferguson's mother Elizabeth died of lung cancer, aged 64, three weeks after his appointment. Ferguson hired Archie Knox, his assistant at Aberdeen, in

7345-452: The league winning team was 19 and the captain, Fitzpatrick, was 20. St Mirren have the distinction of being the only club ever to sack Ferguson. He claimed wrongful dismissal against the club at an industrial tribunal but lost and was given no leave to appeal. According to a Sunday Herald article on 30 May 1999, the official version is that Ferguson was sacked for various breaches of contract, including unauthorised payments to players. He

7458-610: The long periods that United were left without some of their more experienced stars. However, the championship slipped out of Manchester United's grasp as they drew 1–1 with West Ham United on the final day of the season, when a win would have given them a third successive league title. United also lost the FA Cup final in a 1–0 defeat by Everton. Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Ince moved to Internazionale of Italy for £7.5 million, long-serving striker Mark Hughes

7571-492: The manager of Blackburn Rovers. Ferguson instructed Eric Harrison and Les Kershaw to find suitable replacements, "in terms of coaching ability and work ethic." Both recommended Steve McClaren , the assistant to Jim Smith at Derby County . McClaren was Ferguson's initial choice and appointed him in February 1999. His first game as assistant was United's 8–1 victory over Nottingham Forest . Ferguson felt United's bid to regain

7684-508: The manager's job at Aberdeen. The role went to Billy McNeill, who returned to Celtic after only a year, leaving the role available for Ferguson once again. Ferguson joined Aberdeen as manager in June 1978, replacing Billy McNeill who had only managed the club for one season before he was offered the chance to manage Celtic. Although Aberdeen were one of Scotland's major clubs they had won the league only once, in 1955 under Dave Halliday . The team had been playing well, however, and had not lost

7797-582: The match, Ferguson vowed that United would win the league the following season, and at long last he seemed to have won over the last of his sceptics after nearly five years in the job. During the 1991 close season, Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox departed to Rangers to become assistant to Walter Smith , and Ferguson promoted youth team coach Brian Kidd to the role of assistant manager in Knox's place. He also made two major signings – goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Paul Parker – to bolster his side. There

7910-625: The merger that created the present club. With a seating capacity of 20,866; Pittodrie is the fourth largest stadium in the SPFL and the largest stadium in Scotland outside the Central Belt . Pittodrie has been the location of a number of firsts in the field of stadium design, including the invention of the dugout , and in 1978 became one of the first all-seater stadium in the United Kingdom. As of November 2017, Pittodrie has hosted fifteen matches involving

8023-418: The most expensive stand from which to watch matches. To the east of the Main Stand is the club shop, which doubles as a ticket office. The Richard Donald Stand is named after former club chairman Dick Donald . Completed in 1993, it houses over 6,000 fans, although this is a reduction on its Beach End predecessor. It is a cantilever construction with two tiers and a row of twelve executive boxes in between. It

8136-600: The new Aberdeen FC play its first game at Pittodrie, a 1–1 draw in the Northern League against Stenhousemuir on 15 August 1903. The club joined the Scottish Football League in 1904. Increasing popularity of the team and rising attendances led to major developments at Pittodrie in the 1920s. The club purchased the ground, which they had been leasing, with the final payment made on 1 December 1920. The Main Stand, where

8249-420: The offence but the sentence was quashed on appeal and replaced by a 120-hour community service order. United paid a British record fee of £7 million for Newcastle United's prolific striker Andy Cole , with young winger Keith Gillespie heading to the north-east in exchange. The season also saw the breakthrough of young players Gary Neville , Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes , who provided excellent cover for

8362-490: The post instead. That summer, there had been speculation that he would take over from Ron Atkinson at Manchester United , who had slumped to fourth in the English top flight after a ten-match winning start. It was not the first time that Ferguson had been linked with a move to England. In February 1982, Wolverhampton Wanderers had approached him about succeeding John Barnwell as manager as they were heading for relegation from

8475-428: The proposals in 1992 saw non-Premiership and second tier clubs retain the option to have standing areas. From time to time there are calls for Premiership stadiums to be allowed to have standing areas, but these have always been rejected. The compulsory introduction of all-seated stadiums in the upper reaches of English football saw the demolition of several famous terraced standing areas which had been iconic throughout

8588-585: The redevelopment which was completed in 1981, there was still a significant standing area in the 'Enclosure', the front portion of the old Main Stand. St Johnstone opened the first purpose-built all-seater football stadium in the United Kingdom weeks after the Hillsborough disaster, with the opening of McDiarmid Park in August 1989. All-seater stadiums have been compulsory in the English Premiership since

8701-616: The replay, bringing in Les Sealey . Although United's league form improved greatly in 1990–91 , they were still inconsistent and finished sixth. There were some excellent performances that season, including a 6–2 demolition of Arsenal at Highbury , but results like an early 2–1 loss at newly promoted Sunderland , a 4–0 September hammering by Liverpool at Anfield, and a 2–0 home defeat by Everton in early March (the game where 17-year-old talented prospect Ryan Giggs made his senior debut) showed that United still had some way to go. Even after

8814-412: The return of Cantona, who made his comeback against Liverpool in October 1995. For much of the season, the team trailed league leaders Newcastle and found themselves ten points behind by Christmas; this later was narrowed to seven points after defeating them on 27 December 1995. The gap increased to 12 points, but a series of wins, coupled with Newcastle dropping points, meant by late March, United moved to

8927-537: The right ingredients" to succeed from Cantona. Defeat by Leeds United in September 1997 was the team's first league loss in seven months; Keane during the match injured himself and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage. Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was placed as captain in his absence. By November, United opened up a four-point lead in the league, which prompted talk of whether any team could catch them. After Arsenal's defeat of United in

9040-485: The right wing, giving him a more attacking alternative to older midfielders Mike Phelan and Bryan Robson. The 1991–92 season did not live up to Ferguson's expectations and, in Ferguson's words, "many in the media felt that [his] mistakes had contributed to the misery". United won the League Cup and European Super Cup ; both for the first time, but lost out on the league title to rivals Leeds United after leading

9153-444: The same month, Ferguson acknowledged a one-horse race was "not good for the game" and admitted his opponents "... deserved to win on their second-half performance". The fallibilities of Liverpool, Chelsea and Blackburn as league challengers allowed United during the winter to extend their lead by 11 points, albeit with Arsenal having games-in-hand. This was enough for Manchester bookmaker Fred Done to pay out on punters who backed

9266-543: The same role at Manchester United in 1986. In the 1987–88 season, Ferguson made several major signings, including Steve Bruce , Viv Anderson and Brian McClair . The new players made a positive contribution to a United team who finished in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. Liverpool's points lead, however, had been in double digits for most of the season and while United had lost only five league games all season, they drew 12 games, leaving some way to go before United could match their northwestern rivals. During

9379-637: The season, United played two friendly matches in Bermuda against the Bermuda national team and the Somerset Cricket Club. In the match against Somerset, both Ferguson himself and his assistant Archie Knox took to the field, with Knox even getting on the scoresheet. The match was Ferguson's only appearance for the Manchester United first team. United were expected to do well when Mark Hughes returned to

9492-409: The season. In March 2020 the club announced plans to reduce the operational capacity of Pittodrie to 15,500. Despite this, attendances in the 2023-24 season have been reported from 15,000 to 18,652. https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/aberdeen/attendances The Main Stand was the original grandstand within the ground, and contains much of the staff and offices responsible for the day-to-day running of

9605-405: The season." United straight after paid £10.75 million for PSV defender Jaap Stam , a new club record fee. Ferguson wanted to strengthen the squad's attacking options and identified Aston Villa's Dwight Yorke as his main target. Attempts to sign Yorke were rebuffed at first, before Ferguson persuaded Edwards to increase United's initial offer of £10 million. A £12.6 million deal

9718-506: The south terracing was fitted with bench style seating. This improvement pre-dated the Taylor Report on British football grounds by a decade and coincided with a distinct upturn in the fortunes of the home team, now managed by Alex Ferguson . The south side became the South Stand in 1980, following the installation of a cantilever roof which covered most of the seats. A year later, the benches were replaced by individual seats. Both during

9831-492: The southern corners of the ground remained open to the skies. In 1981, Coventry City converted Highfield Road to all-seating, the first club in England to do so, at the instigation of the then chairman, Jimmy Hill . This move, forced on the fans, proved unpopular, with attendances declining, and terracing was reinstated at one end by 1985. In 1986, Luton Town converted their Kenilworth Road stadium to all-seater status as one of

9944-429: The stadium, from the boot room to the trophy room. Teams enter the pitch from a tunnel to the extreme left of this stand. As befits a main stand, this section of the ground includes both padded seating for club officials and VIPs , and several executive boxes at the rear. There are a number of pillars running along this stand, supporting the roof. As a consequence, views in some places are restricted. It remains, however,

10057-587: The stadiums cannot be used at all, or the standing areas must be closed to spectators. Either temporary seats have to be installed (as is the case with Croke Park , home to the Republic of Ireland national team during the Lansdowne Road redevelopment), or the standing areas must be converted to seating (as is the case with several of the larger stadiums in Germany, many of which were used in an all-seater configuration for

10170-405: The start of the 1994–95 season as a result of the Taylor Report , which gave recommendations to improve stadium safety after the Hillsborough disaster. The initial plan, drawn up in 1990, had recommended that standing areas should be banned from stadiums in the upper two tiers of the league from 1994 onwards, while stadiums in the lower two tiers had until 1999 to meet these requirements. A review of

10283-426: The subsequent run in the 1980s and at numerous other times over the century the stadium has been in operation, there have been many memorable nights for the local fans. However, Pittodrie's greatest night is generally regarded as 16 March 1983. Aberdeen fought back from 2–1 down in a European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final second leg tie against Bayern Munich to win 3–2. A full house witnessed this victory, which took

10396-424: The summer, he did eventually join Manchester United when Atkinson was sacked in November 1986. Ferguson was appointed manager at Old Trafford on 6 November 1986. He was initially worried that many of the players, such as Norman Whiteside , Paul McGrath and Bryan Robson were drinking too much and was "depressed" by their level of fitness, but he managed to increase the players' discipline and United climbed up

10509-417: The table for much of the season. A shortage of goals and being held to draws by teams they had been expected to beat in the second half of the campaign had proved to be the undoing of a United side who had performed so well in the first half of the season. Ferguson felt that his failure to secure the signing of Mick Harford from Luton Town had cost United the league, and that he needed "an extra dimension" to

10622-455: The table to finish the season in 11th place, having been 21st (second from bottom) when he took over. His first game in charge was a 2–0 defeat at Oxford United on 8 November, followed seven days later by a goalless draw at newly promoted Norwich City , and then his first win (1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers ) on 22 November. Results steadily improved as the season went on, and by the time they recorded what would be their only away win of

10735-465: The team if they were to win the league the following season. During the 1992 close season, Ferguson went on the hunt for a new striker. He first attempted to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton , but lost out to Blackburn Rovers . He also made at least one approach for the Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst , but manager Trevor Francis rejected all offers and the player stayed put. In

10848-641: The term "all-seater" is not generally used. A trend that has emerged, particularly in Europe, is to have convertible seats in parts of the stadium. This means that certain sections can easily be converted between seating and standing capacity, allowing for standing spectators in domestic games while also meeting the requirements for seating-only capacity during European fixtures, as well as other fixtures that require seating-only capacity. When standing-room areas do exist, they are generally not sold separately from seats, but rather are provided for spectators who wish to view

10961-549: The title. Ferguson was later voted Manager of the Year by the League Managers' Association . The 1993–94 season brought more success. Ferguson added Nottingham Forest's 22-year-old midfielder Roy Keane to the ranks for a British record fee of £3.75 million as a long term replacement for Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career. United led the 1993–94 Premier League table virtually from start to finish. Ferguson

11074-453: The top of the table. In a televised outburst after his team's win against Leeds, Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan responded angrily to Ferguson's comments: "We're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough... I would love it if we beat them, love it." A win against Middlesbrough on the final day sealed the title for United and the team beat Liverpool by a goal to nil to win

11187-401: The west of the ground. The Merkland is Aberdeen F.C.'s family stand, with reduced prices for under-twelves and families. There is also a section for disabled supporters near the pitch. The stand itself is a covered enclosure, with two pillars supporting the roof. The entrance to the stand is dominated by a façade constructed from granite , a local stone. Named simply after its position within

11300-416: Was knighted in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours list for his services to the game. Ferguson is the longest-serving manager of Manchester United, having overtaken Sir Matt Busby 's record on 19 December 2010. He retired from management at the end of the 2012–13 season , having won the Premier League in his final season. Alexander Chapman Ferguson was born at his grandmother's home on Shieldhall Road in

11413-427: Was also going to sign highly rated 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton from Norwich City, but the player headed for Blackburn instead. 1994–95 was a harder season for Ferguson. Cantona assaulted a Crystal Palace supporter in a game at Selhurst Park , and it seemed likely he would leave English football. An eight-month ban saw Cantona miss the final four months of the season. He also received a 14-day prison sentence for

11526-627: Was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1985 New Year Honours , and was offered the managers' jobs at Rangers and Arsenal during the season. Aberdeen retained their league title in the 1984–85 season. In 1985–86 , Aberdeen won both domestic cups, but finished fourth in the league. Ferguson had been appointed to the club's board of directors early in 1986, but that April he told Dick Donald , their chairman, that he intended to leave that summer. Ferguson had been part of

11639-576: Was counter-accused of intimidating behaviour towards his office secretary because he wanted players to get some expenses tax free. He did not speak to her for six weeks, confiscated her keys and communicated only through a 17-year-old assistant. The tribunal concluded that Ferguson was "particularly petty" and "immature". It was claimed during the tribunal by St Mirren chairman, Willie Todd, that Ferguson had "no managerial ability". In 2008, The Guardian published an interview with Todd (then aged 87), who had sacked Ferguson many years earlier. Todd said that

11752-441: Was demolished, with the new Richard Donald stand - named after the club's long serving chairman - constructed in its place. On 1 August 1993, the new stand was opened with a League Cup tie against Clydebank . The official opening was carried out later in 1993 by Princess Anne . It is currently the only two tier stand in the stadium. The stadium has remained relatively unchanged since then, although some minor improvements, such as

11865-470: Was much anticipation about the breakthrough of the young Ryan Giggs, who had played twice and scored once in the 1990–91 campaign, and the earlier emergence of another impressive young winger in the shape of Lee Sharpe , who despite their youth had made Ferguson feel able to resist plunging into the transfer market and buying a new player to take over from the disappointing Danny Wallace on the left wing. He had also added Soviet midfielder Andrei Kanchelskis to

11978-410: Was not keen on moving to England at that time, so he went to Falkirk instead. He remained at Brockville for four years, gaining more league appearances than he had elsewhere; in recognition of his experience he was promoted to player-coach, but when John Prentice became manager he removed Ferguson's coaching responsibilities. Ferguson's time at Falkirk was soured by this, and he responded by requesting

12091-427: Was reached a week into the league campaign; Yorke signed minutes before the deadline to submit United's squad for the Champions League. United opened the 1998–99 season with a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in the 1998 FA Charity Shield . The beating did not concern Ferguson, though he described his team's defeat by Arsenal in September 1998 as "a lot less tolerable". In December 1998, Kidd left his role as assistant to become

12204-490: Was so upset by the experience that he threw his losers' medal away. There have been claims that he suffered discrimination at Rangers due to his marriage to a Catholic, Cathy Holding. Ferguson said in a 2021 documentary film about his life and career ( Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In ) that he 'assumed' that his exclusion from the first team after the 1969 cup final was due to her religion. His autobiography noted that Rangers had known of his wife's religion when he joined

12317-405: Was sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton. Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were ready to play in the first team. The youngsters, who would be known as "Fergie's Fledglings", included Gary Neville, Phil Neville , David Beckham , Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who would all go on to be important members of the team. And so

12430-536: Was the 7–1 defeat away to Queen of the South on Boxing Day 1959 when ex-England international Ivor Broadis scored four of the Queen of the South goals. Ferguson was the solitary Queen's Park goalscorer. Despite scoring 20 goals in his 31 games for Queen's Park, he could not command a regular place in the side and moved to St Johnstone in 1960. Ferguson was on a part-time contract with St Johnstone, and he combined working in

12543-415: Was the first time in 15 years that the league had not been won by either Rangers or Celtic. Ferguson now felt that he had the respect of his players, later saying: "That was the achievement which united us. I finally had the players believing in me". He was still a strict disciplinarian, though, and his players nicknamed him "Furious Fergie". He fined one of his players, John Hewitt , for overtaking him on

12656-580: Was the first winner of the Premier League Manager of the Month award, introduced for the start of the 1993–94 season, when he collected the accolade for August 1993. Cantona was top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions despite being sent off twice in the space of five days in March 1994. United also reached the League Cup final but lost 3–1 to Aston Villa, managed by Ferguson's predecessor, Ron Atkinson. In

12769-489: Was the top goalscorer in the Scottish league with 31 goals. Ferguson then joined Rangers for £65,000, which was a record fee for a transfer between two Scottish clubs. He performed well in Europe during his two seasons with the club, scoring six goals in nine appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup including two against 1.FC Köln in the 1967–68 competition, and an important strike against Athletic Bilbao in

#525474