Blackburn Rovers

Fairytales do come true. Take Sir Alex Ferguson for example. From shipyard apprentice in Scotland to one of the most respected football coaches of all time. Born at his grandmother’s home on Shieldhall Road, Govan, on December 31, 1941, Sir Alex Ferguson learned early that life is all about effort. He lived in a tenement house without its own bathroom and spent his free time on the streets with his friends. ‘Get out there and get some fresh ... more 

Fairytales do come true. Take Sir Alex Ferguson for example. From shipyard apprentice in Scotland to one of the most respected football coaches of all time. Born at his grandmother’s home on Shieldhall Road, Govan, on December 31, 1941, Sir Alex Ferguson learned early that life is all about effort. He lived in a tenement house without its own bathroom and spent his free time on the streets with his friends. ‘Get out there and get some fresh air’ his mother would say to him. Fighting with the gangs in the road and playing football was all he was able to suffer and enjoy, probably at the same time: “It was a great upbringing,” he once said. “All we ever did was play football and fight. That’s what you did in these areas and we’d be out jumping dykes. “Some areas of Govan had great jumps, where you could jump from one to another” Playing career His playing career began as an amateur with Scottish club Queen’s Park where he made his debut as a striker aged 16. As Queen’s Park were an amateur team he also worked in the Clyde shipyards as an apprentice tool-worker. Despite scoring 20 goals in his 31 games for Queen’s Park, he could not command a regular place in the side. In 1960 he moved to St. Johnstone and although he continued to score regularly he was still unable to command a regular place. He even considered emigrating to Canada but St. Johnstone’s failure to sign a forward led the manager to select Ferguson for a match against Rangers. That day, he less