Sir Alex Ferguson QUIT as Man Utd manager days ahead of Treble season in big row with board ahead of stunning about-face

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has sensationally resigned as manager of Manchester United just days before the treble season.

In a stunning turn of events following the 1997/98 season, Ferguson resigned his position at Old Trafford before resuming it.

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It came after the then United board, consisting of then-chairman Martin Edwards and Sir Roland Smith, chairman of the club’s PLC board, expressed its doubts about Ferguson’s focus.

The inside story revealed by The Times was the season after United lost the league title by a single point to Arsenal, having won four of the last five seasons previously.

Ahead of the new season, Edwards and Smith told Ferguson, “We’re worried about your focus.”

Her fears came from talks at the time when Ferguson was reveling in his “celebrity status” and passion for horse racing.

Ferguson, taken aback by the nature of the questioning, asked directly if they were trying to evict him from the club – he was assured it was nothing of the sort.

Transfers have also been a hotly debated topic within the club hierarchy, with Ferguson pushing for Dwight Yorke’s signing despite doubts from assistant Brian Kidd and other members of United’s board.

After the meeting, upon his return to preseason training, Edwards wrote a letter to Ferguson outlining all of the board’s concerns.

Edwards then revealed that within hours Ferguson stormed into the office angrily, stating that he was resigning: “The language Alex used was a little bit more fruity, but that was the gist of it.

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“Well, if you feel that way, Alex, we have to accept that,” Edwards replied, confident of calling the former Aberdeen manager’s bluff.

Luckily for United, the bluff worked and Ferguson withdrew his bid later in the day.

Gordon Strachan described Ferguson as “driven by anger” and after the headbutt earlier in the season, Ferguson was full of it.

And it paid off as United won an unprecedented treble that year – a feat unprecedented in English football.

United also went on to win their next three Premier League titles, another feat yet to be repeated by any club or manager other than Ferguson’s United.

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