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61 " The supporters were entitled to know when I was unhappy with a performance. But not an individual. "
― Alex Ferguson , Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography
62 " I wasn’t afraid of crossing into what some of the players might have considered their private territory–hairstyles and jewellery. I never understood why players would want to have long hair when they spend so much effort trying to be as fit and quick as possible. Anything, even a few extra locks of hair, just didn’t seem sensible. I had my first issue with a player on this topic when Karel Poborský came to Manchester from Slavia Prague in 1996, looking as though he was going to play for Led Zeppelin rather than United. I did manage to persuade him to trim his locks but, even so, they were always too long for my taste. There were other players who would be wearing necklaces carrying crosses that seemed heavier than those the pilgrims carry up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. I banned all those. However, there wasn’t much I could do about tattoos since it was hard–even for me–to argue that they added any weight. Eric Cantona started that particular craze when he arrived one morning with the head of an American Indian chief stencilled on to his left breast. Since Eric was venerated by his team-mates, several other players followed suit. I was always struck by the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo never chose to deface his body. It said a lot about his self-discipline. "
― Alex Ferguson , Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United
63 " Many people cannot stop long enough to listen - especially when they become successful and all the people around them are being obsequious and pretending to hang on their every word. "
64 " there are two forms of observation: the first is on the detail and the second is on the big picture. "
65 " I always wanted to watch with my own eyes without having my judgement swayed by the filters of others. "
66 " There is nothing wrong with requiring time to consider a question or an argument and you can gain it without appearing to be a dithering idiot. I might say, ‘I’ve never considered that angle – can I give it some thought?’ By praising the other person’s ability to make me think, I increased his willingness to wait for an answer. "
― Alex Ferguson , Managing My Life: My Autobiography
67 " I certainly found more virtue in patiently working towards the right decision as I got older. In my early days as a manager I could be impetuous - always in a hurry to get things done and stamp my authority on a situation. It takes courage to say, 'Let me think about it. When you're young you want to fly to the moon and you want to get there quickly. I think it's usually enthusiasm that causes this. As you get older you temper your enthusiasm with experience. "
68 " One obvious aspect of management is identifying people who can help you get where you are trying to go. Talent-identification sounds like a straightforward business. If it were, every team would be successful. "
69 " I realise that were shaped by lots of other forces beyond just watching, listening and reading. We're all accidental victims of our parents' DNA; we are shaped by the luck of the draw, the circumstances in which we grew up and the education we received. But we all have two sets of very powerful tools that we completely control: our eyes and our ears. Watching others, listening to their advice and reading about people are three of the best things I ever did. "
70 " the very best footballers were competing against themselves to become as good as they could be. "
71 " In those moments of defeat and acceptance, there would be a dawning, for me, of where we needed to go. My feeling was always: 'I don't like this, but we'll have to meet the challenge. We'll have to step up a mark.' It wouldn't have been me, or the club, to submit to apocalyptic thoughts about that being the end, the finish of all our work. We could never allow that.Every time those moments poked us in the eye, we accepted the invitation to regroup and advance again. Those were motivating passages. They forced me on. I'll go further: I can't be sure that without those provocations I would have Enjoy the job so much. "
72 " Un líder no es uno de los chicos. "
73 " if I had to choose between someone who had great talent but was short on grit and desire, and another player who was good but had great determination and drive, I would always prefer the latter. The former might work well for a brief period, but they never have the staying power that gives a great club stability and consistency. "
74 " When I won the League for the first time in 1993, I didn't want my team to slacken off. The thought appalled me. I was determined to keep advancing, to strengthen our hold on power. I told that 1993 side: 'Some people, when the have a holiday, just want to go to Saltcoats, twenty-five miles along the coast from Glasgow. Some people don't even want to do that. They're happy to stay at home or watch the birds and the ducks float by in the park. And some want to go to the moon.''It's about people's ambitions. "
75 " One player's drive can have an enormous effect on a team - a winning drive is like a magical potion that can spread from one person to another. "
76 " If you are a boy who has just had his tenth birthday, your next one seems an eternity away. That’s because the single year that stretches ahead amounts to 10 per cent of the time you have been on earth. It’s a different sensation when you turn 50, because the distance to your 51st birthday amounts to just 2 per cent of the time you have been alive. As you get older and more experienced, you start to think about how you allocate time. "
77 " The minute you start intruding too far, you take the drive out of the man. "
78 " If you overemphasise opponents strengths, you just plant seeds of doubt in your players. "
79 " part of a leader's job is to eliminate as many risks as possible. "
80 " Great teamwork comes from deep familiarity and developing close bonds with others. In a company, people who have worked together for a long time will know how others will react in certain situations, and may even be able to anti cipate what their colleagues might say. "