Alex Ferguson Team Quotations

This was not a decision we wanted to make. But every time I picked the team and Phil's name was not on the team sheet, it was very difficult for me. You couldn't meet a better professional.

But for me it's always going to be about how we can improve the team and nothing changes in that respect. I go to David Gill and say 'this is a player I'd like', then we assess how much it's going to cost.

We maybe could have got a goal, but I suppose with 10 men and the other team entrenched in their own half still with one up front they went for the point and got it.

I will make some changes. I think I played the right team in the first game and it won't be far away from that team again.

I never worried about teams who spend what they want to spend. It never bothered me. At the moment we have a lot of Middle Eastern owners, we have American owners of course, Russian owners. It never bothered me one bit. All I was concerned about was that we at United maintained our level of expectation, be competitive, be at the top part of the Premier League.

Scholes was probably the best English midfielder since Bobby Charlton. He was such a brilliant long passer that he could choose a hair on the head of any team-mate answering the call of nature at our training ground. Gary Neville once thought he had found refuge in a bush, but Scholesy found him from 40 yeards. He inflicted a similar long-range missile strike, once, on Peter Schmeichel, and was chased round the training ground for his impertinence. Scholesy would have made a first class-sniper.

In any normal season, most of the teams below Chelsea would think they are doing quite well.

Evolution happens. There's no football team in the world that has stayed together for time ever more.

I think his team are mirroring Stuart Pearce as the player he was. (on Manchester City)

The credit to them, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about that now.

When he's at the top of his game, there's not a team in the world that can handle Giggs' speed and penetration

If you were in a game of football always think you need maybe eight to win the game. Three can on an off day or semi off day but you always hard. And the players recognize that and they'll do that extra to make sure they get winning. The essence of the team is to understand and trust each other and to trust me.

Go make your mistakes in the first team. You'll learn more in a month in the first team than you will in two years in the reserves.

The philosophy of a lot of European teams, even in home matches, is not to give a goal away.

You start with what you believe in. I believe in building a football club rather than building a football team.

This tour gives us a great chance to prepare those in our first team squad who are not involved in the World Cup quarter-finals for the new season.

You never know what can happen in football. Chelsea could slip up and if they do we want to be the team that's next to them.