The Kingmakers of Old Trafford! Edwards, Edelson, Watkins and Charlton remember the day they appointed Sir Alex

By Matt Lawton
Last updated at 11:43 PM on 5th November 2011

They are the four men who made one of the most important decisions in Manchester United’s history; what amounted to a seminal moment in English football 25 years ago and something that gave one of them ‘sleepless nights’.
Martin Edwards, the club chairman, and directors Maurice Watkins, Mike Edelson and Sir Bobby Charlton formed the Old Trafford board back in November 1986 and they decided to appoint Alex Ferguson, at the time the 44-year-old manager of Aberdeen, as a replacement for Ron Atkinson.
This week amid much laughter, four marvellous raconteurs retold the story of the Scot’s arrival. Terry Venables, they revealed, was the other name on their two-man shortlist. But Ferguson was the No 1 choice and the key, before making their move, was establishing if he would take the job...
One step ahead: (from left) Charlton, Watkins, Edwards and Edelson moved fast to make sure they got Ferguson
One step ahead: (from left) Charlton, Watkins, Edwards and Edelson moved fast to make sure they got Ferguson
Lawton: I understand it all started on a flight home from Southampton on November 4, 1986.
EDWARDS: Yes. We’d lost 4-1 there in the League Cup. A young Matt Le Tissier scored twice, I seem to recall. We were 19th in the league and that was a bad defeat. Ron had actually offered to resign at the end of the previous season. We started it well but the campaign had ended badly. We persuaded him to carry on but when the new season started as badly as the previous one had ended, we realised we needed to make a change. It wasn’t easy because we liked Ron. We’d never finished lower than fourth and he was a good man.
EDELSON: I remember we were sick to the stomach on the flight. But Martin said it was time to make a change and we thought about who there was and there were really only two names. Ferguson or Venables. Alex because of what he’d done at Aberdeen and Venables because he’d guided Barcelona to the European Cup final a few months earlier, having won the Spanish league the previous season.
WATKINS: We’d had something to do with Venables when Mark Hughes went to Barcelona. We’d met Terry in Barcelona.
United we stand: Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson, who had been at Old Trafford for five years
United we stand: Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson, who had been at Old Trafford for five years
EDWARDS: But I think we knew, even then, that Alex was the one. We didn’t spend too long thinking about Venables to be honest. Alex had broken the Old Firm dominance in Scotland and he’d beaten Real Madrid to win the Cup Winners’ Cup. And we’d met him and liked him, when we were signing Gordon Strachan.
EDELSON: And you have to remember Scottish football was stronger in those days; closer to the English game. When we eventually spoke to Alex we discovered he was earning more at Aberdeen than we had been paying Ron. I think Archie Knox was on about the same as Ron as Alex’s No 2.
EDWARDS: But the key, as I say, was the fact that we’d met Alex already. Ray Wilkins had gone to Milan and we’d identified Gordon Strachan as his replacement. But there was a problem signing Gordon, because it turned out he’d signed contracts with a couple of other clubs; one with Cologne that made it complicated. I think Aberdeen got more money if Gordon joined us but, even so, Alex was very helpful. We liked the look of him and I remember thinking he’d make a good Manchester United manager.
CHARLTON: I’d met him during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. I was working for the BBC and I went to watch Scotland train ahead of their match against Uruguay. He saw me through the fence and came over to say hello. We only spoke for a minute or so but I liked him. Prior to that, I’d watched him during the Cup Winners’ Cup final; the way he conducted himself on the touchline, doing everything. It was impressive. I also recall going up to Aberdeen once, to open a garage of all things. The people there were panicking. “You’re not here to take our manager, are you?” The whole city seemed to be in love with him. I stored that away, too.
In the frame: Then Barcelona boss Terry Venables was also considered for the job in Manchester
In the frame: Then Barcelona boss Terry Venables was also considered for the job in Manchester
Lawton: But take me back to that flight home from Southampton. What happened next?
WATKINS: The next morning I was at the club to meet Martin about something when we got talking about whether there should be a change. And then Bobby popped in and we rang Mike to come in as well.
EDWARDS: We all agreed that Alex was the man, but the one thing we wanted to avoid was a repeat of what had happened when we appointed Ron in 1981. We’d looked at Lawrie McMenemy, Bobby Robson and Ron Saunders. Ron Atkinson was actually our fourth choice. Lawrie had told me he was going to come and I felt a bit let down when he didn’t. I think there was a problem with his wife not wanting to move north. Bobby Robson and Ron Saunders never really amounted to anything.
So, before we ended up going through that again we thought it would be good to find out if Alex was willing to come, before we then made an official approach to Aberdeen. Don’t forget, Ron was under contract with Bert Millichip at West Brom when I got a call saying Ron would be very interested in taking the job! Things were probably done a bit differently in those days. There wasn’t always an agent or someone you could go to. And people didn’t really have mobile phones. We had to call Alex at Pittodrie.
EDELSON: The phone call was simply to discover if he’d be interested. The meeting we then had that night with him came from that call. It wasn’t our original intention to drive up that night.
EDWARDS: But I said there’s no way Manchester United can ring up Aberdeen and ask for Alex Ferguson. So Mike suggested ringing up with a Scottish accent, pretending to be Gordon Strachan’s accountant, Alan Gordon.
EDELSON: And it suddenly got very embarrassing when the receptionist started asking me personal questions about how my wife was and so on. The other three were rolling around Martin’s office. But she put me through, Alex answered, I quickly explained who I really was and then put him on to Martin.
EDWARDS: We had a quick chat and he said he’d make the arrangements. The plan was to go to his sister-in-law’s house that night.
Got him: Chairman Martin Edwards sits proudly next to the new Manchester United manager
Got him: Chairman Martin Edwards sits proudly next to the new Manchester United manager
EDELSON: I drove (in a Jaguar XJ6) because I was the only one with a car phone. But because Alex didn’t have a phone we exchanged number plates with Alex so we’d be able to spot each other in the dark in the car park at Hamilton services on the M74. It really was a case of flashing headlights. Martin then jumped into Alex’s car and we followed. I remember thinking he’s not a slow driver!
WATKINS: Alex’s sister-in-law had put on a spread for us and we sat there and discussed a range of things including his money, I seem to recall. He wasn’t making demands. We didn’t discuss terms or anything like that. We just established how much he was being paid at Aberdeen.
EDWARDS: And it wasn’t an interview. When we met him we weren’t going up there to judge him. We knew him already and we knew we wanted him. We just wanted to make certain he would take it. Alex was confident Dick Donald, a very nice man, would let him go. Apparently Dick had already told him there was only one place he was going next: Manchester United.
WATKINS: And don’t forget Ian Donald, his son, had played for Manchester United.
EDWARDS: Ian was there when we went to Dick’s the next day. We knew it wouldn’t be a problem. It was just a question of negotiation.
EDELSON: My business had a shop in Glasgow and Dick Donald was the landlord.
EDWARDS: And Alex once told me Dick was a former world ballroom dancing champion.
The one that we want: Ferguson had caught the eye after winning the European Cup Winners Cup with Aberdeen
The one that we want: Ferguson had caught the eye after winning the European Cup Winners Cup with Aberdeen
Lawton: Where does this story about a chip shop come in?
WATKINS: That was on the way back from Glasgow after meeting Alex at his sister-in-law’s. We were still in Scotland when we stopped for something to eat. It was funny because the people there thought they recognised Jack Charlton and asked Bobby if he was over scouting someone.
Lawton: Even now Martin’s the club president and the three of you remain members of the football club board, but when you reflect on the years when you were making all the key decisions, is recruiting Alex the one you’re proudest of?
CHARLTON: I think it’s the luckiest decision the club has ever made. Martin had appointed a manager before but it was the first time for the rest of us. I felt that sense of responsibility and I had sleepless nights about it after we had made the decision to recruit Alex. We knew of him but we didn’t really know him. We had no idea he would be as successful as he has been.
EDWARDS: We all look very clever now but we couldn’t possibly imagine what has followed. 37 trophies, 25 years, 12 Premier League titles in 19 years. It’s just incredible. I take pleasure from some of the signings we made. Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel. Players who had such a big impact at the club. But obviously Alex is the one.
Lawton: His success at Aberdeen aside, what else was it about him that appealed to you?
Still close: Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson
Still close: Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson
EDWARDS: His reputation as a strong manager. When we met him we never discussed issues like the drinking culture in the team. But he quickly realised when he arrived that some of the players were drinking too much.
He was critical of the fitness of the players. He was known for having a ferocious temper. Gordon Strachan paved the way for him in many ways. He told the players of flying teacups and told them all to get their hair cut, short back and sides, before he arrived.
WATKINS: But he came with a level of success that enabled him to command respect in the dressing room. As well as what he’d done at Aberdeen he’d just taken Scotland to the World Cup in Mexico.
EDWARDS: He didn’t do anything immediately. He said he would give everyone a fair crack. But the following summer he brought in Viv Anderson and Brian McClair and things started to change. But the other big thing he did at the start was modernise the youth set-up. He felt Manchester City were way ahead of us when it came to recruitment in Manchester.
His work in that area is one of the major reasons why he has been so successful. And when people ask us why we didn’t get rid of him in those early days, it was because of the progress we knew he was making with the youth set-up and scouting and so on. We could see the club was moving in the right direction under his guidance. We never sat down as a board and discussed Alex’s future. Not once did we ever discuss replacing him.
CHARLTON: I think it’s helped that there has always been a stable board behind him. We’ve not had an argument in our boardroom since he came. I know that’s hard to believe but it’s true.
When Alex first arrived and he invited the directors to come into the dressing room after a game, it was unheard of. If you don’t go down he wants to know why. I don’t think he ever thinks of himself. It’s always the players, and he knows every player. He sees things in players, particularly young players, in a way I’ve never been able to.
EDELSON: We always recognised how fantastic Alex has been with everyone at the club. From the groundsman to the receptionist.
Lawton: Did you ever come close to losing him?
EDWARDS: I think Alex has always felt he already has the top job. Over the years there have been offers. We know that. I know England approached him once. I think Jimmy Armfield might have been sent to speak to him. That’s what I understand anyway.
EDELSON: Is that not an illegal approach?

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