S6 E11: Analysing Ferguson's defeats, with author John Silk

Manchester United Weekly Podcast

"Sometimes in football you have to hold your hand up and say, yeah, they're better than us." Those are the old words of Sir Alex Ferguson. But this is also a man who openly admitted, time after time, "I don't like losing" and said "I tell the players that the bus is moving. This club has to progress. And the bus wouldn't wait for them. I tell them to get on board."

The greatest football manager of his era, Fergie is remembered for the victories, an insatiable desire to win, a commitment to glory so thorough and disciplined that he saw off rivals in all shapes, sizes and forms.

But what about the defeats? Because there were many. 271 to be precise. Well, Ferguson himself has said the following.

"Losing is a powerful management tool so long as it does not become a habit."

"You learn more from defeats than you do from victories"

In a new book titled Even the Defeats, journalist John Silk tells the story of how the painful moments of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign at Man Utd inspired him to lead the club to its greatest successes.

Beginning with a 5-1 loss at Manchester City and ending with the final Premier League title, the book looks at what was perhaps Ferguson's greatest strength: dealing and overcoming adversity. With views from players, coaches and other members of the staff, Even the Defeats comes out in the next few weeks and I'm pleased to be joined by the author, John Silk, to talk about Ferguson, those defeats and the book.

John is a journalist working for Deutsche Welle. He's covered sports and international affairs for more than a decade and has followed United for 40 years.

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