{"id":99733,"date":"2023-10-07T02:49:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T02:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/?p=99733"},"modified":"2023-10-07T02:49:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T02:49:47","slug":"lady-cathy-ferguson-was-the-power-behind-fergies-man-united-throne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritycovernews.com\/sport\/lady-cathy-ferguson-was-the-power-behind-fergies-man-united-throne\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady Cathy Ferguson was the power behind Fergie's Man United throne"},"content":{"rendered":"
She was the power behind the most successful manager in the history of English football.<\/p>\n
The woman who talked Sir Alex Ferguson out of retirement in 2001 and the reason he eventually stepped down as Manchester United manager 11 years later.<\/p>\n
Throughout her husband\u2019s unparalleled success, Lady Cathy remained out of the spotlight, content in her role as a mother to their three boys and, later, as a grandmother and great-grandmother.<\/p>\n
But Ferguson was in no doubt how important his wife\u2019s quiet influence over 57-and-a-half years of marriage was to his achievements in the game.<\/p>\n
\u2018Without her down-to-earth attitude to life and unstinting support, none of it would have been possible,\u2019 he wrote.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lady Cathy Ferguson, right, was the power behind one of football’s most successful managers<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sir Alex Ferguson said his achievements in football would not have been possible without her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n
The flags at Old Trafford are flying at half-mast in tribute to Lady Cathy after the Ferguson family announced she had died at the age of 84.<\/p>\n
United will wear black armbands when they play Brentford at home on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
A statement from the club read: \u2018Everyone at Manchester United sends our heartfelt condolences to Sir Alex Ferguson and his family on the passing of Lady Cathy, a beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother, and a tower of strength for Sir Alex throughout his career.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ferguson met Cathy Holding when they were working at the Remington Rand typewriter factory in Glasgow, where he was an apprentice toolmaker while playing part-time for St Johnstone.<\/p>\n
He remembered setting eyes on her for the first time at a strike meeting, while she thought he looked like a \u2018thug\u2019 because he had just had surgery on a facial injury.<\/p>\n
They began going out after he walked her home from the Locarno dance hall one Friday night and had their first date at the cinema.<\/p>\n
\u2018He bought me a box of Liquorice Allsorts at the movies, of which he ate all of them. That was my romantic day!\u2019 she recalled.<\/p>\n
They were married at Martha Street Registry Office in Glasgow on March 12, 1966, the venue a necessity because he was a Protestant and she was Catholic.<\/p>\n
When Ferguson moved into management at St Mirren, Cathy raised their three sons \u2014 Mark, Jason and Darren \u2014 almost single-handedly while he combined the job with running a pub.<\/p>\n
After Alex made his name at Aberdeen, Cathy scuppered a deal for him to take over as Tottenham manager in 1984 because she did not want to move to London.<\/p>\n
Instead, Ferguson joined United two years later and the rest is footballing history.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She\u00a0scuppered a deal for him to be Spurs manager because she didn’t want to move to London<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She helped nurse Sir Alex back to health after he suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018<\/p>\n
It was Cathy who informed him in the lounge of their Wilmslow home on Christmas Day 2001 that he had to make a U-turn on his decision to retire. \u2018I\u2019m not having you in the house,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
However, the death of Cathy\u2019s twin sister Bridget in October 2012 convinced Ferguson that it was time to quit for good to spend more time with his wife.<\/p>\n
More recently, she helped nurse him back to health after he suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2018.<\/p>\n
A statement from the family read: \u2018We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Lady Cathy Ferguson, survived by her husband, three sons, two sisters, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.\u2019<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n