Sir Alex Ferguson Missed Manchester Derby After Fixture Change Scuppered Plan

Over the course of his 26-year reign as Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson missed just three games out of a possible 1,500.

The first came in late December 1998, when his assistant, Jim Ryan, took charge of a Premiership clash against Middlesbrough as Ferguson attended a funeral in Scotland. They lost 3-2.

Less than two years later and the Scot was absent again, this time for the first Manchester derby since United's memorable 3-2 win over City at Maine Road in 1996.

Ahead of kick-off, Ferguson explained that he would miss the league game to be at his son's wedding in South Africa.

It's safe to say he wasn't best pleased with an unfortunate fixture change that scuppered his original plans.

“I looked at the international fixtures for the season and originally, back in February, 18 November was down as an international date,” Ferguson explained.

Ferguson sits beside his assistants, Jim Ryan and Steve McClaren. Image credit: Getty

“My son went for that date for his wedding, only for the fixtures to be changed. We found out that, instead of having a free weekend, we are playing Manchester City - it couldn't have been any worse for me.

“The wedding is in Cape Town so there's nothing I can do. The only consolation is that, with it being a morning kick-off, I will be able to watch the game in South Africa on television.”

Before making the 13-hour flight to South Africa, Ferguson delegated his managerial responsibilities to assistant Steve McClaren, who watched on as United secured a 1-0 win thanks to an early David Beckham free-kick

Speaking in his press conference, McClaren gave an insight into Ferguson's post-match reaction.

“I spoke to him straight after the game,” said McClaren. “He said the players made it hard for us by not sticking the ball in the net. He said congratulations and to pass it on to the lads. I left him opening the first bottle of champagne.”

Steve McClaren takes charge in the absence of Sir Alex Ferguson. Image credit: Getty

The third and final game Ferguson missed was in 2010, when he skipped a League Cup clash against Scunthorpe United to scout David De Gea, who was playing for Atletico Madrid in a game against Valencia.

“[There] just passed some months and someone told me Sir Alex watched the game and I was a bit in shock, of course," said De Gea years later.