Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that only one player is a certainty in an XI combined of players he managed at Manchester United.
The 75-year old was in charge for 26 glorious seasons at Old Trafford, winning an incredible 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.
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For the first three seasons, the Scotsman struggled at United and there is a well-known story that had Mark Robins not scored against Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup tie in 1989/1990, leading to the former Aberdeen boss beginning his trophy-heavy spell at United, Fergie may well have been out of a job and the landscape of English football could have been very different.
The pool of players Sir Alex has the ability to pick from him for a United XI is quite frightening, given his longevity in the job and the fact he was renowned for being able to rebuild his team so impressively over the years.
(Watch Fergie give a brilliant pre-match team talk for Michael Carrick's testimonial in June)
But because of the sheer volume of talent at his disposal, picking a 'Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United XI' was anything but an easy task.
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Speaking to Sunday World, via ESPN, back in 2013, a few months after he had retired from management for good, the legendary manager conceded it was "impossible" to select an all-time XI and went on to name some of the big guns he has managed - though for some reason four-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, and "the most gifted player" Ferguson ever managed according to the man himself, doesn't get a mention.
"People ask you: 'Who is your best Man United team?' and it's absolutely impossible," he said.
"It is absolutely impossible. You look at the strikers I had, going back to [Brian] McClair, [Mark] Hughes, [Andy] Cole, Cantona, [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Louis] Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, [Dwight] Yorke, Teddy Sheringham.
"Then to the present players - Wayne Rooney, [Robin] van Persie, Chicharito [Javier Hernandez]. How do you pick out of that? Cantona and somebody else maybe?.
"The midfield was probably a bit easier because you have [Roy] Keane, [Bryan] Robson and [Paul] Scholes - they were fantastic players - and [David] Beckham, Ronaldo and [Ryan] Giggs."
However, only Denis Irwin, who made 529 appearances for Ferguson in 12 years after signing for a bargain £625,000 fee from Oldham Athletic, is the one player Fergie could slot in with ease. Mr consistent, the goal-scoring left-back would get into an all-time United XI with no hesitation at all, according to Ferguson.
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"Honestly, I would say Denis Irwin would be the one certainty to get in the team," he added.
I called him an eight out of 10. At Highbury in one game, he had a bad pass back in the last minute and [Dennis] Bergkamp came in and scored. After the game the press said: 'You must be disappointed in that pass back.' I said: 'Well, one mistake in 10 years isn't bad.' He was an unbelievable player."
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