Sir Alex Ferguson was furious after Manchester United lost the 2011/12 Premier League title to Manchester City, but the message he delivered in the Sunderland dressing room was not simply about the heartbreak of that afternoon.
Manchester United had done their part. They beat Sunderland 1-0 on the final day and, for a short time, there was a feeling on the Wearside pitch that the title had been secured.
Phil Jones recalled that moment years later, explaining that Dimitar Berbatov had told him, “It’s done, it’s done,” before the players realised the Manchester City match was still being played.
Then came the news.
Sergio Aguero scored in stoppage time to give City a dramatic 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers. United’s victory at Sunderland suddenly meant nothing in the title race, with City taking the championship on goal difference.
Tom Cleverley has since recalled Ferguson’s frustration at the missed opportunities throughout the season.
“The manager said to us all: ‘I told you. That’s why I wanted you to be more ruthless and really kill teams, because you can lose leagues on goal difference,’” Cleverley said as quoted by GIVEMESPORT.
Ferguson believed United had dropped too many chances to put teams away and insisted that failing to add more goals had cost them the title.
Ferguson wanted the younger players to remember the pain
The Sunderland dressing room was a miserable place after the final whistle.
Rio Ferdinand recalled seeing experienced players sitting in silence while younger members of the squad tried to take in what had happened. Ferguson, though, wanted the younger players to use the experience rather than simply suffer through it.
“He went, ‘you listen now, and you remember the faces out there,’ because the Sunderland fans were laughing at us, and they were cheering when the goal went in,” Ferdinand recalled.
Ferguson then told the younger players to remember exactly how that moment felt.
“Remember what it’s like and you remember this feeling here, now, the day you come back into pre-season next season. You don’t let that happen again.”
Sir Alex Ferguson was already looking towards the next campaign.
The likes of Chris Smalling, Danny Welbeck and Cleverley were among the younger players he singled out. They had been part of a team that had come painfully close to another league title, but Ferguson wanted them to understand that the disappointment could become motivation.
And it did.
United take revenge on City with a title
United won the Premier League the following season, finishing 11 points clear of City.
Looking back, the events at Sunderland became one of the clearest examples of Ferguson’s mentality. He did not allow a devastating defeat to become an excuse. Instead, he used it to demand more from his players.
The 2011/12 title was ultimately decided by one of the smallest margins possible. City’s late winner against QPR handed them the championship on goal difference.
For United, there was no hiding from what had happened. Ferguson’s message was simple: the pain had to be remembered.
A year later, his players made sure it was.
