'They downed tools' - Manchester United dressing room meeting where Sir Alex Ferguson made 'biggest mistake of career'

It's incredible to think that much of Sir Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United would not have played out, had he gone through with what he later described as the 'biggest mistake' of his career.

After a rocky first few years in charge - including the 'winter of discontent' in which he reportedly came within one game from being sacked in January 1990 - Ferguson took United from strength to strength, becoming the dominant force of the early Premier League era and conquering Europe at the end of the Century.

The distinguished Scot ended his 15th season at Old Trafford with the 2000/2001 Premier League title, his seventh since taking over in 1986. That decade-and-a-half also included multiple FA and League Cups, culminating in the legendary 1999 treble-winning campaign in which he landed his first Champions League triumph.

However, that summer he would announce his shock retirement to the United squad, informing them he intended the 2001/2002 campaign to be his final one at the helm.

"The decision has been taken. I'm going to leave the club," he said that season. "I'm disappointed with what has happened because I was hoping something would be sorted out. It hasn't happened as I thought it would and that's all there is to it."

What was seemingly hoped to be a rallying call for one final success, however, became a major disruption.

Uncertainty over who would be in charge at Old Trafford caused major problems for United's summer recruitment plans, with some targets unwilling to move without the clarity of who their long-term manager would be. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron did arrive from PSV Eindhoven and Lazio respectively, but a slow start to the season saw the Reds drop to 6th by the start of November.