Ferguson celebrates 25th anniversary with win

Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years as Manchester United's manager as his team beat Sunderland 1-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday although the occasion overshadowed United's less than glittering performance.

Former United defender Wes Brown, on his first return to Old Trafford since leaving in the summer, put the ball into his own net just before half-time and the three points lifted United back into second place in the Premier League.

United moved to within two points of leaders Manchester City who were playing at Queens Park Rangers in a match kicking off at 1730 GMT.

City lead the table with 28 points from 10 matches, followed by United on 26 from 11, Newcastle on 25 from 11 and Chelsea, who won 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers with a Frank Lampard header, in fourth place on 22 points.

United slipped down to third for a few hours after Newcastle United stretched their unbeaten league run from the start of the season to 11 matches with a 2-1 home win over Everton in a lunchtime kick-off.

Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0 for their fifth straight league win at the Emirates with Robin Van Persie among the scorers, taking his tally to eight goals in his last four league games and 29 in his last 28.

Aston Villa beat Norwich City 3-2 and Liverpool had a late Dirk Kuyt goal disallowed for offside and were held to a 0-0 draw by Swansea City at Anfield.

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Ferguson given Old Trafford honour

The north stand at Old Trafford is being renamed 'The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand' in recognition of his achievements as Manchester United's manager, the club announced as he celebrated 25 years in the job this weekend.

The club is also commissioning a statue of the 69-year-old Scot who has brought 37 trophies to United since he took control on November 6 1986.

Ferguson walked on to the Old Trafford pitch on Saturday through a guard of honour formed by the players before United's Premier League match against Sunderland and looked overwhelmed as United's chief executive David Gill announced the honour to the crowd.

Ferguson addressed the crowd before the kick-off and wrote in his programme notes: "It has all been a fairytale dream - give or take the occasional nightmare."

A huge banner was on display in the ground reading: "The Impossible Dream, Sir Alex Ferguson Made Possible."

Steve Bruce, now the manager of visitors Sunderland who was in the United team when Ferguson led the club to their first English title for 26 years in 1993, added in his tribute: "There will never be another manager like Sir Alex."

Among the many tributes to Ferguson was one from Barcelona's manager Pep Guardiola, tipped as a possible successor when he eventually retires.

Speaking in Barcelona, Guardiola said: "I'd like to congratulate him and tip my hat. I'd like to have the ability, like him, to always be able to re-build my team around competitive players."

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