When Sir Alex Ferguson claimed, after his Manchester United side’s 6-1 drubbing by Manchester City at Old Trafford , that he had not endured a heavier defeat as a player or a manager he was wrong but, according to former Falkirk team-mate Jim Shirra, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he was being economical with the truth.
On 26 April, 1971, the 29-year-old Fergie led the line for the Bairns when they were hammered 7-1 by Airdrieonians at Broomfield in the final league match of the season. In fact it was the second time he had been on the receiving end of such a scoreline, having lost 7-1 at Queen of the South in 1959 when he was a 17-year old amateur with Queen’s Park. Former England centre-forward Ivor Broadis scored four goals that day, with the Spiders’ solitary reply coming from A. Ferguson.