1. Sir Alex Ferguson
Arguably the greatest manager of all time, and with 26 years as manager of Manchester United, he is the longest serving manager in their history and in the Premier League but he is no stranger to controversy. Ferguson is well known for using what the press have called "mind games" with fellow Premiership managers. This approach normally involves making a derogatory comment at a pre-match press conference about the opposition Manager or their team. This has led to several spats in the past with managers such as Arsene Wenger, Rafael Benítez, Mark Hughes and most famously Kevin Keegan. Keegan virtually created the Ferguson 'mind games' myth with the "I Would Love it" outburst as Newcastle's Premier League title hopes collapsed in 1996. Keegan would walk out of Newcastle the next season, and his clash with Ferguson would forever be remembered as a cautionary tale about the dangers of squaring up to the United manager. It has also been suggested that Ferguson's intimidation of referees results in "Fergie Time": that is, unusually generous injury time being added in matches where Manchester United are behind. The phrase is at least as old as 2004 and a statistical analysis by The Times suggests that this comment might be valid, though the article points out that other footballing criteria may explain the correlation between extra added time and United being behind. Analysis by Opta Sports of Premier League matches played between 2010 and 2012 found on average that 79 seconds more time was played in matches where Manchester United were losing. This was a greater figure than for other top clubs, although most of these clubs seem to benefit from a "Fergie Time" effect, particularly in their home matches. SAF most controversial moment surely has to be his saga with his star players David Beckham. In terms of stardom and profile, Beckham was to Ferguson as George Best was to Sir Matt Busby. And the two were on collision course after Beckham's marriage. "He was never a problem until he got married," said Ferguson. "He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing from that moment his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part. The big part is his persona." The low point of their relationship came when Ferguson kicked a stray boot in anger, smashing Beckham above the eye. "Of course it was an accident," he later said. "If I was that good I'd still be playing." Did we miss any controversial managers from the history of the Premier League? Share your own picks and observations below.