Smith-Ferguson era
The Smith-Ferguson era, more formally known as the William Smith-Alex Ferguson era, was a sports dynasty of the Premier League club, Manchester United, that lasted from the 2004-05 season to the 2012-13 season. Named after former striker, William Smith, and former longtime Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, the era was notable for being a period of uninterrupted dominance and constant success enjoyed by Manchester United in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Although the era of the club's dominance is said to have begun almost a decade earlier when Ferguson took over as club manager and spearheaded the rise of the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, and Ryan Giggs, the individual success of William Smith in particular has led many to consider the period stretching from the beginning to the end of the former striker's career at Manchester United to be a "golden period" for the club, as evidenced by Manchester United's apparent decline in the seasons following Smith's departure from the club at the end of the 2013-14 season.
During this era, Manchester United came to win an unprecedented eight Premier League titles in a row, along with four FA Cup titles, seven EFL Cup titles, and five UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup titles. Individually, both Sir Alex Ferguson and William Smith respectively had set impressive personal records for themselves with Ferguson becoming both the longest-serving manager of any English club and the most decorated manager in Premier League history while Smith otherwise became the all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League, in addition to providing the second-highest number of assists in the Premier League behind fellow Manchester United teammate, Ryan Giggs.
Following a roughly eight-year-long period, the era came to an end following Ferguson's departure from Manchester United at the end of the 2012-13 season, while Smith continued to remain at the club for the following 2013-14 season under new head coach, David Moyes, before later retiring from professional football himself shortly after winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.