From the heights of elation to the depths of despair

Man United fan Jim Cahill has followed the club all his life. He writes about what it was like to be a fan before Ferguson arrived and what it might be like after his departure

When I was going to bed on Tuesday night my nephew rang to tell me that Ferguson was retiring. Surely this was another flier, I thought. But when this nephew tells you something about United, it’s normally right. Rising out of bed, I hurried to my computer where my worst fears were being realised.

This was the day I had dreaded all my life. How many times did I have this sinking feeling before? You see following United you go from the heights of elation to the depths of despair in the blink of an eye. Certainly in 1974 when they were relegated; again in 1976 when we lost to Southampton. But the worst, or so I thought, would be ’79, losing to a last minute goal in the FA Cup final at Wembley against Arsenal. I was so devastated that I went straight to The Pavilion Cinema to hide. The film was The Deer Hunter and I refused to leave and stayed for a second viewing hoping nobody would find me. It couldn’t get worse, surely? But it did. The disappointments in the league always seemed to outweigh any FA Cup final victories because the enemy down the road were winning leagues and European Cups for fun.