The day Fergie made me float

Our columnist pays tribute to a managerial titan who, memorably for the Bolton man, once paid tribute to him

I’m still in shock about Alex Ferguson retiring. I genuinely felt that with the squad he’d assembled and all the talk of signing a couple of significant players in the summer, his tenure would stretch to maybe 30 years in charge.

Like a lot of people, I’ve only ever known Manchester United with Alex in charge. I must admit though that, growing up, he wasn’t my favourite person. Our family was divided between supporting Liverpool and Manchester United, and as I was a Liverpool fan it was always preached to me that Ferguson was public enemy number one. It wasn’t really until I grew up that I learned to first admire, then respect and eventually like the man.