As the curtain closes on another hectic year of Premier League football the major headline will resonate and reverberate more acutely with Manchester United fans, as the slow realisation that Sir Alex Ferguson will no longer be in charge sets in.
For 27 years his stewardship at the helm of the most famous club in world football has been nothing short of remarkable amid the climate of fickle owners and knee-jerk sackings.
To survive for that long in an environment so hostile (the average tenure of a Premier League manager is actually under four years), is an achievement in itself, but to flourish to the extent that Ferguson has is a feat many will aspire to but few, if any, will ever achieve.
His ability to combine tactical nous with media savvy and man-management skills whilst simultanously staying true to the history and values of the most successful club in English football history, will come to define his legacy.
And what a legacy it is. It started in November 1986 when Berlin were dominating the airwaves with the theme tune from Top Gun, and culminated in a heart-felt but typically understated address to the Old Trafford faithful in the weekend win over Swansea.
Top Gun star Tom Cruise reacting to news of Ferguson's retirement
And how fitting it was that the famous words, “take my breath away,” were the ones to usher in the Ferguson era. His Manchester United sides did, often. Not least of all on that dramatic and historic night in Barcelona when United beat Bayern Munich 2-1 to lift the Champions League trophy, the enduring image of the night a distraught Sami Kuffour.
So broken by the last gasp defeat, so utterly drained by the nature of the Manchester United victory was the defender that Kuffour knelt, tears streaming down his face, pounding the Nou Camp turf as the realistion that, after coming so close, the dream he had of lifting the Champions League trophy had been snatched away - instead it belonged to Ferguson and his men.
Ferguson enjoying his famous post-match bottle of wine
The 1999 Treble is a worthy epitaph to the legend of Ferguson and encapsulates everything that his Manchester United were: a perfect example of the iron will and steely determination that the Scotsman began weaving into the fabric of the club from the moment he walked through the doors.
The measure of the man can be gauged most accurately by the way he was judged by his peers, few of whom can consider themselves equal, or even in the same category as the greatest British manager to ever live.
But Arsene Wenger does fall into that category, and he led the tributes to his old adversary, conceding that the man he duelled with so often on the touchline had enjoyed a “remarkable career.”
And whilst there will be no words of tribute from the Benitez camp, such was the bitter, hate-filled relationship the two shared, there can be little doubt that Ferguson's reign as the all-conquering domestic trophy hoarder has impacted so dramatically on the careers of so many remier League managers.
Rafa Benitez mourns Alex Ferguson's retirement from the game
The fact that Mourinho still refers to Ferguson as “boss” is a powerful signifier of respect from the man most likely to emulate the success of Fergie.
Mourinho cunningly embraced the fact that to succeed as a top manager in this country he needed to harness the skillset of his rival, taking his cue from the career of a tactical genius whose very name will no doubt come to define an era of English football.
And even this week the legend of Ferguson resonates across the city in the home of their “noisy neighbours” Manchester City.
The fate of Roberto Mancini was sealed at Wembley with a defeat to Championship bound Wigan, but many feel the result simply made the decision a more palatable bargaining chip to sell to the City fans by the board who had seen their Premier League winning side utterly outclassed in every sense by Manchester United.
Quite simply Ferguson's success played a hand in Mancini's failure.
Roberto Mancini wishes Alex Ferguson well in his retirement
But the Italian is simply the latest in a long line of “nearly men.”
They came, they saw, they did not conquer. Since Sir Alex took charge on the 6th of November 1986 nearly 1200 managers in the English game have been sacked, resigned, or left by mutual consent, and that is the one fact that should stand above all else when reflecting upon a truly remarkable individual.
The one in twelve hundred: Sir Alex Ferguson.
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