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Memories ... Sir Alex Ferguson as remembed by Mark Bosnich. Source: Andrew Yates / AFP
Sir Alex Ferguson has stood the test of time.
He was never afraid to change, adapt and 27 years later departs Old Trafford with an extraordinary trophy cabinet and legacy – a testament to what can be achieved when you stand by someone and give them a chance to shine.
I enjoyed two stints under him – as a teenager, and then when I was 27 years old, having signed with the European Champions after a stint at Aston Villa.
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Sure, there were times he used to blow his lid – if it wasn't at you, you were glad - but I learnt a lot from him, lessons that left a lasting impression on me right until this day.
He was very similar to my father in a way, there was that element of fear there, which is good to have.
As a youngster, you knew where you stood. I remember playing against Liverpool-A (an under-20s side) one windy, cold Saturday November morning, when I was 18-years old in my second year at the club.
I played with his son Darren, so he came to a lot of our games. Steve Staunton and Alan Hansen were playing that day and with a howling wind, Staunton whacked a free-kick in from the edge of the box.
Now, it was that damn cold that I had long pants on! But he let rip – all on me!
"How did you let that go in on your side," he thundered.
"And if you don't take those pants off, I'll send you up to Aberdeen on loan and make sure you train in shorts all the time. This is not Bondi Beach, buddy – get those pants off and you better make sure we win, second-half!"
Well, we won 5-1 and there was such a wind I hit the cross-bar off a kick off one bounce.
After the game, he just gave me a wink and said: "that's better".
He was over every aspect of the club – from the first-team all the way down to the youth-team.
Sure, if things weren't going to plan, he would come into the dressing room and make it known, plain and simple, that things needed to change.
As a team, there were times you used to think; 'Oh god, we're going to cop one here at half-time'. He would also pick you out individually to see how you would react.
That was a big thing; at a big club like Manchester United, wherever you're going to go, you're going to get hammered. So if you can't handle his hammering, what are you going to be like away from home? That was a big thing; the way you reacted after something went wrong.
Having said all that, he would back you 100 per cent.
He helped when I had problems with my work permit; he arranged for me to play a game for Australia.
Frank Arok, was supposed to start me in one of those games and he didn't, he brought me on as a substitute. I remember Fergie getting on the phone to him telling him off. That was the type of loyalty he demanded from his players and staff and generally he got it back.
He enjoyed remarkable success in the time I was at Aston Villa, and when I returned, I'd say he was a little more relaxed.
His will to win was as ferocious as ever, but at a time when the club was European champions, about to move to a new training ground and had expanded Old Trafford to 75,000 capacity, he had his fulfilment.
Fans were no longer sitting in protest or chanting 'Fergie Out'. Gone was the disappointment of losing the last league before the EPL came in to Leeds and feeling like the title was never going to come. It also gave him that extra spring in his step – the type of power and aura that success gives you.
He was a ferocious competitor, but he was also able to see the funny side of things.
I fondly remember when we won the World Club Championship and they didn't hand out any medals – I was devastated.
I played really well, so was doing all the interviews when we got back home and Fergie would say: "okay everybody, let's have a minute's silence for Bozzie, because there's no medals handed out"
I also recall during contract negotiations, he didn't want me to use my agent; I listened to him, and there he was with the chairman Martin Edwards and I was staying pretty strong to a certain figure I wanted.
He replied: "you would've taken £200 a week when you were 17".
There was a bit of banter. I replied: "I'm not 17 or 18 anymore; I know you know me as Mark Bosnich the player, but I'm going to be Mark Bosnich the agent today".
He looked at me like: "who the hell do you think you are!" But he could always see the funny side of things – when he got his way!
Am I surprised that he's made the decision so suddenly? If you read his program notes against Chelsea, he intimated he would be around for four or five more years.
But around the time I left for Chelsea, in 2001-2002, he announced he would retire at season's end. I was still in touch with Dwight Yorke at the time, who told me that Fergie practically lost the dressing room in the months after that announcement.
I think he still admits that was a disastrous decision. So the suddenness doesn't surprise me.
But I know he feared retirement.
His late father passed away not long after retiring; Fergie won't want to remain idle.
But if he remains at the club as an ambassador or another role, there'll be a balancing act – how will his replacement succeed with his shadow still looming?
When he took over at Manchester United, they'd gone 25 years without the league title. Credit to Sir Bobby Charlton and Martin Edwards for sticking with him – a lesser board would have cracked. But it shows what can be achieved when you stand by someone, such a rarity in modern football.
Can you replace him? Well, not directly. But the club needs to take Sir Alex's attitude: there will always be another team.
How did Real Madrid follow Alfredo Di Stefano? They kept his winning tradition. Same with Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard at AC Milan. Big clubs move on successfully.
They need to avoid the mistake made after George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton – they got stuck in nostalgia for the good old days and it cost them – no title for 25 years. A strong personality like a Jose Mourinho will ensure there is no time for sentiment going forward – mourn for a short time, then the show must go on.
I really have a lot of respect for people of Sir Alex's generation, born during or just after the second World War.
They appreciate life and how tough things could get; their work ethic stands out, but they also have an ability to laugh when times are good. He knew how to create a really spirited core in the team, it resembled a family.
He really has stood the test of time. You've got to admire his ability to back himself to the point that no player – no matter who they were, or how big – could win a battle with you. That's easier said than done.
But he did it and is going out on his own, title-winning terms.
