8 Things we will miss about Sir Alex

We’re exactly 7 days away from the start of a fresh season for the top division of English Football; the most popular football league in the world – The Barclays English Premier League. In addition to the usual excitement at the start of a new season amidst football fans, there’s new sense of anticipation, a sentiment inspired by events that indicate the coming of winds of change & a shift in balance of power in world football. Each of the sides that finished in the top 3 positions last season, have new managers and varying degrees of new players on their roster; but none of it changes things as much as the absence of one man – Sir Alex Chapman Ferguson – the custodian of Manchester United FC, who finally relinquished his position after 26 years & 38 major trophies at the club – a reign that will forever be etched in the history of global football; one that not only earned the man knighthood, but envy, respect, admiration and anger from fellow managers all at the same time. While the United loyals still haven’t come to terms with the departure (being one myself, trust me the feeling hasn’t sunk in yet), we take a moment to remember a few things about his amazing personality that not just United fans but football fans the world over will forever miss:

 

8. Squeaky Bum Time? Nay! Fergie Time:

squeaky bum time (n.): (informal, chiefly UK) An exciting part of a sporting event, particularly the final minutes of a close game or season.

Sir Alex pretty much redefined this term, so much that pundits & fans the world over started referring to this phase of a game as ‘Fergie Time’. SAF’s United has scored countless number of goals in the dying moments of a game – none more famous than the two goals in stoppage time against Bayern Munich in the European Champions League final of 1999 – Manchester United were trailing at the end of 90 minutes of regulation football, only to score 2 goals within the space of 2 stoppage time minutes to win the game and subsequently bag an unprecedented treble in United’s history. Ferguson’s team has been scoring goals late into the game, especially deep into injury time to win/draw games consistently throughout his reign. His influence on the touchline towards adding on sufficient time when his team is losing has also amused and angered many.

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