They said he was well past his sell-by date and should be thinking about putting his feet up. If he fancied staying on at Old Trafford perhaps there was still a nice little earner open to him; roving ambassador for the club with a worldwide ticket and a remit to spread the gospel; or there might even be a seat on the board.

They foolishly believed that he would quite happily turn his back on the kind of adrenalin rush he had experienced almost every day of his 20 years in charge of one of the world’s top clubs and concentrate on his interests in horse racing. Surely a trophy for every one of his 20 years in charge was enough for any man!

They even went so far as to suggest that he’d lost his drive, couldn’t cope with modern trends, didn’t fancy going head-to-head with not only one major antagonist in Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, but two in the shape of the new “Special One” on the block, Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

Mourinho had the backing of Roman Abramovich's roubles and was buying up every available player of quality in Europe, determined to do a Blackburn Rovers and “buy” the Premiership title.

They didn’t expect Sir Alex Ferguson to roll up his sleeves, push thoughts of retirement completely off the agenda, and start building a third, great team at Manchester United. They didn’t take into account the steely determination and dedication of a tough Scotsman whose early working life had been fashioned in the tough Glasgow shipyards.

They didn’t expect him to take on Mourinho and his millions. After all, hadn’t the Portuguese prodigy won two straight titles with Porto and coached them to victory in the UEFA Cup Final and the Champions League Final? Wasn’t he being hailed as the coach that every top European club was chasing?

They had every reason to expect Fergie to down tools when the Glazer family launched a successful campaign to take over at Old Trafford and there were rumblings of discontent not only among United’s huge fan base but also at boardroom level. They thought Fergie had flipped when he suggested that he was happy to work with the Americans and that he would deliver the silverware they apparently craved.

They were amazed when United spent £12m on an 18-year-old Portuguese youngster called Cristiano Ronaldo, and then stumped up the best part of £30m to take Wayne Rooney from Everton. Had Fergie lost his marbles? Didn’t Rooney spell trouble? Wasn’t Ronaldo all show and very little substance? And what about £18m for Michael Carrick to fill Roy Keane’s boots?

They weren’t convinced that Fergie could mount a serious challenge to Mourinho’s Chelsea who, in his first two seasons, walked away with the Premiership title with United, Arsenal and Liverpool way off the pace. They smiled at the start of the current season when United flew out of the blocks and decided that a few points start for the opposition might make for a more exciting fight for honours.

They fantasised that Chelsea would land four major trophies when they beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final back in February.

They were surprised when Christmas came and went with United six points clear at the top but they started to get nervous when Chelsea failed to make any real impression on the gap. The quest for the quadruple became a scramble for the treble when Chelsea were once again shunted out of Europe by Liverpool.

They still couldn’t image Ferguson winning his ninth Premiership title even when Chelsea had to win at Arsenal to keep the title race alive and follow that with a possible decisive clash between the top two scheduled for Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

They were wrong, oh so wrong! Chelsea failed to win at the Emirates Stadium and Fergie was back at the top of Everest.

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