It will be mighty odd next season, nestling down to watch a game from Old Trafford and not seeing The Hairdryer prowling the touchline. I hear that, as part of a lasting tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson, a cuckoo clock is to be installed above the main stand which, every 15 minutes, will spit out a mini-Ferg that will chew gum furiously, berate a selection of match officials and repeatedly point at his watch.
I was just one when Fergie took over, and he's been the one dominating, demonstrative figure running through my football fanship. Yes, I've hurled insults at him - some probably as naughty as those he's growled in the ears of hundreds of linesman over years – but, more often than not, chuckled at his one-liners, his mocking of other managers and even his monstrous recalibrating of on-pitch events. Love him or loathe him, there's no doubt that the Premier League will be a poorer place without him.
It wasn't just Fergie who was emotional but, unlike Paul Scholes, you'd back Govan's finest to stick to his retirement plan. The only blot on the landscape was the podgy figure of Wayne Rooney, not even in the match squad after asking to leave the club. Again. That boy sure has some big kahunas, doesn't he?
The departing boss then responded to questions over the striker's future by saying: "It's not my problem." It's the first thing David Moyes will tackle and, given how their last spat ended at Everton, it might well be a full-on rugby tackle.
Come on feel the Moyes
Well, they were never going to give it Jose, were they? Fergie didn't have to look far when selecting his successor - about five miles, in fact. That's all that separates the Govan and Beardsden suburbs of Glasgow.
David Moyes had, no doubt, been standing in front of his bathroom mirror for the previous week, perfecting his own version of the hairdryer and kicking boots around the room in preparation for taking one of the biggest jobs in world football.
Just like Fergie down the road, tears moistened the corners of Moyes' scary eyes - the pair that will bore into Wayne Rooney's spoilt face the second he makes his way down the M62. His 11 years' service at Goodison isn't even half of Fergie's at Old Trafford, but recognition for the job he has done rightfully rained down from the stands as he secured another top-six finish, one place above the mob from across the park.
He said he was "gobsmacked" at the reception and applause from the stewards alone had almost been enough to set him off (though that may have been shock at seeing them actually contribute something).
It's all champagne and cigars now, and Moyes should lap it up while he can because what is coming his way is scrutiny on a level he'll never have shouldered before. He's essentially going from splashing around in a puddle to doing lengths in an Olympic pool with 250 journalists watching his every stroke.
But the start has been a success - seeing off one Manchester City manager before he's even behind his new desk. Now, once the season ends, all he needs is Fergie's magic wristwatch and he's good to go.
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