12 May: Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful manager the Premiership has ever seen, steps down from Man Utd
It took us all by surprise when Sir Alex retired – at least, the way it happened, with no warning. But we all knew at some stage he had to walk away from the sport that brought him so much respect and joy and success. And there were personal reasons for his retirement – his wife had lost her sister and he said it had made him think that, at 70, he should have more time to spend with her and enjoy the latter stages of his life.
I was helping to cover United's final home game against Swansea for Sky Sports. I've been privileged to play at Old Trafford on numerous occasions, and scored on some great nights of football, but that day was special. The sending-off he got from the fans – the stadium had never seen anything like it. It was emotional, too. Sir Alex is used to motivating footballers in the dressing room, but when he gave his farewell speech he was lost for words on a few occasions, and you don't see that very often from him.
I'm so grateful I had an opportunity to play under him. As all the players said that day, he became not just a manager to us but someone we can always go to for advice. The secret to his success is that there are no grey areas. He doesn't stand for any crap and when you play for United you embrace that or you are of no value to him or the club.
Often in sport you can achieve a level of success and then relax. But even when you were on top of your game, he made you push further for greatness. And that's the standard he set himself as a manager as well.
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