Fans’ joy as Fergie comes back home
HE emerged into the directors’ box with a huge grin on his face and almost sheepishly acknowledged the ovation with a wave of his right hand.
Alex Ferguson knows just how much he is loved at Manchester United and here it was again, lavished on him from all four corners of Old Trafford. ‘One of our own,’ said the club’s match-day announcer Alan Keegan.
‘Without question one of the greatest figures in Manchester United’s 140-year history. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, give the warmest of Old Trafford welcomes to Sir Alex Ferguson.’
The 76-year-old Scot was given an affectionate pat on the back from his old chief executive David Gill as he turned to receive the rapturous applause on his first appearance here since undergoing surgery for a brain haemorrhage in May.
It has been a worrying time since Ferguson was taken ill at home in Wilmslow and some wondered if he would ever be seen back at the club where he enjoyed such unprecedented success over more than quarter of a century.
A recorded TV message in July was a hopeful sign of his progress but, understandably, Ferguson looked frail and there were still concerns over his health until he returned to Old Trafford yesterday. The former United manager looked more like his old self in a suit and tie as he raised his hands to acknowledge the acclaim and then clenched his fists, as he has done in triumph so many times here.
Winning this battle has been the most important of the lot. Ferguson revealed in an interview given earlier to MUTV that he had invited the doctors from Macclesfield General and Salford Royal hospitals who helped save his life. ‘I thought it was the right thing to do,’ he said.
‘It’s really good (to be back). It’s been a long journey but I’m doing what my son and the doctors tell me. I’m a bit nervous, it’s bound to be emotional, particularly when I take my seat in the box.’
Old Trafford rose again in the 28th minute with an unprompted chorus of ‘Stand up if you love Fergie’ and he seemed genuinely touched by the show of emotion.
It hasn’t seemed quite the same without him.