Almost half a century ago Alex Ferguson was cutting his managerial teeth in the backwaters of the Scottish second division at St. Mirren. The ex-Glasgow Rangers player had taken up the appointment on the recommendation of Celtic legend Jock Stein. Intense club rivals, these colossal football figures share something rather significant: They are both cut from the exact same principled working class cloth which has served Scotland so magnificently. Ferguson was toiling in the shipyards whilst Stein would swap his miners hat for Parkhead, where he would eventually go on and guide Celtic to European Cup triumph in 1967. It marked the very first time a British club got to drink from UEFAs chalice. In Fergusons first season St. Mirren won promotion to the top division. Hard to imagine our world when Ferguson was appointed Manchester Uniteds Governor General on November 6, 1986. Brian Mulroney was our Prime Minister. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher ruled their particular roosts as the Montreal Canadiens continued along in their jolly old way after yet again recapturing Lord Stanleys mug. Quite coincidentally Chris De Burghs “Lady in Red” topped our charts as Liverpool got off to the stellar start in defence of their English title. That championship must seem like a few lifetimes ago to the Anfied faithful today. Measured in Real Madrid terms, Fergusons tenure at Old Trafford equates to a total of 24 managers at the Bernabeu. That number will rise to the quarter-century mark following Jose Mourinhos departure at seasons end. Fergusons self-imposed role at Manchester United was to always demand and get the best possible production out of Manchester Uniteds most influential assets: The pool of talent at his disposal. But much in the way the most senior executives influence their particular place of business, Fergusons managerial philosophy required he initially lay his foundation right across every facet of the club. Even with the very calculated and stealth way Manchester United set about planning for the day it would publically be known Ferguson was departing the Carrington practice pitches, their NYSE share price was still negatively impacted. At the opening bell on the NYSE Wednesday morning downward pressure resulted in a near five per cent decline in the share price from Tuesday evenings closing price. The drop wiped tens of millions off the clubs overall valuation. It is crystal clear a Ferguson-less United is a far less valuable a commodity than the one that sits him at the helm of the Old Trafford bench. This was reinforced when the share price dipped again yesterday as they announced a six-year deal for David Moyes. The working class protestant from the impoverished Glasgow streets who married a catholic girl, Ferguson is a man of immense principle who went out of his way so as not to hide what at the time was very much frowned upon in Glasgow let alone for a Rangers player. Not able to fathom why so much was made of the sectarian divide, Ferguson dedicated himself to fully understand his wifes ancestry - the intricate and delicate issues that have divided and united Ireland through the course of time. Ferguson has excelled as the atypical hard-nosed working class curmudgeon. In reality this is a man who suitably impressed Harvard Business School when invited over last summer to present to the faculty and student body his management techniques. Summers are ordinarily spent with his doting wife Lady Ferguson at their chateau in southern France. In the vineyard Sir Alex talks to the grapes as he does with the likes of Marcello Lippi - in French, a bi-lingual Ferguson not part of the public persona. Maybe it was on a trip to their chateau that the trouble and strife famously convinced her husband to un-retire in early 2002. His autobiography includes a passage that states Mrs. Ferguson vetoed a move to Nottingham Forest after her husband had been offered a contract. She didnt wish to live in England, at least not then. Notts Forest would come back to a very significant Ferguson prominence after what was a very difficult start to life at United and one that legend has it could have come to a grinding halt in early 1990. United, struggling in the first division landed a third-round FA Cup trip to a rampant Forest. United entered the match riding an eight-game winless streak dating back to mid November 1989. If that figure had risen to nine there would have been dire consequences for the manager. However, a late winner propelled United on to eventually claim the very first piece of silverware under the House of Ferguson, after a replay. United claimed the 1990 FA Cup and with it no thought given to their 13th place finish in 1989/90. It had taken three-plus seasons and much anguish around the Old Trafford corridors over the huge transfer outlay on so many under-performing highly-regarded players. Ferguson would never again suffer such a barren spell. Having witnessed on a number of occasions Old Trafford in full Ferguson flow, one of the most meaningful events in my experience actually occurred some five time zones away from the hallowed turf. An occasion from almost a decade ago that lit up the heart of an ex-boss of Fergusons from that now famous Govan shipyard. An ex-Glaswegian who had settled in the Montreal area got in touch with me through a mutual friend to see if I could help reunite the old work colleagues. Sending out an S.O.S. to the then-Manchester United press manager Diana Law who in turn took my plea to the most appropriate Old Trafford confidante, Ferguson was delighted to hear from his former boss requested a phone number. A phone rang in a Montreal suburb the following Sunday afternoon - it was Sir Alex calling a long lost friend. Forever the family man Ferguson was calling from his sons home whilst babysitting the grandchildren. Earlier on in the day Ferguson the working man had overseen yet another Manchester United Premier League victory. If we thought the outcome of the 2011-12 Barclays Premier League title sent seismic shockwaves reverberating round the red half of Manchester, that was at least contained by the full force of Manchester Uniteds very measured response this season. However the effect of Wednesdays announcement will cascade around the famous Old Trafford hallways and corridors forever. The BBC aptly stated it was the footballing equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling. Sir Alex Fergusons physical presence will be replaced by the 71-year-olds immense spirit and one that is sure to unravel and reveal itself just as Sir Matt Busbys high watermark guided the Glaswegian to greater things. With little time for pomp and ceremony Ferguson will not settle for merely passing on the Old Trafford managerial baton. There likely wont be a dry eye in the house Sunday when the Old Trafford curtain comes down on Fergusons time as manager of one of the worlds great global institutions. We can all be inspired by the journey it has taken. In 1978 St. Mirren sacked Ferguson. In turn he claimed unfair dismissal. Ferguson eventually lost that courtroom battle too. In this, the year the English FA fittingly celebrates its 150th anniversary we all now know who has claimed victory in English footballs war room. Arise Lord Ferguson. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel Nike Air Max Goedkoop Bestellen . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. Nike Air Max 1 Kopen Nederland . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.airmax1salenederland.com/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Air Max 1 Goedkoop . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Air Max 1 Nederland .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Coach John Fox wasnt interested in close calls and bright spots in the wake of the Chicago Bears latest gut-wrenching loss.Were here to win, he said. Thats the goal.The Bears once again came up short, losing to the Green Bay Packers 30-27 when Aaron Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson with a 60-yard pass to set up Mason Crosbys field goal as time expired Sunday.That happened after Chicago (3-11) wiped out a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied it on a field goal by Connor Barth, only to come away with a gut-wrenching loss.They head into Saturdays game against Washington with no shot at matching the 6-10 mark of Foxs first season. The best they can do is match the 5-11 mark in 2014 that led to Marc Trestmans firing.If they drop their remaining games against the Redskins and Minnesota, the Bears will do something they have not done in a non-strike year since the NFL schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978 -- finish with fewer than four wins.Theyve gone 4-12 three times since, most recently in 2002. But the last time they finished with three wins or less in a full season was 1973, when they went 3-11.Despite being done in by poor play and a long list of injuries to go with a few suspensions, the Bears at least are showing some fight. Theyve dropped two in a row by three points, and six of their losses are by seven or less.They made things interesting against Green Bay after they fell behind 27-10. But it was an all-too-familiar result, with some questionable decisions down the stretch.Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 4 trailing by three with 1:23 remaining, Fox had a decision to make: go for the win or the tie?Fox opted for the tie, betting his defense would come through with the stop and send the game into overtime.Well, that would have been better than what ended up happening, Fox said.Instead, it was the Packers striking gold.ddddddddddddBut before the big pass from Rodgers to Nelson, there was another decision that raised some eyebrows.Chicago declined a 10-second runoff with 54 seconds remaining after Green Bay guard Lane Taylor got hurt on a run for a loss that left the Packers facing a third-and-11 at their 26.That would have been easy to understand if the Bears were going for the win because they had two timeouts remaining and the Packers had none. But Chicago had just played for overtime on the previous series by having Barth kick the field goal rather than go for a touchdown.Rodgers allowed 18 seconds to run off the clock before taking the snap and firing deep to Nelson.The Bears also could have called a timeout with 54 seconds left.It was going to be a winding clock, we knew all that, Fox said. Without the 10-second runoff, lets say we get the stop on third-and-11, theres not going to be that much time. Its depending on where you want your timeouts. Its kind of six/half-dozen. It kind of really doesnt matter because its not the way it went.There were also questions about coverage on the deep pass. After all, Nelson was all alone with CreVon LeBlanc and got behind him.I think wed run that particular coverage a couple of other times and been successful, Fox said. Actually, we had a decent day on third down against the Pack, its a coverage that we played before. Like I said yesterday, they just made a really good play.Game notes Fox said WR Eddie Royal is headed to injured reserve because of a toe injury. ... LB Jerrell Freeman returned from a four-game suspension for violating the NFLs policy against performance enhancers.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '