ON the day Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 10th Premier League title, one Manchester United supporter must have been wearing the most sheepish grin in England.

He is the fan who, back in 1989, went to work with a paintbrush and an old bed sheet and created the banner which has gone down in Old Trafford folklore.

"Three years of excuses and it's still crap ... ta-ra Fergie," it proclaimed.

Nineteen seasons later, 19 major trophies delivered to Old Trafford... and the way Fergie's fire burns the chances are there will be more in the near future.

United retained the trophy by beating Wigan, thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs, who equalled Bobby Charlton's record of 758 games. Chelsea, level on points before yesterday, could only draw 1-1 with Bolton.

Love him or hate him - few sit on the fence when it comes to Ferguson - the man demands respect. How things might have been different if the old board and former chairman Martin Edwards had not kept their nerve when the man with the paintbrush and thousands like him were calling for Ferguson's head.

How different if Fergie had not rid the club of a drinking culture in those first faltering years, a culture which threatened to besmirch United's history.

And how different might it have been if Mark Robins had not scored the goal which gave Ferguson a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup third-round tie in January 1990, a result which legend decrees saved his job?

It is difficult to see how United could have gained their current dominance without the driving force of the man who must be the greatest manager Britain has ever seen.

True, Bill Shankly was a great innovator, the man whose force of personality created a dynasty at Liverpool which went on to rule the English game for a quarter of a century.

Bob Paisley protected the Shankly legacy with pride and copious trophies, including three European Cups.

Jock Stein was a monumental force at Celtic, Brian Clough perhaps the most naturally-gifted motivator the game has seen, while in the modern day no-one has a shrewder eye for a player than Arsene Wenger and no-one a more charismatic presence than Jose Mourinho.

But when it comes to the two greatest managers in English football, it comes down to two Scots. One in Sir Matt Busby, hewn from a mining community.

Another in Ferguson, whose family values were forged in the harsh environment of the Govan shipyards.

Both tough, uncompromising, disciplined characters.

Yet while Busby was the pioneer with the courage to defy the FA and take United into Europe and while so much of United's history is entwined in his leadership, for sheer consistency and burning desire Ferguson surely now has the edge in a sport judged by results and silverware.

How appropriate then that Ferguson's 10th Premier League title should come in the season United commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash.

It was Busby who created the swashbuckling team known as the Busby Babes,' whose romantic legend lives on.

It was Busby who rose from the ashes of Munich to build another great team which boasted George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton and which became the first English side to win the European Cup in 1968.

But it is Ferguson who has protected the United tradition of winning with style and beauty in a money-obsessed era when so many resort to pragmatic routes.

It has not always been harmonious and at times decisions have been difficult to fathom.

Yes, 66-year-old Ferguson still can be impatient and irascible. He can be ruthless. He thinks nothing of bullying even experienced players and intimidating referees while criticising others for a lack of respect.

But at an age when many pensioners struggle to find the energy to do much more than pull on their slippers and sift through the TV listings, Ferguson is as passionate as ever about winning.

He is as enthused about Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as he was about Eric Cantona, the man who supplied the final jigsaw piece to his first Premier League title back in 1993.

The blend of youth and experience in the current United side is such that they could be a force for the best part of the next decade.

Obviously, Ferguson will not stay that long but, with 76,000 turning up each match at Old Trafford and not one screaming Ta-ra' like the banner-waver of yesteryear, he will be reluctant to give up a team he has assembled with such aplomb.

So what does he do next after 10 Premier League triumphs? He goes for an 11th of course.

UPS and Downs