He was a man from humble beginnings who grew to become the most influential, the most feared and by far the most successful in his chosen arena. 

Through a combination of shrewd tactical know-how, ruthless flint-faced calculation and incredible self-belief, he came to be acknowledged, with all respect, as The Godfather.

But to everyone else, he is simply, Fergie.

Born and raised in the bucolic village of Govan, where a pastoral, sleepy setting camouflaged an underbelly of inherent corruption and wrongdoing, the young Don Fergie instinctively appreciated how self-respect, hard work and, most of all, loyalty to the family could lead to success and fulfilment. 

Even in those early days, Don Fergie showed his courageous independent streak by standing up to the neighbourhood big cheese who ran the local organisation, known as The Govan Team.

(How this situation was resolved is not generally known but there are rumours that an offer that couldn’t be refused led to the head of the coalman’s horse being found in the top man’s scratcher.)

Motivated by ambition and an inbuilt belief in his own talents, Don Fergie thereby showed his worth, becoming renowned in the district for achieving victory through diligence, endeavour and particularly sharp elbows.

Whilst there was no doubt that he was a player, The Don’s true talent however lay behind the scenes, as a fixer, deal-maker and motivator.   

He was no one man band however, being ably assisted in his early days by his trusty capo regimes, Archie Knox and big Davy Provan, hard men who could translate Don Fergie’s visions into reality through the use of muscle, intimidation and creative swear words.

Though no stranger to physical force himself, The Don’s ultimate sanction was the use of the brutish Luca Brasi, a burly, formidable individual whose modus operandi wasn’t discussion and compromise but rough tackles and mayhem rooted  in an unswerving devotion to The Don.

Luca - or Roy Keane as he was also known - became Fergie’s chosen method of persuasion up until the time when Luca/Roy made one mistake too many, a situation which ended with him being mercilessly garrotted to Celtic.

But the Don had his enemies too.  There was the suave Don Barzini Mourinho and the studious Tattaglia, aka Wenger, sworn adversaries whose mutual antipathy was often hidden behind the seemingly convivial post match sharing of a good bottle of wine.

Critical to The Don’s philosophy was the importance of family, characterised by the unwavering dedication shown by his loving wife and three sons, all of whom he encouraged to enter the business in one way or another.  Sonny, his oldest boy – the family knew him as Darren – was the most eminent in the public arena although due to a number of ill-considered business decisions - becoming manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers - he was not destined to be as effective as his Dad.

(Luckily for Darren and the other two boys, Fredo and Michael, none of them was riddled with bullets at a New Jersey turnpike or bumped off whilst idly fishing on Lake Tahoe.)

Unlike the traditional bosses - Moustache Petes - whose methods tended to be old fashioned and conventional, Don Fergie understood the importance of establishing links with influential people in high powered positions, forging ties with prime ministers and their advisers.

Even referees were afraid of The Don; injury time often stretched out far longer than it should have done, usually lasting, in fact, until the Don’s boys prevailed.  (Or at least scored an equaliser from a dubious penalty.)

Always an imposing figure, Don Fergie was known for his sartorial élan, preferring to dress in black, although in his early days he was drawn toward the red puffer jacket and occasionally, the belted raincoat.  His voice too, was instantly recognisable; some said it was one of his most effective weapons and although it was rumoured he stuffed his mouth with cotton wool for effect, the Don’s diction, articulation and idiom was entirely natural and all the more chilling for it.

"I’m vewwy pwoud to be manager of this cwub. And there’s no doubt about that!"

But of course, nothing lasts forever and as we know, The Don has now retired, no doubt to tend to his grape vines, though hopefully it’ll be many more years before he keels over into them whilst pretending to scare his grandchildren by putting some orange peel into his mouth.

We also know the name of his chosen successor, the Young Don, Moysey - a man cut from similar cloth, possessing many of the same attitudes and philosophies imbibed since childhood, a background which in many ways, mirrors that of the old Don himself.

It’s never easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend but with the support of a trusted Consigliere - and who could better fulfil this function than Don Fergie himself - perhaps there is some evidence that the Organisation will continue to thrive.

The Godfather’s story has perhaps ended.  But Godfather Part II has only just begun. 

And in some ways, it’s likely to be even better.