Sir Alex Ferguson on Sunday became Manchester United's longest-serving manager as he passed Sir Matt Busby's previous record span at the helm. Sir Alex had hoped to celebrate the mark by landing a knockout blow to Chelsea's bid to retain the Premier League title - but the match between the English Premier League titans fell victim to the heavy snow sweeping much of the country.
Instead, he was able to take time to reflect on his achievement as top names in the game saluted the 68-year-old who has now been in charge for an astonishing 24 years, one month and 15 days (8,811 days) in one unbroken spell stretching back to November 1986. His tenure overtook Busby's total during two stints, from October 1945 to January 1969 and from December 1970 to June 1971.