Robert McNeil – Scottish Icons: Sir Alex Ferguson LIFE is full of diverging paths. Imagine if, having fallen out of favour as a footballer with St Johnstone, Sir Alex Ferguson had chucked it all and emigrated to Canada, as he considered doing. With his drive to succeed, he’d probably have been prime minister before now. He’d have aimed footwear at Donald Trump’s eye and described negotiations with China as “squeaky bum time”. But Sir Alex persevered with the round ball business and became one of the world’s most successful managers. Not bad for a wee boy from Govan where, on 31 December 1941, he was born to a shipyard worker and his wife.