That is a big question, I know, but it is one that is worth looking at. Prior to the Uefa Super Cup meeting between Manchester United and Zenit St Petersburg tonight, Zenit’s manager Dick Advocaat, himself no mug, has said that Fergie is the best.

Advocaat is quoted as saying, "He's not just the top manager in Europe, he's top of the world. You can't work at that level and stay with one club for so long if you do not have exceptional qualities, it is so difficult. So, for me, he is the best manager in the world and the one everyone else has to look up to."

Obviously, it is hard to look past Fergie’s record of fourteen league wins, twelve domestic cup wins and six European title wins in his thirty-four year managerial career, but he has always had a huge number of critics.

On an individual level he has won the Premier League manager of the year award on a remarkable eight occasions, yet the League Managers Association have only selected him as their manager of the year twice. Three times he has been World Soccer Magazine’s coach of the year, yet the BBC Sports Personality of the year coach award has only been given to him once.

Those facts seem to sum up the position with Sir Alex. Many people simply do not like him. If people are allowed a free vote as to who they regard highly, his bumptious, unfriendly and frankly, at times, intimidating manner, means that he is unlikely to be selected. However, if you simply look at the facts objectively it is impossible not to hold huge admiration for him.

Many people point to the fact that he has been fortunate to be given such a long period in charge of one club and that most managers would succeed in similar circumstances. This view is short sighted as many others had tried and failed to revive United to their former glories before he arrived. It also fails to recognise the remarkable things he achieved with St. Mirren and Aberdeen that led to him getting the opportunity in the first place.

The public persona of Sir Alex Ferguson is a very difficult one to like. It would be difficult to achieve what he has done by being a ‘nice bloke’.

My view is that he is probably the greatest manager in the world game at this time and I agree with Advocaat, who with thirteen trophies of his own is not a bad judge.

What do you think?