One of Sir Alex's best qualities was that he spoke to you every single time about why you had been left out. Sometimes you might think – I’m not sure I follow that logic. But you had to go along with it and he mostly did it with a glint in his eye. Sometimes the eyebrow would rise if he told you he was resting you against Bayern Munich because he needed you against West Ham away in a fortnight. You knew full well, on those occasions, where the authority rested.