Sir Alex Ferguson thanks Manchester United great Sir Bobby Charlton in 1,000-word eulogy

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Sir Alex Ferguson had lauded Sir Bobby Charlton as a "tower of strength" during his managerial tenure at Manchester United. Charlton was one of a four-man delegation that met Ferguson in Scotland in 1986 in a rendezvous that was ultimately the start of Ferguson's 26-and-a-half-year epoch at Old Trafford.

In a 1,000-word eulogy to be published in the matchday programme for Sunday's Manchester derby, Ferguson recalls the first time he watched Charlton play for England at Hampden Park and touches upon his own recent bereavement after his wife, Lady Cathy, passed away three weeks ago.

Ferguson, 81, has not attended a United match since the 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest on August 26 and it is unclear if he will be at Old Trafford for the 191st Manchester derby. READ MORE: Charlton was a legend who stopped the United greats in their stride READ MORE: Manchester derby can bring out the best in united and City off the pitch The following is an extract from Ferguson's eulogy to Charlton: "I first set eyes on Bobby Charlton when he made his debut for England against Scotland at Hampden Park in April 1958, just two months after surviving the Munich air disaster. "I was there as a Scotland fan, stood on the terraces by the corner flag, and I remember Tom Finney playing as an outside-left against Alex Parker, who was a very good full-back.

On one occasion, Finney got the better of Parker, took the ball to the byline and cut it back across the box for Bobby, who hammered it into the roof of the net from 16 yards out. "In those days, you didn’t have players jumping on top of each other when they scored, and Bobby just jogged back to the halfway line with a couple of slaps on the back from his teammates. "But the Scottish