Look at it like this.
- He's done 10 years here, which is more than he spent at Barca and Bayern combined. He is quite possibly the greatest coach in history, definitely in ours, but he wasn't staying for ever.
- He is our 4th longest serving manager after Les McDowall, Wilf Wild and Ernest Mangnall. It wasn't that long ago we had five managers in one season.
- He's delivered success beyond our wildest expectations, with only 2 trophyless seasons in those 10.
- We've been Centurions and done the domestic quadruple, which no other club or their fans have witnessed.
- We've done the proper treble, involving finally winning the Champions League.
- We won 4 league titles in a row.
- We've been to 4 consecutive FA Cup finals, and have been to Wembley so many times that some of us have got quite blasé about it and think "I can't be bothered with another trip there"
- We were club world champions, and could rightfully sing "Best team in the land and all the world.
- We've been involved in some epic title races and won them all, apart (probably) from this one (in a season where we've been under par by our high standards).
- We've seen the most breathtaking football I've seen in over 50 years.
No one can take any of that away from us but who knows what the future, under Maresca and hopefully Vinny, holds. The wagon train will roll on and we should still be very much up there challenging for the major prizes.
There's a line in 'The Boys In Blue' that says "Maybe in another generation, when other lads have come to take our place...". Back in the late 1970's I couldn't imagine anyone talking the place of players like Bell, Tueart, Barnes, Corrigan, Hartford, Booth, etc. I never thought we'd see a generation of players like that. But we've seen legends like Kompany, Lescott, Zaba, Barry, Yaya, Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Fernandinho, Rodri, Ederson, the two Silva's, KDB, Walker, Haaland and so many others.
It's just been the most phenomenal experience and we should be eternally thankful for the indelible memories that Pep has given us.