A 2-0 defeat away at Oxford United on 8 November 1986 was an inauspicious start to one of the most decorated managerial tenures in football history.
It took Alex Ferguson several nervous years to recreate the success of his time at Aberdeen south of the border.
But his first FA Cup win in 1989-90 and maiden Premier League triumph of 1992-93 prompted a glittering array of silverware to arrive in the Old Trafford trophy cabinet during the subsequent decades.
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With the help of Opta, we look at the best statistics from Ferguson's Manchester United reign, 30 years on from his first match in charge.
Sir Alex Ferguson took charge of his first game 30 years ago today. You know the rest! November 8, 2016
528 - Ferguson recorded an extraordinary 528 wins from his 810 Premier League matches in charge.
67 per cent - The Scot's highest domestic win ratio came in the FA Cup, a competition he won five times.
2769 - The total goals scored by United during Ferguson's 1500 competitive matches across all competitions.
1 - The only competition that defied the Glaswegian's domination was the UEFA Cup/Europa League. United managed just one win from his eight matches in Europe's second-tier competition.
110 - It was a different story in the Champions League, United scoring 352 goals and winning 110 of their 202 matches, as Ferguson, a two-time winner of the continent's biggest prize, strove to continue the legacy of United's 1968 European Cup-winning manager and fellow Scot Matt Busby.
100 per cent - The Red Devils contested the Intercontinental Cup just once, a Roy Keane goal sealing a 1-0 win over Copa Libertadores holders Palmeiras in Tokyo in November 1999.
