Turnip Head in The Telegraph:
In my heyday at Watford I well remember my wife, Rita, telling me that when I left for work she did not see me departing as the Watford manager but as her husband, and wanted me to return as the same. I have lost count of the number of occasions I must have let her down because, mentally, the job never leaves you.
What it has been like for Alex and his wife, Cathy, over the last 18 years only they know.
Am I getting too personal? I don't think so. Without a stable family support it is extremely difficult to be continually successful in the public eye. You need an environment in which you can relax and be yourself in order to build up your reserves of energy and enthusiasm to go out and take on the rest of the football world.
When I was manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers Alex's son, Darren, was a member of the playing staff. Whenever it was possible Alex would attend our games to watch his son play and I must admit to sometimes wondering who was managing Darren - Alex or me.
This view was further compounded when Darren was not a regular in the team. Alex phoned me to tell me the deal he would arrange with Leicester City where one of his former players, Mark McGhee, was the manager.
The local Leicester paper ran a headline story saying that Darren was about to sign, but it never happened because Mark and myself never had a discussion about that possible transfer.
Is Alex a control freak? A resounding yes. Aren't all successful managers?
During my spell as the England manager I helped form the League Managers Association. I approached a number of managers to help form the first committee. Alex was one and some 12 years later he is still a committee member. Behind the scenes many a young manager has received encouragement and help from him.
He has a strong sense of loyalty but, like the majority of successful people, he has different sides to his character. Some would say he is complex, but he has to maintain authority: try to take that away from him and you run the risk of a verbal lashing. I know some people who have never recovered from that treatment.
Can Alex be difficult to handle? Remember I have been the England manager so that is another definite yes. We had our `professional disagreements', but they stayed in-house.
Is Alex kind and generous? Of course he is. There are many individuals and charities who will verify this. But don't interpret this as a sign of weakness on his part.