It was a major shock yesterday to read and hear of the death of the Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander at the age of 53.
On a football note, I can remember his Lincoln side playing their game to perfection against Brighton in an FA Cup tie early in Mark McGhee's reign. The Albion players and management knew exactly what was coming - a host of early balls put forward into the channels.
Being prepared was no answer though, with the Imps convincing 3-1 winners, as they often were with Alexander in charge - until it came to an inevitable pained exit in the playoffs.
In the last year or so, I have reported on his Macclesfield side two or three times. They are a happy mix of cast offs from other clubs and players dug out from the non-league arena where Alexander used to play and manage.
It's a team put together on a budget apparently made up mostly of change found behind the sofa. I joke for comic effect, but Macclesfield are sensible enough to run a budget based on their income. With small crowds, they do well to survive in the league, as any Albion fans who have visited the Moss Rose will know.
Yet, despite the difficulties of managing at that level - and there are many, often unseen by the spectators of a Saturday - it did always seem Keith Alexander relished the task, the trying to create something from little, of digging round the backwaters to try and find some various uncut diamonds he could work into football league players.
It didn't stop him venting the odd frustration - he was due to face an FA charge having been sent to the stands for his anger over a Bournemouth equalisier just a week or so ago, but it reflected a passion for the game.
In my brief experience, he was approachable, pleasant, and you would see him after games chatting in a cheery manner with the Macclesfield travelling fans after games, win, lose or draw.
He was good at his job, a good man and it was nice to see his passing marked at the highest level with England players wearing black armbands in his memory. He also leaves a legacy as the first black league manager to be appointed permanently.
His long-time assistant Gary Simpson paid the best tribute though: "He was an absolutely superb human being."
RIP Keith.
