But last night, as United began their bid to reclaim the Premier League crown and a record 19th title, it was one of Fergie's oldest servants who provided further proof of his enduring class.
Fresh from his one-man demolition of Chelsea in the Community Shield win, Paul Scholes was the architect of another United triumph, directly setting up two goals and having a hand in the other.
Scholes, regarded by his peers as the greatest midfielder of his generation, showed England just what they were missing at the World Cup this summer with his unique vision and sublime long-range passing.
And how Fabio Capello must be ruing one of many bad calls he has made of late, after Scholes said he would have considered coming out of international retirement had the England boss phoned him himself, rather than leaving it to his assistant Franco Baldini.
Yet retiring from England duty in the aftermath of Euro 2004 has rejuvenated Scholes and enabled him to prolong his glittering United career, to the extent he remains a key figure for Fergie, even three months short of his 36th birthday.
For when Scholes is in such irresistible form, there is no midfielder in the Premier League able to match his breathtaking ability to take control of a game single-handedly and open up defences with his masterful use of the ball.
He was the provider for Dimitar Berbatov and United's opener after 32 minutes, played a glorious cross-field ball to begin the move that led to the second goal for Darren Fletcher and played the pass of the night five minutes from time, picking out fellow old-boy Ryan Giggs who scored with a fine volley to complete the rout.
Only once did he mar his otherwise exemplary night, with a typically clumsy challenge on Kevin Nolan which earned him a yellow card. But then tackling has never been Scholes's forte.
History was certainly on United's side as they opened their Premier League campaign. They had not lost at home on the opening day of the season since 1972 and, to reinforce the size of the task facing Newcastle, they had not won at Old Trafford since the same year.
And Fergie was in no mood to show newly-promoted Newcastle any mercy, selecting his strongest-possible side with the exception of the injured Rio Ferdinand, a clear statement of United's intent to hit the ground running.
Newcastle's 4-5-1 formation, with Alan Smith and Joey Barton adding a layer of protection to their defence, confirmed their pre-match plan as one of damage limitation, in an effort to avoid the kind of humiliation West Brom .
But the approach ultimately proved futile. After Andy Carroll squandered a free header in the ninth minute, it was all United.
Despite keeping United at bay, Newcastle were living dangerously, allowing United to dominate possession and giving the ball back cheaply on the rare occasions they had it.
That sloppiness in possession saw United take the lead in the 32nd minute. Jonas Gutierrez lost possession to Antonio Valencia and John O'Shea funnelled the ball through to Scholes. He picked out Berbatov with a sublimely-weighted pass, the United striker slotting the ball into the far corner past Steve Harper.
The goal was swift and brutal in its execution, United at their clinical best, putting Newcastle to the sword in an instant and undoing all the good work the visitors had done in their first 30 minutes back in the top-flight.
Going behind drained Newcastle of their early belief and nine minutes later they conceded again. Patrice Evra's cross into a congested six-yard box bounced off Wayne Rooney and fell to the feet of Darren Fletcher, who turned sharply before drilling the ball in from close-range.
United new-boy Javier Hernandez, whose popularity is such that replica shirts bearing his nickname 'Chicharito' have sold out in the United megastore, came on for his Old Trafford debut in the 63rd minute, replacing Rooney, who has not scored in 1,076 minutes for club and country.
But Giggs maintained his remarkable record of scoring in all 19 Premier League seasons and 21 in all since he began his United career, volleying in from an acute angle with five minutes to go. But the night belonged to Scholes, United's enduring class act.
Man Utd (4-4-2): Van der Sar 6; O'Shea 5, Evans 7, Vidic 7, Evra 7 (Fabio 86); Valencia 7, Scholes 8, Fletcher 7, Nani 7 (Giggs 71, 5); Rooney 6 (Hernandez 62, 6), Berbatov 8
Newcastle (4-5-1): Harper 6; Perch 5, Collocini 5, Williamson 5, Enrique 6; Routledge 6, Smith 6, Barton 5, Nolan 5 (Ameobi 71, 5), Gutierrez 5 (Xisco 81); Carroll 6
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