Fan spends $4,250 on West Brom programmes commemorating Alex Fergusons final match

After over 134,000 minutes on the sidelines watching Manchester Utd play in 61 different cash-generating kits, Sir Alex Ferguson took to the dugout for the final time on Sunday at The Hawthorns.

Fergie was denied a victory in his 1,500th game in charge as a Romelu Lukaku hat-trick earned West Brom a bizarre 5-5 draw, but there was one clear winner on the day: the man who bought 700 souvenir programmes, spending 2,800 ($4,250) in the process.

Unless he really likes pictures of Steve Clarke clapping, the opportunistic "fan" presumably intends to cash in on his share of the 4 match day magazines, which included a 40-page Sir Alex Ferguson tribute.

The Daily Mail reports:

To mark the Manchester United boss being at the Hawthorns to bring down the curtain on his incredible career, West Brom have produced a 144-page programme, which is the biggest ever produced for a domestic fixture in England.

And one fan stunned a programme seller by handing over 2,800 for 700 copies, which are selling for 4 each.

Another supporter earlier bought 300 copies for 1,200, which means that one twentieth of the 20,000 editions printed are in the hands of two fans.

A number of the programmes have already shown up on eBay, and at the risk of helping to promote the enterprise of someone who might have kept thousands of fans at the Hawthorns from getting their own programme, here! 's one s eller with "more than ten available."

Yet those wishing to hold onto their rare copy and one day put their kids through college with the profits might be disappointed, as the club appear to be printing more.