Knowing The Right Time To Get Out

Manchester United suffered another set back last night, leaving me asking myself did Alex Ferguson know the time was right to leave Manchester United?

I think Alex Ferguson did know it was right time to leave Manchester United

Personally I think Fergie knew the time was right to exit Old Trafford.

Man City are getting stronger, the squad at Old Trafford was getting on a bit, and after winning the title, Fergie knew the time was right.

In football, timing is everything!

Fergie knew the odds were starting to stack up against him.

He had probably watched managers like Brian Clough go on too long at Nottingham Forest, and though I ain't doing that!

Would United be in the current mess had Fergie stayed?

Hard too tell, with a gun to my head, I'd say probably not. I do think they would be struggling though, just not as much.

Last night's 4-0 defeat to MK Dons is the latest set back to Louis van Gaal's so called rebuilding job at Manchester United.

The defeat leaves the Dutch manager with only two competitions to compete for this season.

I have to admit I was very surprised at the team van Gaal picked last night. There may well have been a few experienced internationals in the side, but it could have been a lot stronger.

No Europe for van Gaal

In the past United would have had Europe to use as an excuse for not taking the Capital One cup seriously. But with only the three domestic trophies to play for this year, I think the tactics last night were strange.

I'm not sure whether it is arrogance on the part of van Gaal (I wouldn't be surprised if it was). Could it be van Gaal thinks winning the Capital One Cup makes little difference to his future ambitions?

Other managers might see it as an opportunity to get a first trophy on the board and ease the pressure. Especially considering the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool may well have eyes elsewhere.

Who is to blame for current Old Trafford mess?

So who is to blame for where United are now? Ferguson, Moyes, Ed Woodward, David Gill, the Glazers, or a combination of all?

Did Sir Alex Ferguson leave them in a bad state? Although they were league champions, I believe Ferguson knew the writing was on the wall for this team. But in defence of Ferguson, did he have the money to improve the squad before departing the scene?

One thing we know about Ferguson, is he won't wash the club's dirty linen in public. So we may never know the true answer to that question.

For all we know, the Glazers may have been running a tight ship at the time and making little money available. Or maybe Ferguson had the money, and wrongly judged that - as champions - his squad didn't need much surgery.

Moyes failed to improve the squad

David Moyes didn't really improve the squad. But was he badly let down by Ed Woodward last summer, when only really Marouane Fellaini was added.

In defence of Ed Woodward, managers have to identify targets. Did Moyes do this?

There are also plenty of other issues at the club. For example, yhy has no one suggested adding a couple of centre backs and a right back over the past two seasons?

It was obvious under Alex Ferguson that the right back was a position of high priority. Still to this day no one has addressed this.

Football news reports that £59.7M was spent on Angel Di Maria, which is a staggering amount of money. The sort of money that Moyes could only have dreamed off spending.

A good player, yes, but for the best part of £60M, I would be wanting a player who is going to drive the team forward. A single handed match winner. I may be proven wrong in the long run, but I don't see Di Maria as this player.

The Rot set in at Manchester United some time ago

Personally I think the rot set in years ago. It is said that if you stand still, you move backwards - and this seems to be the case at Manchester United.

The football club didn't build on the the final Premier League title handed to them by Alex Ferguson.

That said, I do believe Ferguson could have left the squad in better shape. Whether that was complacency on the part of Ferguson, or having no money to improve the squad, I don't know?

Since then nothing has changed. Issues weren't addressed under Moyes and/or Woodward, and it remains to be seen if van Gaal will do so. One thing that is for sure, is that Ferguson certainly knew the right time to get out.

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