A new start, how difficult can it be? Now, almost 13 years after Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, Manchester United continues to be in the spotlight. It will probably take him more than 26 years in charge to emerge from his shadow. In fact, considering we’re almost halfway there, it’s probably going to be scrapped.
Darren Fletcher, the newest member of United’s June 2007 squad who successfully re-instilled the club’s famous Fergie culture, has admitted he sought the great Fergie’s “blessings” to take over as interim manager. It looks like something out of a Harry Potter book. His blessing? Really? That very mentality encapsulates everything that is wrong with this club. The job of running Manchester United does not belong to any one individual.
That’s not Sir Alex Ferguson’s job. That was between November 6, 1986 and May 8, 2013. And then it wasn’t like that. That’s football. Please continue.
Liverpool made the mistake of continuing to try to remind us of their glory days, which cost them 30 years without a title. Only in time did they finally get rid of the shackles.
Fergie managed to win the league with a midfield of Tom Cleverley, Anderson and Ji-sung Park (I bet on which of the three would be back next). That’s because soccer was a completely different sport back then, and the fact that he was a genius was a minor issue.
There are undoubtedly valuable lessons to be learned from Sir Alex’s tenure, first and foremost about leaving egos at the door. But with anything like a remade culture always being cut at the knee, it’s no wonder United are plagued with mixed messages.
Perhaps United fear what success will look like without Fergie. If someone dares to succeed in a different way, does that devalue that person’s god-like status?
Regardless, they have to end this toxic relationship. what’s that? Did he have coffee with Wilcox and Berrada at Carrington on Tuesday? I wasn’t going to hold my breath anyway.
