Since David Moyes’ appointment as manager of Manchester United in May, much has been said about the challenges the Scot will face in his new role.
Going into the summer it was clear that both of United’s main title rivals, Chelsea and Manchester City, would enter the 2013/14 season under new management.
Knowing this, Sir Alex Ferguson decided it was the right time to stand down after over a quarter of a century with the club.
Since his appointment in November 1986, Ferguson has turned Manchester United into a footballing powerhouse.
On the field the club have dominated the Premier League since its inaugural season in 1992/93, while off the field United have become one of the biggest brands in world sport.
Nobody could ever question the achievements of a man who brought 38 trophies to the club, including 13 Premier League and two Champions League titles – Ferguson undoubtedly leaves a club amongst the elite of the game.
However, this wasn’t the first time that Ferguson has announced his retirement: in 2001 Ferguson announced that he would finally hand over the reins at the end of the 2001/02 season.
Following the announcement, the club went on to have one of their worst seasons under Ferguson’s charge.
The team finished third, their joint worst finish in the Premier League, and failed to pick up one trophy.
Ferguson later attributed the poor campaign to his announcement that he would be stepping down.
Life without Ferguson is a scary prospect for United, and they are finally stepping into the breach.
The timing of Ferguson’s retirement presents his successor with the greatest chance of carrying on the club’s success.
With Pellegrini and Mourinho arriving at City and Chelsea, in theory United’s main rivals should take time settling into a new style of play.
This will undoubtedly benefit Moyes who would not be begrudged a settling in period having replaced possibly the greatest manager of all time.
However, Mourinho has been at Chelsea before, and his appointment will please both the players and the fans.
The Portuguese manager knows the club inside out and his teams have consistently amassed huge points totals in England, Italy and Spain.
The London club have brought in André Schürrle to strengthen their already impressive attacking line and could be ready to push for their first title since 2009/10.
Meanwhile, the blue half of Manchester will be desperate to make amends for their feeble title defence last time around.
The arrival of Manuel Pellegrini should reinvigorate a squad that had lost faith in previous manager Roberto Mancini – and the relatively poor form of City last season is likely to be a blip rather than a sign of things to come.
At least, the club’s billionaire owners have wasted no time making sure that is the case.
New arrivals Fernandinho and Jesús Navas will add pace and energy to a City midfield that, Yaya Toure aside, massively underperformed throughout last season.
Both these teams will undoubtedly be much stronger next season, but I know that if I were replacing Sir Alex I would rather my rivals were playing catch up than the other way round.
United themselves have added rising star Wilfried Zaha to last season’s title winning squad but now look set to miss out on Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara.
Following the retirement of Paul Scholes, central midfield is the only major area that United need to strengthen.
Although the possible arrival of Leighton Baines from Everton would also be a welcome addition to the squad.
Moyes faces a daunting task following in Ferguson’s footsteps – one that has been made all the harder as he will face rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and City in his first five league games.
So was it the right time for Ferguson to go?
He leaves behind a title winning squad with a good blend of youth and experience.
In addition, a core group within the squad had worked under Ferguson for a length of time and will have his winning mentality engraved in them.
There was never going to be an ideal time for Ferguson to step down – the pressure on his successor to bring in trophies will be huge, but with United currently ahead of the pack, at least in England, this is as good a time as there will ever be.
No matter when Ferguson stood down, be that in 2002 or in 2022, the pressure on his successor would have been just as great.
Moyes has a great chance to open his career at United with a trophy when they face relegated Wigan in the Community Shield.
If you are going to try and fill Ferguson’s shoes at Old Trafford this season presents you with perhaps the best chance to succeed.
Nobody is predicting that United will fall far from grace, but the question on everyone’s lips is: just how big is the Ferguson influence?
Image courtesy of BBC Sport, via YouTube, with thanks.
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