da bet esporte： The succession of Sir Alex Ferguson was handled ever so poorly by those behind the scenes at Manchester United. Granted, when the news came that the famous old Scot would be hanging up his chewing gum at the end of the 2012/13 season, it did come as a surprise.
da luck： Still, surely the movers, shakers and decision makers at Old Trafford knew he couldn’t go on forever. Perhaps you can afford some leeway in the fact that David Gill departed at the same time, the Red Devils were uprooted from the solid foundations from which they built most of their success, but surely a global organisation would have had a better contingency plan in place.
When David Moyes was appointed as Fergie’s replacement, many harkened back to the fact he mirrored Sir Alex in many ways. A hard-nosed Glaswegian who wouldn’t change the philosophy too much – the ‘Chosen One’. Many others thought he wasn’t up to the job. The latter were proved correct.
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So, the succession of Louis van Gaal must be planned with more care and attention to detail.. The Dutchman has come in to steady the ship, to take the club back to the Champions League and keep them fighting in the league. He has done that, but not won a lot of friends along the way.
While the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach hasn’t been perfect, far from it, at least the club are somewhat stabilised in the top four. The style of play, millions spent and early exit from the Champions League have all, rightly, counted against him, of course. However, he’s done at least the bare minimum.
A club like Manchester United is not used to the bare minimum, though, which appears to be the issue. The 64-year old was only ever meant to be a short-term fix, someone to lay the foundations as he had done in both Munich and Barcelona.
After Moyes turned out to be an unmitigated disaster, the club needed a wise head to steady the ship and prevent a Liverpool-like situation where they fall out of the top order for many seasons.
Now they must act in order to identify a suitable replacement. Ryan Giggs is the dream choice, but he may need another year watching and learning. What Ed Woodward would be wise to do is to appoint another experienced coach in order to fully seal the transition process.
Enter Carlo Ancelotti. While he’s touted to replace Manchester City bound Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, the 56-year old Italian has also been linked with the post at Old Trafford. In many ways, he is the polar opposite to van Gaal.
Known for his relaxed, man management style, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid boss has enjoyed success wherever he has been. His appointment would bring a breath of fresh air to the Theatre of Dreams.
A season or two under Ancelotti could help return a good feeling to the club, to see them play attacking football and, you know, enjoy themselves. The ex-PSG man would work off the foundations laid by his predecessor and make the whole team more vibrant and relaxed.
He brings an air of authority, someone who knows what they are doing and has a wealth of experience in managing top players as well as winning the Premier League.
It may be tempting to give the gig to either Giggs or Gary Neville straight after van Gaal leaves, presumably at the end of next season. However, whichever United legend gets it, they could face the truly daunting prospect of lifting the doom and gloom around the club and instantly becoming the saviour.
Not a wise idea.
Where van Gaal brings solidity and compactness, Ancelotti would lift the restraints and see this growing group of players express themselves. To go up another level.
Then, Giggs can step in after years of cutting his teeth under two great managers at polar opposite ends of the management spectrum and walk into an Old Trafford once again enjoying its football.
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