The contribution of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill is clear. It's that you never know what you had until it's gone kind of feeling at Old Trafford at the moment. One could argue for days on end regarding which was the more important player, but in the end they acted as a partnership. And one that was incredibly proflic.
David Moyes is surely, not entirely correctly, settled with the blame of a floundering performance in the transfer window. But many have come to direct, and perhaps correctly, some ire in the direction of new vice-chairman Ed Woodward. The on-field failings of the Red Devils can certainly be leveled at Moyes, especially those following the defeat to Liverpool which lacked much of any tactical insite or adaptability.
In the past, Manchester United--when linked with any player--was always the desired destination. Sir Alex Ferguson, always the desired manager to play under. The simultaneous retirement of Ferguson and Gill, it seems, was too great a change at one time and that desirability seems to have lifted.
The summer was a wash of uncertainty. The club obtained a rather unwanted air of concern, as current and potential players were unsure about how well things were going to progress under David Moyes. That insecurity, multiplied by the appointment of Woodward, saw many players take what one could only describe as a wait-and-see attitude towards a potential move to The Theature of Dreams.
One can only wonder if the transition from Ferguson to Moyes could have been handled better. But the glairly obvious is that it most certainly could have been. The appointment of Woodward is quizzical at best. His lack of footballing experience is evident in the transfer blundering associtated with United this summer.
The transition period, which is likely to be at least a few years, would probably have been eased had David Gill stayed on as chairman for the first few years under Moyes. The expected teething problems have already shown, but others have cropped up. It's difficult to say that the sole reason for this summer of uncertainly and embarrassment was the retirement of the Ferguson-Gill duo. But it's hard not to cite that major event as one that helped to unsettle the club and instill an air of doubt.
Perhaps it is a case of too many variables changing at once though. Clearly Moyes is trying to get a grip on the on-pitch workings of such a huge club, while it is potentially more apparent that Woodward is struggling moreso with learning that player dealings are different than those of sponsership aquisitions.
Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in a huge sted, in such a state of glory, that it cuts a polarizing and diffuclt legacy for Moyes to match from the outset. The loss to arch-nemesis, Liverpool, set about a further negative paradigm shift that fails to look to the past for clarity. Looking to just last season, a season is which Manchester United were far-and-away the best club in the Premier League come May, one could see that already, Moyes' United has made a better start to the current season, despite the loss to the Reds from Anfield.
There will come a time when one of the two new players will be discarded, and it may be more likely that Moyes would be the first to get the sack. But, one would be ignoring the more important failings of Woodward, failings that effect the work of Moyes himself and the overall image of the club.
