Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane released a book that addresses his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson. It was an inimitable exit, a leaving that added to the legend, a farewell that seemed fitting given the implausible drama he had provided over the previous 26 years. Sir Alex Fergusons 1,500th and final Manchester United match, at West Bromwich Albion in May 2013, ended in a 5-5 draw. It was Uniteds first such scoreline since 1895. Even at the last, Ferguson was venturing into new territory. As United return to The Hawthorns on Monday, that day feels very distant. The notion that Ferguson was Uniteds Bill Shankly, the founder of a dynasty, was swiftly destroyed. His hand-picked successor, David Moyes, failed and was fired; the idea that he left a squad capable of maintaining dominance for years to come was discredited. Albion were an inadvertent cause of the revolution. When Ferguson retired, West Brom had not beaten United in 34 years. They promptly won their first meeting after his departure, inflicting Moyes first home defeat and marking the beginning of Uniteds era of unpredictability. Saido Berahino chipped away at the aura of invincibility before others took a sledgehammer to it. Louis van Gaal took a similarly brutal approach to Fergusons squad, whereas the timid Moyes had left it almost untouched. Even Ferguson had accepted an overhaul was required. Now the Scots legacy lies not on the pitch but, courtesy of the cash-conscious way he built an empire, in the financial muscle that allowed Van Gaal to spend in such extravagant fashion. Consider the Dutchmans most recent side. Only four of the 14 players used against Everton -- Robin van Persie, David de Gea, Rafael da Silva and Antonio Valencia -- ever appeared under Ferguson. Sir Alex Ferguson,left, only had a net spend of 210 million pounds during his time at Manchester United. Louis Van Gaal, right, and his predecessor, David Moyes (not pictured), might have eclipsed that in 12 months. Three more -- Tyler Blackett, Paddy McNair and James Wilson -- were at United but yet to debut. Their generation are not Fergies Fledglings, but Van Gaals Goslings. A further two -- Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata -- were signed by Moyes, with the remaining five (Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind) arriving under Van Gaal. Had Ander Herrera been fit, his signings would have made up a majority of the starting 11. Then cast an eye back to Fergusons selections in May 2013. Some are names that point to another age; with Paul Scholes playing his 718th and final game for United and Ryan Giggs also coming off the bench, it was the last game to feature two of the Class of 92. Fergusons concession to youth then was to start with his three senior defenders on the bench. Now Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are all gone. They had played more than 1,000 United games between them. In contrast, when West Ham visited Old Trafford last month, Van Gaal selected three defenders with a grand total of two previous matches for the club between them, in McNair, Rojo and Shaw. The tried and tested have been replaced by the untried and, in McNairs case, unknown. In itself, a 5-5 scoreline could have indicated that Fergusons next generation lacked the defensive resolve required. No wonder, perhaps, that Van Gaals back four bears few similarities. Revisiting the 72-year-olds 1,500th side also shines a light on his recruitment. While United carried on winning under the managerial knight, it almost amounted to a preview of Moyes problems. He visited West Brom with Anderson, who started well and declined; with Alexander Buttner, who was never good enough; with Shinji Kagawa, who flattered to deceive; with Javier Hernandez, who began as one of Fergusons great bargains but was squeezed to the margins by the clubs newfound fondness for superstars before the Mexican. Being sidelined by the Gaalacticos, he instead became a Galactico at Real Madrid. And finally, Tom Cleverley, an example of a misplaced faith in certain youth products. Van Gaal would rather give such chances to a younger group of homegrown players. The iconic No. 7 shirt was worn by an out-of-sorts makeshift right-back, in Valencia, in May 2013. Now it is worn by one of the worlds finest attackers, Di Maria. Above all, rewinding to the Ferguson years shows how he became wedded to the idea of a greater group, even if it meant a lesser team. He would pick 11 from a possible 25 in mix-and-match teams, in a way Moyes never mastered. Van Gaal is going for quality, not quantity. For all the talk of a seemingly revolutionary philosophy, the 63-year-olds team selection seems to be based on more conventional grounds. He is closer to having a set starting 11 (partly, of course, because absence of European football means there is no need for squad rotation). That United arent in the Champions League, for the first time since 1995-96, or Europe at all, which they visited in each of the previous 24 seasons, is another reminder of how times have changed. Theres no doubting the attacking quality of the Red Devils team under Louis van Gaal, which features former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria, among others. The tactics are different. First Van Gaal switched to a back three, something no United manager has done in the modern era, and then, in a twist on Fergusons 4-4-2, he adopted a diamond system in the midfield. United have gone from one end of the recruitment market to the other. Savers have become spenders, advocates of continuity sudden exponents of change. Van Gaal took an ax to the policy of permanence and the three-in, three-out model of transfer business. There were 17 departures this summer, including loans, and that is only counting those who had debuted for United, rather than obscure academy products. Yet other figures are more eye-catching. United spent 152 million pounds this summer. Factor in Moyes moves for Mata and Fellaini and Uniteds post-Ferguson spending stands at 226 million pounds. Ferguson only paid out 210 million pounds in his last 11 transfer windows at the helm, despite banking 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo during that time. In fact, his net spend for his entire reign amounted was also around 210 million pounds; within 12 months time, Uniteds net outgoings under his successors will be probably be higher. The frugality of the late-period Ferguson has been replaced by largesse, just as success gave way to sorry underachievement and a team that spent years together is now broken up, scattered across several leagues. It was obvious an era was ending at The Hawthorns 17 months ago. The surprise is that the new age appears the opposite of the old in so many ways.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 19:58:08 +0000
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