Here’s a topic we are probably going to hear an awful lot about over the next couple of years – the hunt for Alex Ferguson’s replacement.
The man himself raised the subject last week, insisting nobody had yet been earmarked to take his place at Old Trafford.
“I’m hoping to stay on for a bit of time anyway,” the Manchester United boss added.
However, although it sometimes seems like he’ll be around forever, the truth is he won’t. Sir Alex is 71 now and you would imagine the ‘bit of time’ he is talking about can’t be more than two or three years, four at the very most.
Which means identifying a successor is creeping up the agenda.
If you recall, the last time Sir Alex said he was retiring it had a dramatic effect on the team which stuttered and stumbled its way through the season. Then the Scot realised he had been a bit premature, changed his mind and normal service was resumed.
There is no way the club can afford that sort of situation to develop again. Players thrive on continuity and stability, and not knowing who is going to be your ‘gaffer’ the following season is unsettling to their minds.
On that basis, I imagine one of two things will happen. Either Sir Alex will retire suddenly and unexpectedly at the end of a season with perhaps only his directors aware in advance that it is going to happen. Or, alternatively, a successor will be announced well in advance and maybe even brought in to work alongside the Scot for his final few months.
United is no ordinary club and Sir Alex no ordinary boss, so the transition from one manager to the next simply cannot be treated in the same way it might at another club. We are talking about a living legend here whose boots are almost too big for one man to fill. Let’s not forget of his 1,475 games in charge he has won 881 of them, bagging a quite incredible 37 trophies on the way.
Which leads to the obvious question: who exactly will be filling the boots? The favourite with the bookmakers and the pundits is, and has been for quite some time, Jose Mourinho. And if there is one man who is capable of slipping into Fergie’s footwear without fear or intimidation, it is the current Real Madrid boss.
Mourinho has a staggering CV and would more than likely bring plenty of silverware to the club, continuing the success story Sir Alex has created over the past 26 years and is still busy adding to.
However, I have my doubts that the Special One would fit in with the United way of doing things. He might just be a bit too mouthy for comfort. Ferguson is no shrinking violet when it comes to speaking his mind, true. But he has earned the right to express his views over half a century at the very top of the game.
1,475
games in charge
881
games won
37
trophies won
Sir Alex’s record at Man United to date.
Mourinho, in comparison, is little more than a new kid on the block when it comes to management. Not only that, but he also enjoys winding up and annoying everyone under the sun just for the sake of it. That just doesn’t strike me as an approach that will sit comfortably with the United hierarchy.
Another consideration is the expense. You would imagine that money would be no object when it comes to the unenviable task of trying to replace Sir Alex. It’s a big enough job without letting financial considerations get in the way.
But with the Glazers pulling the purse strings, any chance to save a few pounds will probably be taken. And Mourinho isn’t going to come cheap. Maintaining such effective designer stubble is costly, you know.
When push comes to shove, I think it is much more likely that United will turn to someone like David Moyes. A good, solid and dependable chap who has quietly gone about the business of managing Everton without kicking up a fuss.
Despite having his hands tied by the Merseyside club’s lack of funds, he has rarely put a foot wrong in his decade at Goodison Park. He is mild-mannered (mostly), rational and calm under pressure. And he is Scottish, which might seem like a flippant remark but which will, I am sure, make a difference when Sir Alex helps draw up the shortlist.
Of course, there are other candidates and I am sure no stone will be left unturned when it comes to making such a crucial appointment. And trust me, it is crucial because if it is not a boss that the fans take to immediately, then his difficult task will become almost impossible.
Without support from the terraces he will be little more than a ‘rebound’ manager, filling the gap until they are able to move on to their next proper relationship.
However, there is still plenty more water to pass under the bridge before this decision has to be taken. In football, a lot can change in two or three years.
For example, Mark Hughes, Roy Keane and Steve Bruce were all once viewed as possible Fergie successors but their individual stocks have plummeted to the extent they would not even make longest of shortlists now.
And there are no certainties that the same sort of catastrophic career implosions won’t happen to Mourinho and Moyes, although I think there was more chance of the world ending last month then there would be of those two going into self-destruct mode.
Ultimately, there is only one certainty in this whole succession situation – Sir Alex will decide when and how he goes and he will have a large say in deciding who takes his job.
On that basis, Alan Pardew shouldn’t spend too many sleepless nights waiting for the phone to ring…
Sign him up, sign him up
There will no doubt be plenty of transfers taking place over the course of the next few weeks now the winter window has creaked open.
Some of these moves will make us choke on our cornflakes, others will make watching your cornflakes go soggy seem fascinating in comparison.
But the biggest and most important deal of the window will probably come in London and the chances are it won’t involve a player even leaving his club.
I am, obviously, referring to Theo Walcott and whether or not he finally agrees to sign a new contract with Arsenal.
The forward has been stalling on a new deal for months now. Apparently, he wants assurances he will be used in a central striking role in the future rather than out on the wing. (Money has nothing to do with it, of course).
Let me make this suggestion to Arsene Wenger: give in to his demands, whatever they are.
I’m not saying Walcott is irreplaceable or the best player on the planet. But keeping hold of the England international, who is actually having a superb season, is vital to Arsenal’s future.
After losing Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas in recent seasons, watching Walcott depart would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The message it would send out is that Arsenal are a selling club, a mere breeding ground for good players to learn their trade before waltzing off to bigger and better things.
And Wenger simply cannot allow that signal to be broadcast to his other players or the fans. It would not so much be the beginning of the end, as the end itself.
Getting Walcott to pen a new deal is about so much more than a quality player committing himself to the club. And so, while it is never nice to have to give in to demands, I think Wenger would be wise to do so.
If Walcott wants an extra £20k a week, give it to him. If he wants assurances he will be used more as a central striker, give them to him. Heck, if he wants to drive the team bus to away games, get him his own set of keys.
Arsenal need Walcott right now. And they need him badly.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade