SOCCER / English FA Premiership: The new man will have to get used to sniping that he's not a patch on the last guy, writes Daniel Taylor

There are plenty of Manchester United supporters today who will be happy for Alex Ferguson to be ushered into retirement, but none who would wish it to happen without him taking his dignity with him. What matters now, if it is correct that the Glazers are to oversee his departure, is its timing, the identifying of his successor and - the biggest challenge of all - that the changeover is as seamless as possible.

When a man with Ferguson's force of personality is involved, that is easier said than done. The Glazers might feel no compunction in suggesting Ferguson devote his remaining years to tending his lawn and playing with his grandchildren, but even for men of their limited football knowledge they must surely realise that it will turn parts of the club upside down.

Since the new owners assumed power, Ferguson is no longer the autocratic presence he once was, but he is still powerful enough to control great swaths of the Old Trafford workforce. He can still silence a room when he walks through the door and he has enough people in his pocket for the Glazers' preferred successor, whether it be Guus Hiddink, Martin O'Neill, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Paul Le Guen or whomever, to harbour genuine reservations about the sheer scale of the job on offer.

Re-establishing the team as genuine European Cup contenders will be only part of it.

At Old Trafford they still remember the problems that were encountered when Matt Busby finished as manager in 1969, how they found the next few years as difficult as the north face of Everest and how his replacement, Wilf McGuinness, found him too hard an act to follow.

The task of replacing Ferguson would be equally colossal. Whoever comes in will have to get accustomed to the ubiquitous photographs of Ferguson's greatest achievements, that familiar smile breaking out beneath those ruddy cheeks. The new man will have to get used to old-timers sniping that he was not a patch on the last manager. And he will need to appreciate that every trophy, every memorable achievement and every European campaign will be placed in context against his predecessor's own medal count.

It is not stretching the truth, indeed, to say Ferguson's departure could precipitate a complete overhaul of the club's football side. Would a new manager want to retain a failing scouting network in which Ferguson's brother, Martin, has one of the two most prominent positions? Would he want to keep in place a coaching structure made up entirely of Ferguson's men? Would Carlos Queiroz, Mike Phelan, Brian McClair, et al, be kept on simply because they are already there? The answer in all cases is probably no.

And then, of course, there is the small matter of the team, and the probability that Ferguson's successor would deem it necessary to make wholesale changes. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes may no longer be safeguarded. Darren Fletcher will have to forget about being teacher's pet.

Ferguson's sympathisers are entitled to butt in at this stage and point out, with some justification, that there is still no cast-iron proof the "Ahcumfigovin" sign - "I come from Govan" - will be removed from the walls of the manager's office come the end of the season.

The stronger argument is that more and more people are coming round to the idea that the Glazers will not tolerate the deeply unexceptional standards of Ferguson's team. It has always seemed a slightly odd notion, but, with every crisis, every bad result, every financial hit, his departure is beginning to feel inevitable. One fans' website yestrerday had Ferguson's P45 already mocked up, bearing a signature from Malcolm Glazer.

Many fans have clearly made up their minds that the positives of him leaving outweigh the negatives. Familiarity can breed contempt, even against a man who has enriched so many Manchester United lives.

One certainty is that the supporters would like someone who does not patronise them by consistently brushing everything under the carpet, someone perhaps who answers the questions they want answering. The directors? They might appreciate having someone who is less confrontational and does not rule with a culture of fear.

In an ideal world, the club's traditions of adventurous, attack-minded football must be treated as sacred and the new man will understand the self-defeating concept of falling out with his best players.

Then again, the Glazers could bring in another McGuinness or even the Premiership's first ex-NFL coach. Sometimes it is better the Red Devil you know.

Guardian Service