Cashing in on United template

WHEN we are asked to sum up what Alex has achieved at United, the simplest method is to travel back those 25 years and do as every student: ‘compare and contrast’.

When Fergie arrived in 1986, he found a club whose youth and reserve teams were in disarray, a scouting system suffering advanced dementia and an atmosphere soaked in alcohol fumes and ill-feeling.

We imagined Fergie sneaking round OT armed with a breathalyser and sharpened cups ‘n’ saucers to hurl at recidivist players — for the 1986 Fergie was one of that dreaded breed, Blazer Man; smart haircuts, proper attire and sober habits were now the order of the day. The Red Army was now being led by a puritanical Stalin, not a flamboyant Trotsky.