United simply can’t afford to get it wrong again

Now the dust is beginning to settle on Manchester United’s sacking of David Moyes, and as critics root through the reasons for his departure and the list of possible replacements, there remains another hugely important question to answer: Where does Alex Ferguson fit into it all?

It is an uncomfortable thought given everything Ferguson achieved at Old Trafford but there is no hiding from the fact that Manchester United’s most successful manager chose his successor — and got it horribly wrong.

The departure of Moyes is unlikely in the long run to play a big part in the story of Ferguson’s legacy, not given the remarkable list of trophies he won before retirement, but for the moment it does leave a small stain — one that creates a dilemma for the board as they decide how to choose a man for 2014-15.