Sir Alex Ferguson, who is reeling from
what he said was the worst "hiding" he had suffered as Manchester United's manager, is
planning to stay at Old Trafford long enough to oversee an overhaul
of personnel, aimed at dismantling Barcelona's European dynasty.
Ferguson, who will be 70 this year, is approaching the 25th
anniversary of his appointment. But the most successful manager in
the game still sees himself as being in the job on a long-term
basis and has told United that only his health will prevent him
from working.
Instead the manager is going to break up his squad in what
promises to be a summer of change at Old Trafford, with up to 10
players on their way out. The Glazer family have told Ferguson that
he will be given substantial funds with which to purchase
replacements.
It is nearly 10 years since Ferguson announced a plan to retire,
only to change his mind and talk of nearly having made "the biggest
mistake of my life". His spending this summer will be designed to
close the gap on a Barcelona side whose masterclass of passing at
Wembley strengthened their claim to be recognised as the greatest
club side ever.
The task will be a significant one but Ferguson sees himself
working at Old Trafford for at least three years, according to one
of his closest allies in the game. The aim in that time will be to
catch and overhaul Barcelona. Ferguson may be encouraged that
Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona manager,
indicated after his team's 3-1 win on Saturday that he would stay
at the Camp Nou for one more season. Guardiola, the youngest
manager to win the European Cup twice, is being seen at Old
Trafford as a candidate to manage United but that time seems far
away. Ferguson's attitude to his career could be sensed in a recent
conversation with an associate, in which he said that "once the
brain stops working, you are on the road to death".
United's rebuilding was a necessity before the Champions League final, with Edwin van
der Sar joining Gary Neville in retirement and Owen Hargreaves
being released from his contract.
Ferguson must establish whether Paul Scholes is to end his
playing career and if, as is increasingly expected, that is the
case, one idea is for the former England midfielder to take control
of the reserve team.
Even if Scholes can be persuaded to continue, however, Ferguson
is aware of the need to bring in a top central midfielder. United
admire Wesley Sneijder but are not certain an agreement with
Internazionale will materialise. Luka Modric of Tottenham Hotspur
has also been discussed at length.
A £17m deal has been put in place for David de Gea, Atlético
Madrid's Spain Under-21 goalkeeper, and talks are at an advanced
stage with Lens about an £8m move for the 18-year-old centre-half
Raphaël Varane. Ferguson also believes that Jack Rodwell has the
necessary attributes to flourish at Old Trafford, if he can be
lured away from Everton.
Ashley Young of Aston Villa is another target. United made
inquiries about signing Young in the January transfer window and
are now competing with Liverpool for his signature.
Ferguson must also decide whether to offer Michael Owen a new
contract. Dimitar Berbatov presents a different problem. The
Bulgarian finished as the Premier League's joint top scorer with 20
goals but he did not make the squad against Barcelona. Berbatov did
not sit with the other players who were not in Ferguson's 18-man
squad and he is thought to have watched the match in the changing
room.
Asked about reports that Berbatov had left Wembley early, the
striker's agent, Emil Danchev, said: "It's nonsense. Mitko
[Berbatov] was at Wembley and watched the game. There is nothing to
say. Let us take a few days."
United are encouraged by the development of their FA Youth
Cup-winning side, particularly Ravel Morrison, Ryan Tunnicliffe and
Paul Pogba. Senior players who could leave include Tomasz Kuszczak,
Wes Brown, Gabriel Obertan, Bébé and Darron Gibson.
Nani, the club's player of the year, said after the Champions
League final that he would be at Old Trafford next season but the
winger is known to be open-minded about the possibility of a
transfer.