David Gill: The End Of An Era

MUTV spoke to chief executive David Gill following the announcement of Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to retire at the end of the season...

What are your thoughts on the huge news today?
It’s a momentous day for the manager, for the club, all the fans and the football world. There is a tinge of sadness as a great, great manager – the like of which will never be repeated in my opinion – is stepping down after a very successful season and a very successful 26 years. There is a hint of sadness but a realisation that the time he’s chosen to move on is the right one for him and to let him make that decision.

One of the key questions is 'why now'?
I think he hinted in his statement about talking to his family and also the success he had last year but when is the right time? He felt we have had a successful season and regained the title, which was fantastic, and I think he wanted to go out on a high. Who can blame him for that? He deserves it after all the achievements of the 26 years, to go out on a high, and he felt that was right. It’s also important that he felt it was for personal reasons but also the club is in good shape in terms of the squad and other aspects of it.

How long have discussions taken place on this subject?
I don’t think I’ll go into specifics about timing. It’s clearly not an overnight decision but we’ve thought about it and looked at it really carefully. Clearly, it’s Alex’s decision and it’s been clear for many years, whenever I’ve been asked the question in interviews, that Alex will decide when the time is right for him to retire. He’s made that decision and discussed it with the people closest to him and the people within the club. He’s made it and we announced it today so let’s not go into specifics but move forward.

How do you follow Sir Alex Ferguson? He’s an icon...
He is. He's a phenomenon, the like of which we’ll never see again, in terms of what he’s done for the club. I don’t know what it was like in 1986 as I wasn’t around but I have seen the major changes that have happened since I joined in 1997 and what he’s achieved. But you don’t follow it, like what we said in the statement, Alex and I tried to say that we knew this day would come. One day he would decide enough is enough, he'd say: "I’ve achieved it and I want to retire and do some other things in my life". Basically, we’ve been preparing for that in terms of the ability within the squad, the contract situation within the squad and the age of the squad. But also off the field, we’ve been making sure we’re at the forefront of things. We’ve just announced a big new expanded facility at Carrington. We’ve got to look forward now and any new manager coming in will inherit a great squad and a great infrastructure off the pitch with great staff around him. I think the new person is walking into a difficult situation maybe in terms of the number of trophies but will also have the support of the Manchester United family and the squad to take that forward. It’s a dream job, I think.

What is the timeframe on a replacement?
I’m not going to get into speculation on that because if we then put a deadline on it and that deadline passes... [people will jump to conclusions] but we will move relatively quickly. I’m not going to define how quickly that is.

What sort of manager are you looking for?
The qualities are the ones that have been inherent within Manchester United for many years. If you look at what has happened with the two most successful eras – Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex – they are managers who got involved in the whole aspect of the club, whether it be from the youth team up to the first team. [He'll need] all aspects of it and that degree of loyalty and the understanding of the football club – that it’s not just what happens on the first-team pitch that is crucial to the success of Manchester United. Those are the sort of things we’ll be looking at. Clearly he has to have the requisite football experience, both in terms of domestic and European experience, so I think it’s a small pool but we’ll move forward.

Will Sir Alex have a say on his successor?
Very much so. I think we need his views. No-one knows what managing Manchester United is about better than him. Quite rightly, the owners and the board will take his counsel and take the counsel of Sir Bobby Charlton and really understand it. They want to use all the expertise within the club in order to get the right person to take it forward.

And the manager is staying on at the club...
He’s going to be a director on the football club board and also an ambassador. He’ll be there and I think it will be a great asset to the club in terms of him being there. One of the things you can say about Sir Alex Ferguson is he will know when to involve himself and when he shouldn’t be involved. I think everybody can rest assured the new manager will, quite rightly, get the necessary space and opportunity to do his job without interference. Alex won’t make that mistake, of that we can be certain.

What is his legacy? Is it more than trophies?
Obviously, a football club is judged on honours, and managers and players are judged on honours. Without doubt, what he has achieved is phenomenal. His legacy is building up the club and retaining [the family atmosphere] in a sport, football, that’s grown immeasurably over the last couple of decades. He’s retained a family atmosphere and understood Manchester United’s role within sport and within football. You hear stories in other media outlets about how he gives advice and comfort to other managers who have been fired and all those sort of things in his role within the football world. He does it well and also does it within our club as well to be supportive to any persons at Carrington that have had a bereavement. That’s what he is about. What he has definitely achieved is retaining the family ethos at Manchester United, albeit in a sport that is getting bigger and bigger every year.

You’ve had a close relationship with him. Is there any one thing you will look back on most fondly?
I don’t think there’s one thing – just a series of things. Not one big bang. It’s been the highlight of my career working with him. It’s been fantastic.

With the both of you leaving, are fans right to be a little concerned?
Well, no. We’re moving on in terms of what we’ve left from a club perspective. The squad and infrastructure is fantastic. Ed Woodward is taking over from me, now he has an opportunity to work and develop as good a relationship with the new manager and I’m sure he’s capable of doing that and will do that for the betterment of Manchester United. I think it’s important to note that Manchester United is made up of many, many good people throughout the organisation. We have hundreds of people working for us, in the ticket office, the ground staff, the catering staff and the marketing team. They’re all dedicated and want United to win so they will be very supportive and very focused on continuing that success with Ed and the new manager when he’s appointed. Alex and I will still be on the football club board and it is a new era but I’m very confident that the structure we have in place, from a business and football perspective, is a great foundation for that relationship to happen. Personally, I’m looking forward to watching games going forward and seeing a successful Manchester United team playing great football in a packed stadium. I’m very confident that will be the case.