Many fans have voiced their positive opinion on Ryan Giggs to be the next permanent manager of Manchester United, but despite the romatic setting, United have to go for someone else. Here are five reasons why United's number 11 is not the right choice at this point.
Under-qualified
The Welshman is the most decorated player in English football history, but nonetheless his only managerial «achievement» is beating relegation candidates Norwich 4-0 at home. A nice start to what hopefully will be a long-lasting and successful managerial career, but absolutely no platform for a manager contract at one of the biggest clubs on the globe. Ole Gunnar Solskjær has some of the same background as Giggs, won the reserve league with United and two league titles and a cup at Molde, but yet he is struggling to keep Cardiff above the water surface. Even Moyes turned out insufficient, despite he has a decade of years of management in the Premier League behind him. Giggs has one game. Figure that out.
Need new input
United's first player-manager since Clarence «Lal» Hilditch in the 1926/27 season has been at the club since 1987 when he was fourteen years old. A more successful spell than anyone has ever witnessed before, but he still hasn't seen more than two managers, where one was an out-and-out calamity. And the successful one, Ferguson, spent the final 3-4 years squeezing out the final drops of juice from his side, trying to save energy whenever possible. Ferguson has won the league with the likes of Valencia and Young as regulars, proving he fooled mediocre players into thinking they were good ones. This is what Giggs has dealt with in recent years and there is absolutely not a platform for a manager appointment.
Giggs will probably benefit from getting United on an arm's length, get some fresh ideas from other ones than Ferguson and make up his own philosophy in terms of how things should/could be done on and off the pitch. The methods applied by Fergie in recent years obviously worked for him, but they won't get United anywhere with somebody else as the Scot is the only one able to pull the strings successfully in such a manner. I think both United and Giggs need to widen their horizon and realise that Ferguson's way isn't the only way to success. After all, United have been in decline since 2009, but the most successful manager British football has ever seen was able to cover up the flaws.
Time will come
If Giggs gets abroad for some years and catches some new inspiration, does the business at lesser club(s) and picks up some trophies, he will be guaranteeed a look from the board when they appoint a United manager in the future. Giggs will obviously never forget the links with United and that works out the other way around as well. Additionally, United won't have a manager for 20+ years again. There will be far more frequent changes in the manager's seat in the future and if Giggs is successful wherever he is, he will be considered and most likely appointed at some point. There is absolutely no need to hurry on this matter, his time will come if he proves his ability.
United aren't Barcelona, Giggs is no Guardiola
Many fans table the Pep story when trying to convince themselves or others that Giggs is the right man. But Barcelona have a clear philosophy of tiqui-taqua, 4-3-3, a deep-lying playmaker and so on throughout the entire club, on all levels. This makes it way easier for players to come through the ranks, and it makes it easier for a manager to take charge of a side on a different level of the pyramid. United don't have that, so the tactics are more suited for the individual sides, the individual games and the individual players, to maximize the performance. This means that taking charge of a side on a different level is way harder, as the first team might be applying other tactics than the U16s, U18s or U21s and so on. This means that being successful at one nevel doesn't warrent a successful spell at another level. (Not that it does at Barcelona either, but it's way more likely as it's easier to adapt.)
Can't afford another gamble
The appointment of David Moyes in the summer was something of a gamble from Manchester United. Ferguson and the board hoped the club would carry Moyes to United's level, but what actually happened was Moyes guiding United to his former club Everton's level. This was always going to be a risk, but the positive history of the Glaswegian winner Ferguson outweighted the negative factors of appointing a hard worker and non-winner Moyes. This decision has ultimately brought United from the top of the table to seventh, and failing with another manager appointment could grow the damages beyond repair. Currently we have a squad able to compete for the most valuable silverware if 3-4 players of top class quality are added, but the decline can't continue for much longer before the world class players we have walk through the exit door. If they do, there will be a much more comprehensive effort needed to get United back on the top of the table. United simply cannot afford such a gamble and must go for a most experienced bloke with a winning mentality and ability to pick up the pieces of the miserable campaign about to finish.
This blog post is applied to HuffPost with permission from TalkoftheDevils.com where it is originally published.