So Tim Howard reckons that he will be leaving Man Utd in the light of Van der Sar having signed a contract extension. Good.
Howard was the last in a long line of sub-standard keepers that Ferguson brought to Old Trafford. Schmeichel, he most certainly isn't.
We would rarely trade on United (or Everton for that matter) when the American was between the posts. Our view prior to Sunday was that Howard was merely poor but, following his half-hearted attempts to save the last 2 Chelsea goals, we now believe that there were other external influences underpinning the man's lack of a performance.
Howard follows Bosnich, Carroll, Barthez, Ricardo, Taibi etc etc as damning indictments of part of Ferguson's transfer policy. Not only does Sir Alex overpay for players by buying after major competitions (Rooney, Ferdinand, Carrick) but he also misjudges the correct time to sell/ fall out with his players. In addition, the Scot's strategic planning is non-existent. I have lost count of the number of occasions that Man Utd have faced a much more tricky Champions League route through Ferguson's lack of foresight. Wenger, he most certainly isn't.
The Great Man should have retired when he originally intended. The last three seasons have yielded an FA Cup win against Millwall and a League Cup win against Wigan - hardly a valid haul for the self-styled world's biggest team.
This season doesn't promise any improvement. The squad is lop-sided (15 defenders, 8 midfielders and 3 forwards is an original christmas tree formation, I suppose) and there is no strength in depth in key positions. Already the FA Cup is the only realistic trophy for this season. The difference between United and Chelsea was clearly demonstrated by their respective responses to going behind in their games at the weekend. Chelsea moved up a gear/ United couldn't. With away games at Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City to come, a two point advantage is irrelevant. Top teams do not lose to Southend, Copenhagen and West Ham.
So, its a short goodbye to Howard and hopefully an imminent long goodbye to Ferguson.
