United face a year in limbo

Sir Alex Ferguson has made his decision

BBC Sport Online's Stuart Roach asks how Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson can hope to work in harmony following the manager's decision to sever all links with the club.

So, Sir Alex Ferguson is to walk away from Manchester United for good exactly one year from now.

What a 12 months that could make for at Old Trafford.

We all knew his all-conquering reign as manager was going to draw to a close when his current contract runs out in 2002.

But he was supposed to be going upstairs. Instead, he will head straight for the door marked exit.

The change of heart has apparently been prompted by an alleged disagreement with the Plc board.

But if relations have become strained to that extent then how can United expect to harness a winning environment next season?

As Sven Goran Eriksson found out at Lazio, once you set a leaving date the air becomes thick with tension

Relations could become strained

Will United's Plc release transfer funds to a manager who no longer has a long-term interest in the future of the club?

By the same token, how could the club justify any player sales to fans?

And how can players in the process of contract negotiations tie up new deals now?

Perhaps, if Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Paul Scholes join Inter Milan in a job lot package deal, then we will know where Ferguson's real future lies.

He has already refused to rule out the prospect of taking another managerial position.

But there is almost certainly no hidden agenda on Ferguson's part.

He wanted to stay with the club, so it can only be assumed the club did not offer him a suitable role to slip into.

Old Trafford harmony

They could surely have come up with something.

Ferguson would have slipped nicely into a seat on the football club board; a scouting position was mentioned as another possible career move.

Had they handed him a broom, he would probably have stayed on just to sweep the floor.

So it seems likely that this decision is not entirely his own.

The harmony within Old Trafford has not always been what it should.

The Plc want a successful team for the good of the club's finances. The fans want a successful team full stop.

The manager stands in the middle, trying to juggle the situation.

But Ferguson no longer wants to stand in the middle and the Plc, apparently, are not comfortable with him standing upstairs while a new man attempts to fill his office shoes.

Ferguson wanted to be in a position to offer advice to the new manager.

But it seems as if the Plc have offered their own advice to the current manager.