Guardiola should have replaced Fergie - and he's still perfect for United

Interviewing Sir Alex Ferguson is a gently terrifying experience. The disdain shown for you and the 20 minutes that must be endured in a small conference room at Carrington is written all over his face. The fact his hair hasn’t even been combed isn’t a particularly encouraging sign.

So it’s not a huge surprise if an informal chat Ferguson holds prior to the interview with another person present, a friendly face without a list of questions, proves rather more illuminating. Prior to a sit-down with Ferguson in December 2012, the then Manchester United manager spoke warmly of Pep Guardiola, then undergoing a sabbatical.

Ferguson was clearly impressed that Guardiola, who met with the Scot in New York during his season away from the game, had agreed to attend a summit meeting held by the League Managers’ Association at St George’s Park in Burton. It was a warm appraisal of a man Ferguson clearly held in high esteem.

But when the cameras started rolling, Ferguson was deeply entrenched in safety mode, batting away a general question about the number of clubs positioning to recruit Guardiola with the curt reply: “I spoke to Pep a little while ago and he said that he has no interest in getting back into management at the moment.”

Still, Ferguson did open up slightly when given the chance to explain what lay behind the allure of a coach who won 14 trophies in four seasons as Barcelona boss. “His record is fantastic,” Ferguson said. “The trophies he won at Barcelona were quite exceptional and that is his CV, he wins trophies.

“Barcelona have always had that style and played attractive football. He increased that by putting a new work ethic into the players in terms of their work rate. They work extremely hard to get the ball back and if you combine that with their possession it makes a fantastic team.”

It was hard not to come to the conclusion that, when Ferguson did ever choose to leave United, Guardiola – a coach who dealt in style and success – would be his chosen successor. Five months later he did announce his retirement, but the chosen one was David Moyes, a manager without a track record in either, and without a single trophy on his CV. The absolute antithesis of Guardiola.

There has been plenty of conjecture over how United got to this point; whether Guardiola always had his sights set on Bayern or whether Ferguson genuinely wanted Moyes. But it is clear either way that Ferguson held Guardiola in the highest of esteem. And looking back, it is to United's great discredit that they did not appoint the Catalan.

Spanish journalist Diego Torres describes the repercussions of United's appointment in his masterful depiction of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Real Madrid. Recounting the moment Mourinho was heard to “sob loudly” that he hadn’t landed the United job – “when he knew that Ferguson had chosen Moyes, the Everton coach, he was struck by a terrible disbelief. Moyes hadn't won absolutely anything!" – Torres goes on to explain why Mourinho was discounted by the United board.

"Mendes had already been told in the autumn of 2012 that Ferguson's first option was Pep Guardiola,” Torres writes. “He had been explained the reasons. In Gestifute (agent Jorge Mendes' company), the message from a United executive rumbled like a drum: 'The problem is that when things don't work for Mou, he doesn't do club politics. He does José politics.'"

The quote carried an echo of Sir Bobby Charlton’s famous interview, also given in December 2012, when he said of Mourinho’s eye-gouge on then Barcelona assistant boss Tito Vilanova: "A United manager wouldn't do that. Mourinho is a really good coach but that's as far as I would go really.” Chalrton, a United director, also said Mourinho “pontificates too much for my liking.”

The poverty of United’s performances since Ferguson’s departure means the board may well have lowered their moral standards. But Charlton’s analysis only looks more relevant today, with Mourinho departing Chelsea in borderline disgrace having waged war against his own players and his own team doctor amongst a supporting cast of other agitators this season. United would be advised to bear this in mind.

Another important argument arraigned against Mourinho as a potential next appointment, should Van Gaal be jettisoned, is the demand, instilled over decades of Ferguson’s management, for attacking, proactive football. Clever, forward-thinking strategies are not part of his arsenal. At his core, Mourinho is still a manager who seeks comfort in shutting games down, not opening them up. The football wouldn’t be as clueless as under Moyes or as stupefying as under Van Gaal, but neither would it really satisfy the “attack, attack, attack” elements of United's support, who as purists and idealists would expect more than going to Arsenal or Liverpool and spoiling the game, as Mourinho has done in successive seasons.

With his very public statement on Saturday designed to tell the world that he has no intention of taking time out of the game, Mourinho may well have been letting United know that he is raring to go. But Guardiola was the best choice for United three years ago, and he remains the best choice now. United have bungled both appointments since Ferguson’s retirement but now they have a second shot at Guardiola, they cannot let it slip. The Catalan has the status, the trophies and the style. He is the complete package, satisfying all of United's demands.

Most importantly, if he does come to the Premier League to manage another team this summer, there will not be a third chance for United to land the man who so enamoured Ferguson, and should have succeeded him.