Many of Manchester United's current problems are rooted in the Alex Ferguson era
New BBC documentary about the club's greatest manager is an enjoyable watch but it ignores moves made by the Scot that have had serious repercussions
But one swallow doesn't make a summer. Or a season. And this has been a dismal one for United. One where Gary Neville's preseason prediction that they'd finish above Liverpool looks more ludicrous by the week.
United are still languishing in 13th spot, seven points above the drop zone. They would have expected to challenge for the Champions League spots, but they are 13 points adrift of fourth place Chelsea.
Most damning, perhaps, is United's goal difference. The second most expensive squad in world football have a goal difference of -5.
For United, the darkest time in their post-Munich history was relegation from the First Division just over 50 years ago. Birmingham City's win over Norwich on April 27, 1974, ensured they would go down.
We are harking back to that season because they finished with a minus goal difference. That has only happened twice since then - last season and the campaign of 1989/90. On both occasions, they finished with -1, so they are doing worse now.
BBC have put together a new documentary - Sir Alex - which looks at the life and times of United's greatest manager.
Ferguson was undoubtedly massively successful but this film just retreads old ground, piles on the praise, and ignores the black marks against Ferguson's reputation.
Gary Neville is the most vocal of Ferguson's old players who have moved into the media.
Again and again since Ferguson's retirement, Neville has pinned the blame for United's serial failings under different managers at the hands of club owners, the Glazer family, and Ed Woodward, who was effectively their CEO between 2012 and 2022.
But Neville never goes into the weeds and digs out the dirty details of how Woodward and the Glazers came to power.
It all goes back to the row over the ownership of the champion racehorse 'Rock of Gibraltar'. That led to Ferguson and the club's then owners, JP McManus and John Magnier, tearing strips off each other.
Alex Ferguson alongside Rock of Gibraltar with jockey Mick Kinnane PIC: Inpho
Ferguson's claim to the horse was, to be kind, questionable, and, for an avowed socialist, seemed particularly mercenary.
Ultimately, it led to McManus and Magnier selling United to the Glazers, and Woodward was their man.
That, as much as a trophy cabinet heaving with silverware, is part of Ferguson's legacy. That can't be ignored.
We should remember too that the pressure on Ferguson when he took charge in 1986 was immense.
The truth is that, if he got the job these days in similar circumstances, he'd never survive.
No top club would wait until the end of a manager's fourth season for a first trophy, or seven years for a League title.
What Ferguson did from 1993 was extraordinary, building a dynasty and teams that reflected his own force of personality.
History has repeated itself with Ferguson's successors all looking as if they'd shouldered a too heavy burden.
He locks horns with Neville regularly on Sky but, during his playing days at Liverpool, Jamie Carragher made it clear that he'd always admired the way that things are done at Old Trafford.
"I've never hated United. I've always had respect for them. They're a proper club, like us, and they should have respect for us as well,'' he once said.
"United aren't blase or big-headed. At United, there isn't a player who you think: 'God, I fucking hate him.' They're all good lads, aren't they? Hopefully we come across like that. We're clubs from working-class areas."
Carragher respected United's traditions. That can't be said for many of those involved with the club over the past decade - from the boardroom to the pitch.
How different things could have been for United if they'd persuaded Jurgen Klopp to come on board more than a decade ago.
It was the first post-Ferguson season and United lost faith with David Moyes quickly - he was sacked without even a full campaign in charge.
Klopp, then in charge of Borussia Dortmund, was sounded out about coming on board as manager.
He actually ended up meeting Woodward three times.
Eventually, Klopp decided that United and himself just didn't seem like a good fit.
Eckhard Krautzun managed Klopp during his playing days at Mainz and he revealed that it would have been very, very hard for him to do so.
“When it comes to his favourite club, Liverpool weren’t always number one,'' he said.
"It was his dream to go to England one day and his favourite club was Manchester United. That’s what he said.”
Those are the fine margins between success and failure.
Look at the money United have spent in the decade since then. Imagine what Klopp would have done with that budget.
What would have happened to Liverpool if Klopp hadn't come on board?
It was the ultimate Sliding Doors moment in the history of the Premier League.