A huge banner appeared inside Old Trafford ahead of United's battle against Burnley, and Manchester United fans wished Ferguson his 80th birthday in this way.
When Ferguson celebrates his 80th birthday, United fans may also realize that Ferguson has been retired for nine years and that Manchester United have never returned to the premier league's top club.
12 months ago, United were almost close to that goal, with Manchester United topping the table on New Year's Day 2021. United, however, had a terrible year. By January 2021, United had lost sight of winning the title. They then lost to Villarreal in the Europa League final. After a disastrous autumn, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked by the club.
Ronnick's coaching revived United, with the Reds returning to sixth place just before New Year's Day. Since 1989, United have never been outside the top six on New Year's Day. However, Longnick still has a lot of work to do to help United get back into the title race.
The uncertainty of the winter window
After coaching Manchester United, Lonnick said in his first interview that United's squad was too large. United currently has 32 players in the first team, so Lonnick's first task is to clean the dressing room in the winter window.
Lonnick has already made some decisions, such as Diallo will be on loan, while Erlanga will stay at Manchester United and will get more playing opportunities in the second half.
In the selection of other players, Lonnick faces a more difficult task. The first is Martial, who has publicly stated that he is leaving, and Sevilla has asked for a loan from the French striker, but has been rejected by Manchester United. United want Sevilla to pay Martial's full salary while paying the loan fee.
Jesse Lingard's contract with Manchester United expires in June, but he has refused to leave the squad in the winter window. If there are no surprises, then Jesse Lingard will leave Old Trafford as a free agent in June.
Dean Henderson, who was unable to play at United, also wanted to leave the team in the winter window, but Lonnick wanted to keep him in the squad.
In addition, there are also Mata and Pogba who want to leave Manchester United, the former hoping to leave the team in the winter window. As for Pogba, whose contract expires in the summer, United face a dilemma, either by giving him a high salary or by potentially letting him leave the squad freely in the summer window.
Reinvent team spirit
Even players who will definitely stay in the team face another problem. After the draw with Newcastle, Gary Neville, Sinclair and Abonlajo all criticized Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandez for their attitude towards the game.
This was also endorsed by Longnick, who, after beating Burnley, said: "In team sports, it is important to believe in what you are doing. Against Newcastle, the opponent played well, we played badly, so reacting to what happened on the pitch was a problem. ”
"Will we fight back and prove to the opponent that we are a team that believes in itself? Or shake your head and wave your arms to help your opponents and damage your own team? I think I would make it clear to the players that we should act like a team and not show negative emotions on the pitch. ”
After being beaten by Lonnick, the attitude of United players against Burnley has clearly improved.
Positive
After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's ouster, Carrick and Lonnick conducted eight games, with United unbeaten, the longest unbeaten record since the middle of last season.
Meanwhile, United are just four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal. However, United are already 19 points behind Manchester City, which means their real goal this season will be to get Champions League tickets.
In the battle against Burnley, Ronaldo once again performed well, passing and scoring, and McTominay's performance was also impressive. These are all positives that United have encountered, however, in the last 9 years, such positives have always been subject to great uncertainty.
On New Year's Day 2022, Ferguson will celebrate his 80th birthday and Woodward will relinquish his position as executive vice chairman. In his role, United did not win many trophies. Whoever takes over the post will face enormous challenges.
Given Ronnick's status as interim manager and Ronaldo's age, none of them will really be the answer to United's problems. Whether Lonnick can help Manchester United win the title this season, and whether the next Manchester United manager can really get the Red Devils back to their place, are all questions.