6th July 2011
Old Trafford
David Gill walked into the room greeted by a buzz of anticipation from the journalists, who were eager to find out who the new manager of Manchester United would be, taking the reigns from Sir Alex Ferguson, who had announced his resignation just a few hours earlier. As the applause began to die down, Gill took a sip of his water, and began to speak:
'I understand that a few of our fans will be dissappointed at losing, arguably the greatest manager in football history- it looked like he would be with the club forever. Indeed, there were times when I couldn't imagine Manchester United without him. I'm sure many of you felt the same way. Therefore, I say it with a heavy heart that the next manager of this great club, has been planned long in advance by Sir Alex, myself and the rest of the board. Having been the youngest-ever captain in our 1999 treble winning team, forming an exceptional defensive partnership with Jaap Stam, we decided to give the managers job, to club legend: Gabriel Sutton.'
Gabriel walked onto the stage to gasps of surprise from the journalists, who were touting the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Mike Phelan and Roy Keane to take over.
'We felt that Gabriel's ambitions for the club matched our own, and as he is still a young manager, we feel that this is very much a long-term project for the club. In the next few years, a lot of emphasis will be placed on building a team for the future- we have limited finances, meaning also that we can only afford to give him £17 million this summer, but we feel that Gabriel has the credentials to become a top, top manager, and we will look forward to working with him. Gabriel, over to you.'
Thanking David, he took a gulp of water and pointed to the first journalist.
"David Hall, FourFourTwo. Good morning, Gabriel. First of all, congratulations on being appointed, what are your and the board's targets for this season?"
"To win the title. I think that's always the aim for any club with the infrastructure that we have here. It won't be easy, particularly with the spending power teams that Manchester City and Chelsea have- if Arsenal can have more strength in depth they might put a decent title bid in as well. For the Champions League, it will be incredibly difficult- I could name about ten teams that will give us a very difficult game, particularly in the latter stages- I'm hoping to gain a significant lead at the top of the table by the time we get to the latter stages so that we can rotate. Whilst I won't become too concerned about the domestic cups, one of our aims this season is to help get some of our younger players, such as Ben Amos, Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba amongst others some first team football. The Carling and FA Cup, and also games in the Champions League group stage where we can rotate, will definately help us to achieve that."
"Dan Walker, BBC Sport. How involved do you intend to be with the players, personally and in training?"
"I'm looking to be very involved. From my own experience players tend to respond best when they feel part of something special at a club, where people care about the team, and for one another. On the other hand, I won't have any quams getting rid of players who try to exploit that kind of atmosphere. To play for a club as big as this, you need, not only exceptional talent, but also the desire to work hard and be very committed to the cause. My two demands of each player who plays for me, are that they turn up fully prepared for training on time, every day, and that whenever they play, they give the team 100% commitment. If they won't give me that, then they can expect to hold a very brief relationship with me."
"Ian Prior, the Guardian sport. What style of football can we expect to see under the new regime?"
"Well, I've always appreciated teams who play good football- maybe with the exception of Arsenal! So I think we'll try and play some attractive football, possession style with a patient tempo when the opposition are in position, and I like us to play with a bit of pace on the counter attack- particularly when playing away from home. I genuinely don't think that playing good football and winning trophies are mutually exclusive. Who says we can't pass the ball around well and have a sturdy defence? As far as I'm concerned, entertaining football is one of the highest priorities for the club under my leadership- the fans pay the best part of £800 for a season ticket, the very least they deserve is to enjoy watching the game."
"Steve Bartram, Manchester United website editor. What kind of transfer policy are you looking to implement in the window, are there any specific players you have in mind?"
"Because we don't have the financial clout that teams like Chelsea and, certainly Manchester City have, I think we will need to take quite a shrewd approach. I'll mainly be looking to get a few talented youngsters into the club and build for the future. I have to get my transfers right, it's not always easy telling how good a kid can be in five or ten years time- it will be difficult to judge, and I will need to get it right- which is why my scouting team will be heavily utilised. In terms of individual players I'm looking at, I would prefer not to say, I will need to take a lot of time looking at players and judging their potential, before making a definate decision."
"Andy Lyons, When Saturday Comes. What do you say to fans who are slightly dissappointed at your appointment, looking for more experience in management?"
"I think that they're entitled to their opinions. I respect that. The one thing that I would ask of them, is to give me enough time to prove myself. I'm still a young manager, I'm still learning, and I'll make mistakes. I'm not perfect. But I ask that you show support for myself, support for the players and support for the club. We have an incredibly difficult task ahead of us to contain the continous threats posed by Manchester City because of the ridiculous spending power that they have, let alone Chelsea. And the next couple may require us to maybe take one step back in terms of blooding the youngster earlier, but in doing so we can take two or three steps forward in 5 years time. We just need to be patient, but I truly believe that together we can stop Manchester City and continue those traditions of success from where Alex Ferguson left us that this club deserves."
David Gill interjected: "Right, that's the time up, there will be no more question. Thanks everyone for coming, and I think everyone associated with Manchester United can look forward to a new, exciting era in the club's history."
With that, Gabriel left the stage full of excitement and anticipation, waiting to greet his new team.