The Best and Worst Quotations of the Post-Sir Alex Ferguson Era

Manchester United's greatest-ever manager had quite a way with words. Think of how he described a young Ryan Giggs: "I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind."

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Sir Alex Ferguson was, basically, a poet. He coined the phrase "born offside" to describe Filippo Inzaghi's playing style. Both of those quotes are per a list of his greatest hits in the Guardian, and the entire thing is well worth a read.

Since he left, some very memorable things have been said by the people who have tried in vain to replace him. They have, it is fair to say, not always ascended to the level of poetry. Let's take a look back on the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal eras through the medium of quotations.

It took until December in his sole season in charge of the Red Devils for Moyes to have his first "did he really just say that?" moment. It came ahead of the visit of Newcastle United to Old Trafford. The Toon were flying high at the time, managed by Alan Pardew and on the back of a four-game winning streak.

But what Moyes said was still shocking. Even now, three years later, it is hard to conscience that he actually thought it was a reasonable thing to say as manager of United.

He said, per Ed Osmond of Reuters: "Four straight wins is a great record to get... but obviously they are coming to Old Trafford and we are going to make it as hard for them as we possibly can."

Manchester United, the champions of England at the time, were aiming to "make it as hard for" Newcastle as they possibly could. Now, in Moyes' defence, Newcastle were on a good run. However, that defence does not stack up too well against the fact that the Geordies had not won a game at Old Trafford since 1972. That, for those keeping score, is a very long time ago.

Moyes' men, suitably inspired by their bombastic leader, did an admirable job, keeping Newcastle's winning margin to a single goal. The record that had stood since 1972 ended in a cloud of defeatism.

Nothing says "Moyes era" better than that defeatism. His other two greatest hits came before and after home games against the club's most loathed rivals.

In March 2014, as title-challenging Liverpool were preparing to head to Old Trafford, Moyes said, per Mike Collett of Reuters: "Their league position suggests they are ahead of us and they possibly do come here as favourites. Liverpool are having a very good season and we will have to do everything we possibly can to beat them."

Honestly. When he took the job, did no one sit him down, hand him a manual and say "oh, by the way Davey, whatever you do, don't say Liverpool are favourites against us?"

Apparently not.

And things went swiftly from bad to worse. Liverpool hammered United 3-0 and then a couple of weeks later Manchester City rocked up at Old Trafford and did the same. After which Moyes described them as being "at the sort of level we are aspiring to," per ESPN.

"

Wonder if moyes in his interviews for Sunderland will say "we aspire to be like city" , to this day I can't forgive him for that comment !

— Kev (@kevazza2804) August 21, 2016"

He had said Liverpool were favourites and suggested Manchester City were aspirational to United. No wonder he did not last much longer. 

Of course, perhaps the most telling quote about the Moyes era came not from the man himself but from Fulham central defender Dan Burn.

After the infamous 2-2 draw in February 2014 in which Moyes' side had sent 81 crosses into the Cottagers' box at Old Trafford, Burns said, per the BBC, that he had "never headed that many balls since the Conference." Damning.

While the football may not have been much more entertaining, things took a turn for the more engaging off the pitch when Van Gaal replaced Moyes.

His great gift was sometimes in the delivery rather than the words themselves.

Take, for example, a triumph of public speaking that was his first end-of-season awards speech. After the campaign had ended on a relatively optimistic note, he took to the stage and gave a long impassioned speech on the season and his hopes for the future.

The full transcript, per Sky Sports, is worth reading. But its most memorable moment came after the serious business of football chat had ended. Van Gaal came back on the stage and called for quiet, shouting "pay attention to the manager!":

"

Ryan Giggs said to me, and he is always right but in this case particularly right. I have said to you, you are the best fans in the world, but tonight I was a little bit disappointed and I shall say why.

I have seen a lady who plays the saxophone fantastically. Give her big applause!

"

No one who saw it will ever forget it.

Then there was the pre-match press conference ahead of the Liverpool game in September 2015 when Van Gaal gave an impression of the fans singing his chant. "The fans are shouting every week, 'Louis van Gaal's Army! Louis van Gaal's Army!'." It was a lovely moment.

Unfortunately he added, "so also the fans are very satisfied with Louis van Gaal," proving he really did not understand the difference between support and satisfaction.

By December 2015, the pressure was starting to tell. Van Gaal, fed up with the coverage he was receiving in the press, gave a cursory pre-match press conference ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Stoke City. He made it clear he was only there because of the "Premier League rules," per Martyn Herman of Reuters, spoke for around five minutes and then left.

However, it was Christmas time and he did not leave on an entirely sour note. He ended the event by saying, "I only say now that I'm focussed on Stoke City, I help my players, I wish you a Merry Christmas and maybe a Happy New Year when I see you, enjoy the wine and maybe a mince pie, goodbye."

Van Gaal could be accused of many things but not taking his duties as a host seriously is not one of them.

Sadly, the story of his United career is neatly encapsulated by the difference between the tone he struck upon his arrival to his later, almost Moyesian levels of defeatism.

In his first press conference he said, per Manchester Evening News:

"

There's a lot of expectation but it's also a great challenge because of that. Therefore, I have chosen this club. I worked for Barcelona—in my opinion, number one in Spain. I've coached Ajax—number one in the Netherlands, and I've coached Bayern Munich—number one in Germany. Now I'm in Manchester United—number one in England.

"

By May 2016, when he was on the verge of a Wembley final and close to the end of his time in charge he said, per Sky Sports: "Expectations are too high."

He was wrong about that. His problem was he never really understood the culture of the club. Fans want success, but the style of play really does matter, and ultimately that was what did for his time at Old Trafford.

A new era is up and running. Jose Mourinho is yet to hit Sir Alex's heights of oratory, but if his history is any guide, it is likely he will have said a few memorable things by the time he leaves the club.