Exclusive footage of Moyes accepting the United job

Okay, it's not the actual footage, but I believe it captures the essence of the event.

I had to chuckle when, back in May, the news media lazily repeated United's PR line that the
club's new manager was "cut from the same cloth" as the winner of 34 major trophies. In reality,
Moyes is a draughtsman's son, who was raised in a leafy Glasgow suburb recently ranked the
7th-wealthiest area in Britain. He is a cotton and polyester mix, in stark contrast to Fergie's
course highland tweed.

Recently, while looking at this photo of Moyes's unveiling, the figure of Papa Lazarou - from the
joyfully sinister League of Gentlemen - sprang to mind.

In his 2000 autobiography, Managing My Life, Ferguson's recalls an incident from his teenage
years, when he attacked someone with a snooker ball and made good his escape. For the clientele
of that Govan snooker club, Fergie's Ray Winstone-esque moment taught them what many in the
football world would later accept: that he is the "Daddy".

You're my manager now, Dave

United fans were right to call Moyes the "Chosen One". He has been chosen by Papa Fergie, the
man who has spent more than half a century weaving a web of influence and control, from referees,
managers and agents to politicians and financiers.

What his plans might be, and what it will mean for both United and City, is a subject I'll be returning
to soon.

Click on the photo to watch the clip on YouTube 

Order my new book on City's origins in time for Christmas

Called A Man's Game: The Birth of Mancunian Football and the Origins of Manchester City FC
(Books & Doxey), the 218-page paperback took me three years to research and two more to write.

I'm pleased to say I'm getting very positive feedback so far, and have had three people tell me the book
was hard to put down (though one was my sister). You can read some of the reviews lower down the
home page.

If you purchase it direct from the publisher via the Buy Now button before 14.00GMT your book will
be dispatched that day by 1st Class post. All orders made on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th have been
dispatched by the publisher.

                  Buy direct through the publisher for £9.75 plus £2.75 P&P via the BuyNow button 
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Also available at Amazon.co.uk         Worldwide customers  h                    Amazon.com        or Amazon's Createspace

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                         You can contact me at akeenan(at)manchesterfootballhistory(dot)com.

                                  I'm also on Twitter @mcfchistory and on Facebook here.