Queiroz Departs

After the highs of last season, it is amazing how bad our summer has been thus far.

Continued speculation regarding the departure Ronaldo, the loss of Anderson to the Beijing Olympics, not to mention the inherent lack of transfer speculation revolving new faces at Old Trafford. Well, today things got that bit worse with the news that United`s hugely influential assistant Carlos Queiroz has departed the club to take up a role as Scolari`s successor.

Indeed the Gene Hackman lookalike`s move to Stamford Bridge could well affect us more than we may have bargained for - with Ronaldo next on his radar.

Though some may question the importance of an assistant when we have the managerial greatness of Sir Alex, there is no doubting the influence Queiroz has had on our team. After arriving in 2002, Queiroz has helped us to numerous Premier League titles, not to mention an FA Cup, a Carling Cup and of course, last season`s dramatic Champions League triumph. Disregarding his short and somewhat ineffective spell as Real Madrid coach Quieroz has been pivotal both on and off the pitch. Some point to the signings of Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson as proof of Queiroz`s importance, and no one can argue with that.

But alas, he has decided to move Portugal to manage the country of his birth, and honour for any man. We here at Vital United would like to thank Queiroz for all his work in the past 6 years, and would like to wish him all the best for the future, something I am sure no United fan can begrudge the man.

The hunt now starts for his successor, with current technical skills advisor Rene Meulensteen an early favourite with the bookies. One thing for certain is that we must move fast, the season is fast approaching and the current stability and moral of the team must be wading...we need a boost.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.