Scot David Moyes confirmed as new Manchester United manager

Ferguson, 71, stepped down as manager of the Manchester club yesterday after 27 years in charge.

Moyes, 50, has signed a six-year-contract with the Old Trafford outfit and will join officially on July 1 after completing the season with Everton.

His first official game will be the Community Shield against either Manchester City or Wigan at Wembley on August 11.

Moyes said: "It's a great honour to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United.

"I am delighted that Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I have great respect for everything he has done and for the football club.

"I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn't something that comes around very often and I'm really looking forward to taking up the post next season."

With Moyes committed to concluding the season at Everton, he will not be introduced as United manager until after the campaign is over.

"I have had a terrific job at Everton, with a tremendous chairman and board of directors and a great set of players," he added.

"Between now and the end of the season, I will do everything in my power to make sure we finish as high as possible in the table.

"Everton's fantastic fans have played a big part in making my years at Goodison so enjoyable and I thank them wholeheartedly for the support they have given me and the players.

"Everton will be close to me for the rest of my life."

Having decided to end his near 27-year stint at United this summer, Ferguson quickly came to the conclusion his fellow countryman would be the right man to follow.

"When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes, we unanimously agreed on David Moyes," said Ferguson.

"David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic.

"I've admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of assistant manager here.

"He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton.

"There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club."

The enormous length of Moyes' contract offers an insight into why United did not wish to appoint Jose Mourinho.

For the Red Devils hierarchy clearly view the appointment as more than that of just a manager, and see Moyes as someone who will embed himself in the traditions of the club.

"I have always said that we wanted the next manager to be a genuine Manchester United man," said Sir Bobby Charlton.

"In David Moyes, we have someone who understands the things that make this such a special club.

"We have secured a man who is committed to the long-term and will build teams for the future as well as now. Stability breeds success.

"David has tremendous strength of character and recognises the importance of bringing young players through and developing them alongside world class talent.

"At United, I think David will be able to express himself.

"I am delighted he has accepted and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Moyes will get his first taste of what a global club United are in July, when he heads to Thailand, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong on their summer tour.

Before that he will sit down with new chief executive Ed Woodward to discuss future plans.

"The search for a new manager has been very short," said co-chairman Avie Glazer.

"Alex was very clear with his recommendation and we are delighted that David has agreed to accept the job.

"He comes to us with excellent credentials and a strong track record.

"I know he is keen to get started and Ed will be sitting down with him as soon as the season is over to discuss plans for the summer and beyond."

Fellow co-chairman Joel Glazer added: "I am very pleased David has agreed to lead Manchester United into the future.

"His hard-working style and steely determination are characteristics we value.

"He has impressed as a coach for many years now and we strongly believe he will be able to take up from where Alex is leaving off by continuing this club's tradition of flair football played by exciting, world-class players."

With long-serving chief executive David Gill also leaving in the summer, it means a massive change at Old Trafford.

But Woodward is confident the enormous success Ferguson has brought to United will continue.

"In David Moyes, we have secured the services of an outstanding manager who has all the skills to build on the phenomenal legacy in place today," he said.

"I have no doubt that he will bring an energy and commitment to deliver winning football that is part of the fabric of this club.

"In this respect, he is cut from the same cloth as the Old Trafford greats who go before him.

"I have been very impressed by David's personal and managerial traits, which reflect the Manchester United values.

"I have no doubt that he will embrace, and soon become an integral part of, United's unique culture and heritage."

According to Kevin Kilbane, one of the few people to have both played alongside and under David Moyes, there is nobody better to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

Kevin Kilbane may have gone on to play at a World Cup with the Republic of Ireland but his footballing career began at the far more humble surroundings of Deepdale with Preston.

Kilbane spent his formative years there as a team-mate of Moyes, who would later sign him as Everton manager.

"I am delighted, thoroughly delighted," he said.

"I have played under him and played alongside him at Preston as well.

"He is a former team-mate and manager and I've got to say I am absolutely delighted. I think he is a top manager.

"I've thought about it a lot and I don't think there is any manager that would be more fitting to go in there and work with the club, having Sir Alex Ferguson above him.

"I am sure he will seek his advice along the way and there are not too many managers that will be too forthcoming in going and knocking on Sir Alex Ferguson's door. David Moyes would do that.

"He is a strong character in his own right and what he has done at Everton has been a huge achievement.

"He would work with Sir Alex Ferguson as well and I think it is a perfect fit for the club."

The former Everton boss has not won a hoard of trophies during his managerial career but Kilbane thinks that success needs to be measured in context.

"What he has done at Everton has been truly magnificent," he said.

"He has been there over 10 years now, he has built a club that has been consistently challenging for European places, certainly over the last four or five years.

"He has produced a top side time and time again on a limited budget. I think everybody recognises that the job he has done is fantastic.

"He will be working with a different calibre of players, different stature of club, but he has progressed in his career certainly from starting out at Preston and onto Everton.

"This is a huge step for him but I am sure he is going to relish it."

David Moyes had the chance to become Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United 15 years ago but missed out - he believes because his fellow Glaswegian found him "too intense".

Steve McClaren got the job instead, a decision Moyes says he was "fine with" as he was enjoying his first managerial job at Preston.

Perhaps had Ferguson worried that Moyes was almost too similar, too much a chip off the same block?

"When I went to speak to him about becoming his assistant years ago he thought me a little too intense," Moyes said last year.

"But I remember sitting on the bench at Celtic and watching him at Aberdeen with his veins bulging out of his neck!"

Certainly, Ferguson kept tabs on the up-and-coming North End manager and soon became a keen fan of a man who achieved remarkable success on extremely limited resources at Everton.

There was also little point in denying they were cast from the same mould.

Born in Glasgow, and like Ferguson earning a living as a moderate professional footballer rather than a star name, Moyes realised early on that his forte was going to be in management.

At the age of 22 he was already taking coaching courses in preparation for the day when he would hang up his boots.

Having been influenced by John Beck, he also foresaw the move to a more scientific approach to management.

Moyes and Ferguson both had less than successful spells at the Old Firm clubs - Moyes at Celtic, Ferguson at Rangers.

Both had spells at Dunfermline but while Ferguson spent his playing career in Scotland, Moyes headed south of the border.

He played for Cambridge, Bristol City and Shrewsbury, before returning to Scotland - Dunfermline and Hamilton Academicals - and then finally settling down in Preston where he ended his career as player-manager.

His first full season saw Preston reach the Division Two play-offs, and in his second North End won the title, and a year after that were in the Division One play-off final.

That swift transformation caught the eye of Everton, and it was to Moyes the Merseysiders turned in March 2002 after Walter Smith was sacked.

It was at Goodison Park this heir apparent to Ferguson really caught the eye - and increasingly to resemble his mentor at Old Trafford.

His often ferocious demeanour, his inability to suffer fools gladly, his talent spotting and his ability to prise the best out of his players, whatever their natural gifts, marked him down long ago as a potential successor.

He embraced the use of footballing data - he now uses three analysts not only to report on the detailed performances of his own players, but on the opposition: where the key players gain possession of the ball most often, where to station defenders to stem the flow.

His first full season saw Everton finish seventh, a remarkable achievement that earned him the first of three League Managers' Association manager-of-the-year awards.

Moyes also showed he had bravery - it was he who decided to unleash a 16-year-old Wayne Rooney on to the Premier League.

It was also Moyes who showed that Everton could survive and even flourish without their star player - for the first season without Rooney, 2004-5, was the one they finished highest: fourth place and another LMA award for Moyes.

In 2009, Everton were beaten FA Cup finalists - having beaten United in the semi-final - finished fifth in the league to secure a fourth European qualification in five seasons and Moyes picked up a third manager-of-the-year award.

To many it seemed just a question of when rather than if that those piercing blue eyes would be occupying the manager's dug-out at Old Trafford.

Now that time has finally come.

Meanwhile, England boss Roy Hodgson claims it will be "a Godsend" for David Moyes to be able to call on Sir Alex Ferguson for advice after he was today confirmed as the new Manchester United manager.

Moyes, 50, has been given a six-year contract at Old Trafford while Ferguson will remain at the club as a director and ambassador.

Hodgson believes that will prove a help rather than a hindrance to Moyes.

He told talkSPORT: "I'm sure that being available for the new man he will be a Godsend in that respect because there is nothing he doesn't know about football and Manchester United.

"The amount of time he has given to younger managers in terms of advice and support, and the support he has given to the LMA (League Managers' Association) to protect those managers, you don't expect that from someone at the very top of his profession."

Hodgson also paid tribute to Ferguson and insisted that too much has been made of his qualities as a strict disciplinarian.

He added: "For me it's also his human qualities and I think those two are linked together, you don't become that successful and have such great relationships and build such good teams if you are just a so-called disciplinarian and hard worker.

"You also have to have a lot of human qualities so that people can relate to you and warm to you and I think Alex has that quality in abundance.

"I think that his enthusiasm and his energy are as great as ever and I am certain that won't diminish.

"His footballing qualities and everything he has achieved are never going to be equalled. The epithet 'the greatest' is very well deserved."

Former United defender Henning Berg also believes Moyes is the perfect candidate to take on the enormous task of replacing Ferguson.

The Norwegian is an admirer of the way Moyes has gone about his business during an 11-year stay at Goodison Park and believes he could even bring some playing talent with him.

England left-back Leighton Baines has been strongly linked with the Red Devils before and Marouane Fellaini is known to covet a move to a title-chasing side.

"David Moyes is a very good choice," said Berg. "He's very similar to Ferguson as a manager.

"He's shown at Everton what he can do with limited resources and he will look to lead the club in the same way.

"Of course he might want to bring one or two (Everton) players with him but I don't think there will be too many changes.

"Most things are working at United at the moment so it's a smooth transition."

Brighton boss Gus Poyet, whose side are in the npower Championship play-offs, believes Ferguson will cast a long shadow for years to come.

"After Alex Ferguson, football in England is going to be different because of the personality, the power, the leadership and everything he has done in football," the Uruguayan said at a press conference.

"I am sure the Premier League next year is going to be totally different. Something is going to be missing.

"You cannot copy, you cannot get another Alex Ferguson. There is only one."

One player who will end up as a footnote in the Ferguson era is Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. He will join the Red Devils in the summer and will go down as Ferguson's final signing.

His Palace boss Ian Holloway said: "It's the end of an era. A fantastic, great man who will bow out at the top. The best manager in my lifetime has suddenly stopped.

"I feel sad for Wilf as well as I'm sure he wanted one or two seasons with him.

"I had a chat with Wilf and I'm sure when it all settles down they will be in touch. He goes down as Sir Alex's last ever signing - it's not a bad one."

Moyes managerial analysis

Character

Like Ferguson, Moyes is a tough-as-teak Scot schooled on the streets of Glasgow. His healthy relationship with Ferguson will have helped his cause, but he has forged a reputation as a hard taskmaster himself and is known not to suffer fools or relent on what he wants.

He may not have as big a reputation for combustion as Ferguson, but he is more than capable of standing his ground and is clearly a man of principle and honour. He has been with Everton for over a decade, putting him third in the list of the Premier League's longest-serving managers.

Moyes has remained loyal to Everton throughout and would only be leaving at the end of his contract. At United, his head would surely never be turned.

Champions League

The pinnacle of club football these days, Ferguson has won it twice and lost another final. Moyes has made little impact on European competition. In 2005 Everton qualified for the Champions League but were beaten by Villarreal in qualifying and were then thumped by Dinamo Bucharest when trying to downgrade to the UEFA Cup.

With so many league titles to their name, the Champions League is a higher priority at United than it may be at other clubs, and Moyes has no experience of pitting his wits against the likes of Pep Guardiola and Klopp. That does not mean he is not up to it, though, and time may well prove that he is.

Transfer record

For all the justified praise of Ferguson's transfer dealings, there have been some bad ones. Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and William Prunier spring to mind.

Moyes has a similar record to Ferguson, with a largely successful record with the odd rogue player thrown in, with Moyes' work perhaps more admirable owing to the constraints he has worked under.

His capture of Tim Cahill for £2million and the Australian's rise into one of the Premier League's all-time great goalscoring midfielders rates highly, as does his shrewd acquisition of Manchester United outcast Tim Howard.

He smartly invested in Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka too, meaning the not-so-good buys - the likes of Andy van der Meydes and Nuno Valentes - during his reign can be quickly skipped over.

Finals

While few would argue Moyes has worked wonders on slim budgets, a scant return of one final in 11 years is not a glittering statistic. Everton reached the 2009 FA Cup final and were beaten by Chelsea. But for a defensive switch-off against Liverpool in 2012 they would have reached the final again. Just the one showpiece is the bottom line, though, with Moyes trading largely on respect for the stable and efficient job he has done at Goodison Park.

Alex Ferguson: from humble beginning to the greatest of all time

Knox: 'With Alex, you had to be a winner. Simple as that."

Sir Alex Ferguson: Caledonian cocktail that defines a great genius of world football

Fergie Time not always a factor that's important

Sbragia: Why did I leave the best club in Europe?