A once-in-a-career job with a king-sized brief ... win the first league trophy since Fergie. Only the best need bother applying

IN the 12 full seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have failed to win a Premier League title.

- ANDY DUNN

That can happen to great English football clubs.

After winning the old Division One in 1989-90, Liverpool won their first Premier League title in 2019-20.

Twenty-one full seasons have passed since Arsenal won their last Premier League title.

Success is no club's birthright.

The game in this country has always been cyclical.

Since Ferguson called it a day, Manchester United's average finishing position in the Premier League table has been between fifth and sixth.

In that time, they have won the FA Cup twice, the EFL Cup twice and the UEFA Europa League.

For an institution of Manchester United's grandeur, not great. But it has hardly been a descent into desperate obscurity.

As always happens, their relative struggle has been in the context of rival clubs finding new strength, normally through fabulous investment.

Chelsea, champions in two of the post-Ferguson seasons, had the huge financial backing of Roman Abramovich, while Manchester City - seven-times winners in that period - have been owned, essentially, by one of the world's richest states.