The culture at Manchester United was reset by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - to the 1970s or 80s. United strayed close to six years without any use for silver polish in 1974 and were relegated. That trophy drought extended to nine years but United's rebirth began with relegation.
Supporters of a certain vintage cherish the 1974-75 season in Division Two following Doc's Red Army as United steamrollered to promotion, the upward trajectory continuing with a third-place finish back in the top tier and an FA Cup final against Southampton.
But for an errant linesman, United's return to the upper echelons might have been crowned with a first trophy since the European Cup in 1968. Manager Tommy Docherty vowed United would be back at Wembley the next year to win it and they did, kiboshing Liverpool's Treble hopes.
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Remarkably, United's transition under Docherty was so gradual that 10 of the starters in the numbing defeat to City in April '74 lined up at Leyton Orient on the opening day four months later. Stuart Pearson was the sole summer signing and inclusion in Docherty's team at Brisbane Road.
Squads are so deep now the elite clubs are capable of fielding three recognised XIs and the player turnover at United this summer could be the biggest since 2014. The contracts of five experienced players are scheduled to be shredded on July 1 and the list of wantaways has broken double figures.
That is the Glazers' legacy. The family is so removed the nearest Joel Glazer has got to Old Trafford in the last three years is to send Tom Brady as his delegate. Richard Arnold has been very visible since Ed Woodward fell on his sword and the new United chief executive is communicating with supporters on the fans' advisory board confidentially.
There were a cast of thousands on the recent investors' call but actions speak louder than words. With no plinth required in the museum for a fifth consecutive season, United are under mounting pressure to quickly conclude the process to identify their next manager.
It is not dissimilar to pre-production on a film when the producers and director have to settle on their star before casting around them. United's next manager will dictate the futures of a number of players, even if the majority of decisions should already have been taken.
John Murtough and Darren Fletcher should not seek Erik ten Hag's permission to sanction sales of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Anthony Martial. Mauricio Pochettino coveted Martial at Tottenham and if he were to achieve his aspiration of managing United maybe Martial would be reprieved.
It would have to be a compelling case. Martial is 26, out of contract in two years, has had two good seasons out of seven and his attitude is the antithesis of what United need from their new order. "'When he (Ralf Rangnick) arrived, my objective was to leave," he said this week.
If United are to place an emphasis on evolution rather than revolution then Ten Hag would be the more compliant choice. Ten Hag has restored Ajax to their perch in the Netherlands, assembling two vibrant teams either side of the sales of Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong in 2019 without gaining a chequebook reputation. Pochettino was prone to truculent soundbites over recruitment at Tottenham ("I am not in charge and I know nothing about the situation of my players.").
Ten Hag stirred the sleeping giant in the comeback season of 2018-19 when Ajax ended their five-year title drought and reached the last four of the Champions League. Ten Hag's development of young players is an obvious attraction, as is longevity - he has been in post for nearly four-and-a-half years at Ajax.
Yet Ten Hag is not the most qualified coach to oversee United's biggest squad rebuild in eight years. Since the anomalous campaign when they were a Lucas Moura shot away from reaching the final, Ajax have exited the Champions League at the group stage two years running and to Benfica in the last 16.
Focal points in Ten Hag's teams are Premier League rejects Dusan Tadic, Sebastien Haller and Steven Berghuis. The Eredivisie is a flat-track bully league for veterans and a halfway house for precocious players. Playing-wise, Memphis Depay and Donny van de Beek headed in the opposite direction and were duds at United. De Ligt has had a galling few years with Juventus.
The wage bill at Ajax is €95m. At United, it is £284m. Haller is Ajax's record signing at £20.2m. Paul Pogba was a world record arrival at £89m in 2016. Ajax seem devoid of unmanageable egos. United are teeming with them.
Character is as vital as coaching. Ten Hag cannot prepare himself for the intense scrutiny at United because it is unlike any other sporting institution on the planet. He enjoys relative serenity by the River Amster, where Ajax stay in their cycling lane and inquests are submitted in May. At United, it is every month.
“At a certain point we give [players] freedom to go," Edwin van der Sar told The Sunday Times three years ago. Van der Sar could give Ten Hag pointers, though he had the luxury of playing behind Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic for almost all of his six years in Manchester.
Murtough was his usual affable self at Old Trafford last week, pressing the flesh and referring to reporters by name ahead of the FA Youth Cup semi-final win over Wolves. Only three days earlier he watched from the directors' box as United were thumped 4-1 at City for the third time this century.
The post-mortems were bloody, though it is typical of Murtough to remain upbeat and the Youth Cup has offered United respite. Murtough jointly ran the academy on an interim basis in 2015-16 and his enthusiasm at the defeat of Chelsea in December 2018, one of Kieran McKenna's lasting legacies, was contagious.
"Brilliant," Murtough said, motioning to McKenna at Leigh Sports Village. Brandon Williams, James Garner and Teden Mengi, all nurtured by McKenna, were in the squad that evening and the technical director Darren Fletcher indicated the trio would be involved in pre-season. Ethan Laird is another potential academy project for Ten Hag.
One guarantee with Ten Hag is an identity. United had that with Docherty, too.
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