Manchester United have post-Sir Alex Ferguson plan, says David Gill

Manchester United chief executive David Gill (right) with Seattle Sounders owner Joe Roth pose before the pre-season friendly between their clubs. Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images

David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive, has acknowledged he will always be unpopular with some supporters – the "anti-people", as he describes them – but he has spoken of his belief that the Glazer family have now won over the majority of the club's fans.

Gill, describing the Glazers as "genuinely long-term owners", reiterated the point by revealing that he and the American owners already have a strategy in place for when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. He said: "What we're trying to do is make sure we get the quality of team and the correct age profile so the new manager coming in, whoever that might be, has the nucleus of a world-class team."

Gill expects the Glazers to still be in control when Ferguson ends his long association with the club, but he was candid enough to accept that his comments would go down badly among the fans who were involved in the green-and-gold protest movement.

"We are never going to win [over] those people," he said. "If we won four European Cups in a row, there will be certain people who won't like the owners and what they stand for. The anti-people were here before the Glazers. But we are running the club for the vast majority of millions of fans around the world who believe the club is moving in the right direction.

"The minority – Must [Manchester United Supporters' Trust] etc – will always be against it, but the vast majority can't be dissatisfied with the seasons we've had [under the Glazers]."

The campaign against the Glazers has become less visible, in Gill's words, "once the Red Knights went away," referring to the consortium of businessmen who embarked on a failed bid to buy the club. "The green-and-gold campaign has not disappeared completely, but it has died down dramatically during the past season and we move on," he said.

Gill, speaking on the club's pre-season tour of the United States, dismissed the allegation that the Glazers, with an average net spend of ?2.5m in their first six seasons, had not backed Ferguson sufficiently in the transfer market, citing the arrival of Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones for a combined ?50m this summer. "One thing the owners have never shied away from is supporting Alex in terms of investment."

Similarly, he rejected the argument that the Florida-based businessmen had unfairly hiked ticket prices. "They are sensible prices to watch top-class entertainment and players worth millions on view. Other clubs have clearly raised their prices more than us," he said.

Gill has been singled out for particular criticism because of the way he fought against the Glazer takeover in 2005, once infamously saying that "debt was the road to ruin", before siding with the new owners and turning against the supporters' groups he had previously backed. "You say I did a volte-face, but we are going back many years now," he said. "Directors and chief executives aren't often liked, but I am trying to look after the employers and the fans, and there will always be an element among the fans who don't like you."

At times the anger has manifested itself in something more sinister, with graffiti appearing on his house and several incidents that have led to increased security. "It has calmed down now. It would be naive to say you don't want it to happen, not necessarily for yourself but because of your young children, but you just move on. I have never sought a profile; I just try to do my best for the club."

His son, Oliver, was booed when he was named as a substitute for one match, and has recently turned down the offer of a contract with the club to go to university. Gill, however, says it is unrelated. "He did take some stick, but he is quite a strong character. I don't think he ever thought like that."

Going into a season during which Ferguson will turn 70 and mark his 25th anniversary at the club, Gill talked about himself and the Glazers planning ahead to when the most successful manager in the business retires. "There won't be meltdown. It will clearly be a sea change for the club and we have to be ready."

He will be in charge of appointing the successor, although Ferguson will also be heavily involved. "I will co-ordinate the process, but, clearly, I will take great store in what he [Ferguson] says and what other key people at the club say. The owners will clearly have a view. All these things will come together. It would be a collective body, not a big body, but we would get all the input to make sure we make the appropriate choice."

There was no one in mind yet, he added, and he was unclear when Ferguson would stand down. "We never discuss it, put it that way. He delegates well and football keeps him young."

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Playing the coach in front of your peers deserves a badge of courage | David James

David James, top right, trains with fellow goalkeepers Robert Green, front, and Joe Hart while on England duty. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Fifa via Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion may sound an unlikely place for a footballer to spend their summer holiday, but, along with my old Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler and around two dozen others from the football fraternity, that is exactly where I passed a happy fortnight this year. We weren't on a footballers' jolly, we were there to gain our Level B coaching badges.

I have to admit I was a bit anxious about the whole thing beforehand. On a two-week residential course, I am prone to cabin fever; I'm not the best at getting on with people over a long period of time. So on the first day, when we were told by one of the coaches: "You will make friends for life here," I remember thinking: "Yeah, right." Robbie Fowler is about as close as I get to a friend for life – having known him for so many years – and I hardly ever speak to him.

But I soon discovered a really nice bunch of lads (I mean "men", I have vowed to stop using the term "lads" when I really mean grown-ups) representing a diverse range of ages and football experiences. One thing in particular that really impressed me was how those on the course were not there to get paid and continue the "football lifestyle", they were genuinely interested in coaching.

Together we ended up learning a lot. While in the past the emphasis has been on fast-tracking players through the badges with an over-reliance on the misconception that experienced players make accomplished managers, this year, the FA have launched a new and more in-depth course to try to give would-be coaches and managers a better grounding in the job.

At first, myself and a few others were rather sceptical of this new structure; there was a fair bit of moaning on hearing that, in other parts of the British Isles, the exact same qualification would take considerably less time to complete. My former Manchester City team-mate Antoine Sibierski was one of those on the shorter course and I made sure we kept in touch via text to compare how he was getting on. But, in the end, I have to admit the new course makes a lot of sense. It wasn't rushed, so what we learned really sank in. We got to experience coaching situations, rather than just read about them in a textbook with the aim of passing an exam.

Football culture has long assumed players already have the tools to be managers. With that kind of attitude, it is easy to see how English managers of the past might have gone through the old system believing they already know everything, with the qualification itself viewed as a mere formality. I'll admit that I have spent much of the past 10-15 years in goal watching training sessions and thinking I could put on something much better myself. I must have spent hours moaning to colleagues about how things could be improved. But when it comes down to doing it yourself, it is a very different story.

For the uninitiated, putting on a 25?minute coaching session is a nerve-racking experience. I genuinely felt anxious going up in front of my peers and telling a bunch of outfield players what to do. Some may argue this is exactly the sort of thing new managers learn on the job, but if you walk into a dressing room and lose their respect on the first day, I know – as a player – that it is very difficult to turn that situation around.

Of course, economics has to come into it. If you're a current player doing your badges you can afford the course fees, you can afford to take your time over things, but the situation is less straightforward for someone out of work, who just needs a wage to pay the bills. With the economic climate as it is, and English managers seemingly unfashionable to employ, competition for managerial places is ridiculously high. We were told that for a recently advertised lower league position there were more than 50 applicants. That in itself makes you realise why some might be in a rush to get straight on the career ladder. But if former England managers such as Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson are plying their trade outside the Premier League, what realistic hope is there for the rest of us – unless we really up our game?

In addition, rumours abound that the employment process in football continues to operate far too informally – jobs for the boys and all that. Hopefully, the FA's new emphasis on quality will greatly improve the standard of managerial candidates coming through in English football, but I can't help thinking these qualifications should come with a grading. As it stands, you can either pass or fail your badges. But if candidates were graded on the strength of their performances, managerial appointments might be based on quality, rather than who you are mates with.

David James has donated his fee for this column to charity

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