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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Paul Scholes has revealed David Gill's departure cost Manchester United just as much as the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.

What did he say?

Whilst Ferguson's retirement dominated proceedings at Old Trafford in mid-2013, Gill stepping down from his role as chief executive around the same time also served to increase the problems at United. The man who stepped in to replace the latter? Ed Woodward.

Now, Scholes has bemoaned the departure of Gill and the impact that it has had, and insisted he "didn't get the credit" he deserved in his time with the Red Devils.

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He said (as transcribed by Goal): "When you look five or six years ago, when Alex Ferguson left, the other person who probably didn’t get the credit he deserved was David Gill. He was a football man, he knew football. From the day he went, as well as Sir Alex, it’s been difficult.

"I think there were alarm bells straight away really when David (Moyes) took over and he signed Juan Mata and Fellaini for something like £70m, who are good players in their own right but I don’t think they were Man United players.

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"I don’t think Alex Ferguson or David Gill would have signed those type of players and I think from then on alarm bells have rang and we’re in the position we are now because of buying players who we don’t really think were Man United players, and Ole’s there now and he’s got the opportunity to put that right."

Under-rated

As Woodward is proving, and the United faithful are bearing witness to, not everything comes down to the manager. The role of those on the board and amongst the upper echelons of the club's hierarchy can be just as crucial, if not more. Whilst Ferguson dominated matters on-the-pitch, he could rely on Gill to mastermind things off it.

But since the duo's respective exits, the Red Devils have lurched from one manager to the next, and from one player to the next too. There appears to be no coherent plan, and that comes down from the man with the decision-making powers - Woodward. As Scholes quite rightly points out, Ferguson leaving Old Trafford was massive. But Gill's own departure simply exacerbated the issue.