A Ferguson family reunion in Ontario had been followed by a satisfying win over Celtic, and the manager could afford a cheery smile as prepared for Manchester United’s trip to Philadelphia and the next stage of their North American tour.
Particularly pleasing was the sight of the youngsters in whom he has placed such faith combining with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov to give United a 3-1 win over Celtic.
Not even a silly foul by new boy Chris Smalling which gifted the Scots a penalty could dampen Ferguson’s praise as he talked up the merits of a new generation. ‘We’ve a strong belief in their abilities,’ he said. ‘They will eventually be the next Manchester United.’
It has become a familiar message. For the second summer in a row he insists there is no value in the transfer market. No reason to spend unwisely or waste the £80million which is supposedly still in the bank following the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But has Ferguson really chosen to be much more prudent or is there no money left as the club creak under the weight of debt heaped on it by the Glazer family?
This, after all, is a manager who has broken the British transfer record six times, who decided Berbatov was good value at £30.75m and Juan Sebastian Veron at £28.1m.
Last summer he brought in Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan and Michael Owen at a net cost of £19m — although the latter arrived on a free transfer.
United had just won a third straight Barclays Premier League title and reached the Champions League final, and there seemed very little wrong with the squad.
But after relinquishing the title to Chelsea at the end of a season that saw the growing threat from neighbours City, and seeing his side exit Europe at the quarter-final stage, the situation has changed for Ferguson.
Yet his stance is the same. He insists there is cash to spend, and it is a view supported by United’s last accounts which showed £95.9m on the balance sheet.
But there is a growing concern that cash will be needed to service the Glazers’ debts and Ferguson’s reliance on youth is born out of necessity rather than choice.
While £10m for Smalling is far from insignificant, and £7m has been spent on Javier Hernandez, United again look unlikely to break the £20m barrier, with Ferguson promoting from the youth ranks.
He said: ‘We have a collection of young players who have been growing up at the club like Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans, Darron Gibson, and Federico Macheda.
‘If you don’t give them a chance they’re going to stagnate and move to other clubs who’ll get the benefit of the work we’ve done.’
Premier League history suggests clubs who spend the most usually succeed. Blackburn did it with Jack Walker, Chelsea with Roman Abramovich, and now City are making their bid. It is 15 years since Ferguson bucked the trend, pitching United’s new golden generation into the spotlight and reaping instant rewards.
The question now is whether their modern-day equivalents can emulate Beckham, Scholes, Butt and the Neville brothers — and Giggs, 36, believes the signs are promising.
‘I’m sure these young players will get better and better,’ he said.
‘I see their determination. They want to do well, they want to learn, they want to play for United, get in the team and stay in the team. That’s what we were like when we were younger and I see the same desire in these young players.
‘Hopefully their determination and hunger will see them kick on and do even better, because we’re going to need them.'
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