Paddy Crerand is a great ambassador for the club, and a part of our history, but as a rule it's probably best to take what he says with a pinch of salt. Like a lot of supporters and former players, he's great when it comes to getting behind the club and rallying for the cause. When it comes to stepping back and looking at things with an impartial eye, however, I'm not sure if it's his wisdom that we should seek.

I don't think, for as long as he's alive, Paddy Crerand will ever be the first to bay for the sacking of a manager, nor is he going to criticise any major facets of our club. To him, the manager is always going to need more time to implement his methods, the new players are always going to struggle to adjust to the Premier League, the bad times we had at the beginning of Fergie's reign are always going to be... well, bad.

Imagine we were at the lowest part of the Moyes era and take a look at those points. Nearly all of them still apply. Yes, during the early days of Ferguson things were bad, but the league and the demands required of it have completely changed since then. Perhaps the media have been heavy-handed, but let's not even pretend that Moyes didn't have to deal with significantly more scrutiny throughout the beginning, middle and likely end of the season. Yes, Moyes also displayed signs of single-minded tactical stubbornness, but we can't use that as a consistent excuse for poor performance and poor outcomes. If Van Gaal gets the benefit of the doubt for all six of his signings, then we probably owed it to David Moyes' to give his own signing some time to adjust.

To be honest, I'm not even saying that Van Gaal is indefensible. He certainly isn't, and I would still back various elements of his management so far. But let's not turn to Paddy Crerand to deliver a prognosis as a way of making ourselves feel better. We're only ever going to get one answer.