So for Manchester United as well as Aston Villa the old ones are the best. Not that the recall of Graham Taylor at Villa Park can have anything like the impact of Sir Alex Ferguson deciding to hold off his retirement from Old Trafford a while longer.

Ferguson's decision to stay on as United's manager will almost certainly hasten the signature of Roy Keane on a new contract and, since Keane is the player the team can least afford to lose, his continued presence alone will justify the change of heart.

In David Beckham's case, however, the future, for the moment, is no less uncertain. Discussions over his next contract have reached an impasse, the United board having decided that the sky rather than the outer stratosphere is their limit.

After a period on the bench Beckham, who on his own admission was physically and mentally drained by his efforts in getting England to the World Cup, performed well enough in last Saturday's game against Sunderland to earn paeans of praise from the manager.

Beckham, however, may not be guaranteed a regular first-team place all the time because Ferguson needs to show that the £28m spent on Juan Sebastian Veron did not merely buy United a squad player. The Beckham situation might be eased only by Veron returning to Lazio, but the Italian club are short of money.

What Keane, Beckham and the rest of the United side would all like to know is precisely what Ferguson has in mind. He was expected to stay on in a non-football role. All he may be doing now is ensuring a smoother changeover than might have been the case had he left this summer. It is not hard to envisage a scenario which sees Ferguson carry on for another season or two, during which time Old Trafford will announce matter-of-factly that Martin O'Neill has agreed to become the next manager of Manchester United. That at least would spare United the embarrassment of having to sign up a short-term successor because the right long-term candidate had not come forward straight away.

The situation was always going to be awkward once Ferguson had announced his retirement 18 months in advance. Until recently it even seemed to affect the team's performances, creating an uncertainty which nagged at United's form.

Now, after winning 10 Premiership games out of 11, Manchester United are where, under Ferguson, they would normally expect to be: top of the table and about to resume their latest quest in the Champions League.

With Ferguson still in control the chance of this sanguine state of affairs continuing is that much stronger. United may or may not be about to win a record fourth successive championship and their eighth title in 10 years, but the rapport between the manager and a squad which is largely his creation will be maintained.

For Manchester United are hardly an ageing team in need of turning around, which was the situation faced by Sir Matt Busby's immediate successors. Ferguson may now be 60 but he is still eight years younger than Bobby Robson, and the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville and maybe even Beckham will keep him young in spirit.

Buying Laurent Blanc after selling Jaap Stam was a blip and Veron is now playing with Argentina and has the World Cup on his mind. But Ferguson's dogged pursuit of Ruud van Nistelrooy has been spectacularly vindicated and it is unlikely that he will have cause to regret his change of mind.

So Fergie's racehorses may have to wait a while longer for more constant companionship, but the eventual arrival of an Irish thoroughbred to take over his team has almost certainly been guaranteed.

And if Beckham decide's that his future in football still lies at Old Trafford under Ferguson, that will be a bonus.