In light of Manchester City being found guilty of financial breaches between the years 2009 and 2018, it feels appropriate to appreciate the brilliance of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign at Manchester United. He is, without a doubt, the greatest British manager there has been, and due to the news surrounding Manchester City this week, Pep Guardiola's legacy is starting to be questioned.

Over 26 years, Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles. His last came in 2013, a year on from final-day heartbreak when Sergio Agüero snatched the title away from United. Now, some might say that trophy should belong on the other side of Manchester.

It is no secret that United occasionally spent big under Ferguson; the likes of Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney all broke different types of transfer records when they moved to the Red Devils, but there were also tons of players who were part of winning teams due to much more than their ability.

Ferguson created a winning culture, with loyal players from the academy and senior professionals who guided them. Culture has been a huge issue since he left in 2013, and it is something United need to fix in order to challenge for the major honours again.

Manchester United's situation changed when the Glazers took control of the football club in 2005. Since then, the club has been on a steady decline in general terms, but United still managed to pick up a further five Premier League titles under Sir Alex, as well as a Champions League trophy in 2008.

After the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2009, United struggled to replicate its form from a golden era of dominance. As well as this, Manchester City began to spend big and rise up the table, rivalling United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea for the top spots.

As reported by Chris Wetherspoon, "over the course of Sir Alex Ferguson's last 10 years, United never once had the highest wage bill in the Premier League, and yet the club won the competition 5 times."

When rivalling fellow top clubs, most notably Chelsea and later Man City, United's wage bill was never the biggest in the league in this era. This is largely due to the control that Ferguson had at the club at this time, keeping his squad disciplined and grounded.

Throughout the following decade after he left, United's wage bill increased, and their transfer business and strategy became silly, with overpriced signings and the wrong characters at the club.

Since INEOS arrived, United have tried to take a different approach to transfers. However, some have succeeded, but some have still failed.

The culture is most important, not the wage bill, training ground, kit or anything like that. Players should behave in the right way and respect the football club they play for. As well as this, United have always given young players an opportunity, so it is important that they stick to that and trust the youth.

But for them to succeed, they need to come into a squad that embodies what Manchester United is. For example, the Class of 92 were talented young players but were introduced into a team that had seasoned professionals such as Steve Bruce, Dennis Irwin, Paul Ince and, of course, Eric Cantona, as well as many others. Those types of characters and leaders are not in the current Manchester United squad.

Finally, United should really look at why Sir Alex Ferguson was so successful at the club. His first few years were a struggle, and the pressure was beginning to mount on him, but the club stood by him and saw the rewards of that.

If the club really believe in Michael Carrick, they should stand by him and give him the best chance to succeed as manager.