New Man at Old Trafford Well, that didn't take long. One day after Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United, the club did what many expected when it named David Moyes, a Scot like Ferguson, as the club's new boss. And the reaction varied across the north of England. Earlier on Thursday Moyes said he would not be returning to Everton, where he has spent more than a decade. Only hours later Manchester United said it signed Moyes, 50, to a six-year pact. The official news broke first on Manchester United's Web site with a statement from Ferguson: When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes. He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club. Moyes was tipped as the front-runner to replace Ferguson the minute the man who had led United for 26 years said he was stepping down. Moyes has kept Everton, which plays in nearby Liverpool, competitive on a limited budget for signing players. The only question that seemed to possibly handicap Moyes's selection was a lack of experience managing teams in continental tournaments. Some Manchester United fans offered their opinions in the video below (which can only be viewed in the United States): Video: Man United fan reaction to David Moyes That reasoning surfaced again early Thursday in an article on the Web site of the Guardian written by Derek Taylor: Even so, it is possible to admire Moyes's work at Goodison while simultaneously having misgivings about whether he is the best candidate for the job. The two can go together and it is not difficult to understand why so many of the club's supporters are feeling slightly underwhelmed. Whatever you think of the way Mourinho works, the politics that accompany the man and his habit of falling out with the people he works for, if the question is about who is more likely to guide United to a European Cup it would be exceedingly hard to make a case for Moyes. And that surely has to count. If those misgivings were shared by the United brain trust, they obviously lasted no more than a nanosecond. Taylor, of course, was referring to Jose Mourinho, the current and soon-to-be former coach Real Madrid, who had also been thought to be in the running. The knock against Mourinho has been that it is always about him. And at a club like Manchester United it's rarely about anyone besides the club. Ferguson and the former United star Bobby Charlton were long believed to favor Moyes over the more rambunctious Mourinho. On Thursday, Charlton said: "I have always said that we wanted the next manager to be a genuine Manchester United man. One of Moyes's former players, Tim Cahill now with the Red Bulls, had this to say on Twitter: Also on Twitter, U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: The BBC Liverpool, on its Web site, offered some comments from some locals, one of whom, a butcher named Phil Smith, said: Good luck to Moyes, but I'm really upset to see him leave. He deserves glory, he has been a great servant for Everton but the chairman has been holding him back with the lack of funds to buy players. He's a proper grafter though and I think he has taken us as far as he can. I think it's a big risk by United, as they're big boots to fill. The first order of business for Moyes and officials at the club will be trying to sort out a bubbling situation involving the striker Wayne Rooney, who coincidentally got his start in Everton's youth system. It has been reported that Rooney asked Ferguson to permit him to move to another club - Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain have been mentioned - but Ferguson is reported to have rebuffed any request. In any event the club believes transferring Rooney would cost a suitor close to a $60 million transfer fee. Then early Thursday Rooney changed his Twitter profile, deleting any mention of Manchester United and identifying himself at a Nike UK athlete. And what do you think of the club's decision to hire Moyes?