Nine months later and United are dusting themselves off after a very expensive and time-consuming lesson – David Moyes was never the man for the job.
They've turned their eyes to the club's longest serving player to guide them through the last few games of the season and no one's predicting that he'll do any worse than his predecessor.
So with that in mind, what if the powers that be had taken a leap of faith and appointed Giggs as manager last summer? Football Manager predicts how this season would have went.
THE PRE-SEASON
Giggs is appointed player/manager on the 1 July 2013 and immediately makes daily sessions of yoga mandatory for all players. He cancels all pre-season tours in favour of a squad trip to India to visit the Dali Lama, followed by training with the League of Shadows in Tibet.
After the first training session he announced the start of a post-Fergie clear-out. We've obtained exclusive footage.
His dealings in transfer window is almost a disappointing as Moyes. In a coincidental turn of events he signs Juan Mata, with Lars Bender his only other signing. Also, in an unexpected move, Giggs agrees to sell Javier Hernandez to Barcelona.
THE FIRST MATCH
Giggs picks himself, and makes himself penalty taker but it doesn't do much good as they slump to a boring 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace. This mightn't go much better than Moyes.
Robin Van Persie missed the match due to an injury.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE PRE-CHRISTMAS RUN
By Christmas United lay fourth in the table and had qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League. They had lost the Manchester derby but their best performance was undoubtedly against Arsenal, where they won 4-2.
Robin Van Persie missed the game due to an injury.
THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW
United fans were still a little undecided on Giggs' ability to play and manage at the same time. However the January transfer window provided him with a chance to bring in some top stars to help propel the team back into the title picture.
Low and behold, Giggs doesn't sign a single soul. Further to that, a dressing room bust-up with one of his most senior players sees him shipped off to West Brom as the Giggabite continues the post-Fergie clear-out.
The team still lay fourth at the end of January but Giggs had gotten under the skin of those across the city, as the blue half of Manchester lay in 7th.
22 April 2014
And so we decided to check in on the day that saw the departure of Moyes in real life. Where would we stand with Giggs at this moment in time? How better off would United be?
The answer? Slightly better but not by much. They were five points better off but with a match extra played.
#GiggsOut?
With the season coming to end, United are still in the Champions League and hoping of a top four spot in the league. However, that may not be enough to save Giggs' job.
On RTÉ's coverage of their semi-final against Real Madrid, Eamon Dunphy puts forward the idea of Diego Simeone replacing Giggs at Old Trafford for the 10,000th time.
THE FINAL TABLE
Despite a late push for the top four, United finish the season in 5th place, narrowly missing out on the Champions League places on goal difference. Giggs hasn't been a disaster but he hasn't set the world alight either.
However his job seems safe as Juan Mata is named footballer of the year, and the club look forward to an all-English Champions League final against Chelsea.
....
Alas, it wasn't to be as Giggs' United side slumped to a 2-0 defeat. Giggs' biggest night in management was overshadowed by a different 'Welch'man, when Trevor for TV3 enjoyed a custard creams fuelled celebration with Jose Mourinho in the Chelsea dressing room.
Robin Van Persie missed the match due to an injury.
I'M NOT JOKING ABOUT RVP
The lad is crocked.
SHOCKING TWIST ALERT
Having weathered the storm in the first few months of 2014, a strong second half to the season meant Ryan Giggs job seemed safe. But then, out of nowhere, he decided to resign.
In the following days, an Eamon Dunphy led campaign for the appointment of Diego Simeone took off.
However, possibly fearing retaliation for Old Trafford legend David Beckham, Ed Woodward and co decided to appoint Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.
So, after conducting this experiment we can definitively show that had Giggs been given the managerial job last summer then United would have enjoyed a slightly better season but would still be searching for a new boss for the 2014/15 season.
What a waste of time this research was.
