The Premier League season may be over and the curtain may have been drawn on the season with Arsenal winning the FA Cup but football never stops. In just the space of 48 hours huge decisions have been made off the pitch that will shape English football for the foreseeable future and beyond. Rio is leaving Man United, Cole is leaving Chelsea, Toure is being mental, Van Gaal finally gets appointed at Man United, and Giggs retires. All these events could also go on to influence each other very soon as English football changes its face once again.

First of all Rio has decided to leave Man United after 12 years at the club. Many thought he would have retired but it looks like he will carry on, just not at Old Trafford. It's a strange one since Man United only have a manager as of today which means Rio has decided to leave because he's unhappy or wants to keep on playing but not at a high level. If it was a decision made by United, whether it be coaching staff or the board, then it wasn't a smart one. Man United are going through turbulent times with a lot of changes on there way so why have both your main central defenders leave at the same time? Surely they would have thought "well we don't want Rio so lets do what we can to keep Vidic for now"? If it was down to United then they're making their jobs a lot harder.

Anyway, Rio was past his best awhile ago. He's lost his pace, is constantly injured, and has got too big for his boots. He should have been told awhile back that he can't keep up anymore, this would have given Jones more game time at centre-back and provided a smooth transition from one defensive pairing to another. Where Rio goes next who knows but there will be plenty of clubs after his signature but i doubt they'll be clubs competing in Europe. Steve Bruce has already shown interest and a place like Hull could be the right one for Rio.

Ashley Cole is another player who has decided to leave a club he has served for many years. Its been a massive season for Cole emphasized by the last week. In the last week he has been informed that he is not in the England World Cup squad which led him to retiring after 107 caps. On top of this he announced this morning that he will be leaving Chelsea and by the sounds of it it was Chelsea's decision. It's a dramatic turn of events for Cole who at the start of the season was deemed a certain starter for England at the World Cup but with Mourinho favoring Azpilacueta at left-back, Cole has not been playing much at all. In my eyes he is England's best ever left-back and still has a lot to offer but players don't last forever. Plenty of top clubs will be fighting for Cole's signature and I think Liverpool are the stand out destination for him. He also handled his England retirement and Chelsea situation very well and shown that he isn't the 'Cashley Cole' that he's been labelled for many years. A top professional who should carry on winning medals.

Another situation that has arose is the bizarre claims made by Toure about leaving Man City. Toure's agent has come out saying Toure feels unappreciated at the club because they didn't acknowledge his 31st birthday the other day - sorry Toure I forgot as well. Now either Toure has the mental age of 10 or his agent is trying to earn the Ivorian some more money, I'm going with the latter. Agents are scum lets put that out there and they will do everything to convince a player that he is unhappy so they can get a move or bigger contract. If he gets a big transfer or contract it means more money in the agents pocket. In saying that Toure has confirmed that he is annoyed by City so he's being an asshole either way. Its a pathetic situation and City fans will be appalled and worried, but no player is bigger than a club. Who knows what is going to happen as this is professional football, a game of unpredictability, a game of beauty, a game mostly involving idiots.

The biggest story has to be the retirement of Ryan Giggs as he takes his role as assistant manager to new United manager Louis Van Gaal. It is going to be weird not seeing Giggs on the football pitch anymore as he has scored in every Premier League season ever apart from last season. He is a legend, no two-ways about it. It does however seem right that he does retire to take a prominent place in the coaching set-up which is crucial for all concerned. It would be a shame if he retired to a low-key role but he is going straight into the mix of coaching. It is also crucial for Van Gaal as he looks to quickly adapt to life at Old Trafford, and who knows Man Utd better then Giggs? I like the decision by all parties which I didn't think I'd say at first. I thought Moyes needed more time but its been done and the right decision has now been made. A manager with plenty of top experience, keeping traditions with having Giggs involved, Giggs also providing smoother transition, and giving Giggs experience now so he cant take over in the future. Only time will tell if Giggs will be as good a coach as he was a player, or if Van Gaal will be successful but lets leave that for time to decide, for now lets appreciate the playing career of Giggsy.