Moyes Sacked

So the inevitable has just happened. Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United. EXACTLTY one year ago we were celebrating another league title and now we’re looking at our club standing in 7^th place, out of Europe and managerless. What’s very worrying is that we’ve adopted Chelsea-like tactics and fired our manager without even giving him enough time to build a team of his own. If I’m honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about this decision. The fact that United only managed 6 points against teams in the top 6 was very worrying. We didn’t even put up a fight in some of the games against the top teams. Liverpool, City, Everton and Chelsea blew us apart in our recent games. Sometimes there were games when the team played well and you’d just think that we’re improving, however, these always proved to be false dawns and a good performance was normally followed by two very poor games. What was more worrying is the fact that Moyes almost always stated that the team played well after defeats. Now that would be acceptable if it was true but usually it wasn't. In fact most of his post-defeat interviews were absurd, to say the least. So maybe I’m a bit relieved that we can look forward to another way of thought by a new manager. I’m relieved that the style of play, which was evidently not working, will go away with Moyes.

However, I feel sad for Moyes. I pity the guy. Whatever happened at our club is not entirely his fault, even though some of our fans think he’s the one and only reason why we’re in this mess. First things first, Fergie left the club in decline. Some of the players Fergie left at our club are not fit to play for a relegation struggler. For example, Anderson’s presence at the club still bemuses me. Why Fergie never replaced Scholes is a mystery. Furthermore, our midfield is an aging and poor one and anyone with half a football brain realizes that you cannot really compete against the top sides with such a midfield. Fletcher, Cleverley and Anderson combined aren’t fit to polish Yaya Toure’s right boot, nevermind go head to head against him. Carrick is a very good player but age is catching up on him now. He excelled last season but failed to dictate games this season. What was very puzzling is Fergie’s refusal to play the excellent Pogba (two years ago) and opting for the return of Scholes instead. Eventually, Pogba left on a free transfer and he’s now worth 70 odd million. Pogba is the kind of player our midfield is crying for. What about the Rooney vs Fergie mess? Moyes inherited a very difficult situation which, probably, took a lot of his time during the summer.

Fergie aside, there are other factors that led to our current situation. One of the main players in this mess is our CEO. What’s very ironic is the fact that Woodward met Moyes this morning and told him he was being fired from the post when, in reality, Woodward is as much to blame as David himself. During the summer, our club identified targets but our CEO failed to get them. What he did at the end of the transfer window was pay well over the odds for Fellaini. If I’m not mistaken, he was worth 23m in July but Woodward splashed 28m for Fellaini on deadline day. Poor business. Very poor.

The players themselves also have a lot to answer for. Some of them didn’t perform to the best of their ability. For the next manager to be successful, he’ll have to clear the deadwood first and bring in 3, at a minimum, world class, hard working, footballers. A team should be built around De Gea, Jones, Januzaj, Mata and Rooney. This quintet has a lot of potential and I expect them to flourish together in the coming seasons. Rafael, RVP, Welbeck, Smalling and Valencia ain’t half bad either. There is a good foundation for a successful football team. This will be a big big summer.

As for Moyes, it was not meant to be. Unfortunately, the final standing will define his season at Man Utd. People will fail to look at the good things the man has done for the club. True, these might be few but resolving the Roo situation will probably prove to be very important in the future. Furthermore, his willingness to involve an 18 year old Januzaj in the team was also a bold move. Yes, he has the talent and for us, now, it is obvious that he plays but Pogba also had the talent but was left to rot on the bench by a much revered manager.

So goodbye Moyes and thanks for your work ethic during the season. It didn’t work and we’ll never know whether you were able to improve the situation. The results were poor, very poor and I’d be lying if I said I was pleased. However, I always believed that Man Utd under Moyes were going to improve in the coming season but David was not given enough time. It was a year from the depths of hell but I was willing to wait for much brighter days with Moyes at the helm. I wanted him to do well. I was hoping he does well to silence his doubters. I believed in the guy but must admit that my belief in him was gradually degrading. So thanks Moyes and good luck in your next adventure.

What does this sacking mean for the immediate future? Well, the work Moyes and his team were doing to identify possible targets to play for Man Utd next season has been thrown down the drain. The new manager will probably bring his own backroom staff and this will mean that we will be prolonging the transitional period. The new manager will probably be new to everything that is Manchester United and, like Moyes, will take time to bed in. So to all the MoyesOut brigade, don't expect our team to fare much much better than this year. A foreign manager will probably be appointed in summer. Let's hope a manager who knows what we stand for is appointed. Let's hope a manager who believes in British players is appointed. Let's hope  that whoever is appointed, does not destruct the reputation of this great club. I don't want arrogant twats at the helm. I don't want this great club to turn into a much bigger version of Chelsea. I don't want Manchester United to start firing mangers at will. I want Manchester United to be the honorable Manchester United I've grown to love, even if that does not guarantee instant success. I'm willing to wait.



TATA Moysie

(P.S. my dig at Fergie does not mean that I do not appreciate the greatness of the guy. It does not mean that I don't appreciate the years under his excellent stewardship. He is the best manager to ever grace the world. However, he is not infallible and I just think that Sir Alex could have left a better team for Moyes to work with.)

 

 

"I actually think if Sir Alex was here this year it would be difficult for Sir Alex as well, and I'm sure he'd be aware of it,"

"I think people are aware there's a squad that is a bit more aging, so I think it would have been a tough season for probably whoever was in charge of Manchester United this year."

David Moyes