After 20 games in charge of one of the biggest clubs in world football, David Moyes finds his side languishing in 7th place and 11 points ad...
After 20 games in charge of one of the biggest clubs in world football, David Moyes finds his side languishing in 7th place and 11 points adrift of the league leaders, Arsenal.
Although no one would bet against a late season resurgence from the Red Devils, winning the league would have been a lot easier if United were up against just one team for the title.
This season, the tussle at the top has been tight, that they would not only have to surpass Arsenal, but City and Chelsea as well. Even a 4th place finish would take some doing.
Many fingers are pointing at Moyes for United’s lack of form thus far in the league this season. In reality, he replaced a manager who in addition to being arguably the best of all time, spent 26-and-a-half years at the club, whilst winning 38 trophies.
An adjustment period is in this circumstance, understandable. However with the bad form becoming a consistent theme and more than half the league season gone, a lot of Old Trafford faithful and neutrals alike are sensing a bigger problem and asking the ever prevailing question... Is David Moyes the right man for the job?
The retirement of Sir Alex was a delicate time in United’s history. How they handled it would tell on the club’s future for years to come. The hiring of Moyes was truthfully United’s first mistake. They made picking a stable manager, a priority over everything else. Asking Ferguson to pick his own successor was also probably done to the same end.
For instance, if you were to have a quick look at the Scott's C.V, (as I’m sure Manchester United’s board must have done) you would not fail to miss the fact that he coached Everton for 11 years, and won absolutely nothing. The only similarities David Moyes shares with Ferguson are the fact that both are Scottish and that both stayed at one club for an incredibly long time. Other than that, what you see is one manager with a long history of success and the other with a long history of mediocrity and sometimes failure.
The only achievements I see Moyes being commended for, are his 3 manager of the year awards (in 11 years) and a champions league qualification in 2005. Surely, Manchester United being one of the 3 top clubs in world football, deserve better?
A lot of people are quick to point out that David Moyes achieved the little he did, because he worked with a limited budget. But surely, he would be deserving of praise, if he won a trophy or two in spite of this... Sadly He didn't.
So we all seemed to be congratulating him for, was his ability to keep Everton ‘competitive’ despite his limited budget. A trend which I found baffling at the time, as younger managers such as Roberto Martinez and Michael Laudrup have both won trophies on the same ‘limited budget’ and in a shorter amount of time(F.A cup 2013,League Cup 2013 respectively)
Manchester United’s preference for stability in management over immediate success is one many fans will be disappointed with. The opposite preference for success over managerial stability seemed to work quite well for Roman Abramovich at Chelsea as they have garnered 11 trophies in his 10 years at the club.
Admittedly such doesn't represent an ideal template; it is surely a better plan than what the Manchester United hierarchy seem to have with Moyes. Which is; ‘let’s get another Scottish manager, with many years at one job, and then see if he can become the next Alex Ferguson’. Maybe someone should tell them, that there is only one Alex Ferguson.
Lastly, about the fans' general complaint of having mediocre players (Young and Cleverly often cited). It is of course not necessary to remind everyone that the club won the league last season with the same set of players.
I’ll admit being one of the first to think they probably overachieved, but they are champions nonetheless. We don’t expect them to go from being champions to Europa league places. Yes, Ferguson’s absence is a big factor in how things stand right now for United; but I don’t think he would have been so big a factor, if he hadn't been replaced with a manager that ultimately represents such a big drop in quality.
Written by: Samuel Ngadi
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