When David Moyes was anointed last summer by Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United’s next manager, many of the club’s supporters saw him with mixed emotions. He represented the end of an era; a sign that Fergie wasn’t kidding around, and was actually leaving. However, he also sparked a buzz around the club, as fans were eager to see how their team would perform without the guidance of arguably the greatest manager ever to grace English football. Many were willing to remain faithful to him through the season, as it was inevitable that there would be some problems settling in.
Seven months into his first campaign at the helm of United, Moyes’s squad has, to say the least, struggled. The defending champions of the Premier League are out of both the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup, and sit seventh in the league table, well out of contention for the title. Furthermore, United are on the cusp of being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League as well – they’ll play the second leg of their quarter-final matchup with Olympiakos (in which the Greek side has a 2-0 advantage) on Wednesday.
Moyes has been mocked around the EPL as a “record-breaker”. He’s been in charge of the team that lost 3 games in a row for the first time since 2001 (those came against Spurs, Swansea and Sunderland). The home defeat to Swansea was not only the first time the Welsh side has won at Old Trafford, but just the second time in the last 29 years that United has exited the FA Cup in the third round. United have suffered their first home defeat to West Brom since 1978, their first to Everton since 1992, and their first to Newcastle since 1972. Right now, Moyes’s United squad have only scored 18 goals at home this season, which is the same number as Fulham – who are last place in the Premier League.
Throughout these struggles, Man United’s fans have remained loyal as ever, willing to cut Moyes some slack as he adjusts to managing the biggest club in the world. However, it appears that the supporters’ faith in their manager is breaking, as they recently watched their team thrashed 3-0 by their arch-rival, Liverpool. When asked about the match, Wayne Rooney said “It’s a nightmare. It’s one of the worst days I’ve ever had in football”(Manchester United Official Twitter, Mar 2014). The problem, according to most fans, isn’t that the team is losing. It’s the way they’re losing. In almost all of United’s defeats this season, the squad has looked utterly uninspired, and quite frankly pathetic. The starting XI hasn’t changed much from the team that ran all over the EPL last season, yet they look like a completely different club. To Moyes’s credit, the first team has been bolstered by the addition of Juan Mata in the January transfer window – the jury’s still out on summer acquisition Marouane Fellaini. But, it really looks like this team hasn’t been put to good use, as the tactics they employ are entirely uncreative, and even archaic.
It’s clear in Moyes’s decision-making that he may not be cut out to manage Manchester United. His tactics don’t work, which was highlighted in United’s home fixture against Fulham, in which the team attempted a record-breaking 81 crosses into the box, none of which resulted in a goal. He also has a tendency to make questionable substitution choices, which often seem not to address an actual problem. For example, in Sunday’s match against Liverpool, Moyes brought off Fellaini – who was probably United’s best midfielder – in exchange for Tom Cleverley. He then put Rio Ferdinand in place of Mata, who was also performing decently. He probably had good reason for this, but it did seem strange that he would choose to make these changes rather than, perhaps, taking off Rafael, who (although good) very narrowly avoided being sent off, and was walking a very thin line. He chose to keep the formation the same throughout the game, although it became apparent that it wasn’t working.
Yes, Moyes deserves a chance to prove himself to the supporters at United. But, it’s looking more likely every day that his opportunity has passed, and that he is not fit to manage this club. This wouldn’t be the first time the Manchester fans have gone through this narrative, either. Some will remember that, when Sir Matt Busby stepped down as manager in 1969, he chose Wilf McGuinness as his successor. McGuinness struggled to succeed at Old Trafford, and was sacked eighteen months in. So clearly, the recommendations of legendary football managers are not always perfect.
It’s unlikely that Moyes will be out of Old Trafford by the end of the season, and he very well could last the offseason as well. However, if he doesn’t see some measure of success soon, a change may have to be made. The team itself has some gaping holes that need to be filled, at centre midfield and in the back line. Moyes will have to find a way to improve his side there, as well as win the full support of his players (which he clearly doesn’t have) in order to stay on at Manchester United.
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