Seventh in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup at the third round; 2014 hasn’t begun well for David Moyes. Then again, the second half of 2013 wasn’t so great either. Blame it on bad luck, blame it on officialdom, blame it on that most hollow excuse: a period of transition. Whatever happens, don’t blame it on David Moyes, or the changes that the former Everton manager has brought to Manchester United over these past six months.
At least that is the collective, moderate, wisdom – one that demands Moyes is given time. Time to rebuild a squad devoid of world-class quality. Time to impose his own philosophy. Time to prove that despite a lack of trophies over more than a decade as a manager Moyes is a manager of United-calibre. Time to become the man anointed Sir Alex Ferguson’s success.
Moyes follows United’s most successful manager, a man who had become dictator perpetuo during 26 years in charge. From the grass-roots to the boardroom, Ferguson seemingly controlled all in an environment that has proven difficult for his successor to navigate. Meanwhile, Moyes has been manager for less than two percent of Ferguson’s reign and, significantly, the 50-year-old was proffered with just a single summer acquisition of note in Marouanne Fellaini.
It is a period during which a prescient Ferguson demanded supporters “get behind” the new manager, albeit in a soliloquy delivered last May that contained little of real substance.
Yet, United’s fall since the summer has been a drama so deep that it is hard not to be shocked despite Ferguson’s appeal. Four Premier League defeats at Old Trafford have left the Reds without guarantee of a place in the Champions League next season, let alone any realistic chance of retaining the title. The abject manner in which United exited the FA Cup at home to Swansea City on Sunday only serves to enhance a growing negative impression of Moyes’ regime.
It may be a period of transition, but the most significant changes since Moyes was appointed last summer have been of the Scot’s own making. There has been a transition in coaching, playing style and managerial approach – none of which have borne any fruit and may well have been destructive to United’s cause. As the Guardian’s Daniel Harris once put it, the only changes since the summer have been Moyes’ coaches, Moyes’ player, and David Moyes.
Changes in coaching were replete this summer, with vast experience and proven quality leaving for a greater unknown. Rene Meulenstein, Mike Phelan and Eric Steele made way for Steve Round, Phil Neville, Jimmy Lumsden and Chris Woods in a purge that has not yet proven successful. Meulenstein is now manager at Fulham, via a brief spell with Anzi Makalaka in the Russian Premier League. Steele joined Derby County in the autumn and Phelan remains unemployed.
There has, meanwhile, been significant transition in United’s tactical approach and playing style, with Ferguson’s patient, if indefatigably dull, approach to football over the past three seasons devolving to a far more basic system that emphasises crossing, in an entirely predictable formation.
While true that United’s football has lacked real quality for some time, it is a misnomer of grand proportions to suggest that a new approach hasn’t been introduced this season. Indeed, the data suggests that United’s hit-and-hope style is born not of poor form, or transition, but a deliberate strategy.
Then there is the change in managerial style, with Moyes at once obsequious, defensive, and conservative. If it is a deliberate attempt to baffle both the media and opposition it is yet to bear any positive response. Yet, formations and personnel have become predictable, playing favourites selected, and creative players too often eschewed in favour of the functional. Long gone is Ferguson the gambler, to be replaced by Moyes the reticent.
Moyes is accountable for much of the above, but his role in strengthening a squad palpably in need to refreshment is seemingly limited only to rejecting those targets previously identified, or in Wilfried Zaha’s case, already acquired. It is a reputation for diligence hard earned at Everton, and seemingly playing out in full at Old Trafford.
Moyes’ now infamous Finch Farm wall of 1,000 transfer targets and research-heavy approach to the market, which was once such an asset at Everton, now appears anachronistic to a United squad desperate for immediate new blood. The doomsday scenario in which the Reds drop out of the Champions League is real, with the club potentially spinning into a negative vortex where it is increasingly difficult to attract leading talent. After all, with just 34 points from 20 games United is currently off-the-pace normally set to make the Premier League’s top four.
Still, it appears increasingly unlikely that United will do significant business until the summer, with Moyes claiming both an urgency to bring new players to the club this winter, and a contradictory belief that it is impossible to do so in the January window.
Despite United’s predicament, Moyes is not yet willing to abandon his cautious approach to the market. At least not this winter.
“It won’t change how we go about things. January is not an easy month to purchase in,” said Moyes after United’s latest defeat.
“Most of the business will be more towards the summertime, rather than January. We’ll keep looking but if one of the targets comes around, or one of the targets that we’re looking at changes in January, then great.
“There is no point in me hyping it up because the players we would like to bring in are probably not available in January, not because we don’t want to do it. I said I would try but probably would be doubtful in January, because of the window.”
It is a belief that surely underplays the gravity of United’s situation, with the side five points adrift of Liverpool in fourth place and reliant on either a strong second half to the campaign, or failure on multiple competing fronts.
With United bereft in central midfield, gun-shy up front, and error-prone at the back, there is no guarantee the side’s form will improve over the next five months. Hope, after all, 1qis no strategy.
True, United’s primary targets may be cup-tied in Europe, although there is little claim to parity with Europe’s finest – Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid – in any case. And premium players may command an excessive fee in the mid-season window. Yet, it is no stretch to argue that short-term pain of squad disruption or financial impropriety is outweighed by the consequences of Premier League failure.
That is an equation that Moyes and Ed Woodward must solve this winter.
spend big on who exactly?
Yeah that was my question straight away. We don’t have the funds necessary to get the top players and whose to say they want to join this mess at United and play for a clueless manager. If we want to attract top players Moyes will have to go and a top manager will have to come in. and rebuild the squad with funds. I have zero confidence that either of those will occur.
I agree. DM needs to go. He is a good guy, but not a top manager equal to SAF. United is not Everton. We need a top, aggressive manager to compete with the like of Byron Munich, Barcelona and RM. I don’t think bringing a top players will change the picture so much. DM is not a winner. Appointing DM is the biggest mistake SAF made as a united manager.
So much to debate, we need a bi-weekly podcast.
I completely agree!
Great article, finding the right players easier said then done though
I think it’s also important for him to change his tactics.
Who does Moyes want 2 buy? Baines 4 more crosses into the box? Look at heat maps of his Everton teams. Overspent on Fellaini.
Its becoming increasingly easy to dislike Moyes, Woodward and much of United’s staff. Perseverance is becoming our only solace.
Ferguson’s teams over the last few years were patient but when the need arose, would go for it. United so far this season have very rarely done that. The lack of a response to poor results, or in the 2nd half following indifferent first halves has been really worrying.
no big signing will sign for him why be a great player and this tit will have you playing everton style football?
Ah here we go – yet another “person” to weigh in with the times!!!!! Give Moyes a break will ya. Seriously – You expected United to win the league this season? You thought we’d win a cup? You believed we’d win the Champions league? (Still possible). Well if You expected any of these things I would say your delirious. The best thing United fans could hope for this season was finishing 4th in the league (which is still in reach). So wake up & smell the roses pal!
“person”?
Anyway. No, we just assumed top 4 finish and maybe a good cup run.
No, nobody expected any of that. What we expected was a continuation of the club we love, not this terrible football. And when you visited a United blog, what exactly did you expect to read other than their opinions on the current state of things you pleb?
Fuck me… I glanced over your “it’s still possible to win the champions league” part… who’s delirious and in need of smelling the roses?
Fergie has done a serious number on your club…
After all the Rock of Gibraltar, and Fergie basically forcing the sale of the club to the Handsome Glazer family, he sign’s RvP for 24 million with the sole objective of winning the league before leaving – covering himself in glory.
Leaving the club with a knackered forward, a lack of funds and a midfield that is well past it’s sell by date.
Does it seem bizarre that the officials are no longer stepping in to assist as they have done over the recent years?
Welcome to reality – as for spending Big…? to buy RvP the Glazers sold shares in the club…. raising 50 million, to fund the purchase of a knackered player on a ridiculous contract…. how many more times can they do that..? with the serious possibility of no Champions League funds next year…. are the Glazers that naive to give the club away chasing a pipe dream?
Still Happy New year to you all and may you reap what Fergie has sown.
Moyes definitely is not the msn for the job. There were targets in the summer he refused to look at. Strootman, Ezequiel Garay etc. what happened, Moyes was looking at supposedly big names. Out of his depth. #Moyesout
Glazers were never willing to spend but the had SAF. Now with mediocre Moyes they probably won’t.
“: New on Rant: Moyes refuses to budge but has to spend big – http://t.co/LN0KaotTgv #unitedrant http://t.co/wJyhWWYpnq”
The list of players we could get that would improve us is never ending and some would be easily available. Moyes seems to be putting it off. Who cares if they’re cup tied were not going to win it anyway. Time to start building now. Realistic targets
Cabaye. Herrera. Koke. Matic. Coentrao. Alonso. Ribeiro. Gundogan. Guitan. Carvalho.
Less likely Di Maria. Lallana. Mata. Reus.
Surely any of these would improve what were currently doing and surely time to give Zaha and Anderson A run of games. They cant do any worse then the ones playing at the moment.
1.Allowing Sir Alex Ferguson too decide his successor was mistake 2.DM don’t have the experience managing world class teams 3.Transfer business should have done last summer as coaches of mancity & Chelsea did they understood need for new player & sold underperforming players 4.Transfer in upcoming summer will be most difficult especially after world cup …value of some targets will go really high…sad dat man u has to such a situation
To lose to a team Liverpool just beat 5-0 was bad enough but Swansea have been terrible all year yet looked a better team than United. Ferguson has gone and United are back to where they were before he took over United. Tho in Ferguson’s first year he did just as bad if not worse than Moyes and look what would’ve happened in United had of sacked Ferguson?
The article above explains why United are in trouble but let me ask some questions –
1. Why was Moyes appointed? He has never won anything with Everton whilst United’s trophy cabinet is full of their achievements!
2. Everton, with all due respect, are not in the same class as United and probably never will be, so why does Moyes believe Everton players are good enough for United?
3. United had a successful team to oversee the squad and tactics, so why did Moyes see the need to remove Meulensteen etc and replace them with people with little or no experience at United’s level?
4. Finally this question keeps nagging me. Did Sir Alex realise that he had extracted the last ounce of energy etc from the players when he announced his retirement? He was quoted as saying he wanted to be with his wife as her sister had died and he didn’t want her to be alone on matchdays. Yet at every game, home and away, Sir Alex is in attendance!
Sir Alex realised he could do no more for United and if someone had to take the blame for them going downhill, it would not be him, so step forward David Moyes!!!
Conclusion: Moyes MUST buy big this January otherwise United will fall from grace and end up trophyless and with only 2 more opportunities and 1 of those is the CL, it looks a hopeless case before another ball is kicked!
After so long being a top, top club, it looks as if all United fans are going to have to suffer for a long time to come.
Just why was Moyes ever considered the right man for this job? A champion team needs a champion manager and he’s never proven himself to be that.
His arrogance alone at clearing out the entire back room coaching staff on his arrival would have been enough for me to send him packing.
What on earth did he honestly think he could achieve by replacing coaches who’ve thoroughly proven over many years they are championship winning quality, with guys more akin to coaching middle of the table sides who have won ZERO trophies??
No one seriously expected United to win the title this season, but just how far they have fallen in such a short time is horrendous. I don’t even enjoy watching the games these days as they are playing terrible, ugly, football. Basic football at its worst. It’s not Man Utd.
And as stated so well in the above article, the only real changes are Moyes, his staff and his pet project Fallaini.
And now he says he wants to wait to buy the players he wants in the summer. After United finish 11th this season is ANYONE going to want to play for them??
Next season could be even worse under this guy…
Everton seem to be going great this season too. Funny that.
I for one believe Ferguson retired because he knew this current squad was done there’s 4or 5 players in the first 11 still got mileage but a massive rebuild is needed and fergie knew he didn’t have the time to do it, plus there’s at keast 6 players that r not united players? We r suppoe to b the highest club in the world or we r at least top 3 know. young cleverly Anderson smalling r not united players they wouldn’t get into any top for side in any top league in the world. Rio vidic Carrick fletch evra nani chito all need replacing. So that’s 10 players nearlly a full 12 thus job to do this is massive there’s so.e great young talent in r h der 21’s and out on loan so we could end up bringing 2 or 3 of them through. We need another striker winger attacking mid winger left back and 2 centre backs then i think we will b ready to re challenge for the league
manchester can look into bringing in realistic targets.
Nemanja Matic is the most obvious right now..Will improve the squad alot.. I think if he is worth 20-25 we will have to pay up to 35 right now but u hav to do it
A sentiment that seems to be gathering momentum is that Ferguson “jumped ship” because he knew the squad was in need of complete overhaul!!
What utter crap.
That is to suggest that Alex Ferguson, the man that ate, drank and slept United for 26 years knowingly left the club with a pile of shite!!!
After building several teams and squads he would abandon United to make himself look better?? Nonsense.
Ferguson left behind that champions. CHAMPIONS. Not a team that was languishing in mid table, a team that has won 5 of the last 7 titles.
That what feguson left behind.
It should not have been this difficult to keep that squad in the top 4.
Yes there are replacements needed, but not to the extent we are led to believe. Midfield has been a problem for a couple of years, this is not a new development. Moyes knew since, was it March, last year that he was taking over from Ferguson. Even allowing for his focus being rightly on everton until the end of the season, surely he had an idea of players he might like to bring in?
But the scatter gun approach to signings in the summer suggests he had none identified.
Then there is the playing “style”. Thats not fergusons fault. Its predictable, slow and boring. Lumping long balls up the park has become the default mode or more recently “give it to Adnan”
Uniteds woes at the moment are down to one man, in my opinion, and that man is not Alex Ferguson.
Now that’s what you call a RANT! Surely those accessible groups (fans, media) put visible & direct ressure for desired outcomes?
..put pressure, I meant to say for change.
I am wracking my brains. Did Welbeck have a single shot yesterday?
So moyes wants top top players n he was offered Ozil n refused coz he wanted Fabregas
I said in the summer that Moyes is a Mid table team coach not good enough for United and i was slated for saying it. In one breath he says there is an urgent need to bring in players but in another breath he says he wouldn’t rush it bcos they may not be available. What is the guaranty they will be available in the summer without a CL football. It is not rocket sience that we lack qualities in the squard but with the players we have, we should be beating teams like swanse, w/Brm, and co. The fact is Moyes does not have the capacity or the personalty to lead United. Is it a coincidence that Everton is doing better than us?. And they were suppose to be in transition too. When SAF said we should “stand by our new coach” he knew we will be in this situation. We have a situation in our hands. We can’t sack him for fear of being labelled inpatient and if we leave him we can say bye to CL.
So here we are United supporters ? Perhaps the players should start playing
Are they incapable on any thought ? Perhaps trying is beyond them too much effort required when times get tough .I don’t want players who only want to play for United only because they are in champions league
Under a coach who would actually suit the club by playing decent attacking football, I could have seen us having 2 or 3 seasons of transition in which we finish in 3rd or 4th place in the league (that is the current quality of the squad), typified by having some patchy results but by and large some promising performances… in addition I would have expected some transfer deals which were never going to be at the top end of the market (£30m+), but hey £20m to £25m is still just about enough these days to sign some very good players so I was hopeful we’d make some astute signings.
I think the majority of fans could have accepted this… after all, Chelsea and City seem to have money to burn every single season and it’s tough to compete with that.
What we’ve ended up with is a wholesale regression in playing style, player confidence and morale. Just as bad, from the evidence of the Fellaini signing, we are wasting what budget we do have on misjudged signings which do not fit the team’s genuine current needs, rather that they only fit a limited coach’s style which is at odds with the attacking traditions of the club.
Moyes may have a long term plan in place for signings but he is failing in the crucial element of transitioning from our current playing squad to whatever future squad we end up with. A formulaic 4-4-2 is absolutely not the best way to deploy the current best creative players, but Moyes has seemingly just shoehorned all of the current players into this mould and is basically just twiddling his thumbs waiting for everything to magically start working, and waiting to sign some more full backs so that he can guarantee more crosses from the full back positions.
David, you can come in, you’ve done enough already thanks.
We do not need redundant signings aiming towards a formulaic 4-4-2 template, we need a coach who can bring modern ideas, integrating the current squad with new signings and compromising on formations and team setups where required. Moyes has got nowhere near fulfilling these criteria so far and there haven’t been many signs that this can change.
At this rate, none of our better players will want to stay, in fact the braver ones (Rooney especially) will actively and aggressively seek a transfer and make things very awkward. External players will not want to sign for us unless they are relatively young and still see playing for the club as a step up from where they currently are. Any players who are in demand will have a list of 5 or 6 other preferred destinations.
We cannot change the style of Moyes and his coaching staff, it is ingrained… all we can do is hope they screw up so badly that they’ll be dismissed within the next 2 years. I just hope they haven’t wasted the whole transfer budget by that point. I for one am not standing by our new coaching staff, because their appointment is so woefully misjudged that it is damaging the club and can only cause more damage if left unchanged.
Now is the time for Landon Donovan to “arrive and revive” the squad’s next 7 weeks before utter destitute prominence at 6th in the year end table.
Davcal @ 10:13: “It should not have been this difficult to keep that squad in the top 4.
Yes there are replacements needed, but not to the extent we are led to believe.”
Basically, I’m in agreement with most of your rant.
What I would mention is that TheLads have only lost one match in a rout – 4-1 @ Man$hitty. Most of the other losses have been close-run affairs in which the opposition has had the odd-goal. And, let’s not overlook the fact that in a lot of those odd-goal losses, TheLads have actually had most of the possession. Such was the situation yesterday when Chicharito scored one but could have had three from four very good chances. (I say that as a big, big fan of Javier Hernandez.)
Added to that – and it’s not just an “excuse” – is the reality that this year’s team has had an avalanche of injuries: to the best of my recollection, only DDG and Evra have been fit for the whole season. EVERY OTHER PLAYER has missed matches. It’s been especially difficult when the spine of the team – Vidic/Carrick/RVP – have not been match-fit for long periods of time. These three guys are also in the late-prime of their careers and so should be real leaders for this team on the field-of-play. Their absence is only made worse by the constant “rotation” which means that the core has no continuity in their team-work. In that regard, Fabio’s madness yesterday has to be ascribed as much to a rush-of-blood as to a desire to “prove himself” in a rare opportunity to show-his-stuff. Added to that, what’s perhaps most concerning is that the style of play is just plain boring – midfielders who don’t’ (or can’t) drive forward but only pass sideways and wingers who can’t cross.
In addition, a lot of players who were expected to be mainstays have proven themselves to be “just not good enough” – Young, Nani, Anderson, Valencia, and Cleverley in particular. This five-some are in the prime-years of their careers (23-28) but not one is remotely as good as earlier indications suggested. Their play has either stalled or gone backwards.
Then, of course, there is the on-going melodrama surrounding TheWayneBoy – “will he stay or will he go – redux”. No one can question Rooney’s commitment on the field of play but one has to wonder about the corrosive impact his me-first attitude has on his team-mates. AgentMoyes’ brown-nosing hasn’t helped matters.
If, as others have suggested, that the best that could be expected would be a top-four finish and a glorious cup-run then the situation is not yet as bad as it seems in the wake of the two previous losses. Of course, it ain’t good – and this year’s team is boring to watch.
Davey,
I agree with every single word you wrote 🙂
Moyes is the issue.
The players are being clearly coached to swing in the ball, that’s the entire game plan. No nuance, nothing else, get it down the flanks, swing the ball in, and for nothing. No end product, no clear chances created, nothing.
HE PUT KAGAWA ON THE LEFT WING WHILE HE PLAYED WELBECK AT 10.
That should tell you everything you need to understand. The coaching staff are out of their depth, the tactics are archaic and backwards, the training of the players needs to be SERIOUSLY reconsidered given the number of injuries – HE IS EVEN making the stupid error of trying to bring players back before they’re fit.
Moyes is so obviously out of his depth I pity the man.
The only thing worse than making a mistake in the first place is to continue to endorse and support that mistake. It is clear to me if we do buy in this transfer window – and I am under no illusion that it is required – we should expect another panicked thrown away 30mil as per Fellaini.
Mongoletsi @ 2:38: “I agree with every single word you wrote”
I’m gob-smacked !