While arch-rivals Liverpool look set to raise the very title Sir Alex Ferguson paraded around Old Trafford almost 12 months ago, Manchester United’s current slump to seventh place in the Premier League has ultimately led to the dismissal of David Moyes. According to Sky News reports, the Scot met with chief executive Ed Woodward – himself a new arrival in the summer – at the club’s Carrington training ground and was told the news face-to-face.
It was an overwhelming end to an underwhelming tenure as United boss for Moyes, who left the champions unable mathematically to qualify for next season’s Champions League – the first time they have failed to do so since 1991. Including crippling defeats to bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, the team has lost 11 times this season, six of which took place in front of their own fans.
Signed to a six-year contract, Moyes was chosen by Sir Alex Ferguson after 11 years at Everton during which he guided the team to five top-six finishes. Less than a year later, the 50-year-old walks out of the club with a reported payoff of around £4 million. Throughout the season, Professional Manager has kept a keen eye on Moyes’ progress, looking at the challenges he faced in succeeding the most successful manager in Premier League history – even to the extent of drawing comparisons with the business world.
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has cautioned that there is a clear lack of respect for managers in football – as shown by Moyes’ sacking – and less pressure and more time would benefit these totemic figures. But with rumours that the club’s owners’ the Glazer family were ready to back the manager with up to £150million to buy new players, the decision showed a lack of trust from the club’s hierarchy that Moyes was able to spend the money wisely.
A statement on the club’s website said: “Manchester United has announced that David Moyes has left the club. The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role … Ryan Giggs, the club’s most decorated player, will assume responsibility for the first team until a permanent appointment can be made. The club will make no further comment on this process until it is concluded.”
Netherlands’ head coach Louis Van Gaal and Borussia Dortmund Jurgen Klopp are bookies’ favourites to succeed Moyes in the Old Trafford hot seat. However, if either of them take charge, they will have to be mindful of their predecessor’s mistakes. On paper, Moyes’ demise at the club was due to results. He simply failed to get them – a cardinal sin at a club used to unparalleled achievements. This has been Manchester United’s worst season in a quarter of a century, and especially poor considering United had not finished outside of the Top Three since 1991. It is almost impossible to find a plausible argument, other than management failure, as to why a team with enough quality to win the league title last season is struggling to finish in the Top Six this year.
Despite a relatively successful 11-year spell at Everton, Moyes had never managed players of the stature seen at Old Trafford, and managing those egos seems to have been an issue. Just a few months into Moyes’ reign, numerous reports at home and abroad suggested Robin van Persie was unhappy in training, while Rio Ferdinand appeared to hint that a lack of forward planning in terms of which games he did and did not play in was becoming a problem. Most recently, rumours emanated that new temporary boss Giggs had even fallen out with Moyes after feeling marginalised. Even in the past 24 hours, the intense speculation over Moyes’ sacking was most “Un-United-like,” as the decision was clearly leaked to reporters by club representatives in advance of the formal announcement.
Most of all, Moyes’ biggest downfall may have been his mentality. Was he a small fish in the world’s biggest pond? Pre-match comments suggesting United should “aspire” to be like Manchester City and entertaining the possibility of being beaten by Liverpool at home – which subsequently happened – are not what fans of the Red Devils want to hear. Nor the club’s owners and executives.
Image of Old Trafford stadium courtesy of mrmichaelangelo / Shutterstock