David Moyes at Manchester United, Could Anyone be Doing Better?
Hello Red Devils!
My name is Jeremy Fricker and I am the newest writer here at Red Devil Armada! I am so happy to be here covering the best football club in the world! I hope to bring with some fun and insight. As a die hard supporter of Manchester United I feel I can add a lot to the network here! I figure for my first post for the readership, I would look at the first six months of competitive football with David Moyes at the helm of our beloved Manchester United!
I would like to say firstly, that I, like so many of my United brethren, feel an uncompromising sense of loss without “The Boss” leading our boys onto the pitch every match. Realism, alas, has dictated that we are now in a time of flux, and the first manager to replace Sir Alex, would be in a huge pair of shoes, and under many millions worth of eyes of scrutiny. I read the calls, over and over, from fans and from a lot of media, for the firing of David Moyes. The same Moyes who led a less than stellar group out of the murk in Everton. The manager who also, lest it be forgotten, was given the nod by Fergie himself as the successor.
It started out hopeful, with a well played victory in the Community Shield back in August, and the Red Devils, at the time of this writing, are past the group stage in the Champions League! I would not be very hard pressed to say that, for most clubs, this would be a short list of large positives.
However, there is the other shoe dropping. There are the failed attempts at acquiring Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera, Thiago Alcantara and Sami Khedira. There is also the over payment to bring in Marouane Fellaini, and the failure to land Lieghton Baines in the same deal have shown that the rest of the European community at large and the Premiere League contemporaries see United as a team in transition. This also means that any January transfers will be terribly over priced.
With January half done, and the meat of the season upon us, a 7th place position, being 11 points shy of Arsenal at the top and 5 points out of the top four, is nothing short of disastrous. An unforgiveable loss to Swansea City, to be drummed out of the League Cup, has the fans at Old Trafford seething in their anger.
There have been injuries to key players, sure. Giants like Rooney, and Van Persie, if ever on the pitch together again, could salvage that top 4 finish alone. It is safe to say Nemanja Vidic has not been at top form all season. Phil Jones, while striving valiantly through injuries himself, is not the answer at defense. Michael Carrick has looked lost and lonely in the center without much support to dispense his passes to.
There are the issues of Rooney possibly wanting an exit to London, which has fans in tumult, and Moyes’ inability, it would seem, to quell that. There is the open disappointment by Moyes in Portuguese national Anderson. I would say that, given all these distractions and injuries, almost any manager would be lauded for his efforts. Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, or any other superstar manager would be hard pressed to salvage a top four finish with the inherited pressure and issues.
The question is, what do we have to look forward to? What can David Moyes do to take himself out of mediocrity? I think if he is to take himself off the hot seat he needs to get better at the transfer process. One of the signature skills of SAF was landing the man he targeted. It is what gave him his power, lose Beckham? We still win. Lose Ronaldo? Still win. You have to replace the parts, and Fergie could. Until he learns that skill, Moyes will be adrift in a C- capacity in the league. How long will Malcolm Glazer allow that?