Some posters are getting a little silly about what makes us 'true reds', or not, regarding the Moyes situation.
My support for United hasn't wavered under Moyes... and never will. It would take a lot more than this to make me a "not so, true red, after all", as some in the Moyes camp are accusing a growing band of United supporters of being. Everybody is entitled to voice an opinion and to change them with the benefit of insight and evidence.
I have even noticed Moyes Forever posters calling for the heads of other managers who have been in their jobs for just a month based on very similar results as our manager has been getting.
Im a supporter of United. I’m not interested in 'supporting' Moyes, the man, over and above the expectations, requirements, standing and reputation of the club. No one is bigger than Manchester United. That includes the manager. If he fecks up, then he has to go. That's the deal in football management. Come on, everybody knows that.
Alarmingly I am reading articles who are convinced that Moyes has a 'divine' right to be given his full opportunity to either fail or succeed as a United manager over the duration of his contract. This is fine of course if he succeeds. However the consequences of year-on-year failure would be pretty catastrophic for a club like United.
I don't hear fans lamenting the memories of Ron Atkinson and Dave Sexton. Ex managers who fail are very quickly forgotten. Only 2 United managers have ever succeeded and been made into deities by the OT faithful. The rest were pretty hopeless, (save Doc) even though they too were given time, as is the United way, but eventually sacked. This is why we went 26 years without winning anything. Nobody had the balls to intervene early enough and say 'sorry Boss but this isn't working'
Fergies brief was to turn the club upside down, install a new culture and totally re structure from top to bottom. Unlike Moyes he wasn't appointed to administer seamless continuity from the previous administration. This is why Fergie was given time. We were prepared not to expect trophies (like, we were used to it, anyway) and Europe qualification wasn't an issue thanks to our neighbours down the road. But we understood what the club was trying to do. Fergie was a proven trophy winner, ex international manager. He was a disciplinarian that was prepared to confront the negative culture of some of the players and ship them out. Fergie was a much needed revolution at the club.
I supported the Moyes appointment over the likes of Jose. The Board wanted continuity from the Ferguson era with a like-minded British disciplinarian who they thought could work with the existing squad and club set-up. Continuity not Revolution was the buzz-word. Yes we all realise that we might have teething problems at first and even accept that we might struggle to compete in the PL and CL enough to win them in the first couple of years, especially with what is going on at City & Chelsea, with reemerging clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool. Oh, well, if that’s the price we have to pay then its not a major blow in the bigger picture of the club.
But what we do and have to expect is that we maintain our position as one of the Big 4 in this country. That's a given. The way this club is financed and set-up without CL we are damaged. Continual failure to qualify and we are fecked as the club we recognise today.
Since Moyes has been at United I have seen signs that has made me doubt his ability to succeed as the Board imagine he will. The continuity experiment has all but failed. He immediately dismantled the existing, proven winning staff, against Fergie's wishes, and replaced them with rookies, who haven't won a bean between them. I also don’t believe that he does have the dressing room despite what is said to the press. He is a dour, characterless man without much personality with poor communication skills (he talks in gibberish riddles in interviews). I don't believe he has the technical nouse needed to compete at the top table in Europe. He's just an old skool 4-2-2 merchant and I think he will find it hard to attract the best technically gifted players required to dominate in Europe (Mata I accept was a coup). I don't believe that Phil Nev and that Round bloke can help him much here. The results we are getting are alarming. We can't even beat those around or below us convincingly or even at all and against the top 4 and latter stages of the CL well, I worry about those games left to come.
I will give Moyes till the end of the season and CL qual to redeem himself. Without that I hope Fergie & SBC get to smell the coffee, admit they made a mistake and move the club on, and appoint a revolutionary manager, as Fergie was himself.
Moyes will just become a distant memory as another McGuinees, O'Farrell, Sexton or Atkinson to United fans. So what? United will move on and keep the Red Flag flying as we always have done.
It's not about Moyes it's about United!
posted on 2/2/14
That is exactly what I am getting at. Mata came here because it is Manchester United, period.
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exactly and what comes with being a Man United player.
posted on 2/2/14
i enjoy reading people defend moyes saying he is bringing some type of "style" to our play with full backs and bla bla.
All I see is endless hoofing the ball up field hoping RVP, Rooney, Mata or Welbeck can out jump defenders.
The amount of hoofing I am seeing in our play this season makes me eyes sting.
posted on 2/2/14
Unlike Moyes he wasn't appointed to administer seamless continuity from the previous administration.
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Well written article compared to the usual tripe about the demon Moyes!
Moyes was hired because he was the best man for the job in the eyes of SAF, Sir Bobby and the board (whether we like it or not)
He has been dealt a chit hand! A non existent midfield, having to mass clear out deadwood players and a defence that has a combined age of over a hundred which we have seen the best years from.
He hasn't gotten everything right and has made mistakes too, it's not all pro Moyes as some of the fans like to think fans like myself are about.
I really can't stand that 'he has a championship winning squad bollox!' Even if he did inherit last seasons squad with the addition of fellaini and now mata, SAF had RVP to get him out if tight situations, (like Southampton for one) as well as having a 'performing rio', Raphael Carrick and fit Rooney! Moyes hasn't had that!
Still believe we will get top four.
posted on 2/2/14
I too believe it is too soon to judge Moyes just yet. However, I would argue that there are clear tactical differences between this season and last, I only go to a handful of your games each season, but it was pretty evident to me and the stats back it up too.
This season, your average shots per game has decreased (as has your clinicality in front of goal), leading to a difference of 17 goals by the 20 game mark season on season. Now, people can quite rightly say that is the Van Persie effect of last year and Moyes has been massively unlucky in that respect (I do personally think Van Persie could have played a few games more than he actually has though...).
The reasons for the lack of shots goes deeper than that though, in terms of how the strikers are now being fed the ball as well. Your passing has dropped massively in terms of success rate (by 7%) and amount made (80 per game fewer), with the most significant drop being in the final third. The one passing statistic that has risen though, I'm sure some won't be surprised to read, is long balls played which has increased. That might be due to the amount of crosses we are putting in, some might ask? No, your crossing amount and completion rate have both actually declined - the long balls are not effectively to create chances, just to spread the play, so its a no-brainer that your possession has decreased as a result.
We're nearly there, just two more areas to look at. You have improved in one regard (although it may not feel like it), and that is defensively, conceding fewer goals so far this season. Where you have increased though is the amount of fouls you are conceding and cards that you are getting as a result.
So what does all of that tell us? Essentially, the play last year did look disjointed at times, but the overall tactical approach is very different. I'm surprised (actually, amazed) some don't think it is, I've only gone to two games this season and it was massively evident both times. There is a rigidity in movement this season that wasn't there last which, although making you slightly stronger at the back, is leading to you not having any space between the lines and hitting long balls. I'll admit it isn't as evident on tv as you don't get a decent enough picture of overall movement, but i've still seem it.
A big part of that will be down to players missing, and for that Moyes does need to time to see what he does with all the players available. To say it is solely down to that so far though is going against what all the stats and your own eyes should really be telling you.
posted on 2/2/14
comment by RBW - I'll be the judge of that (U2335)
posted 2 hours, 1 minute ago
Moyes reaction that he was gobsmaked that Mata was signed just about says it all really
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Agree... and with the article too. It's like he was handed to him.....and he shrugs and says ok that'll do for this year. Maybe in Summer we'll find someoone else. So absolutely complacent and complaisant.
posted on 2/2/14
I too believe it is too soon to judge Moyes just yet.
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Unless United make a remarkable recovery in form and the wheels fall of one of the top 4 #notgoingtohappen United's season is now over.
United have 14 games left to play (plus at least 2 in the CL). The chances of us qualifying for the CL are getting pretty remote. One more defeat would just about seal that. The time to judge moyes would have been at he end of his first season. No trophy with CL qual would have been a 6 out of ten can do much better. Carry on. But no CL is a fail. Goodbye.
Moyes seems to have got to this watershed as early as January as good as. That takes a lot of doing with a club like Man United. Our only hope left is that Liverpool capitulate. Even then we still have to improve to pip others to 4th
posted on 2/2/14
Superb article RBW, superb. 5 stars
posted on 2/2/14
ta MUDD
being bottling it up for a while.. had to be said. We need to act sooner rather than later
posted on 2/2/14
Was on the fence for a while but I'm now in the Moyesout brigade.
Just isn't working out. He's not a bad manager, utd is just a step too far
posted on 2/2/14
You clearly identified what Moyes is doing wrong. He's got to stop playing 4,2,2. A full compliment of players should see an improvement
I jest however. In truth he's never going to be bold enough for United, he's too safety first. But then again, Mourinho isn't bold enough for Chelsea either so there might be big changes at top clubs at the end of next season