Good Times, Bad Times: How do you solve a problem like David Moyes?
When David Moyes was announced as Alex Ferguson's
hand-picked successor back in July, it's fair to say no-one expected a seamless
transition, with the passing of the baton from one Glaswegian to another. But
it is also fair to say no-one quite expected the 'sinking ship' scenario Moyes
and United now find themselves in, or to have seemingly declined so far, so
quickly.
However, the reality of the situation is a team who stormed to the
league title by an 11 point margin find themselves adrift in 7th at the start
of the new year (and ironically, behind leaders Arsenal by 11 points), out of
the FA Cup at the first hurdle, and having endured their worst start to a
season for quite some time. While there are positives in the team's
surprisingly assured and comfortable progress in the Champions League and the
upcoming League Cup semi-final against Sunderland, it is the latter that
represents United's only real chance of major silverware this season - and in
truth is a competition the countries bigger clubs generally regard with
indifference at best.
For Moyes, United and their fans, it is a worrying
predicament, and it is arguable that at a number of their rivals (Chelsea,
Spurs spring to mind, and to a lesser extent City and Liverpool) David Moyes
would now be at serious risk of losing his job. But under United's hierarchy,
and Ferguson and Bobby Charlton in particular, it is generally assumed Moyes is
at no such risk and will be given at least the season to turn things around.
However, herein lies one of the many problems David Moyes faces so long as he
manages United, and arguably one of his biggest - the ever looming shadow of
Sir Alex Ferguson. Arriving at Old Trafford through Sir Alex Ferguson Way, past
the proud, bronze statue that stands outside the stadium, and taking his seat
in the dugout opposite 'The Alex Ferguson Stand', it is easy to sympathise with
Moyes, and the relentless haunting he endures of his predecessors achievements
and legacy. Then to top it all off, the icing on this unwanted cake comes in
the form of the man himself: Sir Alex Ferguson.
Attending almost every game, sat up in the Gods, watching
over his title winning team dropping points like they were contagious, and
remaining at the club working behind the scenes as a director. However
unintentional this interference may be, the sheer presence of Ferguson in and
around Old Trafford is problematic to the say the least and extremely
undermining for Moyes, particularly in his attempts to stamp his authority and
identity on what is still an almost entirely Ferguson-inherited team, and
echoes the changeover from Sir Matt Busby to Wilf McGuinness back in the 60s,
from Dalglish to Souness in the 90s, or more recently, every manager that
followed Jose Mourinho's first spell at Chelsea after his 2007 departure.
Moreover, Ferguson himself is also culpable in part for United's current
decline. The latter years of his tenure were littered with significant
mistakes - his stubborn refusal to permit youth product Paul Pogba playing time
eventually led to the talented youngster quitting Old Trafford for Juventus,
where he has since blossomed into one of the best young midfielders in Europe.
Similarly his failure to strengthen the midfield, something the club has needed
direly for some time, is a lapse of judgement that is proving more costly with
each passing game. It could even be argued that despite the unquestionable
position of power he held at Old Trafford, he should not have been allowed to
make a decision as big as hand picking his own successor. But for many United
fans, the sympathy for Moyes ends when you consider a number of his more
self-inflicted problems - of which there are numerous.
One blueprint of Moyes reign has become very obvious and
very quickly - his stubbornness as a manager. Whether it be his persistence
with the rigid, 4-4-2 formation, continually playing players out of position
such as Chris Smalling at right back, Phil Jones in centre midfield or again at right back, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa at left
wing (or Ashley Young on a football pitch), frequently giving game time to players as
hopelessly out of form as Antonio Valencia, Tom Cleverley or Ryan Giggs
while leaving the likes of Javier Hernandez, Fabio and Wilfried Zaha to
stagnate on the bench there is both a cautiousness and stubbornness that has become
a trademark of Moyes time in charge. There are numerous examples this season of
United taking a lead in games, but the relentless, predatory search for further
goals to kill off the opposition that had become the norm of every United side
for the past two decades has been replaced by a cautious need to protect any
advantage through a defensive, pragmatic approach - where Wayne Rooney was once
taken off and replaced by a Javier Hernandez, he is now replaced by a Phil
Jones. Similarly, squad rotation had always been an important part of
Ferguson's time at the helm, and fans took comfort knowing (or trusting he
knew) his strongest 11 - seven months in charge and there is still no feeling
Moyes has such trust in his own side, and by continuing to, at various extents,
neglect talents such as Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa and particularly
Wilfried Zaha, it appears Moyes skills at squad rotation are similarly lacking.
And there is another, perhaps less obvious decision and one of his first major
calls as United boss, that appears more costly with each point lost.
Moyes decision to dispense with assistant Mike Phelan,
first team coach Rene Meulensteen and goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, and then
replace them with Steve Round, Jimmy Lumsden and Phil Neville appears a risky
gamble that is currently backfiring, abandoning the continuity of seasoned
winners for trusted but as yet unaccomplished replacements. The loss of
Meulensteen and Steele is said to have hit United, or to be specific, United's
players, particularly hard. Goalkeeping coach Steele was accredited with David
de Gea's transformation from a mistake waiting to happen into arguably the
league's best goalkeeper. Such was his commitment to the 23 year old that
Steele is believed to have been learning Spanish in an effort to help ease de
Gea's rumoured homesickness, and aid the inevitable communication problems.
Meulensteen was thought to have been a popular figure among the players,
particularly for United's talisman Robin van Persie, and is similarly highly
rated among coaches and managers. But most important is the experience
Ferguson's staff brought to the dressing room; and not to mention the numerous
trophies they had played their part in winning under his mangement. Moyes' decision
to release these coaches ties in with his stubbornness, and perhaps hints at
naivety, as Steele revealed in an interview with fanzine United We Stand:
'He listened to the manager's [Ferguson] advice but he
wanted to be his own man.
'I didn't want to leave. Why would I? ...'You had the
United perspective - the manager saying: "Keep what we've got, keep the
continuity, work with them and they'll guide you through".
With all that
said and done, it must be stressed that Moyes is not a bad manager - far from it.
The progress he made during his 11 years on Merseyside cannot be so easily
overlooked - he set the groundwork for Everton's current success, in spite of
Roberto Martinez being flavour of the month among the media and fans, and his
Everton team in particularly good form. He did an outstanding job in dragging
the team he inherited, floundering at the bottom of the league, to the upper
reaches of the table, and kept them there and punching above their weight for
the entirety of his tenure. It should not be forgotten that it was this very
job that saw him touted as Ferguson's successor well before his eventual
appointment, and as such he deserves his chance at one of the world’s biggest
clubs - and above all he deserves time.
By that same
token, this United team are not a bad side - but neither are they a great one.
Moyes has inherited a talented squad with significant weaknesses to be
addressed; weaknesses his legendary predecessor failed to do so. A side that
can boast the names van Persie, Rooney, de Gea, Januzaj and Carrick (to name but
a few) cannot be written off so easily. Under Moyes, Rafael has continued to
grow into a reliable and talented right back, Adnan Januzaj has emerged as one
of the most exciting and promising prospects since Cristiano Ronaldo, and Danny
Welbeck is beginning to prove many of the clubs fans right in their beliefs
that beneath the 'Bambi on ice' impressions and erratic, inconsistent finishing lurks a
talented and technically gifted striker. And the clubs lone major signing of a
disastrous summer transfer window Marouane Fellaini remains in spite of
current, fickle opinion, a good player, and may yet prove to be the
midfield powerhouse United need to challenge the likes of City's Yaya Toure - the kind they have lacked since the departure of Roy Keane. If Moyes can
get the best out of this team like he has a revitalised Wayne Rooney, there is
no reason his United side cannot challenge on the domestic front in the coming
seasons.
However, there
is one point must be underlined above all others - if anything is to be
salvaged from this season, and to protect the immediate future of the club,
David Moyes needs significant backing in this months transfer window - and
quickly. He also needs the support of the clubs staff, fans and crucially, its
players. But while United's current faith in their manager is a refreshing change
from the 'hire and fire' approach that is all too common among Premier League
boardrooms, they cannot afford to stick and decline by Moyes through blind
loyalty if the club's fortunes continue to fall so rapidly. The 6 years Ferguson spent in
the wilderness before his maiden success is not a luxury Moyes or United have
in the modern game, in spite of the length of the contract he was awarded.
Unfortunately
for both Manchester United and David Moyes, the clock is ticking.
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