David Moyes’ season of hell was brought to a merciful end earlier this week, as the former Everton manager was put out of his misery by the Manchester United hierarchy.
After falling to a lowly seventh position in the league and losing 2-0 against David Moyes’ former club Everton on the weekend, the powers that be decided enough was enough.
Many feel Moyes could have been sacked at any point over the last couple of months, especially after the humiliating defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.
It seems the footballing Gods enjoy bitter irony, as the year United’s Merseyside rivals look like clinching their first title 25 years is the year the man who threatened to ‘knock Liverpool off their perch’ is no longer at the helm.
Of course it was always going to be a gargantuan task for any manager to follow in Sir Alex Ferguson’s footsteps, a man who won 39 trophies in his 26 years as manager.
And while many fans have been quite vocal in their objection to David Moyes, others feel he was not given a fair crack at the whip.
Ryan Giggs has been given the job on an interim basis, with Louis van Gaal, Jurgen Klopp and Diego Simeone amongst the leading candidates for the role long term.
MM took to the streets of Piccadilly to ask the people of Manchester:
Was 10 months enough time for Moyes to make his mark?
|
Option |
Result |
|
Yes |
36% |
|
No |
64% |
Dave Briggs, 51, a social worker from Manchester, said: “He took over a team that wasn’t loyal to him, and it was going to take him time; he needed at least two seasons.
“I’d leave the job with Giggs for a season and wait for a bigger name than Van Gaal to come up.”
Ian Taylor, 41, a builder from Rotherham, said: “Moyes was left with a rubbish team.
“If players like Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are good enough centre halves for United then England fans should worry too.”
Ben Davenport, 21, a musician from Manchester, said: “If you look at the stats for managers of the past, he’s won more games than Matt Busby and Ferguson did in their first seasons with the club, and they’re two of the greatest managers ever.”
Neil Smith, 30, a social worker from Withington, said: “It took Alex Ferguson time to shine, and Moyes wasn’t given a chance.
“Some of the blame lies with the players. They were league winning players last year. But at least Scholes and Nicky Butt are back in the fold.”
While many of the people MM spoke to felt Moyes should have been given more time to make his own stamp on the club, for many Mancunians, enough was enough.
Ben Fitzgerald, 29, a sports manager from Salford Quays, said: “Moyes ruined the transfer window last summer.
“United didn’t have any depth due to players being at the back end of their careers, and they haven’t really added much depth. They needed to sign quicker players.”
Richard Wheatley, 37, a teacher from Sheffield, said: “Possibly not the right choice in the first place.
“I’d rather Mourinho had got it. Perhaps Moyes was handpicked by Ferguson to make Ferguson look better?”
Andrew Gordon, 29, an architect from Warrington, said: “United have shown a lot of intent to spend over the summer and they don’t trust Moyes with a budget; Mata and Fellaini haven’t made an impact.
“You want someone who’s used to handling that kind of spending power.”
Oliver Fell, 24, a civil servant from Liverpool, said: “I’d say Moyes’ sacking was just about reasonable, but not the manner of it happening.
“It shouldn’t have been leaked on the Monday.”
