Manchester United’s Future with David Moyes

By | September 23, 2013

Anyone who watched the Manchester Derby this past weekend was witness to absolute and complete demolition that Manchester City laid upon their long time rivals Manchester United.  This crushing 4-1 defeat is just another disappointing result for David Moyes in the early stages of his position as the manager of Manchester United.  Throughout the match, City outplayed Man-U in nearly every facet of the game.  World-class wingers like Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young looked like unprepared amateurs.  United’s fabled reputation of being technically impeccable, mentally sound, and athletically gifted seemed to be a thing of the distant past.

But what does this mean for David Moyes?  The answer is a bit anticlimactic- it means quite a bit less than people are making it out to mean.  Of course having 7 points out of 5 games thus far is an incredibly disappointing start to United’s Premier League campaign, but the results of each match are held up to the Sir Alex Ferguson standard.  Manchester United fans were hopeful that the transition into the David Moyes regime would be seamless and immediately prosperous, but how could it be?  Ferguson is one of the greatest managers of all time, and his techniques are not easily recreated.  Moyes is a talented manager in his own right, and along with the luxury of an entire squad of world-class athletes (the likes of which he didn’t quite have at Everton), all he needs is time and patience.  People often forget that Fergie didn’t win a League title until his 6th year as manager, so it is certainly too early to judge Moyes in a negative light.

Furthermore, when one considers that Man-U’s striker Wayne Rooney seems to have discovered his form of a few short years ago, this weekend’s embarrassing loss at Man City has somewhat of a silver lining.  As the season wears on, Manchester United will begin to adopt Moyes’ style of play.  They will show a bit more defensive intensity, and the overall quality of play will increase.  And with Rooney in his top form, they will score early and often.  (If you’re skeptical about Rooney’s form, take a look at the free-kick goal he scored in the City defeat).  Essentially what the defeat in the Manchester Derby means is that United are exactly where people should have expected them to be at this point in the season.  It remains to be seen whether or not United can discover their new Fergie-less identity with enough time left in the season to make a run at yet another Premier League title.

3 thoughts on “Manchester United’s Future with David Moyes

  1. Kavin Tamizhmani

    It is important to highlight the need to be patient with a new manager. When Sir Alex Ferguson took the reigns at Manchester, United finished 11th in the table. Although he had inherited a rebuilding project, it was vital that he was kept as manager during the transition phase for the club. Today, football managers are routinely given a short time period to prove themselves to owners and fans with winning results. The game of football takes time to build chemistry and build rapport with players. In fact, one can compare the stability of Manchester to the coaching turmoil experienced by Chelsea in the past few years. After Jose Mourinho left the club, Chelsea went through a series of world class managers that were sacked due to club expectations. For instance, even after guiding Chelsea to its first Champions League title, Roberto Di Matteo was removed from office after only 8 months at the helm. Interestingly, Mourinho has been reappointed as Chelsea manager to end Chelsea’s recent hunt for domestic silverware. While the Chelsea case may serve as an extreme example of the importance of managerial stability, it presents worthwhile contrasts to the current situation at United. In all, it may require some time, but I believe Moyes has the capacity to change United and move the club past the iconic Sir Alex era.

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  2. Ian Bruckner

    Matt, I’m glad you’re preaching patience with this United side. Not only did it take Fergie six years to win a title, as you mention, but often during his first several yearsfans also called for him to be fired. Moyes needs some time to make the squad his own. In the past, United teams expected to win at least the title every year and they must now recalibrate their expectations to fit the current state of the EPL. At the top, it seems there are four or five clubs that can win the title this year. From now on, a title every couple seasons might be something to relish.

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  3. Jun Yoon

    Great article about United. I think United did so well in the past because of their defense. Back in the days Vidic, Ferdinand, and Evra were a force to be reckoned with in the defensive end. Now, at 31, 34, and 32 respectively, I really don’t think they are as dominant as they have been compared to 2-3 years ago. Also I think Chelsea trying to sign Rooney up until the trade deadline has played some role in breaking down United’s team chemistry. I can’t agree more that there’s a long road ahead of United. I really don’t want to predict how teams will do at the beginning of the season but I can’t see United hoisting the EPL trophy with all the competition in the league. City has improved their squad, Arsenal added Ozil which I think was a fantastic sign because Giroud looks like a top striker now, Tottenham has added some names in Soldado and Lamela, and Chelsea’s got Mourinho back. So I think it will be interesting to see how United fares with the other clubs down the road.

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