David Moyes was handpicked by the outgoing Sir Alex Ferguson and the former manager urged fans to get behind their new manager.
10 months into the job, the former Everton boss was shown the door following Manchester United’s worst season in the Premier League era. Despite being called the “chosen one”, the Scot was “unwanted” towards to the latter stages of his tenure with certain fans overtly expressing their negative feelings towards him.
This article looks at some of the key factors that led to his premature exit from the hot seat at arguably, the biggest club in England.
Failure in the summer transfer window
Moyes together with Ed Woodward failed to even come close to emulating the success enjoyed by Sir Alex and David Gill. In fairness, the latter hardly went for marquee signings. Moyes failed miserably in his attempts to bring in the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Fabio Coentrao and Leighton Baines. This can be blamed on improper planning to ascertain which players were needed the most. It is true that Sir Alex left him a title winning squad but it was clear to see that certain changes, mainly in midfield and defence were so badly needed. Moyes had to settle for Marouane Fellaini for a whopping 27.5 million pounds. An ostentatious price tag for an overrated player. His original value was below 25 million but Moyes ended up paying more than 3 million extra in a financial game that Wigan chairman Dave Whelan had started and smartly directed towards Moyes by Roberto Martinez in a transfer involving James McCarthy.
Getting rid of the coaching staff, hastily…
As customary as it maybe, Moyes should not have got rid of the existing coaching staff at Carrington. Mike Phelan, Eric Steele and Rene Meulensteen departed and this left a gaping void as they were very influential and well respected by the players. The incoming coaching staff may have found it difficult to win over the players, especially the big names.
Deviating from the traditional style of play
Old Trafford was a nightmare for visiting sides, even the best sides in Europe let alone England. This soon became folklore as a deviation from the traditional attacking style of play helped visiting teams play with less fear. United had lost their fear factor! Sir Alex had an attacking approach that saw many crosses and attempts. That of Moyes focused more on interceptions and tackles. This was surely a paradigm shift and was too soon to be implemented. He did not leave provisions for a transition and instead expected all to buy in and settle with his style of play.
Too many losses at home
United lost to the likes of West Brom, Everton, Newcastle and Tottenham at home not mention Liverpool and Manchester City. They lost more games at home (7- 1 under Ryan Giggs) than they did away (5).
Too many doubles
Rivals Manchester City and Liverpool did the double over United. Everton also did a double for the first time in over 40 years.
Too many records broken for all the wrong reasons
1.Finishing the season with the lowest ever Premier League points tally
2.Failing to qualify for the Champions League since 1995
3.Worst home league form for more than 10 years
4.Three defeats in a row for the first time since 2001
5.3rd round FA Cup exit (only once under SAF)
6.First home defeat to Swansea
7.First home defeat to Newcastle since 1972
8.First home defeat to West Brom since 1978
9.First league defeat to Stoke since 1984
10. First time conceding a 1st minute goal in the Premier League
11.First time Manchester City, Everton and Liverpool have done the double since the start of the Premier League
12.Everton does double after 1969/1970
13.First time Everton and Liverpool have done the league double in the same season
All these and many other factors led to the Scot’s early departure…
