One for the football fans

[Symphony]

Just a few thoughts in the aftermath of David Moyes being sacked earlier this week from his post as Manchester United manager.

Feel sorry for the guy and respect the way he has conducted himself. I found it very enlightening when his statement thanked everyone at the club APART from the players. Yes it's not been a great season for Man Utd but that was always going to be the case after SAF stood down.....although having him looming large in the background probably not the most helpful thing for a new manager.

Perhaps he was the wrong appointment but the quite frankly childish behaviour of some of the players beggars belief. Players coming out and saying they want to leave...only to back track when the boss has been sacked. And these are players of the calibre of Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young......who exactly are they? Some of these guys would do well to take a look at the likes of Gerrard and Giggs...players who know the meaning of loyalty. Quite honestly...would any Champions League level club be interested in a Welbeck, Young, Cleverly, Valencia, Rafael? I think not.

Once the players are on the pitch they have to take responsibility...and I think if Van Gaal comes in to Utd then there will be some players in for a shock as he simply won't stand for it. Would be funny if he brought Roy Keane with him as part of his staff.......another one who would sort the men from the boys

I think SAF really did leave a poisoned chalice....the squad needed a major overhaul for some time and I don't think anyone other than SAF would have managed to win the league with it last season.

No club has a divine right to be in the CHampions League or be winning trophies year on year. As a Liverpool fan, I know the fall from grace only too well but there is a generation of Utd fans who have never known anything but winning. Part of supporting a club is being there through the bad times as well as the good......and I wonder how many fans will need to go and find their "Glory" elsewhere now?

As for Mr Moyes....I'm sure he will bounce back from the experience in much the same way as Roy Hodgson after his brief and unsuccessful tenure at Anfield. I wish him all the best.

"Be the man who follows the man who followed THE MAN!"

 

[Kingface]

Interesting to get your thoughts on this Steve and I agree with most of your points.

I think the biggest thing this all signals is that Man Utd, with the Ferguson reign over, are no longer immune to the common practices of just about every other club, such as being impatient with Managers, taking shares and their place in the stock market into consideration when making these decisions etc.

There seems little doubt that his sacking could have been dealt with better. There is plenty of speculation as to how exactly Moyes has been treated during his tenure, with reports even suggesting many players and board members have been doubting Moyes' capabilities in the role since February but not saying a thing about it.

I don't agree that the squad is as bad as some are making out however. They have certainly mostly been terrible this season, with exceptions such as Rooney and De Gea, but the mostly same squad didn't just win the league last season, they won it whilst barely breaking a sweat.

Regardless of how much these players are paid, they are not immune to playing badly due to lack of confidence or motivation. I personally still rate Valencia although he is getting on a bit. Certainly his willing-ness to track back and get stuck in is something they desperately needed in their last match against Everton, something Nani is clearly not willing to do.

Players like Welbeck and Cleverley are still very young and the former has had some very promising moments and goals scored this season. You only have to look at Jordan Henderson at Liverpool as an example of a seemingly not so great young player suddenly becoming one of the finest Midfielders in the country based on how well he has played this season and how important a player he has become for Liverpool.

Ferdinand is well past it and I couldn't help but be glad that someone other than me shared this opinion publicly recently (Kanchelskis).

I think a key oversight on Moyes' part tactically was not making Kagawa a regular in the No 10 role from the beginning of the season. If he did, I feel like he'd be flourishing by now and they wouldn't even need to bother buying Mata.

 

[Symphony]

It's interesting looking back to last season..although Utd won the league at a canter i do hold the opinion that the ineptitude of other clubs really assisted, combined with SAF. I think SAF knew full well what was going to happen over the course of this season.

If I were a MU fan the most galling thing for me would have been the distinct lack of effort from a considerable number of players.......petulance at its absolute worst. Moyes never stood a chance poor fella.

Point taken over Henderson....but I don't recall him crying and wanting to leave when he wasn't getting picked or things weren't going his way I think you have to credit BR with a lot of the improvement in Henderson also...in effect he is playing the "Gerrard" role now.

Interesting to see how the picture pans out over the summer I guess.......and see if Van Gaal comes on board as he will certainly ruffle a few feathers

I look at the Utd side and think..."How many of them would get in the current Liverpool first team"......I suspect the keeper and that would be it...far cry from a few years back.

 

[Power_Metal_Dom]

As a Utd fan, born in Stockport and went to my first match when I was 3 - I admit it's been a LONG and privileged time at the top of several tables, witnessing a lot of silverware and taking for granted and indeed expecting Utd to win. So much so that the past season does hit especially hard when you're the reigning champs to come crashing down with so many home losses and toothless football. The true fans have shown their colour by being the ones silently backing Moyes and recognising that - as Steve says - he was given a task FAR too big for his boots, he was taking on a legacy that ANY manager would find difficult to grapple with because (1) it's a major transition period at the end of one of the most renowned eras in all of football (2) the talent in the squad he was handed SIMPLY ISN'T WORLD CLASS ANY MORE.

Never mind this blame-the-manager mentality. It's a sport. It's men on the pitch who decide on the team's performance. To put the team's success on the shoulders of one man is absurd and many fans would do well to remember that. I think Moyes did what he could with a poor lot and from the sound of it a hostile and unwilling few players. He got us Mata, he got us into the quarter finals and we're still 7th, we haven't gone completely belly up. Fantastic that Giggs (my favourite player of all time, no less) has taken the reigns for now because he has lived through a fair bit of Utd history and he'll have had SAF's wisdom and attitude rub off on him - he'll know that unity and positivity are the only ways out of this mess and hopefully that include another crucial thing - WE NEED NEW BLOOD!