Moyes Sacked
22 April 2014
It had to happen — David Moyes has been sacked as United manager:
The list of unwanted records broken during Moyes’ time at the helm is as embarrassing as it is long. United will end the season with their lowest points total in Premier League history, they have not qualified for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades and their home record this season is the worst since 1978.
The same team that won the title by 11 points last season look on-track to finish 7th this term. This is hard to fathom — why have things failed so miserably? A worse-than-expected post-Ferguson hangover? Did the players not perform? Was the manager out of his depth?
A bit of all three, in my view. But Moyes’ biggest mistake was to immediately clear out the well established — and successful — United backroom staff and replace it with his Everton entourage. Any manager wants to stamp their mark on a new club but Moyes should have taken his time figuring out the best possible backroom staff. By firing Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen et al, he immediately discounted them from the running.
[Update 25/4]
Reading this article from the Guardian, it sounds as if Moyes didn’t actually fire Meulensteen, but that he left of his own accord when it became clear Moyes was changing things around. It’s interesting that it’s come out now, but it still doesn’t change my view that Moyes was rather rash in bringing in his own staff so quickly without taking the time to observe & work out the best mix of personnel.
Related:
Ferguson will help choose Moyes’ successor (he didn’t get it right first time, did he?)
Scholes joines Giggs’ backroom staff (this whole Giggs thing interests me, particularly the idea of someone more experienced coming in for a few years to give Giggs a few years experience before taking the reigns permanently. If nothing else, it signals some kind of strategy about the beyond-immediate future.)