Moyes was 16 words into his inaugural press appearance as United manager when he mentioned Ferguson and though we did not know it that day — July 5, — his gauche deference foretold what we now know: that he was neither big nor bold enough to manage United. As you can imagine, the blood drained from my face. Yet Moyes had a far smaller mentality than even Van Gaal. They ultimately pursued to deadline day only those players who Moyes knew inside out — Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini.
He dithered in his team selections and tactical planning, too. Moyes offered some interesting reflections on Friday about what he perceives as an unwelcome change at United in the years since Ferguson walked away. They were a football club who enjoy traditions with the way they spent.
They did what they thought was the right thing to do and spent the right way. There he goes again. Of course the club have competed in every sphere of football. Nearly three years on, his discussion is still about what might have been in the transfer market.
We will never know whether United might have managed a smooth succession had one of the big beasts of management succeeded Ferguson, though the swagger which was lost in those months is something the club are still trying to locate. Yet Mourinho said on Friday that the old rules about natural succession and endless success were already vanishing in the summer Ferguson left. He is a no-nonsense manager, they say, who does not indulge unprofessional behavior and rewards and targets work ethic and teamwork.
Rooney might save Moyes the tricky situation of having such an explosive character in his dressing room yet again, as the striker is reportedly seeking a summer move away from Old Trafford BBC Sport , but he will not be the only big ego and established world-class name that will demand the Sir Alex treatment.
The step up from Everton, a perennial Europe-chasing, middle-to-upper side with limited resources, to Manchester United, a European giant and title contender, is not insignificant, and equally the man management required to develop and ultimately sell burgeoning talents and to motivate and challenge international superstars is vastly different. But it does not say anything about him managing at a club with considerable commercial clout and vast financial resources. The caliber of player that comes with such an impressive reach means that the pressure will be on from before day one.
It will be all the more difficult if United intend to keep the manager-decides-all approach under Sir Alex Ferguson. To ask Moyes to step seamlessly into such enormous shoes without changing the club structure—adding a director of football, for example—would be borderline unreasonable, and we all know the perils of having a legend just upstairs and too easily accessible.
Manchester United have never been as pure a passing club as Barcelona or Liverpool. That much is clear. Ferguson molded them into a team with strengths in almost any kind of approach; devastating counterattacks, impressive wing play and effective central attacking have all been on show at Old Trafford throughout the years. There is the Steven Gerrard school of thought—that Everton play a long-ball approach just like Stoke City BBC Sport —and there are the Moyes proponents that insist his brand of football is attacking and pleasing to watch.
The answer probably lies somewhere in between. There is the silky smooth passing and creativity of Steven Pienaar, and the exciting, direct dribbling of Kevin Mirallas.
There was the metronomic dictating of midfield play and tidy passing of Mikel Arteta. But it is undeniable that the aerial approach has always reigned king at Goodison Park. Their most recent striking star was Nikica Jelavic, famed for his aerial ability, and even in his off-form absence, the bulky Victor Anichebe has been used of late.
As the attacking midfielder, Marouane Fellaini has been effective but all too physical see his prolific use of the elbow , and his predecessor was Tim Cahill. Our conclusion? Even if the package and image associated with David Moyes is impeccable just as it mostly has been for his rumored successor at Everton, Roberto Martinez , there is the stumbling obstacle in that his results have just not been good enough for the job just as they are not for Martinez.
No surprise, then, that when it comes to getting results off top teams, it is the likes of Stoke City in previous years, anyway , Swansea City and Liverpool an indication of their recent decline that are mentioned. Everton are merely a difficult fixture, not a potential banana skin. The meticulous planning will no doubt have sat well with the United hierarchy, and possibly Sir Alex himself, but when Manchester United are concerned, it is dominance, not reactiveness, that should be the order of the day.
When it comes to Europe—and Everton have not really been a true Champions League club—Moyes exited the competition in the pre-group stage qualifiers having finished fourth in the season, ahead of Liverpool. A league finish ahead of their crosstown rivals was repeated last season and looks odds-on to be replicated again this term, but this is during a period where Liverpool have fallen dramatically.
So the reputation Moyes has enjoyed—that he has done exceedingly well for a club with such limited resources—is all well and good and may indeed hold true, but there will no longer be any context come July. He will need to start delivering silverware, something he has never done in his 11 years with Everton.
What makes Manchester United so alluring and the Manchester United mythology so enduring?
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