David Moyes has guided United through a terrible first season since taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson. Nobody expected him to continue in quite the same vein as the great man, but the performance he has produced is beyond belief. I expect that Moyes will remain in charge for some time, but at any other club he would have been handed his P45 by now. Here are my top five reasons why he should be sacked.
1. Terrible Results
Results in the league and in cup competitions have been truly awful this year. Liverpool and Man City have both done the double on United. That alone could get you sacked at another big club. League losses to West Brom, Stoke and Newcastle are disappointing; draws with relegation hopefuls Fulham and Cardiff are frankly unacceptable from the current Champions. Cup performances have also been poor, losing out to Swansea and Sunderand. How quickly people have also forgotten the atrocious performance against Olympiakos. Moyes has broken records in all the wrong categories this season by pulling off the unexpected, and not in a good way.
2. Hapless Transfer Dealings
The signing of Marouane Fellaini summed up a disappointing summer for Moyes, paying over the odds for his former team's star. When it was discovered that United paid £4 million more than they needed to for the big-haired Belgian it displayed the managerial mess that had spilled forth at United. In January Juan Mata was signed for an eye watering £37.1 million and has done little to justify his huge price tag in the following months. Regardless of what happens to Moyes, United will require serious work this summer to achieve at their previous level once again.
3. Woeful Man Management
This season under Moyes has been marred by the many spats and rows with players and back room staff. Last years golden boot winner Robin Van Persie has had a much less prolific season. Moyes has also put too much hype upon Wayne Rooney, who is now being drastically overpaid for his current contribution to the team. Moyes has also been deploying players like Kagawa and Mata in the wrong positions so they have not been able perform at their best. The departure of Rene Meulensteen, one of the best coaches in the United setup, further demonstrates Moyes' poor management of the club.
4. He has undermined confidence and eradicated belief
A season of transition was sure to see a slight dip in league position for the Red Devils, but nobody expected such a free fall. For much of this season it has seemed like Moyes couldn't get three points in a Lamborghini. Fans have stuck by Moyes, justifying his poor form by regaling us with tales of Ferguson's early struggles at United. However, Ferguson was building a dynasty from scratch, Moyes has inherited a title winning team. Ferguson said himself that "The quality of this league winning squad [...] bodes well for continued success at the highest level." () There is no longer any confidence in Moyes to turn United back into a powerhouse.
5. Martinez is laughing in the face of Moyes' Everton credentials
Moyes was highly praised during his decade on Merseyside, but he reached the top four just once, in 2005. Everton's average league position over the last few years has been around 7th. Martinez has bounded in and propelled them straight into the European cup sports, with 4th spot looking increasing likely. Some may say that Moyes did the hard work and Martinez is simply reaping the benefits but who could have done more in setting up the perfect team than Ferguson at United. Martinez is undermining the credibility of Moyes' time at the Toffees, already achieving their highest points tally in the premier league era.
I don't normally advocate the sacking of managers, as a firm believer in giving them time to build and shape their team to ultimately succeed. However, such is the extent of Moyes' failure, despite being in a secure and stable position, that United really do need to start again.
Source: DSG
