Walking from out from under a shadow has got to be an exhilarating experience, much the same as actually choosing to walking under one must be a little daunting. That however did not detract from David Moyes’ desire to take over the reins at Old Trafford from the estimable Sir Alex Ferguson. The reason may well be that – despite having many similarities to his predecessor – the Scot does not see himself as having to be Fergie Mk II. Moyes is very much his own man, and the playing staff at Old Trafford will recognize that pretty soon.
Now, none of the above is to suggest that Moyes is fool enough to walk into the most successful British club in the modern era and turn everything upside down, just to make a point, but he certainly won’t shirk a desire to do things his own way. There’s been plenty of homage paid to the legacy left by Ferguson, and whilst Moyes will be quick to acknowledge that, the club is destined to be his, not Ferguson’s in fairly short order.
It mat be argued by some that this would be a very ungrateful stance for Moyes to take. After all, didn’t Ferguson recommend his fellow Glaswegian for the job? Well, yes he did. But it may well be the case that Moyes is his own man is the main reason that the Fergie hand alighted on his shoulder. Whoever was to follow in the very large footsteps left by the most successful manager in the history of British football, could have been a shrinking violet. A big personality, and a bigger determination were the most vital of criteria for the appointment, and Moyes has those in abundance.
It is of course by no means certain that Moyes will make a success of the task of ensuring continuance of success for Manchester United, but by picking a man determined not to be paying too much blind homage to his predecessor, Fergie may just have selected the guy with the best chance of pulling it off.
Source: DSG
