Saturday 11 May 2013

We all wonder..dont we


So after 27 years it has finally happened. The great sir Alex Ferguson has stepped down from Manchester united.  As a Liverpool fan, I can say that he is without doubt, the greatest manager in the history of football. No denying that. Year after year he built a team and rebuilt it, he got rid of players at the right team and he won something with kids. But everything that has a beginning must have an end and the great man steps down after reclaiming the title from the noisy neighbours and leaves behind him a fantastic squad brimming with youth and don’t forget the league’s top scorer.


And this is all left to a fellow Scots man who was personally recommend by Sir Alex to replace him and for a long time, has been lauded as his eventual successor. But let me make this point before I continue. No one ever actually thought Sir Alex would retire. Ok, we knew one day it would happen because of his age. But in our heads it just wasn’t conceivable. Manchester United without Alex Ferguson just didn’t seem realistic. Many managers have been mentioned as a potential successor. Pep, Jurgen Klopp, Mourinho and of course Moyes. But the thing is, we never took it seriously about Moyes and the reason for that is because we never thought Sir Alex would go.

But it is now a reality, and David Moyes replaces his fellow country man at the biggest club in the world. So what are the thoughts now he actually IS the manager?  Many comments have been made about Moyes's appointment. Words such as longevity, character, temperament, attitude and have used to describe the new managers qualities. The club say he is the perfect fit and he represents what Manchester United is all about. And let’s not forget he was personally recommended for the job by Sir Alex.

One interesting comment about his appointment intrigues me. “He done a great job at Everton with a shoe string budget, imagine what he can achieve with Manchester united”. Didn’t Fellaini cost 15 million pounds? That’s not a bad shoe string to me. So in his years in charge at Everton on a shoe string budget, what has he won? “But he had no money and we always finish in top half of the table”. Wigan, on a really shoe string budget, have just won the FA cup. Swansea, on a shoe string budget in their 2nd season in the premier league, have won the Carling Cup. Swansea’s record signing is 5.5 million pounds and that’s just this year. Wigan’s record signing is 7 million for Charles N’Zogbia.  Moyes purchased Fellaini for 15 million, Yakubu for 10 million, 9 million on Bilyaletdinov and 8 million on Andy Johnson. That’s not a shoe string to me. And even if Everton fans still think it was a shoe string, his brand of football is nowhere near that of Swansea or Wigan, who play attractive, passing, trophy winning football.  Everton play off Fellaini and work from there. They play percentage football. Can he show his tactical knowledge at Manchester United? Does he have the knowledge to lead superstars to another Premier League crown or European success? Don’t get me wrong, I like Moyes and even as a Liverpool fan, I commend the job he has done at Everton, finishing higher than Liverpool last season and possibly this season and getting the club into Europe, is a good achievement. But, is that enough for Manchester united?  Is that enough to know how to beat Real Madrid away from home? Is it enough to keep Van Persie or Rooney happy? And is Moyes enough to attract new world class players to the club.

Speaking to many Man United fans, they are a bit disappointed by his appointment. Deep down they longed for Mourinho. They wanted him to come in a take the club even higher and achieve european success .They know the type of players he attracts. The fans know the instant respect he would have from his players and every fan in the world loves Mourinho.  So although they are content with Moyes, they are still not overly happy. The other news is now Paul Scholes, the greatest technical midfielder in England, will retire for the 2nd time at the end of the season.  Two irreplaceable legends stepping away. Two icons of Manchester United gone. The Premier League will no doubt be tougher next year. Man City will revamp their team, Chelsea will add to their squad as will Spurs and Arsenal and Liverpool will try to push on. So Moyes faces a huge task. Football has changed since Sir Alex was appointed 27 years ago. No manager is given time, no matter who they are. I hope Moyes does succeed as I like him and it’s always good to see British managers getting a chance at the top. I just wonder….we all wonder. I think even Manchester United fans, for the first time in a long time…really wonder

1 comment:

  1. You make a lot of good points, Cullen. But as a Unired fan, I'm happier with Moyes than Mourinho. It took a long time to come around to this way of thinking. Initially, like a lot of United fans, I was gung-ho about the chance José would take the job: winning European Cups league titles off the bat. But Mourinho is an abrasive character. In many ways, that's part of his appeal to football fans in a game that's rapidly becoming devoid of characters. He'll take the fall for his players if a bad news story is going to crop up by doing something mad like hiding in a pile of laundry to get into the dressing room during a ban. But how long does he stay at any one club? This is the problem. Despite his success, he's somewhat of a journeyman. And I, as a United fan, and you, as a Liverpool fan, should know that longevity breeds success. Moyes' appointment was seen as a continuation of Ferguson's reign because he was a long time at Everton and showed the same amount of care, from his star striker (or in this case, big-haired midfielder) down to the tea lady. Just as Ferguson did. And like Ferguson did with Busby, Moyes will have The Boss there to oversee him and back him up. I think a lot of fans expect instant success. But I think real United fans will show more patience. After all, Ferguson wasn't an instant success himself.

    The point about Moyes not winning anything at Everton is also a valid one, but it's all relative. In his 26 years at United, Ferguson spent less on transfers than Man City did since they were taken over. Some of Moyes' signings may not have been overnight successes, but his youth policy has been pretty good, and United are about encouraging excellence from within as much as they're about buying superstars. The difference is that he'll now have the money and the ability to say "this is the biggest club in the world" when it comes to buying players.


    As for keeping players happy, I think he'd do right to sell Rooney. They have an acrimonious past, but he's a man who never lived up to his billing anyway. Take the money while the getting's good. A lot of United fans are starting to see it that way too. Asking for two transfers? Fool me once, and all that. No player is bigger than the club. Ferguson was always keen to remind players of that, and wasn't afraid to drop the hatchet when the time came; even to our great captain, Roy Keane, our prolific striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, and the talismanic David Beckham. In selling Rooney this window, Moyes has the opportunity to send a serious message to his players that he means business, and can make the hard decisions just as well as Ferguson could. And the fans will see this, and ultimately come to appreciate it. Better now than next season, when we're trying to shift a sulking Shrek from the sidelines.

    I'm not worried about Scholes' retirement either. No-one seemed to notice that he was missing for more than half the season. Michael Carrick (who you'd know I wasn't a fan of back in the day) has really stepped up to it this past two seasons. In fact, I just voted him my Fans' Player of the Season.

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