Moyes Out

Even though the news was finally out, it was still hard to swallow. United was not your typical sacking club but at the end of the day, results on the pitch and the money men had spoken. Moyes was given the marching order.

As a fan, I had always stayed loyal to players who came to United, didn't quite hit the mark and left. Some of them went into obscurity, while others - like Forlan, Rossi in particular - moved on to greater things. But I wasn't sure if the same applied when it came to the manager?

I have always been a fan of David Moyes when he was the manager at Preston North End in the 90s. He was young and had a drive. He would have made a great assistant to Ferguson and would one day go on to replace the great man.

He did this, but via the wonderful job he did at Everton for 11 years. But his fate was sealed when he was schooled at his old stomping ground by his successor.

The fact that Roberto Martinez proved to be more than an able replacement at Goodison did not go unnoticed by the United hierarchy. Maybe, that kind of flair was what the Glazers craved in the first place. And by that very point, Ferguson choice on who to replace him was a flawed one.

Moyes did not endear himself by bringing in his own backroom staff to Old Traffic the day he checked in. Retaining some of the old guard would have helped in. Checking in late, on the 1st of July to this big job also meant that his pre-season was restricted.

To put it mildly, he did not plan his start well, and had been playing catch up ever since.

I felt that he should be given more time. The management thought otherwise. Maybe they wanted the new manager to be given time to plan for the next season. And as a result, Moyes had to leave, less than a year in the hot seat.

David Moyes had handled himself with dignity and I wished him the best for the future. The experience managing United would have been seen as a failure in his otherwise decent CV, but he could only learn from the experience. He was simply found out and didn't have the time or the opportunity to adapt.

Who would replace him? Well, I was sure that Mourinho had it written in his Chelsea contract that he would take on the customary stance of leaving the club straight after winning the Champions League. Maybe Chelsea would go on to become the European Champion and the Special One would end up in Manchester .... Watch this space ...

Keeping Faith

Another Saturday night. Another night of football. Another loss.

This is becoming a habit lately. And this can't continue.

We are getting left behind. Too many upsets. And what more upsetting was the way we responded going behind. It was no surprise that we didn't have an answer when United went behind to Newcastle earlier. We just withered and lost our shape. There was no spirit. And that was a worry.

Moysey is a perfectly decent manager. He has potential and eventually things spill turn OK. Will he has time to turn the ship around? And in time not to miss the Champions League spot next season?

United had been blessed for many years under the stewardship of Sir Alex. So much so, that the average supporter had forgotten what it is like to not have things turning out their way week in and week out. These are trying times. These are the time for us to be tested as fans. Those who want to bail, please do so now. The team is more important than individuals.

Let's suffer together for the time being. WE ALL FOLLOW UNITED.

Moysey!

It looked like the transition plan was already in motion. Last night, before I went to bed, this was the headline - I was too busy to blog earlier in the day. David Moyes. I thought that one day he would come over to United, but not straight away to manage. Maybe to be an assistant to Sir Alex before taking over. And would have joined up many years back. And since that didn't happen, I thought he would have missed the boat.

I was no secret that Sir Alex was a fan of Moyes. And me too, even when he was managing Preston, there was something about him which marked him for greatness. Not as a flair superstar manager in the Mourinho mould, but more of a grafter. The question moving forward now would be, does Manchester United want somebody with flair, or a working man. The fax that Motes was offered a bumper six year contract indicated that United was committed with a long term project. Mourinho would not have agreed to be tied down that long.

Listening to his interview on the BBC, it was very c,ear that Moyes was shell shocked with the whole development. But the fact that it came before the end of the season would help both Everton and United to start building for the future.

As a United fan, I have to admit that there is some apprehension to the appointment, mainly to the lack of European experience on Moyes' part. There is no doubting his temperament. What would be interesting would be how things would pan out if the results did not go his way in the first few months - Everton was a notorious slow started under Moyes. Will the fans started going on his back? No doubt about it. But his reaction then would be important. Otherwise, the job might just be too big for him. I would be more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt though.

And on the same token, I would also like to welcome a certain Marouone Fellaini .....