Five years ago Moyes was named United manager and we all know what happened next.
With that in mind I recall this article Red Russian wrote* - https://www.ja606.co.uk/articles/viewArticle/206537
A really well written and balanced article so where did it all go wrong? Or, should be just banish his tenure to history.
*When I say recall I meant that it popped up on my Facebook as a 'memory' as I shared the text as I agreed with it at the time. Hindsight though makes me ask the question 'What were we thinking?'
Edit: Here's the text from the article -
In my numerous posts yesterday I wrote why David Moyes wouldn't be my choice, mainly because of lack of experience and reputation at the top level, while challenging some of the more apocalyptic takes on a Moyesian future. The most consoling thought yesterday was the fact that we know a huge amount of thought and analysis on the part of very knowledgeable people has gone into the selection and it's just possible that they are right.
I went to bed, slept for six and a half hours, and woke up with a more substantial comforting notion. It goes like this:
Perhaps appointing David Moyes is actually a statement of self-confidence in our club's identity. Had we simply gone for Mr Very Famous European Manager or Mr Flavour of the Month, we would have been following the pattern of Florentino Pérez, Roman Abramovich, Massimo Moratti. We would have been buying our way to short term success, rather than building it. Surprising everyone with the appointment of the low-profile Moyes can actually be seen as a very bullish statement that Manchester United is different: we have our own distinct club culture, we have a long-term vision, we are a club of stability. It's not the same kind of appointment as 'inexperienced' Guardiola's at Barcelona (and god knows, previous Barcelona presidents had appointed their fair share of flashy managers), but appointing Moyes would, in a similar way, express to the world: we have our own traditions, philosophy and way of doing things, we are 'more than a club' - or we have something that many other big clubs do not.
This message in itself has value to some players - especially to the player with the kind of mindset that Fergie has always preferred. Of course, a worry with Moyes is that our transfer targets could be underwhelmed by the prospect of working with someone, rather than the legend of Fergie or a more celebrated figure like Mourinho. On the other hand, a player with a brain may consider Mourinho's history of moving on every two or three years and of leaving behind / falling out with a lot of players in the collateral damage of his pursuit of results. I believe a player who wants to buy into a dynasty, who wants their next club to nurture their career, will be more likely to choose United.
Stability and job security are the oxygen which enabled Fergie to make the right long-term decisions for the club over 26 years. Perhaps this, above all, was his greatest asset as a manager, and the one which enabled United to dominate domestically with fewer fluctuations in form than any of our great rivals. If Moyes is the best available curator of that legacy, he brings something to the table that e.g. Mourinho does not. If he is also a talented coach and a tough competitor, maybe we'll have ourselves a good long-term manager.
Moyes - five years on
posted on 10/5/18
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 12 hours, 17 minutes ago
Looks like Stretty was right all along
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I was.
I didnt need the value of hindsight to know we had appointed a completely crap appointment.
cant believe anyone did.
posted on 10/5/18
A 6 year contract they gave him
6 years 😨
Absolute madness
posted on 10/5/18
comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 11 hours, 32 minutes ago
My mate Robb was funny on that thread. He was right up RR's ar$e every time RR wrote something positive about Moyes.
Even MUDd was amicable to Moyes. That didn't last long.
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Indeed I was, I even wrote a couple of articles defending him.
Then my fears were realised.
posted on 10/5/18
Its funny that the club have since gone down the route that RR suggested as an alternative and have basically tried to hire more safely - even at the expense that it has cost us.
Despite finishing second to an excellent rejuvenated City this time round I'm not sure that we have fully recovered from the loss of SAF and Gill at the same time.
That was really the major factor that set us back.
The other elements that went wrong for Moyes straight away were the resigning of Rooney and a fairly disastrous first transfer window. Too long spent chasing Fabregas and then a panic CM buy of Fellaini. Followed by the fallout with the senior players that were on the way out it just became toxic. To try and combat this Moyes then went and sacked all the backroom staff and replaced them with his own which just exacerbated the issues with the players and it was downward spiral from there.
posted on 10/5/18
Any fan supported Moyes to a point, that point was about November for any fan with footballing knowledge.
Most knew he was wrong from the off but I guess you have to support your team.
It'll be the same with Jose, a lot of sick of his crap already, I'll give it until January before most accept the appointment will eventually leave the club rotton.
posted on 10/5/18
"Despite finishing second to an excellent rejuvenated City this time round I'm not sure that we have fully recovered from the loss of SAF and Gill at the same time."
We could really have done will Gill staying on. Bad as the managers have been, Woodward is a bit of a joke at this level of football.
Leave him to work on the business side, get somebody else in to run the football please.
posted on 10/5/18
Lots of comments on this thread seem to come down to one thing - the loss of continuity in high-level, joined-up thinking:
- Losing Fergie and Gill at the same time
- Moyes getting rid of the back-room staff
- Failures of LVG and Mourinho
In theory it is possible to reinvent the wheel, but it's a lot more cost efficient if you have a wheel to continual maintain it and improve its performance. I can't remember whether I was advocating a Director of Football back when Moyes was appointed, but the reason I'm strongly in favour of one is the same as the reason I was willing to give Moyes the benefit of my considerable doubts: I think it's good to build on what you have, making new decisions and investments that make sense in terms of longer-term strategy.
One of the reasons that Guardiola is outperforming Mourinho is that he's someone who inspires his players to go out and play with joy. But another factor in his favour is that a lot of the player purchases made over the last few years have been made with a view to constructing a squad that can play the Guardiola way. Mourinho came in with no such groundwork. Moyes to LVG to Mourinho involves major changes in playing style and mentality. It's the opposite of continuity and long-term custodianship of the squad.
posted on 10/5/18
My hope moving forward now is that history will show Mourinho to be the 'safe' choice as manager who gives us a bit of stability (in terms of qualifying regularly again for CL) and who leaves a good squad behind for the next manager. To be fair he normally does this as the results of the teams he's left recently suggests. Someone on here has also mentioned the boost some players may get simply by not being managed by Mourinho who must be hard to work for.
However, playing for United shouldn't be easy and they should all be able to cope with the pressure. I'm not a big fan of calling players out in public like he's done this week but perhaps he'd just fed up that they're not following his instructions like he wants.
I think it would be somewhat ironic if 'short-term manager' Jose is the one who sets up the long-term platform for us.
posted on 10/5/18
The club either should not have hired in the first place, or given him (or somebody else) at least two full seasons + a proper budget.
He arrived when the club had no full backs, two ageing wingers and no striker. He had no chance.
What happened that year has cheapened my club no end. Ditto the reactionary stuff that has followed.
posted on 10/5/18
^^ hired him