In Retrospection - David Moyes

348 days | 51 matches | 27 victories | 15 losses | 

And just 3 days prior to his 51st birthday, he is given the most unwanted birthday gift – sacking by Manchester United! The “Chosen One” was chosen to be sacked. Sacking a football manager is somewhat common in today’s highly competitive world, but surprising coming from Manchester United. This decision leaves Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce (Newcastle and West Ham managers respectively) as the current 2nd and 3rd longest serving manager after Arsene Wenger. Ironically, Pardew and Allardyce are also few losses away from facing the proverbial axe. 

Here’s the list of unwanted records of Manchester United during Moyes’s tenure - 

Kind courtesy - various sources from twitter

Was David Moyes the right man for the job? Replacing Sir Alex Fergusson was always going to be a huge task. It was a mountain to climb for any established manager and an even bigger mountain for a manager of David Moyes’s caliber. Moyes is a manager who has always worked on a tight budget, led a team with relatively less fan following, (compared to the top clubs), managed comparatively lesser known stars with even lesser ego and handled much less pressure than what he was subjected to at Old Trafford. Add to it the fact that he is yet to win silverware in his managerial career should’ve made him a certain reject for Manchester United. The primary aspect in his favor was his consistent track record and the stability he will bring after Sir Alex’s departure. Maybe that’s what Sir Alex felt. In retrospection, it just didn’t work out.

Was Manchester United the right team for David Moyes? Call me a bluff, but I genuinely didn’t feel Manchester United was the right club for David Moyes – at least in the current phase of his managerial career. Here’s someone who has consistently performed well for Everton and developed future stars. A switch from Everton to Manchester United is a huge jump – one that will be more risky than the safe pastures of Everton. Continuing with Everton and elevating the team for top honours would have been a better option – in retrospection, that is. But who, in their right frame of mind will reject a managerial offer from Manchester United? Moyes made the decision and now he's left to rue this decision for the rest of his life.

What’s next for David Moyes? Rebuild his legacy – this is precisely what’s next for him. 11 years of rebuilding a team (Everton) has gone down the drain with the 11 month failure in Manchester United. Even the fans of his old club failed to welcome him back in what was going to be his last match as Manchester United manager. His next assignment – whenever he feels he’s ready to take it – should be for a team in its growth phase. That appears to be his strength. Case in point - Everton. The safest option for Moyes is to leave England and look for a club in Spain / Germany / Italy. The boldest option will be to stay in England and fight it out with the people / media who has mocked and hated him. Despite his failure, he will still be in demand due to his track record. But he will have to settle for a mid-level team as none of the top 4 (Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal) will opt for him. Tottenham could be his next destination as Daniel Levy was interested in him in 2012. I feel his best bet will be Newcastle United. Newcastle United are going through a rough patch and will seek to change the setup and start afresh. Enter David Moyes and his strengths to rebuild a club.

A tough 11 months coming to an abrupt end. Phew, life of a football manager!