Manchester United Fires David Moyes as Manager

The very first sign that David Moyes was not going to continue Alex Ferguson’s standard at Manchester United may have come before Moyes ever coached a single meaningful game.

Last August, less than two months into his tenure as Ferguson’s replacement, Moyes complained publicly about the difficult opening to United’s schedule. After seeing that the Red Devils would face Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea in three of their first five games, Moyes accused the Premier League of giving United, as defending champions, a tougher start to the slate.

“I find it hard to believe that’s the way the balls came out of the bag, that’s for sure,” he said.

Many found the claim absurd. But even the most die-hard conspiracy theorists would acknowledge that it was, at the very least, smacking of desperation before a ball was even kicked. After all, each of the 20 teams in the league play each other twice. So why should Moyes — or, really, the manager at any of the biggest clubs — care too much about the order?

It showed weakness from Moyes right at the start, and eight months later, after a slow beginning — and slow middle and slow end — United has lost its patience with Moyes less than one season into a contract that was supposed to last six. One day after news leaked that the end was near, United officially fired Moyes on Tuesday morning.

“Manchester United has announced that David Moyes has left the club,” the team said in a two-sentence statement on its website. “The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”

It was a sharp ending to a run that began with Moyes being anointed by none other than Ferguson himself. Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles in his 26 years as United’s manager, was allowed to handpick his successor and settled on Moyes, whom he saw as respectful, diligent and in many ways a younger version of himself.

The problem with that was that United did not need the early version of Ferguson, who took over in 1986; rather, it needed the modern-day version of the fiery Scotsman, a leader who was comfortable in the searing spotlight that comes with fronting a global monolith amid excruciating expectations of success.

In that regard, Moyes never had a chance. He produced admirable results while coaching at Everton but did not win a major trophy during his 11 seasons on Merseyside and thus, from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford, struggled to maintain credibility with his players and with the fans.

The results on the field were, relatively speaking, abominable. With four league games remaining, United is already assured of finishing with its lowest point total in the Premier League era. It has no chance of qualifying for next year’s Champions League and, currently mired in seventh place, may well even miss out on the junior varsity equivalent tournament, the Europa League. In the F.A. Cup, United lost in the third round. In the League Cup, United lost in the semifinals. In this year’s Champions league, United was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In total, Moyes coached 51 games in all competitions, and United won just 27 of them. The Red Devils have already lost 11 league games this season — one more than Ferguson lost in his final two seasons combined.

In addition to the on-field results, Moyes struggled to find success in the transfer market — a key area for United, which is expected to spend heavily this summer in an attempt to restock an aging roster. Moyes’s few moves — including a curious decision to spend big on Marouane Fellaini, who has been largely ineffective — are likely to have been a factor in United’s decision to bring in a new man ahead of the next transfer period.

Speculation is already percolating over the identity of United’s next manager, though the club has indicated that there is no plan to name a permanent successor immediately. Ryan Giggs, the veteran midfielder who had been serving as a player-coach this season, will be the interim manager. Nicky Butt, a former United player who has been working with the reserve team, will be as Giggs’s assistant.

In terms of long-term possibilities, Borussia Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp has been much-discussed among analysts and observers, though the German was quoted by multiple news media on Tuesday saying that he was committed to remaining in his current position. “My commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable,” he said.

If United’s vice chairman Ed Woodward is looking for other high-profile possibilities, he might do well to travel to Madrid on Tuesday. With Champions League semifinal matches set to be played in the Spanish capital on Tuesday and Wednesday, Woodward could find several top coaches who might eventually be on the move — Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, not to mention the always-unpredictable José Mourinho of Chelsea — all in one place.

Other coaches who have been speculated as potential choices include the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal, who has previously managed Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, coaches the Dutch national team but will step down after the World Cup.

 http://www.nytimes.com