Time To Fill Fergie's Big Shoes; My Take On David Moyes

by Akhilan Manivannan, Sophomore 2 Cempaka, Class of 2015

The reigning Premier League champions have suffered a relatively floundering start to this season, with a goalless draw against Chelsea and a stinging 1- 0 loss to their bitter rivals, Liverpool. This was perhaps expected by some fans as Manchester United has come under new management for the first time in 27 years. So great was former manager Sir Alex Ferguson that when his retirement was announced, many fans were flabbergasted as to who could take over the red-hot reins of the Red Devils. That man, handpicked by Sir Alex himself, is David Moyes. 

It’s safe to say that Manchester United has not enjoyed their start to the season that they usually relish. Instead, they have strung together uninspiring performances that sorely lack creativity in midfield. This further highlights their failure in the transfer window, having only signed one - Marouane Fellaini on deadline day. In addition, David Moyes has also come under scrutiny for his tendencies to play safe as well as bringing the “Everton style” to United in the past few matches. 

However, is this truly the crisis that fans have made out to be for the reigning English champions? No, it is not.

Any manager in the world would take time and support to get accustomed to life at Manchester United. After all, the players need time to adapt to Moyes’s style as well. Both these aspects cannot happen in just a few months. Quite simply, when a new manager is introduced, results take time and fans need to give Moyes a fair chance at establishing himself. It is much too early to judge. Moyes cannot even be blamed for playing it safe as he does not know the players well enough yet to be too creative with his line-ups. Nevertheless, there are a few things he can do for the fans to start believing in him.

Playing to win. Manchester United is one of the most competitive clubs in the world and fans expect trophies every season. The club already has a winning atmosphere unlike any other in the Premier League (and quite frankly playing for draws will not be tolerated at Man Utd). Sir Alex Ferguson has done a magnificent job in building a winning mentality into the players which Moyes should take full advantage of. This is understandably difficult for Moyes though, as during his many years at Everton, he has been an expert at defensively frustrating top tier oppositions. Nontheless, this is Manchester United not Everton and Moyes needs to slowly embrace the attacking nature of the club.

Utilizing the younger players. At the moment, Manchester United has some of the most promising young players in the league and it is a shame to see them left out of the team or warming the bench. Players such as Kagawa, Zaha and Januzaj have magnificent prospects. All they need is game time experience. Furthermore, the creativity problems that Man Utd has been facing lately can be easily solved. A prime example is the Belgian Adnan Januzaj, who lit up a recently lackluster game against Crystal Palace - the 18 year-old genuinely had the look of a superstar in the making. Understandably though as mentioned earlier, Moyes does need time to get to know his players but I would love to see him slowly implement these younger players into the first team.

Last but not least, putting his own personal stamp on the team. The toughest part of Moyes’s job is to not be caught under Sir Alex’s shadow and at the same time, embrace the nature of the club that Sir Alex has nurtured. This is obviously tricky because of how much Sir Alex has impacted the club. Walking the line between uniqueness and effectiveness is a monumental task. If Moyes can step out of Sir Alex’s shadow and execute his own brand of football at the club, while still honing the club’s attacking mentality, he will have succeeded against all odds and this is more or less what I think David Moyes should do to establish himself at Manchester United.

"Glory, glory Man United!

As the reds go marching on on on!"