22.4.14 Moyes Moves

After just ten months, David Moyes is leaving Manchester United.  The dismal season has caused Man Utd to become a bit of a joke.  I do have some sympathy for Moyes, because he was following in the footsteps of Alex Ferguson, who somehow managed to squeeze every drop of effort and talent out of his various teams.  Moyes was always likely to disappoint, despite having proved himself capable at Everton.  I suspect (though he'd never admit it) that Ferguson is quietly pleased that his own exalted position and reputation are reinforced through Moyes's failure.

However, I was astounded at his ludicrous decision to spend £27.5million on Marouane Fellaini.  This quite unbelievable action brought into question his judgement at a very early stage.  The lazy Belgian Thug is most certainly not worth that much; in today's farcical climate for transfer fees, I'd say he'd be generously viewed as a £5m - £10m player.  On this basis, I thought Moyes had lost the plot, and there was an air of desperation about the transfer from his old club, as the September deadline loomed.

Juan Mata is a good player, and I've no idea why Chelsea seemed to leave him out of the side so often.  Again though, there was a sense of desperation as Moyes secured his services for £37million in January, hoping that this one signing would be enough to instantly get United back on track.

There can be no doubt that the overpaid players at Man Utd have let themselves down, the supporters down and Moyes down.  Even so, you'd hope that David Moyes was appointed because he has abilities to motivate and manage.

As for the temporary arrangement of Ryan Giggs taking charge, I view this as an irrelevance; Man Utd will win nothing this season, and so his care-taking for three games means nothing.  Sadly, he will view this as some sort of honour, and lap up the acclaim.  This is the man who captained the "British" team in the Olympics in 2012, and refused to sing the National Anthem.  I view that as double standards!  Maybe he was still miffed at not being able to shag his sister-in-law.

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