Moyes in the eye of the perfect storm

Article by e-Manchester United Correspondent Noel Hutchinson

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As David Moyes stands on the touch line, demonstrably not hiding from the glare of the world’s media as they enthusiastically chart the perceived crumbling of an empire, he cuts a noble figure in my opinion.

His post-match comments after another bad day in the office at home to bottom of the league Fulham, that United “should have won” and “played well” have yet again been zealously seized upon as evidence that he is running out of ideas, he is out of his depth, he has to go etc etc etc.

I, however, believe that David Moyes is the right man for the job. That he knows what he is doing and that he is currently struggling to make headway against a perfect storm of circumstances pitched against him.

When Moyes was appointed as United Manager he left a situation at Everton similar to that which Alex Ferguson had achieved at United: a club with a long term stability built by the manager. Where players had come through the youth system or had spent years at the club, not experiencing change, understanding and feeling comfortable in their environment. As many, many pundits and fans alike will say, this is what all clubs should aim for as it clearly produces results.

The one problem with this approach is that the impact of radical change when it inevitably comes is felt all the more keenly. And the club and group of players who would be most vulnerable to this impact in world football would be Manchester United, a club whose stability is talked about as if it were nothing less than one of the constant rules of the physical universe as we know it.

So Moyes walked into a group of players who for the first time were unsure of their future at the club, of what would now be expected of them on the pitch, of new training methods, of new half-time team talks. On top of this, players like Giggs, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Van Persie, are all reaching the latter stages of their careers and need to be replaced, a difficult process that even the master of transition Sir Alex would have found challenging to say the least. Then you had the players sat in the last chance saloon, Nani, Anderson, Cleverley, etc.

A new Chief Exec failed to buy any new recruits except Fellaini, a player who was always going to take time to adjust. Then the fixture list handed Moyes the toughest group of opening games United have faced since the Premier League began.

Whilst this was happening at Old Trafford, United’s closest rivals, Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, were and are all on the up, performing significantly better than they have for years.

So when Stoke score first, against the run of play, with a wicked deflection after United’s defence has been decimated through injuries on the day, or Fulham get a last second equaliser because one of the best centre halves in world football makes a rudimentary mistake in clearing the ball, I can forgive Moyes for making that 'unlucky' point. Apparently, according to Stoke fans, that is the best they have played all season.

Moyes can point to many instances in games where small margins caused by dodgy decisions, dodgy deflections and last second bobbles have meant lost points for a team trying to play through an injury list that has included long lay offs for Van Persie, Rooney, Carrick, Wellbeck, Ferdinand, nani, Jones, Smalling, Raphael, Young and others.

These are not excuses, they are facts. Faced with a perfect storm like this, would Sir Alex have done a huge amount better? In my opinion, not really! #inMoyeswetrust

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