There has been a distinctly dark cloud hovering above Old Trafford of late. Shrouded in the gloom of the early post-Ferguson era, Moyes is struggling to get to terms with the enormity of the task that he faces at Manchester United.
Currently sandwiched between Villa and Hull in the Premier League, it has been a start that few United fans have experienced in recent times and something which they are unlikely to take too kindly to.
Ferguson was always keen to take a step away and afford his heir the freedom with which to welcome in the new reign. However, times are tough and it appears that the legendary Scotsman has seen the need to wade in with a bit of advice for the new man at the helm.
He made the following comments about staff recently in the Mirror that make for pretty interesting reading:
“Three things are very important when you are working with them – work ethic, loyalty, philosophy.
“You all have to be singing the same tune, no matter how bad the tune is. It’s important that your people agree with you and the way that we at United wanted to play, that was very important.”
Is this just some sound advice, or is there something fundamentally wrong at United?
United’s three losses this season are perhaps unsurprising considering the backroom upheaval that has occurred this summer. New manager and a host of new faces among staff has necessitated a completely new way of thinking and doing things. For me though this undue pain was totally unnecessary, why not just retain the staff that had been so successful before?
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Ferguson was quick to point towards a certain United way of doing things, how to play and approach all kinds of footballing matters. Yes Moyes would have had to win over existing staff members, but this strategy would have provided a much more stable platform for the future than the painful revolution that the club has experienced of late. This issue is something that may well have frustrated Ferguson, who would have seen his collection of excellent staff members dispersed amongst many of England’s top clubs in a completely unnecessary way.
Of course it was never going to be easy taking over from Sir Alex, and Ferguson did have some sound advice when questioned about the challenge that Moyes faces:
“I think that the more difficult you make the challenge of being a top coach, well that’s a challenge that any coach should take because if you’re successful that way then you’ll be successful anyway.”
Moyes has possibly the most difficult challenge of them all and Ferguson is right, if he can succeed at this he can plausibly do anything.
As it stands though Moyes is failing to convince anyone that he is the man for the job. Imbalances within his squad and apparently within his backroom staff have left him with a United side seemingly devoid of any real direction. When you watch United play there no longer appears to be any real sense of an underlying philosophy or cohesive plan.
Moyes may be out of his depth but looking as a whole so do his backroom staff as well. I disagree with Ferguson when he suggests that as long as people are singing from the same song sheet it will be ok. Regardless of how tight Moyes is with his staff, the current misdirection and apparent cluelessness within the whole set up is only setting the club up for a fall.
His set-up may have worked at a club like Everton, but clearly none were particularly well prepared for the challenges at United. This isn’t to suggest it will never work because people can always learn and develop, but Moyes has risked a turbulent transition rather than the more ambient one that the club probably desired after the Ferguson dynasty.
Ferguson isn’t the first to suggest all isn’t well at United and he wont be the last. Cohesion is key within a club, but clearly Moyes has brought in a tight-knit unit that appears totally unprepared for the challenges ahead.
Moyes needs to find the correct balance soon or he will continue to risk the ire of fans, something which may ultimately decide his fate.
Is Ferguson implying all is not right with the Moyes regime?
Let us know what you think below
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