David Moyes has just lost his job at Manchester United. (Image from theguardian.com)

Yesterday’s big news was that Moyes had lost his job as Manchester United manager and from now until the end of the season, Ryan Giggs will be in charge.

Click here for my original article on Moyes’ sacking by Manchester United.

What could have led to the downfall of the David Moyes’ “empire” – within 10 short months? Here are a few reasons.

Appointed by Ferguson

The mere fact that Moyes was named by the great Sir Alex Ferguson, meant that expectations on him were extremely high. Moyes was practically required to hit the ground running and he wasn’t allowed any chance to slip up. He was supposed to take over exactly where Ferguson had left off – without even a transition period.

And because Moyes could not fulfill this part of the bargain, he lost his job.

Sacking the coaches

Moyes replaced Ferguson’s backroom coaches at Manchester United with his ones from Everton.

By doing this, it actually sowed the first seed for his failure. Alex Ferguson’s coaches came along with a wealth of proven experience, which Moyes did not try to tap.

The coaches from Everton were relatively unproven, especially for the big-time Champions League games. And players had to get used to an entirely different system of coaching and playing.

Signing Fellaini

Everyone else captured big players during the summer transfer window last year. But whom did Manchester United sign?

That’s right – he raided Everton and captured Marouane Fellaini, who turned out to be a complete dud at United. Sure, Fellaini was the top player at Everton, but remember that Everton was never a club that had the same caliber as United. Perhaps that is why the same Fellaini never turned up for Manchester United, in the same way that he had played for Everton.

Defensive tactics

With Ferguson at the helm, Manchester United played free flowing, attacking football.

But with Moyes managing the team, they switched to a very Everton-like defensive formation, that apparently did not go down well with the team. Fans also apparently got bored with the negative playing style and started to rebel. This sowed another seed for Moyes’ eventual sacking.

Decision to sign Mata

The club needed a marquee signing so Moyes duly delivered and bought Mata.

But was Mata really the right marquee signing for United? I think not. Perhaps the club may have been better off if they had signed a defender or central midfielder. Mata was basically a desperate act by Moyes, and was, in fact, surplus to the Red Devils’ requirements.

Click here to read about Moyes sacking by Manchester United.

Click here to read about what went so wrong at Manchester United.

Click here to read about the Hillsborough Tragedy, 25th anniversary.

Click here to read about the Manchester United crisis.

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