'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAf/2gAIAQEAAAAAhQ//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAECEAAAAD//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAE//xAAfEAACAQQCAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwIABREhBAYxMoL/2gAIAQEAAT8A6/eHWyzqhxpGDXtmIz0fXGc/Pik9luQSsHkPkREbLpbr/8QAFREBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQD/2gAIAQIBAT8AAb//xAAXEQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASEC/9oACAEDAQE/ANRw/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It was not supposed to be like this for David Moyes.
He paid his dues at Everton and waited for his number to be called at a top four club. When Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement in May and named Moyes as his successor, many thought it was a fine choice.
Hailed as ‘The Chosen One’ he must have thought his time had finally come. A six year contract, a title winning squad, vast revenues and the unconditional support of the club’s hierarchy and fans. Any manager in the world would have been lucky to be in his shoes. But now, just shy of a year later, Moyes’ debut season at the Old Trafford helm is on the verge of catastrophe.
With little hope of finishing the top four let a lone defending their unprecedented twentieth league title, humiliating defeats in both domestic cup competitions, and verging on a Champions League exit to Greek side Olympiakos, even the most pessimistic fan would not have foreseen such a dramatic slump in the club’s fortunes.
A hoax suggestion that Moyes had left the club swept the New York Stock Exchange may have been premature, but the 50-year-old has several pressing issues that hehas to solve before the end of the season unless the Glazer family decide enough is enough. Much has been made of the squad Moyes has inherited but he has some big decisions to make in regards to his current crop and here are three of the biggest.
Nemanja Vidic
The Serbian’s announcement that he will not stay at United beyond this season, has been poorly managed by the club and Moyes. At a time when the club needed to show a United front the manage has been undermined by his captain. Vidic’s decision to, in all likelihood, join Internazionale is a damning verdict on Moyes’ long term project.
Nemanja Vidic
The 32-year-old has been a solid performer in a poor back line this season but his influence is on the wane, with just 18 appearances to his name. After a sub standard display alongside Rio Ferdinand, Moyes does not need to wait until the transfer window to put his mark on the current squad.
If Vidic has reiterated his desire to leave then once Phil Jones returns from injury, Moyes should give the youngster a prolonged period of games at centre-back. He is the future of the club, Vidic and Ferdinand are the past. A bold move admittedly, but he is likely to command respect and regain some authority with the players at the very least.
Fellaini’s spell at Old Trafford has been inextricably linked with Moyes’ struggles. Branded a scapegoat for the club’s failure in the summer transfer market, the towering Belgian arrived on deadline day for £27.5 million has made just nine league appearances and completed 90 minutes on just three occasions.
Marouane Fellaini
Granted he has struggled with a string of niggly injuries, but he was the man charged with providing the thrust and drive that has been lacking from United’s midfield not just this season, but the last three. Moyes knows Fellaini better than any other player at the club, having worked closely with him at Everton. During his Goodison Park days the 26-year-old was Moyes’ talisman and the Red Devils boss needs to coerce such displays out of Fellaini once more.
He scored 11 goals last season but has created just one chance for United this term. Moyes did not inherit Fellaini, he was the only significant summer addition and his continued failure to spark into life will always go against Moyes.
The mercurial Spaniard is one of the best players in the Premier League, but he has not come cheap. Some suggest Moyes will receive huge funds to spend on the squad in the summer, but it is clear he has already been granted such funds.
Juan Mata
The Scot has broken the club’s record transfer to sign the former Chelsea man for £37.5 million, while the fee for Fellaini is in at number five on the biggest figures paid out by the Red Devils. When Mata arrived he was supposed to be the solution to Moyes’ problems, despite the obvious fact that he wanted to leave Chelsea in pursuit of game time in his preferred central role behind the striker, which is precisely where a certain Mr.Rooney likes to spend his time.
Although Moyes has a trident of talent at his disposal in Mata, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie he needs to figure out how to get the best out of them before the end of the season or the unsettled Dutchman could seek an exit. United still boast an attacking line-up that can rival the rest of the league but tweaks in his formation and tactics are needed. United have lacked an identity this season and Moyes must push the emphasis away from the flanks and take up a much braver and bolder stance if he is to avoid the chop come May.
