Is David Moyes the right answer for Manchester United?

I do not remember the exact date of when Sir Alex Ferguson officially announced his retirement, but I do remember where I was. I was sitting with my colleagues, surrounding a computer that showed the video of the press conference of the legendary former Manchester United manager announcing his decision to step down from a job that he held for 26 1/2 years.

I was aghast and shocked! No one had expected that…. Well everyone knew that he was going to retire one day, the man couldn’t live forever but everyone thought that he would do it after a 3rd Champions League title (ergo me). In fact, most of United’s fan following were either infants or weren’t even born when Fergie became manager.

Then came the next shocking piece of news – Again he did something none of us expected (and yet most of us saw it coming). Instead of going with the most obvious candidate to replace him, the next most successful club manager, the man whose reputation might just precede the club that he handles and the man with a healthy experience of European football, he went with a man just like him, only 20 years younger.

David Moyes? Who was he? Yeah, he was the manager of Everton, third longest serving manager in the Premier League after Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger. He seemed the correct and yet wrong choice in every way. He was the correct choice for a club that believes in longevity and stability, but wrong for a club that is respected and feared around England and Europe.

He was almost exactly like Fergie right down to the lilting Scottish accent that graced reporters’ ears and was known for his hard-working tactics in training. Granted he wasn’t a European football mastermind but he was known for bringing in unknown talent and moulding them into stars (See Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini and yes, Wayne Rooney for that confirmation).

But could he really handle stepping into some giant shoes, into the limelight being observed by pretty much everyone in the world and take the reins of the Great Scot of the football world?

Right now, it seems not so much. Granted he did keep his former/current striker Rooney at home and brought in his trusted lieutenant Fellaini who had showed that he was a BIG fish in a small pond at Everton. He also completely reshuffled his coaching staff and brought in old United faces, Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs (who is now a player/coach).

But at the same time, faced with the insurmountable task of replacing Paul Scholes, chasing Cesc Fabregas, when he said multiple times that he was happy at Barcelona, rejecting one of the best midfielders in the world, Mesut Ozil and getting off to the most horrific start for United in the league in forever (2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses) doesn’t give a lot of confidence to the fans of the most popular football club in the world.

The only silver lining for the Scot is that being placed for his first ever Champions League draw in a relatively easy group saw him earn a win over German side Bayer Leverkusen and a draw in Ukraine against Shahktar Donetsk, particularly feisty teams in their own league, which are good results for a man with lack of European football.

But at the same time, are United fans setting unrealistic targets for the new man in? Granted he inherited a Champions team compared to the new Fergie team of ’87 which was a team battling for relegation and at the end of the 86-87 season finished 8th. But at the same time, he has had to deal with a lot of flak and criticism and save for the loss versus West Brom Albion, the first 5 games were relatively better than what he could have imagined.

It might have come as a shock to us but after the name of Moyes came up as his successor, Sir Alex also reiterated that he was the unanimous choice of the board. This doesn’t spell it out any clearer. Manchester United, a club owned by the Glazer family, an American family who have been accused of plunging the club into severe debt, have seen changes in two important positions – the managerial position and the chief executive of the club, Ed Woodward who was previously their sponsorship director.

Now while some people blame the inexperienced Moyes for United’s lack of summer transfer signings, most others blame Woodward. In reality no one knows what actually is the reason for a quiet summer at Old Trafford.

Everyone needs to look at the situation logically (which most people cannot do) – Moyes needs to establish himself with three things for this particular season, 2013-14, if he wants to gain the trust of the fans, the respect of his peers, the praise of his predecessor and the support of his board.

1. Finish top three to qualify for the Champions League in 2014-15 (thus not necessarily winning the title).2. Either win the FA Cup or the League Cup to add to the Community Shield as the trophies won for the 2013-14 season.3. Make a couple of signings that will strengthen the midfield and the defense of his team.

These are realistic goals that will not only see him finish the six years in his contract but also see him build a strong foundation that he can build on and continue the legacy that is Sir Alex. Ultimately, we all need to give him a break. Everton was him playing Football Manager and Manchester United is him actually being the manager!