Time for Man Utd to Moye(s) On!

For the first time in over a quarter of a century, Manchester United will walk out for their Premier League opener this Saturday without that finger-jabbing, boot-kicking behemoth of a manager: Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson. Instead, it will be David Moyes to lead them out against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

United got their first taste of silverware this season by beating Wigan to claim the Community Shield last Sunday at the Wembley, but Moyes will know that other than as a statistic, the win doesn’t really count for much. What with a difficult pre-season with just two victories in all, the never-ending saga of the wantaway Wayne Rooney and with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City to play in the first five games of the league, it’s hard to imagine a more taxing start for the new manager.

Having missed out on a quality midfielder in Fabregas, United will have to make do with the ill-utilised Kagawa unless they bid for Everton’s Marouane Fellaini, Moyes’ former protege, to plug that well documented gap in central midfield. Van Persie’s twin strikes against Wigan served another reminder of which striker has now replaced Rooney as the go-to hitman in the United camp, regardless of who regularly hogs the newspaper headlines. Rooney having just stopped short of handing in a transfer request, is increasingly eyeing a move to Mourinho’s Chelsea. Moyes though, has rubbished all newspaper claims, to re-affirm that Wayne Rooney is not for sale.

While Chelsea has been strengthened by the return of the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ Jose mourinho, City’s new manager Manuel Pellegrini has quietly gone about shopping with the gay abandon that comes with having oil-rich owners. Arsenal still furiously plotting a dramatic capture of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez , has seen North London rivals Tottenham invest $ 65 million in their squad as they go hunting for a Champions League berth.

Yet, for all the arrivals and departures surrounding each of the Big Five clubs this season, the biggest question still remains whether United under Moyes will still be able to retain that winning mentality, which has seen them see off better teams year after year. And whether Old Traffold with all its’ 75,000 plus capacity, can still retain the fear factor and the aura without that wily old Scot remains to be seen.

Fans, those fickle-minded, cruel creatures with the ever so short memory, have lent their generous support to Moyes till now but all that may quickly change should United falter when they begin anew the chase for a record 21st title this long-awaited weekend.

Ferguson has been the one constant in English football amidst the ever-changing Premier league but some simple things have remained the same: A win still gets you three points like back in the old days and for Moyes the task is cut-out: Do the one thing Sir Alex did more often than all the anyone else: win football matches and make his own legend.