Republik Of Mancunia |
- David Moyes’ embarrassing PR exercise
- Why Rooney won’t Wayne on my parade
- VIEW FROM THE ENEMY: Tottenham Hotspur fan on re-signing Bale and last summer’s transfers
| David Moyes’ embarrassing PR exercise Posted: 17 Aug 2014 02:15 AM PDT Initially, there was almost unanimous support for David Moyes when the wheels started to come off during his time as Manchester United manager. Whilst there had been huge concerns over his appointment, given he hadn’t won a thing during his managerial career, fans were sympathetic and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. In an interview in the Mail on Sunday, Moyes has reflected on his time at the club and is understandably looking for excuses for his failure. The fact the club only signed Marousne Fellaini last summer was criminal and certainly didn’t give him the best chance of making a go of his stint at the club. Without pointing the finger directly, Moyes hints that Ed Woodward didn’t do his job well enough, which is a conclusion fans had already drawn. Moyes signed a confidentiality agreement as part of his severance deal when he was sacked, which certainly prevents him from saying all he would like to say. 'We tried to bring players in during the summer transfer window but they didn't materialise. It certainly wasn't for the lack of trying. It wasn't indecision. The complete opposite. It's been well documented that we wanted Fabregas, Bale and Ronaldo. There was talk of Ronaldo when I first arrived. We were close to getting a couple of major names. I'm not getting in a blame game here but things just didn't materialise. I had taken over from the most successful manager in history. The chief executive had taken over from one of the most renowned administrators in the game [David Gill]. So it was a new job for two people.' The fact that history has repeated itself this summer, with Woodward waiting for United to lose their first game of the season, thanks to a shallow squad that has been hit by key injuries, before making any new signings (other than the ones that have been in the pipeline for a year) speaks volumes. However, having read the interview, this is probably the only point I agree with Moyes on. The rest reads as a dreadful PR job, with Moyes clearly keen to paint himself in the best possible light to aid his future employment prospects. Matt Lawton, the MoS journo asking the questions, fails to deliver any challenging questions and panders to the image Moyes wants to portray. Poor Moyes was good enough for the job, but the club just didn’t give him enough time to prove it. Apparently. Had United sacked Moyes after United finished in the top four, with the team playing good football and having some success in the cups, you would have to agree with him. As it was, from January onwards, United got steadily worse. On the last day of 2013, United were just three points behind Chelsea. Whilst we weren’t looking good for the title, we were round about where you could expect the club to be under Moyes. On the day he was sacked, less than four months later, United were 18 points behind Chelsea and 23 points behind league leaders Liverpool.Jose Mourinho, who hadn’t even been considered by the club for the job, gained 15 points on us in 15 games. United reached the League Cup semi-final but couldn’t beat Sunderland, who were in a relegation battle at the time, and were knocked out on penalties at Old Trafford. United played just one game in the FA Cup, losing to Swansea in the 3rd round. However, despite taking United from 1st to 7th in the space of a season, Moyes doesn’t believe he was given the opportunity to show what he was capable of. 'I was devastated to lose the job because it was something I felt I could make a real success of. We knew it was going to take time to make the necessary changes. It was going to take time to evolve. But we were in the process of making other important changes. In the end, I don't feel I was given time to succeed or fail.' This statement wasn’t challenged by the journalist interviewing and was merely accepted as truth. Shouldn’t the following question have been, “do you not think finishing 7th at Manchester United should be considered as a huge failure?” Whether Moyes was given one season or 10, it is insane to believe that the rapid and steep decline of the team’s performances whilst Moyes was in charge is anything but totally unacceptable. The next question should have related to Roberto Martinez and the job he did at Moyes’ former club, Everton. He was given a season to show what he could do too and despite losing their top scorer of the previous season, Fellaini, they improved. Everton finished 6th in Moyes’ last season but 5th under Martinez, having picked up an extra 9 points. “Why do you think you deserved more time at United when your previous club did better without you and you lead United to a fall of six places?” Moyes called it the “near impossible job” but that just isn’t true. Nobody was expecting Moyes to emulate Ferguson. He didn’t have to win the league. Finishing in the top four would have been considered acceptable and anything better would have been a success. It wasn’t “near impossible” to take the team that had just won the league to 4th. We needed investment, other teams strengthened, some of our influential players were a year older, but was our squad worse than Everton’s? Spurs’? Even Liverpool’s? With adequate guidance, those players certainly could have qualified for the Champions League. The fact that Ferguson is a genius, winning the title at a canter with an unremarkable squad, doesn’t mean the team Moyes inherited wasn’t capable of finishing higher than 7th. We all know the reason why Moyes got the job was because Ferguson said he was up to it. I imagine he believed that Moyes would maintain the status quo for a season or two before trying to leave his mark on the club. Instead, Moyes came in and changed everything. The back room staff left, the style of football changed, and United played a different XI for every game Moyes managed. Whilst some fans remain sympathetic towards Moyes, I have grown to dislike him. If he could just have some humility, it would be different. He didn’t ask for the job, Fergie told him he had it, so just for him just to admit he wasn’t ready to be the manager of one of the biggest club’s in the world would be reasonable. Instead, he came to United as a manager who had won nothing, and instead of maintaining what Ferguson had put in place, he thought he knew better. The ego on him to do such a thing makes me think he isn’t the man we maybe thought he was. In this interview he admits this was the wrong approach, to some degree, in amidst several statements claiming the club still should have stuck by him. 'I went into the job thinking I want to do exactly what I did at Everton. I want to be the same person. I want to manage in the same style. Because why would I change when I had success working that way? But now, looking back, I think there might have to have been a slightly different approach. I might have altered the style in which I managed.' Maybe Moyes genuinely believes he deserves more time. Maybe he genuinely believes that if he had been given another season he would have done a good job. Or maybe he’s just desperate for work and wants to portray his time at United as something that wasn’t his fault. But the fact is his time at United was a massive failure, not entirely all of his doing, but totally inexcusable nevertheless. And for an exclusive with the former manager the day after Louis van Gaal’s first game in charge, the MoS were happy to indulge him in his nonsense. |
| Why Rooney won’t Wayne on my parade Posted: 17 Aug 2014 02:13 AM PDT
It wasn't like this last time around. The last didn't fill me with the confidence I needed to go forward, it wasn't a walk in the park, there was no singing, dancing or shouting from the rooftops and to be honest, I just wasn't happy. Needless to say it didn't last. But I've got no regrets. Things may have moved on quickly, but it feels so different this time. For 3 months now when they've spoken, I've listened tentatively, hanging on their every word. I've enjoyed the time we've shared and everything seems to be going from positive to positive. I'm blushing just thinking about it. And then it happened… It's been 3 months now since his appointment as Manchester United manager, but I've had my first disagreement with Louis van Gaal. After Tuesday night's 2-1 friendly win over Valencia, the Dutchman announced to the World's press who would be Manchester United's new captain. The past names speak for themselves, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic. All leaders. All who would leave everything on the field, and most importantly than anything, loved the club. Van Gaal's decision to appoint Wayne Rooney as the new captain wasn't a surprise, given the lack of credible candidates in a much depleted squad, but instead a little bit of a disappointment. I won't fault Rooney in terms of work ethic or desire on the pitch, and you get the feeling that whether he was playing for Everton, United, England or even Macclesfield Town, Rooney's desire to win would remain – an extremely important commodity in a skipper – but the feeling that lingers is more what could have been. It's been a decade now since Rooney signed from Everton as a raw teenage talent with the world at his feet. 443 appearances and 217 goals later he has now been appointed as our leader. A player with such experience in the squad should be a no brainer, yet Rooney's appointment leaves a slightly sour taste, and that's nothing to do with the fact that he's a scouser. Rooney's relationship with the Old Trafford faithful is an indifferent one to say the least with his extensive appearances, goals and medal collection going nowhere close to telling the full story. The former Everton striker, could and should be the obvious choice for the armband, the focal point of the side and one of the most powerful weapons in our Arsenal. As it happens, two transfer requests followed by extreme wage hikes mean that Wayne is not particularly seen in the shining light he should be. He may have been ill-advised, had his head turned or thrown his toys out of the pram at having to occasionally play in a more withdrawn or wider role to accommodate others, but it's traits like this which the club would not usually surrender to, and would surely rule him out of contention right? Wrong. While the number of realistic candidates to replace Vidic were limited, I personally would have liked to have seen either Darren Fletcher or Jonny Evans be given the nod. Granted Rooney is the more likely to drive the team on and make things happen, but given their understanding of the club, good relationship with the fans and their more withdrawn positions on the field either of these two would be a good fit. Fletcher has captained his country since 2009 now and before suffering his illness was becoming established as one of our most important players under Sir Alex Ferguson, with the Manchester derby in particular always seemingly bringing out the best in him. He looks to have made a full recovery now and while he may not be guaranteed a first team place every week under the new regime – particularly when Michael Carrick returns from injury – but giving him the club captaincy for instance would have meant appointing a player familiar with the club and the perfect role model for the rest of the squad. This would have enabled Rooney to perhaps have been offered vice-captaincy and still been able to take the armband on the field more often than not. United have been able to boast some strong and influential skippers over the years as mentioned earlier, and being the main link between the manager and the dressing room and a role-model for the younger and more inexperienced players in the squad, Fletcher, for me fits the mould more so than Rooney. Let it be noted Rooney is still a fine player and is hugely important to Manchester United, 19 goals and numerous assists in a largely disappointing season for the club are evidence of this. But I digress, because the realisation that hit me is, my opinion on the matter is largely irrelevant, completely irrelevant in fact. The decision lies with one man and that's Van Gaal. If he feels that Rooney is his man, the one he can trust and can get the best out of Rooney and the team then so be it. Agree or disagree, Van Gaal has made his bed and my feeling's towards Rooney's appointment aside, I believe that the decision he makes will be the right one and for the best interests of the club. His past shows that he is not afraid to lock horns with big names and Rooney will certainly not be forgiven any future misdemeanors under his new boss and now has been presented with an opportunity to win over those remaining doubters. Disagreement's are an important part of any relationship, but it's how you move on from them which is important, but if the last few months have taught me anything, it's that I trust Van Gaal, in a way that I couldn't trust Moyes. There, I said it, and I'm ready to move on. Hopefully off into the sunset. |
| VIEW FROM THE ENEMY: Tottenham Hotspur fan on re-signing Bale and last summer’s transfers Posted: 17 Aug 2014 02:00 AM PDT In preparation for the 2014-15 season, The Republik of Mancunia has spoken to fans of all the clubs in the Premier League about last season, next season, their own clubs and their thoughts on United. Spooky owns Dear Mr Levy. Follow @Spooky23 on Twitter. Scott: How did you rate 2013-14 for Spurs? Spooky: It was painful for so many reasons but thankfully being a Tottenham supporter means you’re ready for the heartbreak and embrassement. We imploded like we always do. It’s a culture of self-doubt and uncertainty that eats away at the very soul of the club. Sounds a bit overly dramatic but almost every time the problems at play are ones we’ve gone out of our way to create. Not intentionally, but it feels like it. Andre Villas-Boas is someone I liked and rationalised initially suggesting that he had a plan and that the team would eventually shift on from the possession play to far more dynamic and inter-changing attacking movement. It never came. It never came because, well, I’m not sure he’s quite understood that a little expression can help with momentum. His stubbornness killed his own tactics. Add to it the degradation of relationships with players and coaching staff and the chairman and it all collapsed in on itself. I actually think he lost his way in a massive way and I question the support within the clubs structure and wonder if AVB’s isolation was his own doing or if the way we set up the whole football-business model is to blame. Did Levy and Baldini sign players AVB wanted? I’m not sure. Bale left and the players that arrived all came from abroad and it was a recipe for disaster. How do you acclimatise so may ‘first team’ players? You don’t. None of them seemed to fit in. Last season was a harsh lesson learnt. I hope everyone in the club took note. Scott: Are you happy with your new manager then? Spooky: Yes. I like Pochettino. However, I’m grounded. I don’t allow all the philosophical soundbites to get me all dreamy and giddy. AVB famously said he’s continue Redknapp’s football but with more aggressive counter-attacks and look what we ended up with. I think Pochettino is a good man manager and has decent form with developing and nurturing youth progression into first team football. He has a better quality of players at Spurs so perhaps the mistakes made at Soton won’t be repeated too often. I’m backing him, it feels like the best we could have done. Not sure van Gaal was ever going to happen simply because United sacked Moyes. And there is something about de Boer I dislike. Just a gut feeling. Scott: Who was your best performing player? Spooky: Hugo Lloris. The one constant performer and undoubtedly world class. Did most of the defending at times and I felt for him to have four players ahead of him constantly being changed and swapped around. Hope for the sake of him and the team that we seek some cohesiveness at the back this term. Scott: Which player are you expecting to be most important for you in 2014-15? Spooky: I’d discount Lloris because his performance level will always be focused and high. So in terms of the player that will hopefully be key – it’s Christian Eriksen. We’ve never truly recovered from the loss of little Luka Modric. He sat in deep positions but everything started with him. The assist of the assist was common, as he set up players that set up goal scorers. He also allowed the teams tempo to run at a decent pace, kept the ball going. We’re set up a little different these days and with midfield marshals I expect that our attacks will be crafted higher up the pitch with Eriksen the one to ignite the spark. He’s wonderfully talent, had a baptism of fire last season and he’ll need to really work at his consistency. Needs to influence more games. I think that will come as last season, too often, the midfield was congested and space non-existent for him to move into and create. He’s nothing like Modric. Different players, but he’ll provide the intelligence and vision for the players wide and ahead of him (although there’s a chance he’ll start from a wide position and roam inwards). Not too dissimilar positionally than how Luka started his journey. Scott: What do you think Spurs will achieve this season? Spooky: Every season top 4 is perceived as beyond our reach. We then spend the season either competing for it or flirting with it before its out of our reach and yet we look back with regret knowing we could have done it. Got a feeling it’s going to be far more difficult this season. Not just because of the business other clubs are doing but also because we are in another transitional period. I’d be content if we’re up there but 5th is most likely or 6th if you want to be pessimistic. 7th would be a bit gutting. A cup is what should be important. I feel like we’ve disrespected the cups in recent years for the ‘glory’ of 4th spot. We can focus on the bread and butter of the league us much as we like but a cup final is where we truly regain some of that ye old swagger and identity. Scott: Are you happy with your club's performance in the transfer window this summer? Spooky: It’s functional. It might be because we have to sell to buy but on the face of it, Poch is signing players we need even if there are not guaranteed first teamers. So you could argue that we’ve done nothing to improve on key positions. Some young players have come in, cover for Hugo. But not major signings. But then we did spend £100m or whatever it was last summer. Scott: What the fuck was Levy thinking about?! Spooky: Kid in candy store. Go back a summer and every much touted player AVB wanted was never signed. Sometimes, allegedly, because we wouldn’t pay that little bit extra. I think Levy and Franco Baldini signed good players but there was too much spent for the sake of spending to replace Bale when ideally it would have been far more reserved. Had they all been signed and Levy sat down with AVB and said ‘take your time, I don’t expect anything this year and understand it might take another season to get the flow right’ then great. It played out like Rocky chasing chickens. It’s so frustrating that for a club with less revenue than those above us we retain a sense of competitiveness yet we’re the ones solely to blame when we fail to achieve what we’ve promised all season long. I was excited last season, blinded by the magnificent seven signings. I guess that’s why Levy and co did what they did. To make us forget about Bale. This summer is underwhelming in comparison and that might end up helping us. We could still do with another couple of players so the only person who’ll be happy with all of this is Jim White. Scott: Still, was it nice to see Bale thrive on the world stage? Spooky: Yes. Don’t get all this ‘don’t care about him any more’ rubbish that some Spurs fans screamed. Look, football is a harsh landscape and a player of his quality meant he was always going to go there. It’s the way of the modern superstar footballer. Even if we won the league last season he’d have gone to Madrid. Why? Because it’s Real Madrid. We all love to hate the but from his perspective its the pinnacle, the biggest club in the world. He’ll earn the max amount of money from marketing and sponsorships. It’s a no brainer for the career footballer. I championed the fact he was on course to being world class and I’m happy for him. He smashed up La Liga even though his own fans out there questioned him after his initial shaky start. He’s one of the few that has joined his boyhood club. He supported them as a kid, so bravo. Obviously, was a privilege to see him play for Spurs and sure its a bit cringe how he tries to copy his idol Ronaldo but fair play to him. Maybe we’ll re-sign him when he’s 31. Scott: And maybe we can get Ronaldo back when he’s 31! If you could have one United player, who would it be? Spooky: Possibly Mata. Real quality player. Or Rooney. I know, obvious choices but I think both would strengthen us. Couple of injuries upfront and we’re doomed. Scott: Can you believe United were as bad as they were last season? Spooky: Great question. Mainly because one of my initial reactions was to ‘give Moyes a chance’. A lot was made of the fact that United only did as well as they did prior to Moyes because of the Ferguson influence and that the team were already on the slide. Moyes needed time to rebuild right? But then it dawned on me that this is Manchester United and even though it was not a strong squad compared to previous years, that didn’t mean the next man in could not muster up the same tenacity as Ferguson (obviously not on the same level). Moyes was the wrong decision because people believed this was the dawn of another 20 odd years of empire building. The reality is, there will be no new Ferguson. Van Gaal is a big enough personality and a hugely successful and experienced coach to be able to rejuvenate a club without the need for lofty long term ambitions. So yes, I can believe you were that bad last season. Moyes looked like a man far too concious of the fact he was following on from Ferguson. Felt like a competition winner rather than a shrewd appointment. Scott: Now Moyes has gone, how do you expect United to perform this season? Spooky: In amongst it. Although would be nice for you lot to also have a little bit of a transitional season. Doubt it. Again thanks to appointing Van Gaal. You’ll play better football and to be honest, its better that more teams are competing for the top 5 or 6 places. Makes it all that more interesting, teams taking points off each other. Scott: Who do you think will win the league? Spooky: City again although Chelsea might bore the league into submission. Can’t see beyond either two but ask me again in 15 games time and I might have an addition to the prediction.
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