United’s 2-0 defeat at Everton was the latest evidence that Scot was the wrong man
David Moyes has been sacked as Manchester United’s manager after the club’s owners, the Glazer family, lost patience with the Scot.
The decision was confirmed by the club on its Twitter account this morning.
United’s 2-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday was seen as the latest evidence to the executive that Moyes was the wrong man to lead the club.
There has no confirmation of either a permanent or temporary replacement although there are reports that the club may put Ryan Giggs in temporary charge.
The 40-year-old, who is player-coach, would command the instant respect of the squad.
Moyes had been under scrutiny since last month following the 3-0 loss to Liverpool. The chief concern for the board was how badly the side have played throughout the season, with little sign of improvement.
This had led to questions about whether he could be trusted to carry out a £150 million (€183 million) rebuild.
The club are intent on reshaping the squad in the close season and the discussions between Woodward and the Glazers will now centre on finding a new manager to drive the process.
Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp, Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain’s Laurent Blanc and the Holland coach, Louis van Gaal, will all be discussed as the next potential permanent United manager.
The handling of Moyes’s departure has been criticised with former United defender Gary Neville saying last night: “I think the whole situation at the club right now is repulsive. The club really need to make a statement.”
Moyes paid the price for failings at most levels.
Beyond a dismal title defence that has taken United from champions by 11 points to a side struggling to qualify for European football next season, are a series of off-field issues.
The prime one is how the 50-year-old has alienated many of the squad he inherited from Ferguson. Moyes struggled to convince some senior players of his abilities and there have been numerous disagreements with others.
Over the past few days friction between him and Danny Welbeck came to a head with the striker unhappy enough to consider his future despite being a United supporter.
This followed a disagreement in December. Earlier in the season Moyes claimed he had instructed Welbeck to stay behind for extra training, telling him to follow Wayne Rooney’s example.
Yet Welbeck subsequently questioned Moyes’s claim, saying: “I have been injured this season so maybe the manager has not seen me on the training pitch as much.”
Last week Moyes disciplined Welbeck, along with Tom Cleverley and Ashley Young for a night out in Manchester following the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.
While United had no game for 10 days before the trip to Everton – and the manager had given his squad three days off – the trio are thought to have contravened a rule they should not be out late within 48 hours of a game.
Further evidence that Moyes has struggled for control came in two episodes of indiscipline from Chris Smalling. Last month Moyes acted after the defender was photographed out in the early hours of Sunday in Manchester.
This followed a transgression in January when he was forced to apologise for appearing to dress as a suicide bomber at a private party.
Moyes has also proved insular, even with those in his inner circle, with his coaching team not always sure what his thoughts are, and he can often be a distant figure to those who work at the club’s Carrington training complex.
Speaking to MUTV in the aftermath of the loss at Everton, Moyes said: “We want to finish by winning all of our games. We’ll do everything we can to make that happen.”
