Reports: David Moyes could be sacked in the coming weeks + his unwanted records at Manchester United

Speculations are rife that Manchester United Manager, David Moyes is likely to be sacked by the club in the coming. weeks. Although the club has made no official comment on the matter but there are reports that the 50 year-old lost the backing of the club owners and senior executives after their defeat to Everton on Sunday, April 20, 2014.
Meanwhile Red Devil fans all over the world have been in high spirit ever since the news seeped online. Some are of the opinion that sacking Moyes is long-overdue, others believe he should be given more time to put the club back on track. Moyes who joined the club 11 months ago after signing a six-year contract could be temporarily replaced by Ryan Giggs.

Review: Sir Alex Ferguson: My autobiography | By: Shafi’i Muhammad Abdulhamid

Sir Alex Ferguson had maintained that this autobiography was an account for the Manchester United supporters. Those who had remained faithful and dedicated to the club, and were owed an explanation of the gaps remaining in his 27 years reign as a manager in the club. After reading this book, I found this was absolutely so. It looks like a conversation from the grandpa giving you a straight-talk about how he managed his life, with all the blunders of judgments. Then his determination to maintain a very high standard and understanding early, that no man is greater than the club. It was a story of success. But to me, the most intriguing part of this autobiography was his confrontation with his fearless captain Roy Kean that led to the latter leaving the club.
Before reading this book, I have a million questions which I wish to have the opportunity to ask Fergie, but now I am left with just a handful. One of the questions that continued to baffle me even after reading this book was his decision to choose David Moyes as a successor out of all the wonderful football managers in the world. I read through the whole book, and the old man did not give any strong footballing reason for that decision. Fergie’s only reason was that Moyes was Scottish and Scots have a dourness of strong will to be successful. He strengthens this point by saying Moyes’s father was also a good coach back in the days at Drumchapel, and he believes he has some of these traits in him.
The only statement I read that was close to being a footballing reason for this selection was when he said – Moyes was a fine judge of talent and laid on some marvelous football at Everton when he was allowed to sign a higher class of player. All these to me are ridiculous reasons, because United has a winning mentality which either David Moyes did not understand or he is not capable of sustaining. And again, Fergie should know better that there is a big difference between winning mentality and playing a marvelous football; a case study of Arsenal. I am not of the opinion that United should hire an established coach as the Mourinhos, the Van Gaals or the Capellos, because I want the tradition of the club to be upheld.
I still find it difficult to understand why Fergie did not pick among the players or ex-players he nurtured. Players that passed through the never say die school of Fergie time. Players that understood the winning mentality and the tradition of United and will do anything possible to upheld that. Prominent among these players and ex-players are; some of the class of 92 like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes or the Nevilles. I will also be more comfortable with the baby-face of Ole Gunnar Solskjær or the mighty figure of Eric Cantona. What is wrong in choosing our longest serving captain Bryan Robson or our former center back Steve Bruce? Now, this decision of choosing Moyes is putting the team through torture and the fans through hell.
For many of us that have been very faithful in supporting the club over a long time, we find it difficult to forget the untimely departure of our fearless captain, Roy Keane. This is the beginning of our mid-field crises that are yet to be resolved. Keane was a highly opinionated personality. He always thinks he is right even when he was wrong, and that was what made Mick McCarthy (the Republic of Ireland Manager) to send him out of the 2002 World Cup at Japan/Korea camp. During that trying period, Fergie supported Keane even when he knew he was wrong.
But if you are looking for an example of how a player and his coach fell apart, then the saga of Ferguson versus Roy Keane is a classic case. Their problem started when Fergie supported Carlos Queiroz (the assistant coach) after he had some misunderstandings with Keane over accommodation arrangements during pre-season tour at Portugal. After he came back to England, Keane took on to MUTV and seriously criticized most of his team-mates for not pulling their weight during matches. It was so serious that the editors refused to air it and sent the tape to Fergie for his assessment.
The old man was dumbfounded! He could not believe Keane will let down his team-mates in public. The following morning, he called for a meeting of all the players and coaching staff. He played the video for them to see. Keane was quick to ask whether the players had a problem with what they had just seen. Edwin van der Sar and Ruud Van Nestrooy took on him, but the hardest part of Keane’s body was his mouth. So, he uses his blade tongue to slaughter everybody and then saved the best for the old man when he said ‘You brought your private life into the club with your argument with Magnier,’ At that point the players started leaving. It was a shameful ending because, by morning, our legend was on his way out of Old Trafford. No player is bigger than the club.
Keane was right to have made that pronouncement to Fergie. In short, he had said the minds of many fans out there that will never have the opportunity to tell the old man the truth. But the problem was that; he also went about it the wrong way and at the wrong time. The story of Magnier and the racehorse called Rock of Gibraltar was another thing that the book refused to expatiate on, and I think it was intentional. Magnier was a former Manchester United co-owner from Ireland. Magnier and Ferguson also co-owned the racehorse that won many races.
The row that blew up over the successful horse and Ferguson’s claim on the stud rights, consumed the club from Ferguson’s first legal action in January 2003 to the legal settlement in March 2004 and beyond to the Glazer takeover in May 2005. McManus and Magnier owned almost 30 per cent of the club and eventually sold out to the current owner, the Glazers. The fans did not like it when the Glazers came from America and took over the club. And it was this racehorse thing that caused it. Fergie liked it that way because they gave him more power and also increased his pay. How can an important story like this that consumed the former owners of the club be conspicuously omitted from this all important autobiography? If you are a fan of Keano or David Beckham then you may not enjoy the book, because they were portrayed in a bad light.
But one thing that I like so much in the book was honesty in narration especially when it comes to stating the obvious. For example, in the 19th chapter titled – Small is Beautiful, he made the following statement;
“BARCELONA were the best team ever to line up against my Manchester United sides. Easily the best. They brought the right mentality to the contest. We had midfield players in our country – Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Bryan Robson – who were strong men, warriors; winners. At Barcelona they had these wonderful mites, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with the courage of lions, to take the ball all the time and never allow themselves to be bullied. The accomplishments of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta were amazing to me.”
I remembered the old man’s hand shaking terribly in that UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium against Barcelona in 2011. I was even scared he might get a heart attack, especially when he spits out that his iconic chewing gum. But when he spoke about his strikers, this is what he has to say;
“If you put my great goal-scorers together (Andy Cole, Eric Cantona, Van Nistelrooy, Rooney), Ruud was the most prolific. But the best natural finisher was Solskjaer. Van Nistelrooy scored some magnificent goals, but many were scabby, six-yard box goals. Andy Cole scored some fine goals, too, but plenty were close in, scrambled, off the leg, just-get-it-in goals. Solskjaer’s finishing, though, could be majestic. His thought processes underpinned his skills. He had that analytical mind. As soon as he arrived in a shooting position, he had it all sized up. He had mental pictures everywhere. Yet he didn’t play all the time because he wasn’t the most aggressive of strikers.”
Surely, I watched all of them play and I cannot agree more. Simply put. Fergie had worked with many world class strikers including Henrik Larsson (Sweden), Robin van Persie (Holland), Michael Owen and Teddy Sheringham (both of England). But, unfortunately, in this case his call was right. No space for the Uruguayan and two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe Diego Forlán talk less of Chicharito Hernández of Mexico.
He also picked that Wayne Rooney’s bicycle kick against Man City in February 2011 as the greatest goal in his time at United. When he was invited to Everton academy for the first time to watch Rooney play, his remark was, “This was a man playing in under-age football.” Rooney was portrayed in this book as a greedy fellow that owes the United fans an apology because twice he puts up transfer request. But, he praised Cristiano Ronaldo as the most gifted player that he had worked with as a manager.
One last question which the book did not address was this popular allegation especially in Africa that Ferguson does not like black players of African origin. Whether the allegation was true or not, only two black African players featured in his 27 years reign in Manchester United; Quinton Fortune (South Africa) and Eric Djemba-Djemba (Cameroon). These two only struggled to make the first team for some time and then fade away. His attempt to get a Nigerian player, John Mikel Obi, ended in controversy. I wished he took this opportunity to clarify this unfounded racist allegation against him. He missed it.
But one thing that you cannot take away from the grandpa was his achievements. He played four UEFA Champions League finals and won two. He won the old European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991. He also won the Premier League 13 times and then played in eight FA Cup finals and won five. Played seven League Cup finals and won four. He also won the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup in 1999, and the FIFA World Club Cup in 2008. Not forgetting the ten Charity Shield Cups in his cabinet. Sir Alex Ferguson is the most decorated Premier League manager ever. All hail the King of soccer. It’s Fergie time and united we stand for him.
Credit: Ynaija.com

Photos: Wrong one – Moyes out! Manchester United fans set to fly banner over Old Trafford.

Oh dear! Hell hath no fury like some fans frustrated. There are reports that some Manchester United fans have paid to hire a plane to fly over Old Trafford on Saturday displaying a banner calling for David Moyes’ sack. A press release detailing their complaints and reasons for the actions have been issued through Man United forum Red Issue.
Excerpts from the release.
“The decision to fly a plane over Old Trafford bearing the slogan ‘Wrong One: Moyes Out’ is one borne out of acute frustration. It is frustration at the poor results, lack of fight on the pitch and the unavoidable signs that David Moyes isn’t up to the highest standards required to manage Manchester United Football Club. A significant proportion of Manchester United fans have had enough and unequivocally want David Moyes sacked. Further frustration has been created from the inaccurate perception that all Manchester United fans are behind David Moyes……..”

"We will all come out at the other end"- An open letter from David Moyes to Manchester United fans

In the wake of Red Devils’ woeful performances this season, Manchester United boss, David Moyes has written a letter of gratitude to fans for their support thus far. The former Scottish player while craving their indulgence added that the tumultuous season is not something he envisaged. He is however confident that the club will be back to winning ways again.
“While I knew that this job would be a challenge when I took it on, the difficult season we have experienced was not something that I envisaged, which I am sure is the case as well for you supporters – and my players, staff and I are desperate to compensate for that.

“You are accustomed to seeing a successful Manchester United and the backing you have given the players and me throughout the season has been incredible. Away from home the travelling fans have remained the best in the country while at Old Trafford your unwavering faith has been noticeable and hugely welcomed. Supporting your team when they are winning is easy but much harder when things are not going as well, and the loyalty you have shown us has been magnificent.”

Everywhere we turn people outside the club have a lot to say about Manchester United but we all have stuck together through some tough times this season and I firmly believe that, in the long run, we will all come out at the other end, stronger for the experiences. Everything we have been through will make us a better, stronger team and club in the future.

Over the years you have seen great winning sides here and, in time, I have absolutely no doubt that we will see great winning sides here again. A big step towards that will be transforming Old Trafford back into the fortress it has long been renowned as, and we will do everything in our power to get the positive performances and results to do that, so that we can give you Season Ticket holders and all our supporters something to shout about.









Signed

David Moyes
Open chat