‘Fear of the unknown’ leads United boss to lose his job

English football giants Manchester United yesterday ended months of speculation and fired David Moyes, who failed to manage last year’s premiership champions for not even one complete season.

It was never going to be easy for the former Everton Manager to fill the boots of club legend Alex Ferguson. Despite leading Everton for 11 years and reaching an F.A. cup final, the lack of silverware had already raised eyebrows on Moyes’ credentials to manage at Old Trafford.

Moyes took the job after being recommended to the management by none other than Alex Ferguson himself. In an attempt to alleviate the fans’ scepticism, Ferguson had underlined during his retirement speech last May the need for supporters to be united behind the new manager and support him through thick and thin. “I'd also like to remind you that when we had bad times here, the club stood by me, all my staff stood by me, the players stood by me - your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important,” Ferguson had said upon retiring.

But a series of uninspiring performances coupled with a lacklustre campaign saw fans become uneasy week after week, with United currently sitting in seventh place in the league with seventeen wins and eleven losses.

TV presenter Angie Laus - taking the Alex Ferguson worship seriously

Joseph Tedesco - not a fan of Moyes's leadership

George Micallef - the mistake was evident from the very start

Joseph Tedesco, president of the local supporters’ club said that Moyes’s dismissal was a clear indication that the club’s board were not prepared to risk entrusting him with more transfer funds for next season.

“During Alex Ferguson’s tenure, the club had bad seasons but everyone knew that the team would come out fighting the following year,” he said.

“With Moyes, there was a fear of the unknown. The risk attached with continuing to support him was clearly too big.”

Tedesco hinted that Moyes had lost the support of his players, with the latter’s lack of motivation being clear for all to see. “It showed on the players’ faces. In the past, after a defeat the players almost looked afraid to go into the dressing room to face Ferguson. This season, that fear was not there. Negative performances seemed to become the order of the day.”

Tedesco was more complimentary of the man appointed to replace Moyes until the end of the season – club legend and player-coach under the Scot – Welshman Ryan Giggs.

“Giggs certainly has the respect of the players because of his career,” he said.

Describing the decision to appoint Moyes last summer as a ‘mistake’, local sports commentator George Micallef said that Alex Ferguson should bear some responsibility for Moyes’ ill-fated spell as Manchester United manager.

“The decision was clearly a mistake,” he said. “They realised that they simply couldn’t afford to stick with the manager.”

Expressing his doubts as to whether Ferguson will be consulted again for Moyes’ successor, Micallef said that Moyes was simply “not high profile enough” for the Manchester United hot seat.

Citing current Holland manager Louis Van Gaal as the favourite to take over the job, Micallef said that Jurgen Klopp would also be an ideal candidate.

“Giggs does not have enough experience to take on the role on a permanent basis,” he said. “Manchester United will know that they simply cannot afford to get it wrong now.”

Maltese TV personality and United loyal supporter Angie Laus concurred that Moyes’ time was up. “Better now rather than later. You cannot have a team made up of champions and fail to win in that way,” she said when contacted by MaltaToday.

Whilst accepting that Ryan Giggs was not quite managerial material as yet, Laus described him as a ‘hero’ for United fans. “I would prefer seeing my team lose the last four games of the season under Giggs, than under Moyes’ stewardship,” she said. “But I think that Giggs knows what he should do in the upcoming weeks,” the TV presenter added.

Who could be the next Man Utd manager?

But with Giggs’ lack of managerial ability, it is almost sure that he would only serve until the end of the season, with the management already looking for a suitable replacement that would bring back glory days to the Old Trafford side.

After Moyes’ disastrous choice, the management will likely veer to a managerial certainty who already established himself in international football. Managers such as Josè Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have long been linked with the job in the past, but now being in charge of Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively makes their candidature almost impossible.

But emerging star managers such as Borussia Dortmund’s JurgenKlopp and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone may be a bet favoured by the United supporters. Both Klopp and Simeone managed to achieve excellent results with far less resources than their direct opponents. Klopp clinched two consecutive Bundesligas and a historic champions league final appearance, while Simeone is currently on top of la Liga despite’s Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s millions and star players.

Former United player and current manager of PSG Laurent Blanc and Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti also have interesting CVs that would do for the Red Devils.

Everton’s manager Roberto Martinez may be another possible candidate due to his flowing football and premier league experience, even though he may not have international experience of the other contenders. The Spaniard, who already replaced Moyes at Everton, would bring tactical flexibility that was lacking in Moyes’ approach the past year.

In contrast to Martinez, Holland’s Louis Van Gaal has all the necessary international experience. In fact, the Dutchman won seven league titles in three countries, together with a Champions League, seven domestic trophies, the UEFA Cup, and two European Super Cups. The only drawback for Van Gaal’s candidature may be his age, where at 62 he may not fulfill the profile of a long-term manager that United supporters are vying for.