Comment : Fall of ‘the chosen one’

The early days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial career at Manchester United have long been forgotten. The first six years after his appointment in November 1986 did not yield any titles. It was not until the inception of the English Premier League in 1992, when the newly signed Eric Cantona developed an unparalleled strike partnership with Mark Hughes to put an end to United’s 26-year title drought.

After winning his first title, Ferguson and United never looked back. The utter dominance of the Manchester giants after the League’s inception has cemented Ferguson’s reputation as one of the greatest managers in the history of English football, and rightly so; 13 League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League titles in two decades is nothing short of unbelievable.

However, this season has proven once more that in football, nothing can be taken for granted. Sir Alex announced his retirement after 27 glorious years at United, and a new United boss was announced. David Moyes, Everton manager for more than a decade, looked like an effective replacement of the great Ferguson, who himself short-listed Moyes, ‘the chosen one’ for the United job.

In his first fateful season at the helm, Moyes succumbed to pressure and United fell dramatically. This was surprising for a few irrational supporters but it made sense. The immeasurable void left by Ferguson could never be filled in a season. But 34 disappointing League games later and with United lagging seventh in the table, David Moyes is no longer the manager. The final nail in the coffin was the humiliating 2-0 defeat to Moyes’ former club, Everton, on Sunday.

In a brief statement, the club gave a generic farewell to David Moyes for his ‘efforts’. “The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role,” it said. The sacking looked more and more inevitable as the season progressed, but many critics and former managers have expressed their sympathy towards Moyes; also diverting some of the criticism towards the players, who have not risen to the occasion.

Perhaps giving a man the title of ‘the chosen one’ is much easier than giving him time to prove himself. In the course of one season, David Moyes went from being a consistent and respected manager in the world’s toughest league, to a mere laughing stock. It is clear that the fans at Old Trafford have been clearly disappointed with the lacklustre performances and the dreadful strategies implemented by Moyes, but their behaviour and support for the troubled manager deserves praise as some of them have never even experienced the club struggling when Ferguson called the shots.

While some changes to the coaching staff, and the signing of former Everton player Marouane Fellaini has back-fired on Moyes, one can still expect a club of the stature of Manchester United to give time to a manager; just like they gave time to Sir Alex. But football has gone through drastic changes over the course of the last few decades, with short-term success being given more precedence over development towards a long-term goal.

In the end, Moyes might have been inadequate for the mammoth task of managing the biggest club in England, but his tenure should definitely be erased from memory and positives, even the most insignificant ones, should be taken if the club wants to climb back to the top of the summit.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 24^th, 2014.

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