David Moyes has recently broken ANOTHER record by being the first manager fired since 1986. On Tuesday night for us Aussies, we received the not so shocking news of David Moyes getting the axe from Manchester United. Over the last few Months, Moyes has faced some harsh comments towards his management at the club, and losing to his old team, Everton, was the final blow for fans. As there are always two sides to an argument, there a two sides towards his sacking. There are the majority of people that demanded his sacking, and those that were more sympathetic and were open to him managing for another season. And probably one of the saddest things about his sacking, is that it happened just three days before his birthday. Spurs are apparently interested in signing Moyes, and I think he’ll flourish there, as long as he is given time.

Moyes originally signed on with United for a 6-year contract, and the board backed him up with a long-term plan and stating their faith in him, because rebuilding after the departure of arguably the best manager in football wasn’t going to be easy. So why wasn’t he given the long-term chance to rebuild United? Because if we look at his past club, Everton, he brought them from near relegation, to a top 6 team. And if he could do that with the minimal funds Everton had, surely he could do it for the reigning champions? Unfortunately, there’s more than one answer.

• The high expectations left by Alex Ferguson
• The attitudes of the players
• The complete switch in back-room staff
• The philosophy of Manchester United fans
• Age of our starting squads
• Growing lack of talent

When Alex Ferguson announced his retirement, the tickets for his last game were going for sale online for almost £3000, that’s almost $5,500 AUD. When ticket prices are that high, it’s safe to say that the man was one of a kind. He’s the reason why United are as successful as they are. So being the man to replace him would be suicide. The fans would have continual high expectations for him to achieve, as if Fergie never left, and the problem with that is, most of the fans don’t know what’s going on with the club. They just shout and cheer for United, then attempt to blame someone when their club is losing. And unfortunately, for those die-hard United supporters since child-hood like myself, it’s painful to be stereotyped with those people.

It’s come to light that a lot of the players were not happy with the new management, some of them even betting on ‘how long until he was sacked’. There was so much bickering going on behind the scenes that they managed to keep quiet for a while, that i’m ashamed. If I was Moyes, and a player made a negative comment about me, I would shout down at them until they fall in line. Bickering like a bunch of teenage girls and then blaming Moyes because they played poorly reminds me of saturday-league football. They should really think about what they’ve done before they find another scape-goat.

Another point I made was the age of the team. The likes of Ferdinand and Evra in our starting team, I found was a poor decision throughout the season. Ferdinand is still a good player, but he has the turning circle of a truck, and the speed of a sloth. Multiple times while watching games, I would scream at my monitor when he moved out of position, and it would usually lead to conceding a goal. And Evra was summed up in the second leg against Bayern Munich. Great offence, terrible defence. Both of them should be dropped immediately. They were world class in their prime, but with our captain Vidic leaving at the end of this season as well, it’s time to start a new legacy. They are no longer United Quality.

So what now? We’ve sacked our manager and we still have games left! Ryan Giggs is what happens now. Ryan Giggs has stepped in as Manager on an interim basis, which basically means he is to be Manager until they contract a full-time manager. During his first team talk he said that “we will go back to playing like Manchester United”. I have the same confidence in Giggs as I did in Moyes, which is a great amount. Giggs knows how everything works, he’s basically the living embodiment of Manchester United. The man breathes trophies.

But what about long-term? A lot of names are in the air, including Jurgen Klopp, Van Gaal and even Jose Mourinho. Most of them are just hopeful rumours, but some of then are quite good candidates. I personally would love to see Van Gaal manage United, he has the perfect personality to control the egotistic players, and know-how to win seasons, and continue our reign of success.

But why would Jose Mourinho be rumoured to join us, he just joined Chelsea. Well there were rumours at the end of last season that Jose wanted to take over after Fergie, and perhaps they’re just journalists making up stories to write about. But wouldn’t it be great if he joined us? He has quite the resume. There are rumours that he is trying to get himself fired so he can manage United, but again, i’m going to assume their false rumours.

Van Gaal would be the better fit for United I think personally. He is currently managing the Netherlands international team, and managed the likes of Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich before looking onto the international stage. He’s won countless awards for his clubs, and multiple personal awards. His ‘no one is bigger than me’ personality is exactly what we need at United to keep everyone in line, and for everyone to perform at their maximum potential again. There’s an in depth analysis here on reddit. One story that I particularly like about Van Gaal, is when meeting Pique, Van Gaal, without warning, pushed the 14-year old Pique over and said, “You’re too weak to be a Barcelona defender.” We need that kind of attitude.

Even when we sign a new manager, we still need to make some crucial signings. We need some new defenders, and some new midfielders. We really need to make it rain this transfer window, we have a lot of players leaving, and we already have too many holes in our team. We need to totally reshape our team. So who should we buy? (All values in euro’s from TransferMarkt)

Ivan Rakitic 20M: The 16 year-old Croatian footballer currently playing for Sevilla in Spain, plays in a central midfield or attacking midfield. He has magnificent passing and vision, which we need in our team. He’s also quite the dribbler. While we don’t need another attacking midfield, he can play out wide, and he’s worth the investment. His move and pass play can would be dangerous if lined up with Kagawa and Mata. He would most likely be suited on the right-hand side, leaving the middle for Mata.

 

 

Luke Shaw 30M: An 18-year old Left-Back for Southampton, he’s one to keep an eye on. He’s already in the starting squad, and plenty of top clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea have him in their scopes. He’s like a young Gareth Bale, with a great attacking style with good decision making. Apparently Manchester United are to beat Chelsea with a 30M bid for the youngster this transfer window.

 

Kevin Strootman 21M: At 24 years old, he’s in the starting line-up in his Italian side Roma as a central midfielder. He’s a tough tackler and has excellent vision, which is exactly what we need in a new midfielder. We don’t need another Carrick that will only bass it backwards. He’s currently injured for the rest of the season, and the 2014 World Cup. His tough tackling would suit the Premier League, and most importantly, Manchester United’s style of play. Plus he has a good relationship with Van Gaal, so if he is to manage United next season, he will definitely look at bringing in the Dutchman.

 

 

William Carvalho 7M: A Portuguese defensive midfield player, at 22 years old he plays for Sporting Lisbon. Manchester United have been scouting him for some time, and he’s a perfect fit for United, much like Strootman. And for only 7M, he would be a great investment, and a valued played in our ranks.

 

 

 

Ezequiel Garay 17.5M: A 27-year old defender currently playing for Benfica, would be a great asset to United. With a great tackling ability and some great strength, he surely fit in well for United. United doesn’t really need many CB’s, as we have Evans, Smalling and Jones already, and all of which are good enough to fill the holes of Vidic and Ferdinand. Garay will just add a bit of experience to the defence.

 

I think the one thing that really needs the change though, the the fans philosophy and mentality towards the next few seasons. Everyone expects us to win season after season, but it’s just not going to happen. We can’t continue to have the strongest ego. We have to accept that we’re going to lose some crucial games along to way, but we’re setting ourselves up for great success in the future, similar to Liverpool. They were once a great team, and it took them decades to contest again.

Everyone just needs to remember that Form is temporary, but Class is permanent.

But until next season, we get to experience Ryan Giggs as a player manager, and i’d love to see him on the side line managing in his kit, and to sub himself on. Especially in the last game. Maybe it’s the start of his next big scheme to win more trophies, to become the world’s next best manager. Either way, i’m behind United, and I have faith that we will eventually bounce back and become champions once again.