Manchester United’s start to life under David Moyes has been poor to say the least but are there genuine reasons for concern going forward? Two JOEs put forward the case for both sides of the argument.
Adrian Collins says…There are serious reasons to be concerned; not only at the start that Manchester United have made in losing three of their first six games, but also at the way that the team are playing.
With a new manager in charge, the focus of anger will instantly fall on David Moyes, as a result of being (perhaps unfairly) compared with his predecessor, who was one of the greatest managers of all time.
However, there is little else to blame the poor start on. This squad won the league last year, and although he failed to add to it significantly in the window, it should still be strong enough for success. It could be down to the squad selection, or the apparently strict training program that Moyes has enforced which Dutch fitness expert Raymond Verheijen was particularly critical of earlier this year. Whatever the cause, there is a legitimate reason for Manchester United fans to be concerned, given that the team does appear to be on the slide, and as the old cliche goes, of course, the slide is hard to stop once it has begun.
The air of invincibility which Manchester United held under Alex Ferguson is seemingly gone, and while many will think that is insignificant, the psychology of sport is a complicated matter and can have a huge impact, in particular when there is so little to choose between players at the highest level.
Of course, the opponents have also not helped Moyes’ case. If there were two matches on the fixture list that he would have desperately wanted to get some points from, it was certainly the games against Liverpool and Manchester City, so the reaction to these results has ramped up the pressure that he has had to deal with. Rightfully so, however, as these are the games that should, even at this early stage, dictate the season. The top contenders and the best teams in the league, nine times out of ten, should beat the teams in the lower half of the table, so the points lost against their top four rivals will be key.
Ashley Young’s inclusion despite incredibly poor form and Zaha’s exclusion continues to baffle, as he has seemed to be very promising when he played during the Community Shield and had that bit of creativity that the team has lacked. Similarly Shinji Kagawa hasn’t been seeing as much game time as he might like, and there might be a growing contingent of United fans who saw their team slump to defeat to West Brom at home, and are beginning to question if Moyes knows how to make use of the quality creative players in the fold.
A point that many people made when Moyes took over that he would need to assert his style on the team, and having spent so long at Everton on a low budget, being a reactive team rather than a proactive one, a few commentators pointed to the fact that he might not have a playing style. The more the team plays, the more that this seems to be a very salient point. United fans have long been used to watching a team that dictates play, who also attack consistently. This incarnation is much more negative, under a manager who is concerned with not losing in order to keep the pressure off, rather than playing well and ultimately gaining results.
With all of that said, however, it should be noted that he is having the best start to a managerial career at Manchester United since Matt Busby (OK, Fergie was in charge for 26 years… but still), which isn’t a bad record, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Moyes’ only purchase of the summer, Marouane Fellaini, looks a little lost in the United set up, and bar the heroics of Robin Van Persie in the game against Swansea, they were completely outplayed for much of the first half and could well be looking at four losses out of six were it not for him. This poor record has come with a full squad at his disposal, and if injuries hit things can only get worse for those United fans who are rightfully concerned at an opening spell that has showed signs of a worrying change in Manchester United.
Conor Heneghan says… The biggest thing that annoys me about the modern sports fan is the sudden rise in knee-jerk reactions when things go a little bit awry for their team of choice.
In a world where fans can vent their anger immediately on Twitter and on other social media channels, a culture of impatience has developed amongst a sizeable section of fans and, rightly or wrongly, the room for error has diminished dramatically in recent years. Very few people are safe.
The ‘Wenger Out’ brigade, for example, have gone very quiet of late. Granted, they made their voices heard before this season but the outpouring of bile following their opening day loss to Aston Villa was dramatic to say the least.
Since then, the Gunners have signed some German fella who plays in a position they didn’t really need to strengthen in the transfer window, won ten games on the bounce and they now lie top of the league and their Champions League group stage and everything is rosy in the garden. Or it is for now, at least.
Obviously, Manchester United fans have cause to be concerned at the way the team is playing at the moment and with the way David Moyes is going about his new job. It was always going to be difficult, but the transfer window was an absolute disaster, there has been little sign of any sort consistency in his team selection and some of his public utterings have been a little baffling to say the least.
Moyes speaks of players like Shinji Kagawa (who appears to have become a scapegoat) and Javier Hernandez as if he’s never seen them before and although he’s almost certainly right – fans don’t like to hear that their team won’t win the Champions League. While they’re still in the competition, at least let the fans dare to dream a little.
So should United fans be concerned? Yes, any team with title aspirations that have lost three out of their opening six games ought to be concerned. But, to paraphrase The Simpsons, would I say it’s time for United fans to crack each other’s heads open and feast on the goo inside? Well, no I wouldn’t Kent.
The problem for Manchester United fans – and I am one of them – is that we’re spoiled.
We have grown fat on a diet on unprecedented success and become incredibly irritable whenever there’s any change to the status quo.
Alex Ferguson has been mentioned often lately in comparison to David Moyes; but as recently as 2006 there were calls for his head when, in the shadow of Jose Mourinho, the Red Devils finished third in the league and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage for only the second time. A few years prior to that, Ryan Giggs of all people was booed at Old Trafford while in the midst of a particularly poor run of form. Like I said before, even those who you would think are untouchable aren’t safe.
Should there be no respite for David Moyes in the next few weeks and should there be a few more dodgy results, there will be some fans calling for Moyes’ head but I won’t be one of them.
As Gary Neville said on Monday Night Football, with the likes of Ferguson and Bobby Charlton on the board, there are a number of players at United who will be out the door before Moyes will because he will be given time to stamp his own identity at Old Trafford.
He may not be given as much time as Ferguson was, but to suggest that he will be out the door before the end of the season, or worse, before Christmas, seem a little ludicrous and should only be given credence if there is clear and undeniable evidence that he is not the right man for the job.
The weaknesses in the United squad that were fairly obvious before this season have come home to roost this term and considering the quality possessed by some of their direct rivals, the increasing threat from the chasing pack and the poor start, retaining the title is already looking like a pretty ominous task.
Still, if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world; you can’t have it your way all the time and a little dose of realism every now and again is no harm.
Should Manchester United fans be concerned by their present run of form? Yes, mildly maybe, but some of the reaction to the opening spell has been OTT to say the least.
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