At some point, maybe Manchester United will start picking up points at the rate we’re used to seeing from them. However, until that day happens, the fingers will still be pointed at David Moyes for every wrong decision he makes and takes, and the comparisons between him and the great manager he replaced will weigh heavy on his shoulders.
Conspiracy theorists suggest that Alex Ferguson knew what he was doing. He hand picked a man he knew wasn’t going to be able and succeed with this squad, which might result in him being called back to save the ship, or simply highlights his own greatness as a manager, getting an easy championship out of the same squad that David Moyes has failed to win at home with more than once.
But weird theories aside, Moyes isn’t going to be judged by United’s position in October. It’ll be in April and May when the decision to call him a failure or a success, at least after his first season on the job, is made. But so far the signs aren’t very pleasing.
The 1-1 draw at Southampton can be split into two faults: The first half, which was about the players not making the most of their good minutes, and the second half, when Moyes failed to provide the confidence his players needed (as Ferguson mentioned, this bunch is a bit more fragile) and made some awful substitutions.
You couldn’t ask for a stronger lineup from Moyes, using both Adnan Januzaj and Nani on the wings, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the front, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick in the midfield, while Phil Jones played next to Jonny Evans at centre back.
But despite some positive football and obviously scoring the opening goal, Southampton weathered the storm, and carried on playing in the same way they started off with – pushing aggressively through a very soft middle. David Moyes and Manchester United gave it their best shot, and only came up with one goal, which wasn’t enough to negate the effects of bringing on Ryan Giggs, Danny Welbeck and Chris Smalling.
When you calculate who he took off and who he brought on, maybe Moyes didn’t actually change the formation into a more defensive one, but he he signaled to the whole stadium that 1-0 at home is enough for him, and he wants to hold on to this result, feeling that any kind of win is important, while winning in style would have done much more for his job security, or the appearance of it for those outside the club.
And now Manchester United continue to drift away from the leading pack, not even picking up the points against the “small” teams. One of the biggest problems for Moyes seems to be Fellaini, who is playing awfully, but Moyes, a man with ego as his interviews and behavior has shows us, won’t bench the only player he actually signed, overpaying for him at that.
There’s still complete silence from the board. The fans asking for Moyes’ head are the Internet kind, or those who aren’t actually going to matches, at least some of them. But with every point dropped, he looks more and more like a man that Everton was the right place for him; a place he never should have left, or at least not for a club of this magnitude.