1) Twelve months ago I nearly
wrote an emergency eleven points. We’d started the season like a drain and had
lost at home to Spurs for the first time in 24 years. I was worried. Very, very
worried. I was, of course, over-reacting. Emotional. Spoilt. Good teams will
always experience bad results. They’ll always endure difficult spells. Things
will go wrong. Great teams, great clubs come through those spells somehow
better off than before. “How much can you really know about yourself until
you’ve been in a fight?” (Fight Club) And we’re in a fight right now. Not for
form, not for trophies, not for instant success. We are in a fight to remain a
club famous for responding to adversity with an even greater show of strength. Since
we last met we beat Palace and Leverkusen but took a beating in the derby
before reaching a nadir (hopefully) home to West Brom. Oh and we beat Liverpool
in the Mickey Mouse Cup. It’s not been good. We haven’t scored a league goal in
open play since Swansea. We haven’t looked like scoring a league goal from open
play since Swansea. We’re in a fight. Defeat is acceptable. Crumbling on the
back of a defeat, feeling sorry for yourself and panicking is not. We have played
worse at Anfield and won and that isn’t the first (or last) beating we’ve taken
of the world’s most expensively assembled squad. But it was the response (on
and off the pitch) that wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t United. Or rather it
wasn’t the United we’ve come to know. Because it wasn’t always thus. We are not
United because we are successful. We are successful because we are United. We’re
not owed anything. The thousand yard stare of anyone over 30/40/50 will tell
you all you need to know about the 70s and 80s. We spent the 80s blaming
injuries for our failures and spent 1974/5 in division 2. Sustained success and
a place at the top table isn’t guaranteed. It has to be fought for. And to win
that fight Moyes has to hold on for dear life to that intangible but priceless
quality United have boasted for the past 20 years: they may be down but they’re
never out.
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2) So to Moyes. I was in favour
of the Moyes appointment and I’m not going to withdraw that support now. Christ
knows it’s tempting and I’ve thrown a few tantrums these past few weeks, but he
needs time. What we’ve seen so far hasn’t been good – on and off the pitch (and
I’ll elaborate). But it’s very early days. All big institutions that undergo
radical and vast change suffer in the short term. Steve Jobs was Apple. He
passed and bequeathed an untouchable legacy to Tim Cook. The share price
dipped, Samsung took a huge chunk of their market share and all of a sudden the
gloss was gone. Now Apple are open season. But what could they have done
differently? Probably not a lot. Great success is something of a poisoned Eden.
You wouldn’t swap it for the world but when it’s gone it leaves bitterness and
open wounds. So what does Moyes do? Honestly? Nothing. He needs to do and say
nothing. He needs to take stock, keep his own counsel, assess, analyse, learn
and make judgements as he goes. He is not doing himself any good with rash
changes, radical team selections, new training sessions, new coaches (aside –
Moyes had to bring his own people in. Apart from P Nev. I don’t get the P Nev
thing), new media approach while trying to learn how to be manager of
Manchester United. The Ferguson comparisons (he did nothing for 4 years) are
laughable. Ferguson inherited a club on its knees. An oil tanker sinking in the
Atlantic that he turned round. Moyes has a sleek machine (Apple) that needs
fine-tuning. The real change must come from him, not the club. And that’s the
crux. In time Moyes has to be his own man, with his own ideas and his own plan.
Right now he needs to adapt to Manchester United – not the other way round.
--
3) Mistakes have been made –
shock. Ferguson and Gill going at the same time had disaster written all over
it. Let’s not go into it again (it’s just too painful) but for Moyes and
Woodward to spend all summer telling the world how many players you need and
how much money you’ve got and to come up with a £28million Marouane Fellaini
(more on him later) is nothing short of criminal. It wouldn’t have happened
with either Fergie or Gill. It’s something that needs addressing. Yet the
noises coming out of the club about spending £50mil in January are terrifying.
(It reminds me of a transfer window not so long ago actually.) Shopping in
January is the equivalent of resorting to buying a last minute Father’s Day
card from a pharmacy on the way home from work. It’s desperate. Mistakes have
been made and more will be made still – but making the same ones again would be
unforgivable.
--
4) To get into the detail is to
go over old ground. There have been chronic mistakes with team selection. I’m
struggling with the attitude that ‘we had tough games so we needed to play our
best eleven’. Firstly, how did that go for you David? Secondly we do not have a
best eleven. It’s painful that we are still having this discussion. Ferguson
was the master of squad management because he knew the value of every player.
He knew how to get players the games and make them feel a valued member of the
squad. He pioneered that. When other managers moaned about injuries he saw it
as an opportunity to blood a young player. He knew he’d need Park Ji Sung for a
European knockout game in March so made sure he had enough football to keep him
in peak condition for that time. He wasn’t a reserve. He was a first team
player. Jonny Evans isn’t a reserve. He’s a first team player. He’s played 157
competitive games for MUFC. Of course he needs to prove himself to the new
manager – but no more so than Vidic or Ferdinand. He needs to play. The manager
needs to forget about a first eleven and understand that there are over 20
players who will contribute to a successful season for Man United. They need to
be valued and entrusted with more and more responsibility. If they let Moyes
down or don’t perform then he should get rid. Until that day he needs embrace
the squad. They will respond.
--
5) A revisionist media is now
saying the squad isn’t so strong after all. Oh here we go! Moyes has spent the
weeks since the derby telling the world the squad is lacking. Is the implication
that ferguson knew? Are the Glazers are to blame? Or was Ferguson happy with
the squad and he and Moyes have differing opinions (that’s fine)? Either way is
the squad not good enough to beat West Brom? Even if we over-performed last
season, are we not a top 4 side now? I’m utterly confused. Have I missed
something? Has new evidence come to light? We have five international centre
halves, we have four outstanding (and varied) centre forwards, two wonderful
full backs and one of the league’s outstanding players in Michael Carrick. Are
we saying that the squad that were all over Real Madrid last season, that won
at city, Chelsea and accrued 89 points isn’t actually very good? I’m just not
having that. To quote tony Soprano, ‘frankly I’m depressed and ashamed’. We
lack a quality wide player as we have known for years – and moyes failure to
address that in the summer was startling (more on that) – but the squad is strong.
It may not be the best squad of all time and it could have done with more
investment in the summer, but the squad is strong. Now it’s up to the manager to
get them to perform as a team.
--
6) “Just when I thought I was out
– they pull me back in.” Every now and then I have a moment of clarity in which
everything makes sense. It’s a transition year, it’ll take time – let’s just
relax. Then I read the paper. And my Zen is disturbed. Because every day is
another Moyes-fed article about how the are players aren’t good enough, how we
need to buy better players, how we are after this player and that player etc
etc blah blah. In that instance my serenity crumbles, falling to the floor like
a broken digestive. Words, words, words. And it’s not just Moyes. The players
are at it. Vidic post City, “we’ll bounce back”. Even Buttner is having his say
(who gave him a microphone by the way?). And let’s not forget the official United
twitter feed. The team behind that could teach Goebbels a thing or two. Everyone
at the club needs to take a deep breath and stop. Time to close ranks, have a
moment of introspection and go again. As G Nev said, Man United is an island
and the rest are all sharks waiting to attack when we step into the water. For
now it’s a good idea for Moyes et al to remain on dry land.
--
7) My head is
telling me everything will be ok. It will take time. It’s the biggest job in
the history of football. They have appointed Moyes the man – not moyes the
manager. If they’ve got it right it will all click and we could have another
dynasty on our hands. I still think that. But my gut – my gut is pointing to
Marouane Fellaini. From the first minute I saw him play I was shocked. It’s not
like me to make rash statements but he’s not a united player. He’s the sort of
player we’d have signed in the 80s. A solid division one player who lacks the
pace to make the difference at the highest level. I’m worried we’ve bought a
donkey. If Veron and Berbatov weren’t good enough this guy doesn’t stand a
chance. And that worries me. If moyes is right and the squad needs
work, if he's right that we over performed in recent years and if he's right
that we need to spend big money in transfer market - is he the man to do it?
Because given the one player he's bought so far I’d be loathed to trust him
with another penny.
--
8) OK Glazers if ever we needed you (we
don’t and we didn’t) the time is now. )Actually it was the second Ferguson told
you he was retiring – but given that didn’t happen now will have to do.) I am
not the sort to cry and moan when the £40million deal doesn’t come off. I can
only imagine the hoops that need to be jumped through to pull of a deal like
that. But some clubs manage it. Yes those clubs are filthy rich but then,
according to our very own twitter feed, so are we. Our revenues are destined to
grow and grow as the debt comes down and down. Except one problem: we’re tight.
It’s as simple as that. The number of players good enough to elevate a team to
the champions of Europe (that is what we’re aiming for right?) is small. So
throwing money around willy-nilly (as some actually want us to do) would be
ridiculous. If people expect us to do this they are absolutely kidding themselves.
The Glazers managed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the single-minded policy that
they would only acquire players through the draft system or in the free,
unattached market. They have brought the same (relative) philosophy to United.
We won’t compete with City or Chelsea when it comes to agents’ fees (we don’t
even pay as much as arsenal or Liverpool). Fine. But what I thought we did was
buy the top talent and develop it in house. It seems we’re not doing that
anymore. And given we can’t conclude deals for players that want to come (such
as Jim Leighton Orient Baines from Batman) then who exactly are we signing? (Do
not mention Marouane. I said no.) If the money was there it’s criminal that it
was left unspent. If the money wasn’t there then we’re in big trouble. Because
if we’re not willing to spend big money and if our squad isn’t as good as we
thought then we’re about to discover it really was Ferguson holding it all
together. If that’s the case we’re going to witness the unravelling of the famous
MUFC a lot quicker than anyone expected.
--
9) I’ve created a new game. It’s called
‘Where’s Wilfy?’. It’s really simple. I show you a picture of the Man united
teamsheet (including bench) and you have to point out Wilfried Zaha. First to
spot him gets an hour’s coaching with Marouane Fellaini (you are the coach).
Interested? No? A trick? Moi? Ho-ho you’re not as gullible as I thought. It is
of course an optical illusion. Wilf is not actually there.
--
10) Amidst the sea of confusion and pit
of gloom there has been an ember of hope. Wayne ‘Wazza’ Rooney. Congratulations
Wayne on actually attempting to live up to your potential and maybe enjoy life
as a millionaire footballer. When he’s on song he is a wonderful player. But it
won’t last. He’s like a recovering crack addict in downtrodden America who’s
found god. He’s all energy and intensity – but there’s weakness there. He could
slip any second. Any moment he could go back into the sulking ‘I don’t like the
gym’ addict that nearly saw him commit career suicide. And if he does don’t be
sad. Chelsea will still buy him.
--
11) Is Ryan Giggs. Ferguson spoke in
America last night, saying that Giggs, Scholes, Becks etc created the spirit at
MUFC that is still prevalent in the dressing room today. His role is crucial
even today. But he will know that a happy dressing room is a winning one. You
could see it in those cold eyes against Liverpool. He had to win that game. He
couldn’t lose to City and Liverpool in the same week. That attitude needs to be
passed down to the next generation – sooner rather than later.
