With David Moyes facing the wrath of Manchester United fans after a derby debacle left them at their lowest ebb, former captain Gary Neville says not even spending £150 million (Dh909m) in the summer could solve their problems.
The 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday was a crushing blow for manager Moyes as the suffering Scot battles to keep his job.
A sixth defeat of the season at Old Trafford confirmed how the champs of the previous Premier League campaign have become chumps, with supporters venting their fury at both the current boss, and also Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who made Moyes the ‘Chosen One’ after he retired last summer.
With a Champions League quarter- final against Bayern Munich their last hope of salvaging something from a forgettable, problemfilled season, Moyes wants time to change things around.
“A lot of other clubs have had to change and they have had to do rebuilding jobs and look at the time ithas taken them to do that and get to a level of competing,” he said as he accepted responsibility for the loss.
It is understood the catastrophic defeat has brought no immediate review of Moyes’ position and his job, for now, remains secure. But Neville has been stunned by the decline at the club where he won eight titles in 19 years as he said:
“The worrying thing is that people seem to think the answer is just to go and chuck another £150m (Dh909m) at it. But I don’t know.
“It is almost as if you need to know what is wrong with the soup before you throw more ingredients in to make it better.
“The defence doesn’t push up the pitch, they are not front foot defensively. Midfield obviously again you need pressure and drive from midfield and you haven’t got that, they are not risk takers, so the passing is slow at times.
“Up front, they have got good players but it is where you fit them in, how you position them together. David Moyes has some work to do in working that out in these next few months.”
The way United’s midfield was over-run by City emphasised a crucial area Moyes needs to address and improve, providing United’s board don’t sack him.
Paul Scholes, who won his 11th title with the club in last season’s triumph before retiring, hopes the board will back Moyes, but questioned the impact of £27m (Dh163.6m) signing of Marouane Fellaini.
“He’s not been great, has he?” asked Scholes. ‘For a central midfielder at Manchester United for £27m (Dh163.6m), I’m expecting a few goals at least.
“He did have problems with his wrist and I know he missed a lot of games but, for the money they paid for him, I’d be expecting a lot more.”
Amid the gloomy outlook, Wayne Rooney says fans have to stay “strong” to help them through this period of change. But he added: “We can’t lose six homes games in a season and we have to put that right, and make this a place which teams fear again.
“It’s probably been the story of our season so far that we’ve got a couple of good results and then one which sets us back a bit. We know we have to respond.
“We’ve got two big games coming up against Bayern Munich, but first we have to focus on the Aston Villa game and try to end the season on a positive note.”
Sport360°’s Alam Khan on five ways for David Moyes to get United back on top
– Be bold and make wholesale changes in the summer by getting rid of players who are not good enough, and those who don’t want to be there. Nani, Ashley Young, Javier Hernandez, Alex Buttner and Tom Cleverley will do for starters. If Wayne Rooney is to be captain, build the team around him, Juan Mata, and sell Robin van Persie to avoid a potential clash of egos.
– Sign the best players for positions where they are weakest rather than the biggest names. That should include two new full-backs – Luke Shaw (right) springs to mind – and a centreback like Jan Vertonghen or Mats Hummels, to bring assurance in defence. There is also need for more midfield steel.
– Know your best system and stick with it. The derby saw Moyes put out his 46th different starting line-up this season. United are not playing to their own strengths or using tactics to suit their current set of players, but trying to deal with those of their opponents.
– Stop praising opponents for being better and making comments like we “are aspiring to be like City” or “Liverpool are favourites”. It smacks of fear, a resignation that the job is proving difficult, and having no faith and a lack of confidence in his own side.
-Forget loyalty or tradition and bring in better, more experienced coaches to work on the technical side. The loss of Rene Muelensteen has been keenly felt and given he has proved to be a better coach than manager, maybe a return to Old Trafford would help both parties.
