Heading towards the end of his first term in the hotseat of Old Trafford, David Moyes would not have had the slightest idea that he would be under so much pressure, a year ago at the Goodison.
At the Goodison, Moyes led a mid-table team running on very tight budgets and brainwashed the Toffees faithful to believe that mid-table is good enough. Fast-forward a year and he finds himself at the self proclaimed, ‘biggest club in the world’ , defending domestic Champions and Champions League finalists 3 years ago. Mid-table finishes wont do him any good now. The fans demand a top-4 finish at the very least. Top-4 however seems like a reality beyond Old Trafford now and a bare minimum qualification into Europe’s second tier competition – Europa League has become Moyes’ aim. What could have possible gone wrong for the Scotsman?
Criticized by his own players for his excruciating fitness regime (Van Persie) couldn’t have possibly been the start Moyesy would’ve wanted to his United career. To add to that, an aging side, where a 19 Year-old looked the standout performer for most of the first half of the season couldn’t help his cause. Gradually slipping away from the title-race and eventually the top-4 the impregnable Old Trafford seemed vulnerable. West Brom, Everton, Newcastle, Sunderland and Swansea among others picked up points from the once Theatre of Dreams. The Manchester United of David Moyes bares a stark resemblance to the Liverpool of Graeme Souness in 1990.
The January transfer window couldn’t come sooner for Moyes. The record signing of Spanish playmaker Juan Mata hoped to bring back the spark that was sorely missed in the team. But to no avail. To be fair to the Spaniard, he has had an admirable start to his United career, but as Moyes admitted – he needs 5 Mata’s to galvanise his team.
Ahead of the visit of arch-rivals Liverpool, who have quite literally swapped places with Manchester United in the table, Moyes realizes that he needs the fans behind him if all fails. The open letter, in other words was nothing but a desperate ‘please like me’ letter with the faint hope of winning some of angry and frustrated fans over.
All’s not Rosy for David Moyesy.
