ManU fire Moyes over season of disaster

Manchester United has sacked manager David Moyes after a disastrous ten-month spell running the world-famous club which has been left in turmoil.

The club followed the stunning announcement by naming veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs as interim manager.

Moyes, 50, succeeded Alex Ferguson at the helm of the Premier League side on July 1. But the season quickly became a nightmare for Moyes who watched his team slump to a series of embarrassing defeats.

After feverish speculation, United confirmed the sacking in a brief statement.

“Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role,” it said.

A second statement added that the 40-year-old Giggs, “the club’s most decorated player, will assume responsibility for the first team until a permanent appointment can be made.”

Manchester United players had training amid an intense media spotlight. But the club said no further comment would be made “on this process until it is concluded.”

Experienced Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal emerged as the British bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Moyes on a permanent basis.

The 62-year-old, whose previous clubs include Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, recently expressed a desire to work in England. His contract as manager of the Netherlands expires after this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund, another rumoured contender, ruled himself out of the running.

Klopp told The Guardian newspaper: “Man United is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans. But my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable.”

Moyes started a six year contract on July 1 in place of Ferguson, British football’s most successful manager who reigned at United for 26 years.

The sacking came a year to the day after Manchester United had secured their 20th English title as a sendoff to Ferguson who hand-picked Moyes to succeed him.

Moyes has endured a torrid season and faced criticism from players.

United have slumped to seventh place in the league table and been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and Europe’s Champions League.

Moyes’s last game in charge was Sunday’s 2-0 loss at his former club Everton, which confirmed that United will not compete in the Champions League next season for the first time since 1995.

The 11th defeat of the league campaign left United 13 points below the Champions League qualifying places and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Moyes’s transfer dealings proved equally disappointing, with STG27.5 million ($A49.82 million) midfielder Marouane Fellaini, signed from Everton, and STG37.1 million ($A67.22 million) record signing Juan Mata, who arrived from Chelsea in January, struggling to make an impact.

As a result, United’s American owners, the Glazer family, reportedly felt uneasy about handing him the funds needed to rebuild the squad during the close season.

Giggs, United’s record appearance-maker, was informed of the sacking after arriving at United’s Carrington training ground near Manchester.

His first game in charge will be a league fixture at home to Norwich City on Saturday.

Giggs made his United debut in March 1991 and has made 962 appearances for the club, winning 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups, three League Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

He has no previous managerial experience, but has combined his role as a player with a position on United’s coaching staff since the start of the current campaign.

The sacking became the talk of European football.

“I was a little surprised because Manchester United don’t have that custom of sacking managers,” said Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“I feel for David Moyes, but in general this is the life of a coach,” Ancelotti added.

FIVE ISSUES FOR MOYES’S SUCCESSOR TO ADDRESS:
1. Bring the style back
– The statistics ultimately did in Moyes — 11 league defeats; 23 points below leaders Liverpool; no Champions League qualification for the first time since 1995. Under Alex Ferguson, United were renowned for their dashing football and never-say-die spirit, but under Moyes they looked like a team without a soul. Gone were the thrilling counter-attacks and injury-time goals, replaced instead by a listless tactical conservatism that reached a nadir in February when United lumped a Premier League-record 81 crosses into the box during a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham. In Moyes’s last game in charge, a 2-0 defeat at his former club Everton, United dominated possession, but did nothing with it. “Possession football, meaningless football, against clinical football,” was the damning verdict of former United stalwart Gary Neville.

2. Rejuvenate the defence
– While Moyes’s successor will find a cluster of renowned attacking players at his disposal, he will also inherit a defence that has been creaking badly ever since Ferguson retired in May last year. Captain Nemanja Vidic has already agreed to join Inter Milan and both Rio Ferdinand, 35, and Patrice Evra, 32, will soon be out of contract. At 23, right-back Rafael da Silva has time on his side, but he has turned in several erratic performances of late, while Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling have been exposed at times as well. A new central midfielder remains a key requirement, but the reconstruction of the United back four is likely to be the principle focus of the anticipated close-season recruitment drive.

3. Devise a system that accommodates Rooney and Mata
– United fans rejoiced when Moyes prised Juan Mata from Chelsea for a club-record 37.1 million ($61.2 million, 44.8 million euros) fee in January, but the Spaniard’s Old Trafford career is yet to catch fire. He was typically used on the right of an attacking midfield triumvirate by Moyes, as the number 10 role that he covets is currently the exclusive domain of Wayne Rooney. Shinji Kagawa, a Ferguson signing who has also failed to find his feet, is another player who prefers to play as a central playmaker, and the new manager’s ability to devise a system that successfully accommodates at least two of those players could determine his chances of success.

4. Stop the leaks
– Ferguson famously elected to exert control over the media simply by shutting them out, and stories of changing-room unrest were few and far between during his 26-and-a-half-year tenure. The code of omerta appeared to disintegrate under Moyes, however, as reports of disagreements between him and players including Ryan Giggs, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck filtered out into the press. If his successor is to get the whole club pulling in the same direction, he will need to be able to trust his players to keep their own counsel.

5. Make Old Trafford a fortress again
– Whereas opposition teams used to quake at the prospect of a visit to Old Trafford, during Moyes’s brief reign a trip to United’s ground came to represent an opportunity to pull off a famous upset. West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Newcastle United all registered long-awaited league wins at Old Trafford, while Swansea City and Sunderland both enjoyed success there in the domestic cup competitions. Successive 3-0 defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City further dampened the atmosphere and that unfamiliar sense of vulnerability will need to be washed out of the stadium’s corridors before United can even think about returning to the summit of the European game.