No jobs for the Moyes
Succession planning, recruitment, assessment – what precisely went wrong at Man Utd?So, the least surprising news in football was confirmed this morning. David Moyes has been sacked by Manchester United.
The news wasn’t a surprise because it was sneakily seeded to the press yesterday – almost certainly by somebody ‘in the know’ (probably a key club figure or shareholder) but couldn’t be confirmed until this morning, after the US Stock Exchange had opened for business.
The announcement used the great football euphemism – that Moyes had ‘left the club’, as if his departure had nothing to do with the people making the announcement. “But he was here a minute ago – now he’s gone! No idea what happened there. Anyway, have you got Louis Van Gaal’s phone number?”
In hindsight, Moyes was doomed from the outset. Filling a hotseat previously occupied by one of football’s most successful and charismatic figures (no, not Roy Hodgson – Sir Alex Ferguson) was virtually impossible.
It wasn’t just a poisoned chalice. It was a poisoned chalice heated to 200 degrees and filled with angry wasps.
Best man for the job?
But nobody forced Moyes to take the job. He clearly thought he could replace Ferguson, despite a management career that wasn’t exactly littered with trophies. An inflated sense of his own ability? Perhaps. But he wouldn’t be the first candidate to overstate their aptitude for a role.
Two people certainly thought he was the right choice – and they were Ferguson and Moyes.
It raises interesting questions about Moyes’ selection for the job. As a business, Manchester United isn’t in the habit of making rash appointments. From the boardroom to the bootroom, recruitment is a thorough business. Data is analysed, costs are weighed up, future scenarios considered.
And yet, in Moyes’ case, it was enough for him to have one person’s approval. Granted, Ferguson is a canny operator and (largely) a savvy judge of character and ability, but it was a bold move to allow one man to green-light his replacement without the diligence shown across other recruitment at the club.
It’s certainly not that Moyes was the best candidate; there were plenty of other options. But United shunned those in favour of Ferguson’s choice.
United went from having one of the strongest leaders in the business to being led by somebody who lacked the gravitas or track record needed to do the job.
Now, that looks like a disastrous decision. But at the time, it was one that had the backing of the United board, the fans and the media.
At the time, few people questioned Ferguson’s role in this. Nor did they criticise his decision to step down so suddenly, despite the fact it gave the club little time to act and effectively left it with little choice but to accept his recommendation of Moyes.
If we were to view Ferguson harshly – and let’s face it, he’s done plenty of that over the years – he left his former employers high and dry. After decades of glittering service, his final act was to leave the club in an awful situation. Thanks for the ‘legacy’, Sir Alex.
And so, Moyes found himself in one of the biggest jobs in club football.
And as he made his way into his new workplace, driving along Sir Alex Ferguson Way, passing the statue of Sir Alex Ferguson outside the stadium, and taking his seat in the shadow of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, he could have been forgiven for feeling slightly undermined by the looming presence of his predecessor.
Where it went wrong
Perhaps this explains a key early decision that can, in retrospect, be viewed as a stinker. After being appointed as manager, Moyes chose to bring in his Everton back-room staff at the expense of the existing United coaches.
In doing so, he waved goodbye to a support network that had done much of Ferguson’s legwork – and in one ill-judged move he made it very difficult to maintain consistency or to ease his transition into the role.
Next, he presided over a frankly farcical transfer window, in which the club failed to bring in any of its top targets. After a summer of cooing and eyelash-fluttering, United ended up with one new recruit – Marouane Fellaini, for whom they paid more than was needed to trigger a release clause in his contract.
But hey, you can’t blame Moyes for that, can you? How was he to know Fellaini, a player at Everton, Moyes’ former club, had a release clause in his contract? Oh, hang on.
There then followed a season of turgid football, paper-thin excuses and increasing fan revolt. You know you’re in trouble when fans organise a whip-round for a plane to carry a banner above the stadium on a matchday. The banner read ‘Wrong One – Moyes Out’, a snarky reference to Moyes’ unofficial title of ‘The Chosen One’, after he was personally appointed by Ferguson.
A cheap goodbye
The timing of Moyes’ sacking is significant. At the weekend, Everton succeeded in ‘doing the double’ over United, following Liverpool and Manchester City in doing so this season. However, this humiliation at the hands of all the club’s closest and biggest local rivals wasn’t the only deciding factor.
The defeat to Everton meant United are now definitely unable to qualify for European football next season. It is almost certain that Moyes’ contract would have included a clause entitling United to get rid of him at a reduced cost following failure to qualify for Europe.
So after months of apparent backing from the board, it looks like Moyes was only kept in the job until the club could be sure they could get rid of him on the cheap. A final ignominy.
One thing is now guaranteed – that Moyes’ successor will be chosen far more carefully than he was.
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