Football Comment: Diabolical defeat to former club was final straw for United board
IT WAS a trip back to the club where David Moyes made his name that showed him in the least flattering light. Everton’s defeat of Manchester United on Sunday proved what a difference a good manager can make, and also rubbished the idea that Moyes took the Toffees as high as they could go.
Moyes’s United were abject, diabolical and half-hearted at Goodison Park. It seemed that United’s players weren’t with Moyes, that he had lost the dressing room. I wonder whether he ever had it, given how much he needed to prove himself.
When he first took charge he was always gushing about the job. I thought he’d get over it but I’m not sure he did; perhaps it was just too big for him. He was meant to be cut from the same cloth as Sir Alex Ferguson, but where his predecessor relished cracking the whip in public, Moyes seemed unwilling or unable to.
United need someone ruthless, which is why I’d go for Holland coach Louis van Gaal. The former Bayern Munich boss is tried, tested and top drawer, and has global standing. Whoever they go for, they can’t afford to get this one wrong.
Trevor Steven is a former England footballer who played at two World Cups and two European Championships.