The trials of David Moyes at Manchester United continue to make the news – and it’s no surprise.
I am in the middle of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography, which I was given for Christmas, and it makes interesting reading.
After the performance against Olympiacos, Moyes is now the 8-11 favourite to be the next manager axed (there has been lots of money staked on that outcome).
But if you read Sir Alex’s comments in his book, Moyes will be at Old Trafford for at least a couple of years.
He will be given the chance to spend money and create his own team.
When you look at United at the moment they are still Sir Alex’s team and they are under-performing. Moyes needs a complete transfer window to try and turn things around.
The problem United have got is that they have spent £50m on two players who are not even at the heart of their side – Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata.
It doesn’t need a genius to tell you that any side – and Fergie mentions it in his autobiography – is built on the spine of the team.
Everybody knows that.
United know that Vidic and Ferdinand are going, so they need a quality centre half and a quality leader. The likes of Evans, Smalling and Jones are all okay players, but you wouldn’t pin your captain’s armband on any of them and say ‘you will be Manchester United captain for the next five years’.
Centre midfield, too, has become the Achilles heel for United because it is impossible to replace Paul Scholes.
People forget that even Sir Alex had to bring Scholes back in 2012 to save their season, but now that he is finished Michael Carrick is looking a very lonely figure in the middle of the park.
In short, United also need some quality central midfield players.
It’s fascinating to recall their first bid of last summer was for Cesc Fabregas – that’s who they were trying to get and it made perfect sense, because he could have been in the heart of the side, a real playmaker and someone to take a grip of that role.
They ended up then spending £50m on two players who can’t do that and it tells you that Fellaini and Mata were panic signings.
Despite that, I think Moyes will get one more summer to spend properly.
Manchester United won’t make the top four of the Premier League this season – they are already 8-1 to achieve that target.
Remember, the top four is only a basic requirement for a club like United because they expect to challenge for or win the title every season.
When you hear their fans on the radio phone-ins, they have been spoiled for so long that they don’t know what a few bad performances are like. This season has been a ‘welcome to the real world’ experience for them.
Moyes won’t find life easy from here, either, because when United inquire about a player, every club and every agent involved is going to know they are desperate, so they are going to have to spend very heavily just to get back to basics.
