The tears of the United fans that had flowed so freely when they learned of Sir Alex Ferguson's imminent retirement had barely dried before all eyes turned to Goodison Park and on Thursday it was confirmed the heir apparent had received his official coronation.
It is easy to see the logic in United’s decision making process. The club hope they’ve opted for a repeat prescription in Moyes to the dose delivered by Ferguson.
They hope they’ve associated themselves with another pragmatic but visionary Scot who will preside over Old Trafford with much the same iron will and appetite for accumulating silverware as his predecessor.
Hope is a wonderful thing but the Premier League champions may have misplaced it in appointing Moyes.
His many qualities are not in dispute. His ability to inspire players is, perhaps, even greater than that of Ferguson and his Everton teams over for the past decade have always greater than the sum of their parts.
He cooked with modest ingredients on Merseyside but miraculously managed to serve up banquets and he certainly possesses the cool, steely determination that is a prerequisite for life at Old Trafford.
His well-publicised lack of silverware is a blemish rather than serious black mark on his CV, but it is Everton’s failure to beat United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool away from home during his 11-year Goodison tenure that should set the alarm bells ringing.
United desperately hope Moyes will be the new Ferguson. He’s the closest fit available but in striving to replace like for like, they’ve missed a fundamental trick.
Seduced by the allure of continuity and no doubt appalled by the revolving managerial door at places like Stamford Bridge, they were wary of the inevitable upheaval and unpleasantness that the Jose Mourinho circus would have brought to Old Trafford and they’ve balked at the Continental system and its constant churn of managers.
But the Red Devils hierarchy have also been blinded, forgetting that one of the hallmarks of Ferguson’s reign was frequent revolution and overhaul both in terms of players, formation and the coaching set-up.
Everton teams have essentially played the same way under Moyes for a decade and his appointment represents the antithesis of the Ferguson philosophy.
The bolder, less conservative move would have been to look to Germany and approach Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp.
What the 45-year-old has achieved at the Westfalenstadion since he was installed as manager in 2008 is little short of miraculous and while Dortmund’s progress to this season’s Champions League final is eye-catching, his astute reinvention of the club extends far beyond one mere cup run.
In the mid 2000s, Dortmund were in such financial straits they were forced to introduce a 20% pay cut on their players to safeguard against potential bankruptcy and Klopp inherited a side that had seriously flirted with relegation the previous season, the club’s worst in 20 years.
Within three years, Dortmund dethroned Bayern Munich to become Bundesliga champions for the first time since 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment