The Premier League champions were
humiliated in a 4-1 defeat to City at the Etihad
Stadium, putting pressure on the new Old
Trafford boss already
COMMENT
By Greg Stobart at Etihad Stadium
David Moyes took on the impossible job of
succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson knowing he faced
the sternest of challenges in Manchester
United’s early season fixtures, but he could
never have anticipated such a humiliating
defeat in his first derby.
It was beyond dreadful, a day to forget. Moyes
made it clear in his post-match press
conference that he had made the players aware
in no uncertain that they had produced an
unacceptable performance.
The Scot can only hope that the David Moyes
hairdryer treatment can have the same
galvanising affect as that of his predecessor.
In three major Premier League tests - against
Chelsea, Liverpool and City - Moyes has now
picked up just one point and scored a solitary
goal, Wayne Rooney’s late free-kick here.
The parallels with the 6-1 defeat to City at Old
Trafford in 2011-12 are inescapable, the
echoes of a day Ferguson described as his
“worst ever” in his 26 years in charge of the
club.
On that occasion, City scored three goals in
the dying minutes to humiliate their rivals; this
time United were hung, drawn and quartered
within five minutes of the second-half. If
anything, it was even worse, so total was City’s
dominance from the first whistle.
Moyes pointed to the fixture list as a major
reason behind United’s worst start to a
campaign since the 2004-05 season. “I think
any manager would have found it difficult
taking over the club with that run of fixtures.
If those games were later in the season I might
have had a better understanding.”
Moyes will be grateful that United now have an
eminently winnable run of fixtures to ease
some of the early pressure and respond to the
psychological blow of such a heavy defeat to a
title rival.
The visiting supporters, to their credit, stuck
behind the team and their manager, chanting
throughout and staying until the end of the
match despite the uncomfortable taunts from
the City fans.
It all started to go wrong for Moyes with the
news that Robin van Persie would not risk a
painful groin injury, despite training over the
last two days.
Moyes admitted the obvious; that United were
“second to things” and “never got to grips”
with the aggression, speed and technique of
the City players.
In the first-half, he bravely tried to turn the
tide as he barked instructions from his
technical area, imploring Marouane Fellaini to
get closer to Yaya Toure, barking at Rio
Ferdinand to watch Sergio Aguero’s movement.
In the second-half, he knew the game was up
and never once left his seat on the bench,
instead ramping up the voltage on the
hairdryer before giving United’s players a piece
of his mind.
The major question over Moyes on his
appointment surrounded his ability to handle
the greater pressure, the weekly expectation
and how he could pit his wits against the best
managers and teams on the continent.
Moyes, after all, failed to win a derby at
Liverpool in 11 years as Everton manager and
saw his side embarrassed here.
He was handed the impossible job of replacing
Sir Alex Ferguson - but with this result he may
reflect that it will be even harder than even he
imagined.
0 100000:
Post a Comment