When Alex Ferguson packed up his hair dryer and the infinite supply of chewing gum and moved upstairs, he took with him not only United's title aspirations, but their divine right to a top four finish.
Manchester United look awful. There is no escaping that against City, Liverpool and the mighty West Brom, they couldn't keep the ball out of their goal and weren't great at putting it in the opposition's either.
Even the most ardent United fans are struggling to defend the performances of late; Rio can't close his legs, RVP can't score and Ashley Young can't stand up. Want-away Rooney is the only player showing his true world-class calibre at this moment in time.
How many time did Moyes win away against a top four side at his time for Everton?
The summer was a shambles. He brought in Fellaini to play alongside Michael Carrick in the centre. Fellaini thrived at Everton when behind the striker, as he suited the direct style with an emphasis on crossing that typified Moyes' Everton. As a midfielder, he's not quick, he's strong but doesn't like to tackle, he lacks stamina and he's no more creative than Carrick. It's not his fault, but he was a panic buy.
United lack creativity, something Moyes did seek to rectify during the summer with his pursuit of Fabregas. Sadly for him, none of his targets wanted to join.
However, it does beg the question, why is Kagawa not playing in the position that he was world class for Dortmund in?
Do not answer this rhetorical question with "Rooney". Kagawa was at the heart of Dortmund's rise to European superpower, yet there's no risk of pushing Rooney forward as the main striker (his favourite position) and slotting Kagawa in behind (where he excelled for the former Bundesliga champions, scoring goals and assisting regularly). Instead Danny 'prolific' Welbeck and an invisible Ashley Young are shoe-horned into the team.
Criticising United is easy at the moment, anyone could cite hundreds of things Moyes could do differently, but United bashing isn't my aim. The point to make is that the squad isn't great and actually hasn't been for a few years; since the Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo trio terrified all.
Ferguson was just so good at his job, he made them champions. I'd go so far to say that if Fergie had been managing Everton, they'd have been title contenders. However as far as the league is concerned this year, City and Chelsea have better players and bigger squads.
Arsenal have a better manager, Spurs have luck finally on their side and Liverpool had their transitional season last year.
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