MOYES AND MAN UNITED:  THE PROBLEM THAT NO-ONE HAS YET LOOKED AT.

Much in the press is being written about David Moyes current reign as the Manchester United manager, with many people already speculating that the reign will be short and who else may find themselves in the United hot-seat when, rather than if, he goes.  Even the rescuing of points by messrs Rooney and Hernandez will have done little to please or persuade the growing army of malcontent fans who feel that this merger of man and club must come to an end sooner rather than later.

However, the appointment of David Moyes has meant that when, sorry, if this happens, any change in management will be far more difficult that anyone has yet anticipated.  Let's look at the evidence.

When Sir Alex Ferguson left the other key-man at United also left, namely Chief Executive David Gill, this meant that the the two key men were leaving in one go.  This would have been tough for an organisation that may have been in transition or was struggling, but united won the league at a canter and have always been challenging for trophies.  How do you replace this team of winners?

Unfortunately Ed Woodward was given the job of Chief Executive (and has acquitted himself not too well so far with his disastrous transfer window antics) and David Moyes has come in and replaced United's back-room staff with his own team (although sometimes when you don't do that it leads to more problem like those encountered by Brian Clough at Leeds when he went without his long-term compatriot, Peter Taylor).  Herein lies the problem for United going forward.  

With David Moyes wholesale dismantling of United's successful back-room team and replacing it with his own people it means that any changes at the top to remove Moyes would not stop there.  There would need to be three or four dramatic firings and rehirings in order to bring about the dramatic changes in fortunes that would be required.  Would the people who knew the set-up previously come-back, if not who would they get to replace them?  

All these questions have not yet been addressed in the popular press and yet they all require a serious amount of probing.  United's success on the pitch may have seemingly been down to the hard work of one man, but in reality a number of people had a hand in United's utter dominance of the English game, and it is this collective departure that has metaphorically torn a hole through United. 

BUT

Before I cannot leave this blog today without reminding myself of the axiom that I came up with a few years ago and every years has remained true ever since, bar no exceptions.  IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW YOU START THE SEASON, WHAT MATTERS IS HOW YOU FINISH IT.  If the signings that eluded them in May are made good by January then it is entirely possible that United and Moyes could shock us all with an amazing mid-season turnaround.  

We shall see.

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