Moyes refuses to accept responsibility for dreadful season

Following his sacking yesterday, David Moyes has given a statement which has been released by the League Managers Association, which reads: “To have been appointed as manager of Manchester United, one of the biggest football clubs in the world, was and remains something of which I will always be incredibly proud.

“Taking charge after such a long period of continuous stability and success at the club was inevitably going to be a significant challenge, but it was one which I relished and never had a second thought about taking on.”

He added: “The scale of the manager’s job at United is immense, but I have never stepped away from hard work and the same applies to my coaching staff. I thank them for their dedication and loyalty throughout the last season.

“We were fully focused and committed to the process of the fundamental rebuilding that is required for the senior squad. This had to be achieved whilst delivering positive results in the Premier League and the Champions League. However, during this period of transition, performances and results have not been what Manchester United and its fans are used to or expect, and I both understand and share their frustration.

“In my short time at the club I have learnt what special places Old Trafford and Carrington are. I would like to thank the United staff for making me feel so welcome and part of the United family from my first day. And of course thank you to those fans who have supported me throughout the season. I wish you and the club all the best for the future.

“I have always believed that a manager never stops learning during his career and I know I will take invaluable experience from my time as United’s manager. I remain proud to have led the team to the quarter finals of this year’s Champions League and I remain grateful to Sir Alex Ferguson for believing in my ability and giving me the chance to manage Manchester United.”

Whilst you wouldn’t expect Moyes to admit that he wasn’t good enough for the job, he needs to take much more responsibility for what has happened this season than he has, and show some sort of understanding why the club had no choice but to sack him after such a poor performance whilst in post.

The message throughout this statement seems to be that this season hasn’t gone well, but the reason why it hasn’t gone well is because any manager would have performed the same way if replacing Sir Alex Ferguson. He refers to the “challenge” of coming in after “such a long period of continuous stability”, as though that’s an excuse for us going from 1st to 7th in a few months.

He also claims to “share” the frustration of fans that the results have been poor during this “period of transition”.

The next excuse is that the squad wasn’t good enough. He seems to believe that this squad, you know, the one that won the league by 11 points a year ago, required “fundamental rebuilding” to succeed this season.

Moyes needs to have a bit of pride and stop trying to excuse the inexcusable. I can’t imagine there would be any United fans demanding the title in the first year after Fergie, but the notion that this massive and rapid decline was something any manager of any ability would have endured is insane.

I didn’t dislike the guy, there are no hard feelings, it is not his fault that he was never qualified or capable of doing the job. He didn’t even put himself forward for it, and no manager in their right mind would turn down the United job. But he wasn’t up to it and if he thinks he can hide behind lame comments about the squad and transition, he’s kidding himself.

But thank God it’s all over.