But how long are they going to leave sacking Moyes if it comes down to that? Fergie's still got quite a lot of influence in the club hasn't he? Given the time he was allowed by the Man Utd board back when he first joined, he's surely wanting to allow Moyes that same amount of time?
I know I'm forming a pretty strong opinion on very little evidence, but IMO today showed that Moyes is out of his depth. Whether, in time, he can improve things I don't know, but some of his decisions today were absolutely baffling. Fellaini(officially giving up on spelling this name correctly) being the oddest one for me. He and Moyes have worked together for years, and yet Fellaini just looked completely lost today. He honestly appeared to have no idea what he was meant to do, and didn't seem to be at all comfortable in the role he was played in.
Now I know I'm probably away to display my own tactical ineptitude by suggesting this: Why not put Fellaini up top with Rooney/Welbeck playing off him? From what I hear he's a guy who's great at holding up play, and that's what United were missing today with Van Persie out. I'm not for one second suggesting that Fellaini could replace Van Persie in that role, but he could have provided the hold up play which from what I've seen has a pretty big influence on the way United play their counter attacking football.
City were unbelievable today it has to be said. They didn't dominate as much as the scoreline suggests IMO, but they were clinical and they look like they could be an extremely tough side to break down. It's gotta be them or Chelsea for the title.
United - as a statement of intent - gave Moyes a 6 year contract. Yep. They care so much about PR that the longevity of the football club ironically didn't come into account. I understand WHY they want for Moyes because in fairy tale land it is the perfect story. He is the closest manager there is to Fergie, but he ain't Fergie. I was already sceptical when he kept complimenting how big the club was and how this is still Sir Alex's team etc., he had no authority. It was like Moyes fears everyone. Moyes won't be fired. I don't even think he'd be fired if we didn't make top 4.
I agree with you. He looked so out of his depth. I'll list some of his tactical flaws.
Trying to match their midfield by playing the same system as them - This was moronic. They have Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Nasri, Navas, and Aguero dropping deep. We had Carrick (amazing if he has time - he had none), Fellaini, ASHLEY FUCKING YOUNG, and Antonio Valencia. If wing play is our apparent strong suit - playing two out-and-out wingers suggests it is - then why are we not playing 4-3-3 to give us numerical advantages in the center, as well as giving our wingers more chance to go forward?
The mindset going into the game - Too defensive. Similar to Ferguson's attempts at being defensive there in City's title winning season. It doesn't work. We tried to counter and we had a few chances doing so, but we lack ANY KIND OF CREATIVITY in our midfield to set up chances. He knows this as he tried to sign Thiago and Fabregas relentlessly...
Buying Fellaini for like £27 million I like Fellaini, but the one season he had that would warrant him being at a big club was when he played as a #10 in behind the striker. He isn't going to play that role at this club when his competition is Rooney, Kagawa, and even Welbeck So why sign him as a CDM alongside Carrick when they just get in each others way? They both tried to do the same thing with their predictable side-passes or trying to pass to Rooney. We didn't have a Yaya who can float forward and create, or a Nasri who can come inside and help create. If you're going to play Fellaini and Carrick alongside each other - wrong due to their lack of pace - then you accompany them with a comfortable midfielder on the wing. Kagawa needed to play LW instead of Young if you're going to play those two together. Simple. He bought Fellaini for the sake of buying someone, and we grossly overpaid.
Decision making - When he changed system to the 4-3-3 one, we were 4-0 down. Yep. He changed the system at 4-0 down. Also, when he FINALLY noticed that United players were getting monumentally fisted in the middle of the park, he decided to put on Cleverley. Hello! Kagawa is a former two time player of the year at one of the most talented and gifted European teams in the world (Dortmund); scoring a lot of goals and getting a lot of assists. HE'S ON THE BENCH! FUCKING BENCH! Hernandez, a lethal goal scorer who makes so many runs that tire out defenders - BENCH. Ashley Young - NOT SOLD YET?
Our midfield - Talk to any Manchester United fan about our weakness, and they'll see our midfield. We have no spark in there and I feel like we're watching England at time. Our players - when pressed - look so down uncomfortable on the ball. I was watching the game and witnessing the difference in class in squads here. We were great with Ferguson because he's the GOAT manager, but he is not there any more on the touchlines. Compare United's midfield with any other top team in the world. Go ahead and do it. We need a drastic income of technically gifted midfielders to help our team. Fellaini should drop as a substitute to replace Carrick when he's injured. Carrick needs a partner like Thiago, Fabregas, or a Modric. A player like that who can go box-to-box and create going forward. Ideally, this is the team I would want at United:
De Gea
Rafael - Evans - Vidic - Baines
Carrick - Thiago/Modric/Fabregas (one of them - or a player like it)
Welbeck - Rooney - Kagawa
Robin Van Persie
Now this leaves us chances to change the team whenever we need to for tactical purposes. For example you can ptu Rooney up top with RVP and replace Kagawa with a winger like Zaha or Nani if we need more offence. It's a team that can be comfortable on the ball and can work hard.
Sorry for the long post. I can talk about our flaws at the moment all day. It's absolutely ridiculous.