Moyes Departure Leaves United At A Crossroads.

The David Moyes era (does ten months count as an era?) came to a sticky end at the hands of his former Toffees. In the most cruel of ways, the return to his old comfort zone coincided with the arrival at boiling point of the pressures he had been under since taking on the formidable task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United boss.

The display he presided over was all the more hard to swallow, given that he was just beginning to show signs of adapting to the Man United way (at least in his team selection, maybe not in tactics). Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa were starting to strike up an understanding, and the recent 4-0 romp over Newcastle also saw Adnan Januzaj deployed to complete an exciting attacking midfield trio.

Yet at Goodison Park, United were lethargic, lacking in movement, and worst of all, utterly beaten once going a goal down. Moyes' side had a good record after taking the lead, but have been hopeless at rescuing lost causes, Olympiakos over two legs aside.

Most significantly of all, the Everton defeat left Champions League football out of reach, and even a Europa League slot looking unlikely. The final confirmation of United's downfall proved to be the same for Moyes, as he paid the price for a slump of alarming speed. Truthfully, the damage was done in the most harrowing of winters. Cup defeats to Swansea, Sunderland, both at home, plus the Stamford Bridge hammering, were signs that Moyes was losing support fast.

With Moyes now consigned to history, perhaps this is now the time to finally move on from the past. In the cack-handed way that United handled his departure, they suddenly resembled almost every other Premier League club in recent memory. Chelsea, Spurs, and Man City all have managerial fiascos to be ashamed of, yet the 26-year reign of Fergie was held up almost as a beacon to be learnt from. The moral high-ground lay resolutely at Old Trafford, but it is easy to act high and mighty when you have someone like Fergie in charge. Had he retired in 2002, as he threatened to, United may yet have turned out as unstable and as volatile a proposition as Chelsea and City have proved to be.

Now the soon-to-be-deposed champions must adapt to life in the wilderness. They must no longer crave stability for the sake of it. They must find a manager worthy of sticking with. Admirable as Moyes' achievements at Everton were, they were in a completely different environment, and he quickly proved unable to match the expectations of the board and fans. He may have been working with a weaker squad than last season suggested, but there are many managers out there who would have made a better fist of it. It is hard to imagine Mourinho, Guardiola, or Klopp, spending £70m on a Chelsea misfit and Fellani.

Moyes may have got it right, given time. Yet the same could be said of any failed manager at any level. Roy Hodgson may yet have turned around his fortunes at Liverpool, but what further damage could have been done before then? In today's short-term and media-driven football world, a point of no return is sadly reached much quicker than it used to be. The only thing to save a manager is results, and as long as there are league tables, we will continue to see half the managers get sacked each season. Eventually, only the table-topping coaches will survive, and even then there will be discontent if they don't score 100 goals in the process.

Who would be a football manager? The pay-offs may be lucrative, but is it worth the endless bashing? One thing is for sure, only Van Gaal, Guardiola, Mourinho, or Klopp will satisfy an Old Trafford crowd crying out for some strong leadership. The ship is off course, but as Liverpool have demonstrated this year, any drifting vessel can be turned around through one inspirational captain. One can only hope Moyes finds one small enough for him to handle. There are a number of bottom-half clubs who are probably rubbing their hands in glee at the Scot's availability.

It was an opportunity he couldn't turn down, but the past must be laid to rest. So too must Fergie's involvement in club affairs at Old Trafford. There is a place for him in an ambassadorial level, for sure, but any new manager can have nothing to do with the old legend. Moyes is no shrinking violet, but as the image of Giggs, Scholes, Butt, and Phil Neville taking today's training session shows, there is just too much baggage as it is.

The next move remains fascinating. Who will United turn to next?

Manchester United 1-1 Bayern Munich

Manchester United's European hopes remain alive going into the away leg against Bayern Munich after a gutsy 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

 Nemanja Vidic raised hopes of an unlikely victory with a 58th minute header, but that lead only lasted nine minutes, with Bastian Schweinsteiger sweeping home on the half-volley.The German then harshly saw red in the final minute of normal time, receiving a second yellow for a challenge that Wayne Rooney made more than a meal of. He will join Javi Martinez on the sidelines for the return leg, after the makeshift defender saw a yellow card that triggers suspension.

The first half played out how many predicted it would, minus the expected boat-load of Bayern Munich goals. The away side, like many at the home of the soon-to-be-unseated Premier League champions, enjoyed the bulk of possession, with their share reaching an eye-watering 79% for the first half. Despite that, David De Gea only had one strenuous save to make, with a fine diving stop from an Arjen Robben effort keeping the score at 0-0.

As the half wore on, while Bayern remained camped in the United half, the home side were occasionally dangerous on the counter attack. Danny Welbeck had already seen a third-minute goal disallowed, somewhat harshly for a high foot, but he had another chance to open the scoring. Clean through on goal, he tried an optimistic chip over Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer when he should have merely slotted it past the on-rushing keeper.

In reality, the away side never got out of second gear, happy to patiently probe at a timid United side, but beleagured boss David Moyes smelt blood, sending Shinji Kagawa on for the aged Ryan Giggs. While Kagawa had little influence on the game as a whole, there was a greater intensity about the home side, and Vidic's guided header from a Rooney corner was on balance deserved.

Any side that is already Bundesliga champions for the season, not to mention the Champions League holders, always has something in their locker however, and Schweinsteiger's equaliser from Mario Mandzukic's knock-down should not be begrudged. Man United would have been lucky to see out the game without conceding, but Moyes will be thrilled to have avoided defeat in this toughest of European tests.

For United to operate on the counter was entirely understandable, and some would argue that this was Moyes in his comfort zone, as the home side were expected to play in their shell, but there can be few complaints with the overall display.

Bayern Munich undoubtedly had complaints about the refereeing display, as they felt Antonio Valencia should have been sent off for an admittedly dicey challenge. The referee Carlos Velasco Carballo saw it as a 50/50 coming-together, but for Schweinsteiger to then be sent off for a challenge that had the strong whiff of a Rooney dive would have stuck in the German craws a bit.

Man United must play with more adventure in Munich, as the away goal they conceded will prove their un-doing if things remain the same, but the more resigned and pessimistic among the Old Trafford support will be grateful to still be competitive. This Man United season isn't over just yet.

Can The Moyes Era Gather Some Momentum?

For the first time since 2007, Man United have failed to score in back-to-back league games. It is a fact that will not have gone unnoticed amongs the traditionalists in the Stretford End. The main question being - would this have happened with Fergie in charge?

A quick look at the history books, not very far back, would give David Moyes a bit of relief. As recently as Fergie's penultimate home match in charge, Chelsea took all three points from Old Trafford, and that was with an unwanted manager, not with the 'Special One', who many believe will take the power back from the recent Manchester duopoly.

The Liverpool record is even less of a concern. Before last season, Fergie went four league visits to Anfield without success. Anyone suggesting Moyes is under any serious pressure to start winning games is under pressure themselves to attract readers, although victory tomorrow, and a first home goal or three, against Crystal Palace will do a lot to ensure the Scot sleeps that bit easier as he eases his feet under the table.

What most concerns many United fans is Moyes' lack of European experience, with his only taste of Champions League action coming in Everton's qualifier defeat to Villarreal in 2005. His first true 'acid' test will come on Tuesday night, with Bayer Leverkusen visiting in the first round of action. Victory, and a convincing one, against Palace, will ensure the challenge is greeted with firm optimism by most of the naysayers.

Robin Van Persie, the much-adored top scorer of last season will be hoping to pick up where he left off against Swansea, while Marouane Fellani will finally make his long-awaited debut. Although the big Belgian does not provide the midfield wizardry so craved at Old Trafford, he does perhaps bring a bullying threat from set-pieces, and more bite to the midfield - which could give the flair players more chance to shine. Michael Carrick's eye for a pass should not be underestimated, and Shinji Kagawa's criminally under-used craft could be a route to victory, particularly against the weaker sides who come to park the bus.

Fortunately for the neutral, Ian Holloway seldom parks the bus, even against the big boys. It is a high-risk strategy which did not bear fruit over a full season at Blackpool, but very occasionally paid off in thrilling style, such as in the 2-1 win over an admittedly ailing Liverpool. Tomorrow lunchtime will provide some clue as to whether he has curbed his enthusiasm - yet as is often repeated, to invite pressure against the big boys is often merely an exercise in keeping the scoreline respectable.

Where to start...

You know there is controversy when Match Of The Day interrupts their broadcast to break some news. This news was that Chelsea had reported match referee Mark Clattenburg for alleged racial comments towards two of their players.

In addition, the wrongful (in my opinion) sending-off of Torres and questionable Hernandez winner were probably enough to make the back pages on their own.

What many won't know is that Clattenburg was once sacked from his job by the Professional Game Match Officials. He had allegedly sent threatening emails to business associates, and was said to have debts totalling £175,000.

It is difficult to make a comment without knowing precisely what was said at Stamford Bridge during Chelsea's 3-2 defeat to Man United. However, one would have hoped that Clattenburg would be a bit more careful, given his history. He has clearly put himself in a position of vulnerability and he will not want to read the sport sections of newspapers for the time being.


Back to the more football-related matters, and Chelsea's first defeat of the league season came in a predictably see-saw fashion. Two awesome attacking forces came together on Sunday, and in the end United's posed the greater punch. Eleven versus 11 may have given us a different outcome, but that's football. I would expect both to be key contenders for the title come May.

In an equally anticipated Merseyside derby, Luis Suarez predictably stole the headlines (and even more predictably not just for his football). His swan dive in front of David Moyes was a bit over the top for a goal that he didn't even score himself. He should've saved it for Liverpool's second goal - although Leighton Baines was probably relieved to see attention diverted away from his unlucky deflection.

Another poor referee's decision left the score at 2-2 - Suarez's last-gasp finish should definitely have stood. As it stands, Everton can still claim to be Mersey top dogs, but Liverpool are on the way up. A thin squad will be stretched to the limit for Brendan Rodgers - an improvement on last season's league position would represent a real achievement.