GARY NEVILLE SAID he would “welcome” the appointment of David Moyes as Manchester United’s new manager following the retirement of Alex Ferguson.
Everton manager Moyes emerged as the early front-runner to replace Ferguson after his fellow Scot announced this morning he was retiring as manager of the Premier League champions.
“I would welcome the appointment of David Moyes,” former United defender turned television pundit Neville told Sky Sports. “Somebody who is there for the long term. This is not a club that will go for quick fixes.
“The next Manchester United manager will be a result for putting sanity back in football. You see some of the appointments recently and it’s short-term fixes and scouting systems ripped up. United don’t operate that way, they have an element of sense.”
Moyes, linked to the Old Trafford vacancy in media reports, has long been spoken of with admiration by Ferguson for his work on a tight budget at Everton, but has not won a major trophy since taking charge in 2002.
Moyes was odds-on favourite with all major British bookmakers hours after Ferguson’s departure. Other candidates for one of the most high-profile jobs in world football include Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, who established a friendly rivalry with Ferguson when in charge of Chelsea and who has made no secret of his desire to return to England.
Top man
United’s chief executive David Gill outlined the qualities required for the manager’s job at Old Trafford and said only a handful of candidates had them.
“The qualities are the ones that have been inherent at Manchester United for many years,” Gill told MUTV. “Our two most successful eras were with managers who got involved with all aspects of the club, from the youth team to the first team, to get that degree of loyalty and understanding of the football club.
“Clearly he has to have the requisite football experience, both in terms of domestic and European experience. It is a small pool.”
Gill said the board would seek the opinion of Ferguson and United director Bobby Charlton before naming a new manager. The chief executive — who himself is stepping down at the end of the season — insisted that although Ferguson was joining the board, his successor would be given the space he needed.
But former United and England midfielder Paul Ince said there was a risk Ferguson’s continuing presence at the club where he has won 38 trophies in 26 years could have a negative effect.
“Whoever comes in to replace him is going to have to deal with the Man United legacy,” Ince told Sky Sports News.
“Replacing Alex Ferguson is such a massive, massive job. Whoever goes in will need the help of Alex Ferguson.
“Whoever comes in, if it doesn’t go well you’ve got Sir Alex Ferguson upstairs and it can put added pressure on you.”
For United fans, the precedent for Ferguson’s decision to maintain an Old Trafford role is not encouraging.
When Ferguson’s fellow Scottish managerial great Matt Busby — who took United to their first European Cup title in 1968 — retired, he remained as a general manger, only for first Wilf McGuinness and then Frank O’Farrell to come and go before the club were relegated to English football’s second tier in 1974.
Moyes would be a great successor for AF! Will Fergie still be running the show from upstairs tho?
Moyes is the obvious choice, has done a great job with Everton.
Wouldn’t call him the obvious choice, United fans are forgetting he’s never won a trophy or managed at the top
Yeah that’s why Moyes wouldn’t be my choice, he lacks both European experience and an ingrained winning mentality, two attributes that are fundamental at the highest level of management. Nobody can deny he’s done a great job at Everton but the fact remains that Ferguson was already a proven winner with European honours before he came to United and I feel his replacement should have the same level of experience. That being said I have complete trust in both Fergie and Bobby Charlton and if they judge Moyes to be the right man to take United forward I will support the appointment completely.
What odds on the soon to be retired Philip Neville as his assistant at OT?
He’s hasn’t announced retirement just leaving Everton.
If the Champions League is the ultimate then who would you back to bring it home to Old Trafford Moyes or Murinhio …..? No contest ! Sorry to say it but Fergie still wants to have a big say in things and more chance that Moyes will comply to that scene…so reluctantly for me who remembers clearly most of the Busby era it has to be Murinhio
I would tend to disagree with the Champions league being the ultimate. The ultimate in my opinion is to continue to give the club stability and long term success. I think while Mourinho may well bring short term success and even a Champions league he would never be the manager to give stability and longevity. The last thing United need now after 27 years of success under one manager is to fall in to the trap of chopping and changing every other year and Mourinho is unlikely to stay for more than a couple of years. This coupled with his will to spend large amounts of money to build his teams and his conflicting style of play to United’s tradition he could well leave United in a mess were he to get the job. In short despite his undoubted attributes I just don’t see him as being a good fit for Manchester United.
Sorry Sean but history tells us there will always be a time of uncertainty after such a long reign and whether its Moyes or Murinhio my forecast is either one will be gone within a relatively short term..I know it’s in the past century but Busby’s immediate successor Frank O’Farrell had the perfect credentials to take over and soon it became obvious he was totally out of his depth…That for me is the crux with Moyes and much and all as I dislike Murinhio he has such a great record of success , which will always be craved by Man Utd fans worldwide …even in the short term he would give Utd. a fair chance of Champions League success ..reality is that Fergie was very lucky to land those last two Champions Leagues.. Otherwise his record in Europe is modest enough.. Anyway it’s obviously a done deal for Moyes so only time will tell !!
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To be fair I agree with you to a point in that it would always be difficult to find a manager who would provide security after such a long reign, as history often reflects. However I would be wary of your principal of taking Mourinho for short term gratification as when you look at how many great clubs have fallen United must prioritise it’s longevity at the top and history will no doubt tell us that Mourinho has left his former clubs in a bit of a mess for years to come. If you take a look at both of Mourinho’s triumphs in the Champions league you will see that luck contributed greatly in each of them. As is the case in most Tournaments, the winners will always require a bit of good fortune along the way and neither Ferguson’s or Mourinho’s record should be belittled because of it. As I’m sure you’ve seen above Moyes would not have been my preferred choice either but I have every faith in the people responsible for the appointment so I wish he the best of luck.
Thanks Sean that was a constructive debate …we are both obviously genuine fans…here’s hoping for at least 2 trophies next year…if they can achieve that Moyes will be there for the long term …Cheers !,