David Moyes was not the problem at Manchester United

David Moyes wasn't the problem at Old Trafford

David Moyes did not enjoy a successful spell in the Old Trafford hot seat but maybe it wasn't all his fault...?

Luis Van Gaal's arrival at Manchester United has been hailed as a new era at Old Trafford. After a season to forget, the Manchester United fans are hopeful that the Netherlands manager can bring the glory years back to the club, but that might be easier said than done. 

Much of the blame for United's 'annus horribilis' has been laid at the door of David Moyes, the former Everton manager who was hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson to replace him, but this is an easy way out for a number of other culpable parties. 

Whilst Moyes is certainly not blameless in United's 2013/14 debacle, the players and board must take their fair share of the blame for the club's failings. Had Moyes been given the backing, time and support to turn things around at Old Trafford he would have been a success. As things are, he will carry the can for the club's lowest ever Premier League finish and will unfairly be remembered as 'the wrong one'.

When David Moyes arrived at Old Trafford he was presented with an aging squad that had massively over-performed in winning the Premier League title the year before. Cynics might suggest that Sir Alex knew that the game was up and that he jumped ship before the wheels came off. Either way, whoever led the club in 2013/14 would have needed to squeeze even more effort out of some tired legs. 

With Ryan Giggs reduced to bit-part cameo appearances, Rio Ferdinand lacking the pace that once defined his game and lynchpins like Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic and Robin Van Persie all the wrong side of 30, Moyes needed to juggle his resources. 

Unfortunately, United's squad lacked the necessary strength in depth, with Ferguson's reliance on aging stars in recent seasons leaving a lack of experience and quality behind the first line players.

In order to strengthen his squad Moyes turned the transfer market but he was left exposed by the United board. Lacking in experience of large-scale investment after a decade at cash-strapped Everton, Moyes needed support from an experienced Chief Executive. 

Unfortunately for Moyes and United, the club had let David Gill go in February 2013 and their new Chief Executive, Ed Woodward was just as inexperienced as their manager. The club failed to make any significant impact in the transfer market, overpaying massively for Marouane Fellaini from Everton and rushing into buying Juan Mata unnecessarily from Chelsea.

Moyes's naivety in the transfer market was matched by his lack of experience of Champions League football and lack of silverware. Having won no trophies while at Everton and qualified for the Champions League preliminary round just once he lacked the clout to be taken seriously by United's senior players. 

Regardless of this, whoever had taken over from Ferguson was bound not to have had his experience or record of success. The players should have shown respect towards Moyes both publicly and in private; a number of them, it seems, did not and their on-the-field performances exemplified this. 

Moyes's treatment by the Manchester United players brought to mind Brian Clough's short spell in charge of Leeds United. He will be hoping that the next chapter in his career also mirrors Clough's.

To their credit, the majority of Manchester United fans kept faith with Moyes and, other than one or two notable exceptions, accepted the scale of the task that he faced.
Unfortunately for Moyes, however, fan-power pales into insignificance at Manchester United when compared with corporate interest and the board acted quickly to dismiss him as soon as the club's disappointing season hit their share price. With financial considerations taking precedence over the need to rebuild an ailing squad, it is difficult to see what any manager could have done to stay in the job for much longer than the 10 months that Moyes managed. 

There is no denying that David Moyes's spell at Old Trafford was anything short of disastrous and that much of the blame for the team's poor performances must lie with him but there are many other culpable parties who have sought to scapegoat the former Everton man. 

Whilst Moyes will surely wish all the best for Luis Van Gaal at Old Trafford, he will know that a change of face at the top will not be sufficient to change Manchester United's fortunes.

There must be a whole change of culture and the players and board must take their share of responsibility for failure as well as success.