In the BBC sitcom of the same name, Blackadder could have been describing David Moyes's brief tenure at Manchester United when he told Baldrick that his poem about World War One: "Started badly, tailed off a little in the middle and the less said about the end the better."
The truth is, like Baldrick, Moyes lacked an actual "cunning plan" from the outset.
Supporters yearned for Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelotti, but what they received was a trophy-less boss that had carried out a highly respectable job at Everton for the previous 11 years.
Yet, he was hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson, who in the Manchester rain last May had urged the United faithful to "stand by their new manager". Who were they to argue with a man that had spearheaded the most successful period in the club's history?
The writing was on the wall, though, before a Premier League ball had been kicked in anger.
"I went in and the first thing he said to me was, 'I'm retiring'. I said, 'When?' because he was never retiring, and he said, 'Next week!' His next words were, 'You're the next Manchester United manager'," Moyes revealed during his first press conference as United boss.
"I didn't get the chance to say yes or no. As you can imagine, the blood drained from my face. I was shocked, more shocked that Sir Alex had chosen to retire. But inside I was incredibly thrilled that I was going to be given the chance to manage Manchester United."
It's hardly the words of a man that was about to steamroll into Old Trafford and continue the winning traditions, more someone that had won a few thousand pounds on the Postcode Lottery.
Doubts surfaced during the summer following reports that Moyes had decided against pursuing Thiago Alcantara, despite several sources claiming that the creative midfielder - who would later leave Barcelona for Bayern Munich - was prepared to listen to a United offer.
Along with newly-appointed vice-chairman Ed Woodward, the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera were comically and ultimately unsuccessfully pursued, before the uninspiring Marouane Fellaini arrived from Moyes's former club Everton for an eye-wateringly weighty £27m.
On the pitch, hefty losses, coupled with turgid and lifeless football, to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City - especially at home - saw patience among fans start to wane, while the 2-0 loss to Olympiacos was the final straw for many. Even the January arrival of Juan Mata for a club-record fee failed to raise the mood significantly.
Add to that Old Trafford victories for Everton, Newcastle United and Swansea City (their first ever) and it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Moyes was going to be entrusted with the £200m transfer kitty that the Glazer family are said to be willing to hand over this summer.
What proved terminal for Moyes, though, was the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon. In what was a contest that he would have been desperate to win, to silence the jeers that greeted his Merseyside return more than anything else, his players deserted him.
In truth, it looked as though he lost the support and belief of Robin van Persie - last term's leading goalscorer - a long time ago. Nemanja Vidic, it is believed, did not even encourage the club to counter the offer that he received and accepted from Inter Milan. Rio Ferdinand and Antonio Valencia have been critical in the press, while Danny Welbeck is thought to have demanded a transfer.
It has all meant that today's news was becoming progressively inevitable. It was a case of when and not if the club decided that, as the protest plane had stated, Moyes was 'The Wrong One'.
No comments:
Post a Comment