Why the mounting agenda for David Moyes is unfair

From the moment that David Moyes took over the managerial seat at Old Trafford, there were many harsh, but fair, question over his suitability to the role. They argued that he was not a manager who had won many trophies, or had any experience at a successful club. But the underlying fact behind David Moyes' appointment is that Sir Alex Ferguson, who undoubtedly made the decision almost solely, looked at his managerial merits over his reputation and CV. His Everton side had been formed from what was an originally shoe-string budget, that was only increased because of their success. He had managed to keep most of his key players happy at Everton into the primes of their careers- players such as Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Tim Howard and Phil Neville, and made some astute purchases to compliment that. His Everton side last season were compact in defence, defending for each other as a team and played some lovely football going forward. I believe that the process would have been managed more effectively; they could have at least sought other candidates and they should have bought out Moyes's contract before July 1st, in order for fundamentals to be put in place before the opening of the summer transfer window. That does not mean that I doubt Sir Alex's judgement. He is the closest thing to a manual of how to manage and run Manchester United. The club have had some notable issues on and off the field since Moyes's arrival. They only made one major signing over summer, which was a cringeworthy mess over the signing of Marouane Fellaini. To compound the misery on David Moyes, Manchester United have made their worst start to a Premier League season, amassing a total of only eleven points from eight games. There are some real issues within the United squad. Robin Van Persie seems a fustrated figure, having only scored seven goals so far in all competitions. Antonio Valencia's marauding performances in the Champions League and a couple of promising games from Adnan Januzaj aside, they don't seem to have any wingers able to spur the team on and make a real difference to the side's display. They have also not yet displayed the team cohesion that won them the title last season. But it's easy to forget how difficult the fixtures have been for Manchester United. No team would be

expected to sail through a run of playing Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City within the opening five games of the Premier League season. Southampton are an outstanding team at the moment and Mauricio Pochettino is setting a trademark for himself as an elite manager. Playing Shakhter Donetsk away in the Champions League was also an extremely difficult. A point from each of these games are not terrible results. You also cannot underestimate the merit of them beating Liverpool in the Capital One Cup. Despite this, David Moyes is continuously questioned over his suitability to the job. Sir Alex Ferguson has somehow been required to rule out a return to management with Manchester United (via Sky Sports). It goes without saying that it is beyond harsh to already question his position and it benefits no one in connection to the club. It merely adds to the uncertainty. The partisan nature of the journalism is truly on sight when David Moyes was blamed for Manchester United's failed summer transfer window, while new executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who has had no experience in football before being appointed at United last summer, is yet to face questioning from the media (via What Culture). David Moyes was also almost solely blamed after United's shock 2-1 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion, a game in which the Baggies simply showed more passion and initiative than United. He was also at fault for his team drawing 1-1 with Southampton. It's got to the stage that after every Manchester united game, there is no need to tune into the so called 'talking points', because the plethora of managers seemingly just 'attached' to clubs has become more of a key talking point than the players. I find this banal because we do not know exactly what goes on behind the scenes. We just hear the same repetitive drivel after every game. If the role of the media is neither to enlighten the public nor to provide us with any insight into clubs, then what is it?