MANCHESTER // Manchester United manager David Moyes is facing the sack after less than one season in charge at Old Trafford. The club’s owners, the Glazer family, are in discussions with vice-president Ed Woodward about the future of the manager they signed on a six-year contract when he was appointed in June 2013 on the strong recommendation of the club’s outgoing, legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
United were Premier League champions last season but they have been in seventh position for most of this term and have won just one of 13 games against opponents in the top eight.
Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Everton was the latest poor performance, the result confirming that United will miss out on Uefa Champions League football for the first time since 1995. United are 13 points off a top-four Premier league finish and, with it, Champions League qualification. They also look set to miss out on the consolation of a Europa League place, which the Glazers considered a competition worth taking seriously.
It is understood that the club are worried about season ticket renewal sales should Moyes remain in charge, with the 75,000 fans who watch games at Old Trafford hugely underwhelmed by the football served up under Ferguson’s successor.
Richard Jolly’s Premier League team of the week in pictures
Though United’s match-going fans have largely stuck by their manager, few will bemoan his departure after a season that started badly and never got going.
They have been unhappy with the results and the quality of the largely defensive football, especially at home, where United have been defeated in six league games. Among those were 3-0 losses to their main rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, plus defeats by Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion.
United were also eliminated from both domestic cup competitions in farcical scenes at Old Trafford: on penalties by struggling Sunderland in the League One Cup semi-finals and by Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup.
Though their form was brighter in European competition, the 2-0 defeat to Olympiakos in Greece saw Moyes’s approval rating among supporters plummet and his dismissal was discussed at boardroom level.
United won the return leg 3-0 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, with the positive result buying Moyes more time. Elimination followed in the next round by a Bayern Munich side who triumphed 3-1 in Munich after drawing 1-1 in Manchester.
Though he was cut some slack, the expected improvements under Moyes did not come and players have consistently briefed in private how unhappy they are with the new manager.
Upon his appointment, Moyes sought the advice of several club legends, yet veteran players such as Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra are set to depart at the end of the season and United will lose much experience.
The club have neither confirmed nor denied Moyes’s departure, but if the Glaswegian leaves, as expected, United will need to replace him ahead of a busy summer rebuilding their squad. Woodward is a known admirer of Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp and agreed that the German was a “genius” in his only interview so far.
Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone would also be in the frame, as would current player coach and club legend Giggs. The 40-year-old Welshman has completed all his coaching badges and is keen on a step into management, but there has been much room for improvement in his relationship with Moyes.
If Moyes departs, as many are predicting, there may no longer be obstacles to Giggs staying at Old Trafford.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE