Happy Endings: Why Moyes needs more time at Man U

Happy Endings: Why Moyes needs more time at Man U

by Vinnie Venezuela

In the lead up to the 2010 Coppa Italia final against Inter, the then Roma coach Claudio Ranieri  was happy to sit down with his team and watch the film Gladiator in order to make the boys feel a  bit more ruthless, a bit more hungry and just that bit more connected. The Special One, José Mourinho coaching Inter at the time, scoffed at him, believing that Hollywood was not the way to a player’s heart, stating Ranieri was treating his players like children and not professionals. Though history may well show that the Special One couldn't get his hands on the Godfather box set at the time, he does, apparently, like to keep his compilation of great refereeing gaffes handy in order to galvanise his teams when necessary. So I've heard.

As it turns out, the movie night didn't really pan out for Claudio and Roma lost 1 zip to Mourinho's Inter. Things then got worse and the committee eventually did to Ranieri what Commodus did to Maximus in the colosseum that awful day and it ended badly for Claudio. Of course, at that level of the game, even when things "end badly", the handshake is still golden and your next job is pretty choice too.

As we speak, Ranieri' s future at Monaco is on the line; despite having resurrected the club and scored them a Champions League berth in its first year back in the French top flight, he may well need to make his way back into the arena with nothing but his signed Russell Crowe poster and a screenshot of where Monaco came from. Claudio, however, is calm and prepared for the worst.

Personally, I don't reckon he should get sacked just yet. He's earnt at least one more year.

For some reason, when I think of David Moyes, the movie Titanic comes to mind. Sir Alex is Rose, who we remember fondly as the girl who had it all and Moyes is Jack, the guy who has punched above his weight and is left scrambling to stay alive. In the end, Jack sacrifices everything for Sir Alex .... I mean Rose.

In 2014, as the Man U ship sinks to its lowest point for a long while and Liverpool is on the cusp of making the Devil's demise even more excruciating by winning the EPL for the first time in eons, there is talk of Moyes being left to float away on a piece of timber in the cold, cold waters of the Reject sea far sooner than anticipated.

While the appointment of Moyes came as a huge surprise to many - they say Mourinho's sobs were heard across the Bay of Biscay - the reality is that he came with the blessing of Sir Alex. That Moyes also secured a 6 year contract was a firm declaration by Man U that they would back him, no matter what. Of course, six years never really means six years, but you'd hope it did mean two or one and a half, at the very least.

Man U has been forgettable this season. The players don't seem to respond to Moyes, Van Persie has been injured, its back line is tired and there certainly isn't any consistent snap in their counters. I know Moyes needs to take responsibility for the team's ordinariness, but how such expensive players can switch off and lose their EPL winning mojo is also beyond me.

There is much discussion that Moyes has lost his dressing room and probably the board, but the truth is, he needs a second year to own everything that takes place at the club. He needs to be allowed to buy the players he wants and to offload the ones that are not meeting expectations. If they are not going to play for the shirt or for him or for themselves then so be it, he can tweet them their goodbye. Sir Alex and Mourinho would certainly not hesitate. (Although tweeting is for the kiddies.)

Brendan Rodgers started the 2013/2014 season with a very disgruntled Suarez, some questioning the signing of Sturridge and others wondering whether young players like Sterling and Coutinho   would rise. It's  fair to say that things have panned out well for him. While I don't necessarily rate Moyes, I do think that he must be supported in getting the players aligning to his and the club's philosophy and that means he needs another year to prove his worth. If he doesn't deserve to be there then he and whoever hired him will have to pay.

As the speculation mounts as to which "winning" coach will replace him (Klopp, Van Gaal, Blanc, Ancelotti, Simeone), it is again very apparent that winning things matters. My guess is that Sir Alex or Mourinho or Rodgers or any of the guys just mentioned, however, would attest to the fact that even in the modern game, you actually need to be given the time to win things.