“Just when it seemed Manchester United were settling down, following their win over Crystal Palace, they turned in what David Moyes freely admitted was a bewilderingly poor performance against Olympiakos.”
“Inevitably the spotlight is back on David, something he had to get accustomed to quickly after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson.”
“The first thing to say is that none of the English clubs have covered themselves with glory in the Champions League over the last week or so. Chelsea were the pick, with a draw against Galatasaray.”
“There is no hiding that United’s performance and result in Greece were a long way from what David expected. The Champions League is United’s last chance of success this season — and they know they’re up against it following their 2-0 defeat.”
“This has been a tough learning curve for David and he will be assessing how he attacks the job in the future. He knows he must re-establish United to where they need to be.”
“Everyone knew it would be difficult for the man who replaced Sir Alex Ferguson but I don’t think David would have thought it was going to be this much of a challenge.”
“I hope that, in the end, he will become as successful as his predecessor. There was a transition when Sir Alex went to United but in the modern day game, David knows he will not be accorded the same sort of time as back then. These days, you have to work as quickly as you can.”
“I would say he has found out an awful lot about his squad of players over the past few months. He will have seen them from the outside but you don’t really get to know players until you work with them regularly.”
“Come the end of the season, he will have to make some tough decisions about a number of players, decisions we, as managers, all have to make.”
“Robin van Persie’s comments on Dutch TV that other United players are taking his space have added fuel to the fire but to suggest, as some have, that the striker is criticising his manager’s tactics is stretching things way too far.”
“These days, when a manager is having a bad time, almost every word is examined and often misconstrued to pile on more pressure.”
That’s why, as I pointed out at a London Press Club Q&A earlier this week, it is very difficult to answer questions openly any more. It pays, these days, to be constantly on your guard.
“With regard to United, it is undeniable that most of the players who did so well last season, are not performing anywhere near as effectively this year.”
“I expected their squad to be more self-motivated. Whenever I spoke to Sir Alex, especially in more recent times, he said the early days of the hairdryer were rarely needed — the history and achievements of one of the best clubs in the world demanded that players were always 100 per cent motivated.”
“Part of the problem could be the transitional period in which the club are in. Three of the back four, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, could all be moving on soon and because they are all still top players, they will probably already have a good idea of where they will be going.”
“Here at West Ham it’s slightly different. We have players such as George McCartney, Matt Taylor, Jack Collison and Joe Cole who are busting a gut to do well when they have an opportunity because they are fighting for new contracts.”
“David is left with having to make more decisions about players at the end of the season than he expected. It looks like he will have to plan a rebuild and for a club like United, that could mean an outlay of £200million.”
“As a manager, it is almost expected that your first rebuild is when you come into a club unless you inherit, ironically, as good a squad as Roberto Martinez has at Everton. Then it’s about reaffirming your position and doing as well as the manager you have succeeded.”
“The hard bit, even if you are United, is finding the players. They didn’t do that last summer and that’s probably one of things David now regrets.”
“He may have thought it was a big, strong squad — one which had just run away with the Premier League title — and that it just needed some tinkering.”
Written by Steve Milne
Follow me on Twitter @stevenmilnelive