Moyes finally gets his shot

If, as expected, David Moyes leads Manchester United out at Wembley Stadium for the Community Shield match in a couple of months time, he will shoulder a responsibility that the few thought would ever be his to bear: he will carry the hopes and dreams of British coaches up and down the country.

For so long now there has been widespread dismay and anger at how promising British managers are not afforded the opportunities in their homeland that they deserve. The managerial positions at England’s biggest clubs over the last 15 years have almost invariably gone to foreign men like Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Arsene Wenger, Roberto Mancini and Gerard Houllier. No longer.

The biggest job in the country will belong (as it has for the past 26 years) to a Scotsman. David Moyes has not just broken through that metaphorical glass ceiling, he has shattered it. For all the talk of Sir Alex Ferguson’s admiration for his fellow Glaswegian over the years and the petitions in the media for Moyes to be given a ‘top job’, the notion that he would become United’s next manager still seemed fanciful until the seismic developments of the past 24 hours. Taken at face value, his move from Goodison Park to Old Trafford makes little sense and appears to go against everything that United stand for.

Ferguson with Uniteds 20th title and his last 

The current English champions are built to win. For the past 23 years, since Ferguson won his first F.A Cup back in 1990, they have known nothing else. Trophy after trophy has arrived, win after win has been chalked up. Their next manager knows little of such things. His undoubtedly successful tenure on Merseyside with Everton was never a cake walk of consistent victories or routine wins. It yielded not a single piece of silverware and produced just one disappointing F.A Cup final. Moyes’ only experience in Europe’s top club competition was a stomach churning two legged defeat in a qualifying round back in the autumn of 2005. United have been in three Champions League finals since Moyes last even threatened to take a team into that competition.

Given the differing levels of tangible success between Manchester United and David Moyes over the last decade, it is little wonder that many Mancunians are underwhelmed with Sir Alex Ferguson’s apparent successor. At a time when continental managers like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are in vogue and proven winners like Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti are guns for hire, you can understand the surprise and maybe even the initial disappointment of United supporters regarding the imminent arrival of Moyes. Put simply, his C.V isn’t of Manchester United quality.

Dig a little deeper however, and his appointment is quite a logical step. United have made it clear that Ferguson’s replacement would be an appointment made for the foreseeable future and not merely a quick fix. They seek a new dynasty and a seamless transition from the Ferguson era into the future. Moyes has the potential to spearhead such ambitions. For all the dearth of success in terms of trophies won on Moyes’ C.V to date, he has proven things at Everton that have obviously facilitated his date with destiny and met United’s current requirements.

David Moyes looks set to leave Everton 

He has shown that, given time, he can create a squad in his image that is able to compete with sides who have greater financial resources. His eye for a bargain in the transfer market has been evident throughout his Everton days. He has improved players like Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Leon Osman and Marouane Fellaini markedly. He created his own dynasty at Everton that will take some beating (good luck to Bill Kenwright on that one) even if he did not ultimately provide a trophy. He was fiercely loyal and dedicated to his project while managing the Toffees. Stability and steadfast self-belief were ever present even during tough spells. Perhaps most importantly, while demonstrating all of these traits, he earned the respect and admiration of Alex Ferguson who will have been instrumental in appointing his own successor. United want and require evolution, not revolution. They obviously see Moyes as the man to implement this, and not without reason.

Importantly, Moyes will take over a club that does not require major upheaval. The infrastructure built by Ferguson at United will endure. Nothing will be torn up and started again from scratch (something that would have been a real possibility had Jose Mourinho arrived in Manchester). Moyes is no short term appointment or a knee jerk choice. Mourinho, Klopp or Ancelotti may have set the hearts of fans fluttering a little more had they been selected to succeed Ferguson, but Moyes is an eminently logical if slightly unsexy choice.

Like any manager entering a new job, there is no guarantee that David Moyes will succeed, but he has undoubtedly earned his shot at the big time and Manchester United should be praised for allowing him the opportunity to fulfil his ambitions in the Premier League when he seemed destined to have to follow his dreams abroad. United have not taken the easy way out of hiring a world renowned proven winner who would have appeased the majority of their fans in the aftermath of Ferguson’s departure. They have instead been sensible and hired the man who they believe will be best for the future of their club. In doing so, they have also presented a British manager with a platform to prove that coaches from these shores can be every bit as successful in the upper echelons of the game as those from abroad. No pressure, David.