Replacing legends is a near-impossible task in sports. Very few have been as successful as, say, Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers waited patiently behind legendary quarterback Brett Favre knowing that one day his time would come. It wasn’t until Rodgers’ fourth year in 2008 he was given the starting job.
Since then, he has won a Super Bowl (in which he was named the MVP), been named to three Pro Bowls and one first team All-Pro selection. As great of a player Favre was, it’s Rodgers’ team now. He has created his own identity and in a certain respect has made cheese heads forget about Favre.
David Moyes is in a similar position with Manchester United. The former manager of Everton now has to deal with the task of replacing arguably the greatest manager in soccer history, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Poor Moyes now has to come into one of the biggest clubs in the world and try to repeat what had never been done before Ferguson. Like Favre, Ferguson was known for winning and longevity. Favre still holds the record for most consecutive games played at 321 (297 in the regular season and 24 in the playoffs). Before his retirement, Ferguson was the longest active serving manager in the Premier League with an astonishing 26 seasons under his belt.
During his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson won a ridiculous 38 trophies, including 13 league titles and two European Championships. Moyes, is now forced to continue the success of the Red Devils.
Moyes had been coined the “Chosen One,” as it was largely Ferguson who wanted Moyes to be his successor. Ferguson apparently went to Moyes’ house and told him he was retiring and that he would be the next manager of Manchester United. It’s an offer nobody can refuse. But despite being blessed with world class players and facilities, the job would not be easy.
Moyes was revered at Everton. The club was always overshadowed by neighboring Liverpool. But Moyes was able to bring success to the financially strapped club and usually had the side in the top half of the league. Everton finished fourth in 2004-05, the team’s best finish under Moyes, yet failed to qualify for the Champion’s League group stages after losing to Villarreal in the last round of qualification.
Ferguson also had an affinity for Moyes. After all, he did show up at his house to tell him he was going to be the next manager of Manchester United. Ferguson identified Moyes had a similar background (they both grew up in the same area of Glassboro, Scotland) and felt Moyes was the one to carry on the Ferguson way at Old Trafford.
The fans have also shown their support for the new manager. In his first home game against Chelsea, the fans sung his name in praise, giving him a dream introduction. But the scoreless draw showed some weaknesses in Moyes’ managing.
Despite dominating possession and the general flow of the game, United was unable to get a goal and defeat a Chelsea team that was not playing up to par. The week before, United had put four past Swansea, but that number was rather misleading. Swansea dominated play, and United simply were very clinical with their chances.
That being said, United have now gone two straight games without scoring, something that hadn’t been done in the league since the 2007 season. When the schedule came out, Moyes and the rest of the soccer world noted the difficult start of the season United had. The draw to Chelsea was followed up with a 1-0 loss to Liverpool Sunday Sept. 1. Once again, United dominated play, but could not score.
Ferguson was known for playing attacking soccer. Last season, United found themselves simply outscoring teams with several 3-2, and 4-3 score lines. Ferguson’s last match in charge of United ended 5-5. Moyes was a cautious manager at Everton and it could be seen with his substitutions that often saw him content to hold onto 1-0 leads or see out draws. If Moyes is going to win league titles — which he is expected to do — he has to go for victory in every game. The title race is going to be so tight that United can’t drop too many points, especially early in the season.
Moyes will also have to deal with the beast that is the Champion’s League. United was knocked out in the Round of 16 last season and didn’t even make it out of the group stages the year before, but the Champions League was also a very important competition for Ferguson. Those Tuesday and Wednesday nights of European completion was what Ferguson dreamed of. It was Ferguson’s success in Europe at Aberdeen that made him relevant. Ferguson led tiny Scottish side Aberdeen to victory over giants Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final.
Moyes is fully expected to compete and win on multiple fronts, something he wasn’t accustomed to at Everton. Moyes has just one trophy to his name, the English second division title while he was at Preston North End.
As long as Moyes has success, United fans won’t care how similar he is to Ferguson. Differences have already been noticed. The first is how he is dealing with trasnfers.
Ferguson always liked to wrap up his wheeling and dealing early in the summer so he could have as much time to get them acclimated at the club. With Moyes, United have made no significant moves other than singing youngster Guillermo Varela and Wilfred Zaha finally coming over from Crystal Palace following his transfer and immediate loan back to Palace. Ferguson and United used to be able to sign whoever they wanted. This summer, Moyes was unable to sign Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, and missed out on bringing Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini from Everton. Moyes watched rivals Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City spend and spend this summer, while United’s biggest transfer news was trying to hold onto Wayne Rooney.
Not losing Rooney may very well turn out to be a great victory in Moyes’ early tenure. The English striker seemed destined to leave after handing in his second transfer request in three years in the spring. Ferguson omitted Rooney from the squad late in the season and fans even jeered when Rooney received his medal after United won the league. Rooney seemed set to join Chelsea, but Moyes persisted that Rooney was not for sale and even played him during the first two games of the season. Rooney impressed during his time on the field and the fans even got behind the disgruntled striker, singing his name throughout the Chelsea match.
Ferguson sat Rooney at the end of last season because he felt he was distracted and that it was not in the best interest of the team to play a player who didn’t want to be there. Moyes was brave enough not only keep Rooney but to play him when everyone else was said the striker should be sold.
With 35 league games, the Champion’s League and two domestic cups remaining, Moyes’ success or lack thereof is still in question. Until then, it worth remembering that the “Chosen One” is here for the long haul and deserves nothing less than support and patience.