What now for Manchester United?

Appointed on the 9th of May and gone on the 22nd of April; David Moyes failed reign at Manchester United came to abrupt end. The announcement came to a shock as many, as Manchester pride themselves on being a club that gives managers time but now mathematically impossible to play in the Champions League, many questioned if Moyes was the "chosen one." With club veteran Ryan Giggs appointed to lead the club into the end of the campaign, what does Manchester United need to do to guarantee the same does not happen next year?

Arguably one of Moyes' biggest failures during his short lived spell at the Red Devils was his activity in the transfer window, most notably the summer window. The club was in desperate need of strengthening in midfield and defence to replace the older players and to compete with the quality that their title rivals were bringing in but Moyes opted to bring in just Marouane Fellaini, a player that does not possess the quality or was what the fans wanted. The January window saw Moyes spend big and bring in Juan Mata from title challengers Chelsea and although is a top class player, was not the type of player they needed and some argue paid too much for a player that could not get into the Chelsea starting eleven with a £37m fee.  

Moyes opted to bring in the Belgian having previously
worked with him at Everton

With Manchester United failing to deliver in the transfer window last year, next year expect them to come back stronger and spend big in the summer to rejuvenate the squad. Of course a new manager will be hired first and they will bring players in that suit his vision but one thing that the club really need to do is bring in quality where it is needed. If the club make knee-jerk summer signings in positions which don't need strengthening for well over their market value then they could repeat this years fortunes. Signings like Adam Lallana from Southampton would be the wrong sort of player to bring in as they will be paying too much for a player in a position they don't need to strengthen. Players like Toni Kroos or Kevin Strootman in the centre of midfield, a position that needs fresh faces and class, as well as some defence signings would reinvigorate this below par Manchester United squad.

Secondly, the Manchester United hierarchy need to carefully decide who should be brought in to replace David Moyes. A lesson they have learnt from their previous appointment is that it needs to be someone who has delivered silverware before and is used to the pressure of managing a top club. Perhaps another credential that could see Manchester United restored to their previous competitive state is employing someone to lead that knows the club inside out and understand the values of Manchester United, a credential that made Sir Alex Ferguson so great. Ryan Giggs is simply a stop gap to see out the remaining games of the season and is very unlikely to be made permanent boss even if he impresses due to such inexperience at management level.

Louis Van Gaal seems to be the favourite to take the reins at Old Trafford at the moment despite interest in the manager coming also from Tottenham. The fans choice is Jurgen Klopp but a move to England and leaving his beloved Borussia Dortmund is something Klopp has already said he will not do and has ruled himself out of the job. Van Gaal could be a success at the club as he has proven he can do jobs at the very top clubs, having won trophies at Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past but many will point to his handling of egos to be a major flaw in his management having had high profile spats with Rivaldo and Johan Cruyff. Van Gaal's attacking approach could be what Manchester United are looking for having looked at times uncreative and not direct enough during Moyes' reign.  

It all went so wrong for Moyes at Manchester United.

Finally, who ever is employed as manager at Manchester United and what ever tactics they decide to employ, it cannot be in any way shape or form similar to what Moyes tried to create at the club. David Moyes tried to replicate the tactics he used at Everton to bring success to the Manchester giants and it did not suit the players he had at his disposal and isn't the type of football that makes top clubs in today's games successful. Moyes seemed to sacrifice creativity from individuals in his squad in favour of pumping the ball out wide and getting crosses in to the box despite not having a player that can really compete with centre backs to win the header. Manchester United became a slow side that lacked venom under Moyes, a far cry from the Manchester United that used to be so potent and creative under Ferguson.

Some argue David Moyes should have been given more time. More time to get used to the demands of the job, more time to bring in certain players and more time to challenge for silverware. Others will argue although it goes against Manchester United's policy of giving managers a fair chance, David Moyes' debut season is more than enough evidence that he was not the right man to the lead the club for years to come. Whatever your stance on the sacking is, one thing is for sure, Manchester United need to change things to make sure this season never happens again. Not qualifying for Champions League football and failing to compete with the bigger teams for silverware is simply unacceptable for England's most successful team. Taken down is the "chosen one" banner from the Stratford End of Old Trafford and due to his failures remembered by some as the "ill chosen one."