A file photo of Manchester United former manager David Moyes looks on during a League Cup semi-final first leg match between Sunderland and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, in north-east England. (AFP)


AFP/Manchester



Manchester United yesterday sacked manager David Moyes after a disastrous ten-month spell running the world-famous club which has been left in turmoil.
The club followed the stunning announcement by naming veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs as interim manager.
Moyes, 50, succeeded Alex Ferguson at the helm of the Premier League side on July 1. But the season quickly became a nightmare for Moyes who watched his team slump to a series of embarrassing defeats.
After feverish speculation, United confirmed the sacking in a brief statement. “Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club.
“The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role,” it said.
A second statement added that the 40-year-old Giggs, “the club’s most decorated player, will assume responsibility for the first team until a permanent appointment can be made.”
Manchester United players had training amid an intense media spotlight. But the club said no further comment would be made “on this process until it is concluded.”
Experienced Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal  emerged as the British bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Moyes on a permanent basis.
The 62-year-old, whose previous clubs include Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, recently expressed a desire to work in England. His contract as manager of the Netherlands expires after this year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund, another rumoured contender, ruled himself out of the running.
Klopp told The Guardian newspaper: “Man United is a great club and I feel very familiar with their wonderful fans. But my commitment to Borussia Dortmund and the people is not breakable.”
Moyes started a six year contract on July 1 in place of Ferguson, British football’s most successful manager who reigned at United for 26 years.
The sacking came a year to the day after Manchester United had secured their 20th English title as a sendoff to Ferguson who hand-picked Moyes to succeed him.
Moyes has endured a torrid season and faced criticism from players.
United have slumped to seventh place in the league table and been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and Europe’s Champions League.
Moyes’s last game in charge was Sunday’s 2-0 loss at his former club Everton, which confirmed that United will not compete in the Champions League next season for the first time since 1995.
The 11th defeat of the league campaign left United 13 points below the Champions League qualifying places and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Moyes’s transfers proved equally disappointing, with £27.5 million midfielder Marouane Fellaini, signed from Everton, and £37.1 million record signing Juan Mata, who arrived from Chelsea in January, struggling to make an impact.
As a result, United’s American owners, the Glazer family, reportedly felt uneasy about handing him the funds needed to rebuild the squad during the close season.
Giggs, United’s record appearance-maker, was informed of the sacking after arriving at United’s Carrington training ground near Manchester.
His first game in charge will be a league fixture at home to Norwich City on Saturday.
Giggs made his United debut in March 1991 and has made 962 appearances for the club, winning 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups, three League Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.
He has no previous managerial experience, but has combined his role as a player with a position on United’s coaching staff since the start of the current campaign.
Former United player Gary Neville said that while he was disappointed by the decision, Moyes’s struggles had left the club in a difficult position.
“I think it could have been dealt with a whole lot better,” Neville told Sky Sports News. “I believe in managers being given time. However, there’s no disguising that the football and the results this season have been poor."

Moyes’s failure at United highlighted by the numbers


David Moyes lasted as Manchester United’s manager for only 10 months but in that time he broke a host of unenviable records.
Here is the Scotsman’s ill-fated time as Alex Ferguson’s successor in numbers:

• Manchester United’s 57 points is their lowest total after 34 league fixtures since 1990-1991 (56).
• Moyes’s seventh-placed side won only one league game against the Premier League’s top six teams in 12 matches this season, a 1-0 home win against Arsenal in November.
• United, champions last season with 89 points, took just six points from a possible 36 against the top six teams.
• Their six home defeats in the league this season are more than the previous three seasons combined.
• This is the first time United will have finished outside the Premier League’s top four; it is also the first in 18 seasons that they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
• The 11 league defeats that David Moyes oversaw this season is their most in a season since 1989-90, when they lost 16 and Liverpool last won the title.
• Moyes’s team suffered 10 defeats in 22 matches in all competitions since the start of the year.
• It is the first season in which Liverpool and Everton have won home and away against United. Swansea City won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history.


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