ENGLAND: Moyes at Man Utd

The outgoing Everton coach will finish his 11-year tenure at the club at the end of this season to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford who called time on his managerial career after 26 years.

“When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes, we unanimously agreed on David Moyes. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club” said Sir Alex Ferguson. Just 36 hours into the ground-breaking news of Sir Alex Ferguson’s impending retirement, the spotlight has very much shifted to his compatriot. The former Preston North End manager, David William Moyes, 50, has been handed a six-year contract by the Old Trafford outfit. After joining Everton Football Club in 2002, they have gone on to qualify for the Champions League in 2005 and became a finalist of the FA Cup 2009.

David Moyes is quoted as saying that he could not resist the lure of joining the Red Devils, although he was already looking forward to next season with Everton. “It is a great honour to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United. (But) I wasn’t planning to leave. My contract was running out but if you had pushed me, I would have said I would stay.” Although the The three-time League Managers Association Manager of Year’s love for Everton is undoubted, one could argue that the timing of Ferguson retiring after winning his 13th title and David Moyes’ contract expiring was too much of a coincidence. Whether this has been the long-term plan of Manchester United or the personal ambition of Moyes, the soon to be new United manager is in for the long haul.

With the season drawing to a close, Manchester United players seem to already be preparing for life under Moyes. Michael Carrick has already lavished praise on the soon-to-be manager. “I think he (Moyes) has obviously done a terrific job at Everton. All the players who have played for him all enjoy playing with him and say good things about him I’m really looking forward to meeting him and getting good training pre-season and hopefully a good future.”

Even United captain, Nemanja Vidic says that Scottish nationality may not be the only similarity between Moyes and Ferguson. “I believe I will have the same success I had with Sir Alex. They (Moyes and Ferguson) are very passionate, they are both winners and you can see the way they approach the games and how they run things.”

Even though we have yet to even see Moyes in the Manchester United training kit, transfer speculation has already seen Marouanne Fellaini and Leighton Baines linked to Old Trafford. Whether the two players will leave their current employers to follow in the Scot’s footsteps remains to be seen. While the Everton manager has such a great working relationship with chairman, Bill Kenwright, the idea of taking two of Everton’s prized players away from Goodison Park cannot possibly sit well with Kenwright. For the time being, Moyes has offered to find a replacement for himself, “I’ll help Everton as much as I possibly can. if there is anything I can do to help Bill Kenwright with what happens next I will be more than happy to do so.”

Although Moyes will leave Everton to join the Champions, he has ensured that Everton are in a great state; they currently sit above arch-rivals Liverpool in 6th spot and Europa League qualification secured. Will it be a seamless transition to United? It might be tough to tell, but the motivation in the Scot is clear for all to see, “I am delighted Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn’t something that comes around very often. I am really looking forward to taking up the post next season.” It might still be early days, but one thing is for sure, all eyes will be definitely on Moyes to see how he does. Moyes will take charge of his first United game on July 13 – in Bangkok, Thailand, against a Singha All Star XI on the club’s pre-season tour.