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Football

30th Sep 2018

Gary Neville believes Manchester United mess stems back to Moyes sacking

The Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit believes the club's current problems stem back to the decision to sack David Moyes in 2014

Reuben Pinder

David Moyes was dismissed after eight months

Manchester United’s away defeat to West Ham yesterday, in which United failed to test the London side who were dominant throughout, has confirmed the club’s state of crisis.

There have been signs for a while now, but José Mourinho has been afforded enough time and money to refresh the squad over the course of two and a quarter seasons (five transfer windows), and the manager has failed to deliver what was asked of him.

The football is bland, predictable, and lacking in cutting edge. The atmosphere both home and away has grown more toxic, and the manager is at war with the team’s star player. There appears to be no point of return, as pressure on the coach grows exponentially, with Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings.

But not everyone agrees on where United’s current problems stemmed from. Some will solely point the finger at Mourinho, while others believe the entire club has lost its way from the top down.

United legend Gary Neville believes the problems began when the club sacked David Moyes – who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson – after just eight months. Neville believes that decision betrayed the club’s traditions, and send the club into a reactive mode.

When a fan raised the point that Moyes maybe shouldn’t have been hired in the first place, Neville did not disagree, but insisted that the current mess is a symptom of making the snap decision to sack a coach before he had completed a full season.