Fergie lifts lid on Moyes' disastrous reign at Man United
Sir Alex Ferguson has denied that the decision to appoint David Moyes as Manchester United manager was solely down to him.
According to a Guardian report based on excerpts from Ferguson's update to his My Autobiography book, the legendary United manager also delivered his verdict on his successor's doomed tenure at Old Trafford while rubbishing claims that he handed over a squad in decline to his fellow Scot.
It is widely believed that Ferguson personally handpicked Moyes as his successor after a successful reign of 27 years at United's helm.
However, the 72-year-old dismissed the notion as he wrote: "There appears to be an accepted view out there that there was no process. Nonsense. We feel we did everything the right way: quietly, thoroughly, professionally."
Found out in the news
United failed to fire under Moyes and the ex-Everton boss was sacked in April, an event Ferguson claims he knew nothing about until he read it in the news.
Ferguson believes his compatriot found the move from Goodison Park to Old Trafford to be "a massive jump" and that his cautious approach did not fit with United's demands for fast, attacking football.
He wrote: "He hadn’t realised just how big United is as a club.
"The reason for playing at speed was that United players had been accustomed to operating that way.
"If the tempo slowed for any reason, I would be into them at half-time. ‘This is not us,’ I would say. Playing with speed never hindered our results. It was our way: energy and determination in the last third of the pitch."
Deterioration
Ferguson added: "As the results deteriorated, each defeat was a hammer blow to him. I could see that in his demeanour. In January we bought Juan Mata and that gave everyone a lift but I could see the walls squeezing in, leaving David with less and less room to breathe.
"I know that feeling from 1989, when we went through a terrible spell. You feel you are being crushed. The results gnawed away at David. Nobody could dispute how disappointing the season was. And it cost a man his job."
Rebuff
Despite Moyes' inability to cope with the United job, several quarters believe his cause was not helped by the squad left behind by Ferguson, who rebuffed claims that the squad was in decline by pointing out that 11 of his championship-winning players were aged 25 and below.
He wrote: "Chelsea started the current season as favourites for the title, with a squad that also had six players in their 30s. I don’t hear any grumbles about the age of their group.
"Antiquated was a bizarre description of the structure I left behind at Manchester United. Have you seen our new training ground?"
Source: The Guardian
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