By CandH’s northern man
Terry Robbins
Moyes had the toughest of jobs following Sir Alex but did he help himself?
West Ham fans may have to get used to a sense of frustration in the transfer market under David Moyes, certainly according to people who knew him at Manchester United.
The Irons have held an interest in a number of players this month and the inside track is we have had an offer of £50m turned down for an unnamed target.
Everyone knows what we need to bring in if we are to sustain a fight for the top four places until the end of the season.
Bringing in a centre-back and a proven striker to support Mikey Antonio could make all the difference between Champions League or Europa League.
However, it might not be a lack of cash that stops some deals getting over the line in the future, more the cautious nature Moysie is said to have evidenced during his 12 months at Old Trafford before he was shown the door.
Old Trafford sources up in Manchester have painted a picture of Moyes as someone who is so meticulous in his homework, that there were times at United when they felt an opportunity to pull the trigger had passed.
Following in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be a thankless task, so some context is needed when people discuss Moyses’ unsuccessful time there.
He had performed miracles at Everton on a limited budget, always getting value for money and bringing players such as midfielder Tim Cahill to prominence.
But United’s huge spending power presented Moyes with a luxury he never had at Preston or Goodison Park.
United sources have told the Claret&H desk how the club targeted the likes of Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Cesc Fabregas – all with a globally established pedigree.
Yet Moyes had always been conscious he’d previously been at clubs where cash wasn’t in such plentiful supply, and knew he had to justify every penny spent.
The Scot puts the hard yards in, scouring the continent and the domestic leagues for untapped talent, taking great pride in his methodical approach to transfer targets.
United stumbled around that entire summer trying to bring in a top name and there was much wringing of hands when Marouane Fellaini rocked up instead of Kroos.
Moyes is understood to have let United do the heavy lifting in most of the negotiations, yet people at Carrington also recall the manager sometimes “second guessing” himself when it came to actually giving the green light on players to go after.
Moyes spent £28m on Fellaini, someone he had already worked with, it was safe and familiar, the hard yards previously done to ascertain those abilities.
Added to a £37.1m outlay to bring in Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata, in the January, Moyes spent just £65m during his short tenure.
In comparison, successor Louis van Gaal spent £165m in his first season and another £100m a year later.
A United insider said: “There are still people here who would have David Moyes back at Old Trafford right now, but a few still recall a perceived indecisiveness when it came to him making instant decisions.
“He is very thorough and it felt like he was treating the club’s cash as his own – no bad thing – but there was a sense he was worried about making a big transfer mistake and United are a different animal to most other places in that respect.
“He wasn’t helped by David Gill also stepping down as the chief executive that same summer, between Moyes and Ed Woodward, these were two men with different outlooks.
“Woodward, as he later showed, was all about signing the big names, trying to make statements – Moyes was much more cautious on transfers, sometimes the ship will have sailed or things had cooled off.”
The Hammers might not have the spending power of United and, it’s to Moyes’ credit that he is described as someone who takes his responsibilities very seriously, but Irons fans will be twitchy if we miss out on targets due to any hesitancy.
Let’s hope and pray history repeating itself at West Ham because frustration levels could well over boil!
I wonder if we, as West Ham fans, should consign Moyes’ time at Manchester United to the history books. In the meantime, worth remembering Manchester United has been a poisoned chalice since Fergie retired. Moyes did as well as any post-Fergie manger they’ve had. Let’s also remember that, inside two season, he’s taken us – a perennial laughing stock over much of the last three decades – into the last 16 of the Europa League and made us competitive in every game we play. Let’s not bite the hand that feeds.
Not quite thje point ma\te – it’s about his spend
I see your point, Hugh. Ok – Louis Van Gaal spent £265m in two seasons. That doesn’t look like money well spent, in my view. He spent £265m, which got them no nearer to winning either of the big two trophies than Moyes’ £65m. What I like about Moyes – which seems at odds to the approach taken by the chancers that end up in football management, to my mind – is the premium he places on value for money. For example, Moyes went for Dawson at £2m, while the previous ‘manager’ (and I use that term only loosely) we had in place went for Diop at £23m. In value for money terms, Dawson has been a much, much better signing for us. He’s no Van Dijk, and he’s got a mistake or two in him, but the £2m was very, very well spent. If Moyes’ seeking value for money is being perceived as dithering by some on here and, no doubt, on other sites, in my view, Dithering Dave can carry on dithering. He’s the first ditherer we’ve had at the Club in the EPL era, and, maybe no coincidence, we’re finally competing for the first time in the EPL era.
And, by the way, his success at West Ham so far has come from being really shrewd in the transfer market, Long may it continue.
Agreed……. Spot on!
We signed Bowen in the last hour of the January transfer window. He was coming down the motorway in a car with his old man and got a bit lost if I remember rightly. Everyone knows the best deals are often made in the final days if not hours of the window. Before that we have a whole month of frustrated fans spitting their dummy’s out over the lack of transfer activity. Think I’ll wait till after the deadline to pass judgement though. Who knows maybe we won’t sign anyone this time. Doesnt look to be a lot of activity from any of the clubs this time round and every club seems to be after a striker and a defender. Apart from Newcastle who seem to be after a new player in every single position. As regards Moyes signings at United, fellaini and matic signings mocked by Man U fans wheras for all man United so called superstars I believe it was those two players, fellaini and matic that went on to be man United best players during that period, I think even under Louis van gaal