It’s been one of the hotter debatable topics of the current Barclays Premier League campaign and I will finally weigh in on my opinion of the matter – is David Moyes to blame for United’s troubles this season? For me, it’s a two-part problem really. Yes Moyes has a lot to do with United’s sub-par showing this season, but some of the burden must also rest on the players as well. However, Moyes failed to bring in proper reinforcements for United this previous summer and he uses the same tactical set ups that he used at Everton and it must be said that is not up to the standard required for United. United playing negative football many times this season is something no one could ever have dreamed and while the players must take responsibility for not putting faith in their manager, it is however the managers fault when it comes to his tactics on the day, the personnel he selects, who he does and does not bring in during the window and the inability to get the most out of his players. These reasons must dictate that, unless results drastically improve domestically in the final third of the season, that Moyes must go – but who should replace him?
Insert Diego Simeone into your conscious and now I will explain why, for me, he’s the answer to United’s problems. While I have surveyed Twitter, Facebook and the various forums on websites such as espn.co.uk, a lot of people are calling for Jürgen Klopp to come in, however the flamboyant German would fit in the mold for Arsene Wenger’s replacement far more smoothly than at United. Let’s look at Simeone and discuss.
As a player, Simeone was an incredible combination of skill, vision, hard work and a no-holds-bared approach to his game that made him integral to both club and country. Over the course of his career he accumulated 106 caps for Argentina while contributing 11 goals, which, for a defensive midfielder, is rather pretty impressive. The beauty of Simeone as a manager is that he instills that same combination of style and the ability to put in a shift into his players and is currently reaping the rewards with Atletico Madrid. Since taking over for the “other” Madrid club, Simeone has an impressive record of 84-24-21, which is good for a 65% winning percentage – remarkably high. During his spell so far, the Argentine has hauled the Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey and led Atletico to their highest finish in La Liga since 1996 when they finished third last year. This current term he has further build upon his initial success as they are a mere three points off the pace in the domestic title race, while in Europe they were arguably the most impressive team in the group stage of Champions League an are set to have a show down with AC Milan in the round of 16. While stats are impressive and the numbers currently speak for themselves, why would Simeone be the right fit for United?
So far this season, United have been far too inconsistent when it comes to the matter of putting in a shift every match – while Moyes got the best out of his players at Everton in this regard, he is struggling with United. There is a much higher skill level available to him with the Manchester club and he clearly has failed at finding the right balance and combination of letting the players express themselves while they keep their work ethic to acceptable levels. Simeone is all too familiar with this, as his Atletico side routinely can out work and out perform even Real Madrid and Barcelona when his side faces the two Spanish giants – this would be a step in the right direction.
Another aspect to his managerial profile that would see him be a hit, is that he fights for his team and in response, his team fights for him. Simeone has done wonders when it came to winning over the players and the supporters as a manager, regardless of his success with the club he had as a player during his career. Such admiration from the players he has molded into one of the most well oiled machines in Europe would no doubt benefit United in regards to player recruitment. United are in desperate need of an over-haul of their squad this coming summer, and if Simeone were to somehow end up as manager, he would surely look to bring in the likes of Koke and Raul Garcia to reinforce a United side that is in desperate need of a creative midfield behind its attacking players as well as defensive solidarity, which has been a hallmark of Simeone’s reign at Atletico thus far.
Most importantly about Simeone, along the lines of being able to get the best out of them and instill the work ethic required, is that his players have belief about themselves and have the fighting spirit to grind out results that are required to make a push for silverware – this is something that United are lacking in abundance, that proper mental strength attitude they had under Ferguson but lack under Moyes that is needed to win things and that is something that certainly falls on the manager.
There is no telling the future of United’s current Scotsman – results may yet turn around, they may somehow finish top five to at least net the Europa League next season and look to build on that for the following campaign. It must be said that, currently, United are nowhere near where they were under Ferguson. The simple fact that, with the same side sans Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini, Sir Alex got the absolute maximum from his team while Moyes is clearly unable to does speak volumes of the managerial gap between the two. Moyes is by no means a manager, but it must be debated on if he is actually the right man for the Old Trafford posting. If Moyes is given his marching orders, the popular choice for the next gaffer may well be Klopp, but the smart choice is far away Simeone.