All is well that ends well- However In football ending a season on a high note might not abate the agony of lost opportunities. The last few games might show an upward graph for United but they need to pull out a bolt from blue to qualify for the champions league .The Red Devils are languishing 7 in the premier league 7 points off the last Champions league qualifying spot and had a heart-breaking exit from the prestigious tournament. The post-mortem of the season has began and while there is no clear culprit ,questions have been raised about David Moyess managerial skills.David Moyes ,who was handpicked by Sir Alex himself needs to get some breathing space at Old Trafford. It was never going to be easy to replace Sir Alex due to the sheer magnanimity of the great man .Remember the imploring words from the departing manger Your job now is to stand by your new manager that is important. Perhaps he foresaw the current predicament we are in. Fergie was never proved wrong about his football instincts and perhaps we need to trust him .We need to look for positives as the building pillars for the next season. Here we look at highs of David Moyes 1 year regime:
#1 United\'s away form
If there was a premier league based on only away results, Manchester United would have won it. It is inconceivable that United have been the best away team in premier league this season. David Moyes’s men have won 33 points from their 17 away games this season, the maximum for any premier league side. They have won 10 lost 4 and drawn 3.
Manchester United also recorded their largest ever champions league away victory at Leverkusen with a 5-0 hammering of Bayer Leverkusen in the group stages of champion’s league. Perhaps lesser expectations in away games have been a blessing in disguise for Moyes. Moyes just needs to replicate this away form in home games.Perhaps it’s the game of nerves Moyes needs to win now.
#2 Wayne Rooney\'s commitment to United
Rooney looked all bored and estranged at the end of last season. The speculations about him leaving the club were very strong. Rooney’s relationship with former boss deteriorated towards the end of the season. In came the man who gave Wayne Rooney his debut in the Premier League, David Moyes.
Moyes managed to shrug off interests from other clubs and persuaded the England forward to stay at Old Trafford. There appeared to have been only a temporary truce and a move away from Old Trafford seemed inevitable next summer .However Moyes used his powers of persuasion again making the Manchester United talisman sign a new contract that keeps him at Old Trafford till 2019 .Fans were jubilant to keep Wazza at Old Trafford for long.
#3 The rise of Adnan Januzaj
David Moyes has been credited with debut of great players. In 2003 it was Wayne Rooney, in 2012 it was Ross Barkley and seems like his trust on young teenagers has paid off once again with the rise of Belgian starlet Adnan Januzaj. Januzaj was given a debut at the age of 18. Januzaj has been hailed by many as the new Ronaldo for the club. Moyes fended off interests from other clubs by singing a new contract with Januzaj. He has been protective as well as critical about the teenager and ensured his proper growth as a player.
#4 Munich battle lost but the war was won
David Moyes has just pulled off a rabbit out of a hat overturning a 2-0 first leg deficit against Olympiakoas to reach the quarter-finals then they were handed a excruciating draw against the defending champions and tournament favorites Bayern Munich. It was built up as a David vs. Goliath battle prior to the kick-off with experts predicting humiliation for United. But David Moyes pulled off his tactical master class for about 160 minutes of the tie.
United’s defense contained Bayern’s wingers winning a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. The second leg was closely fought for 60 minutes before United succumbed to 4-2 aggregate defeat following a series of school-boy lapses .United may have lost but they surely won hearts and the most importantly the trust of fans.
#5 The arrival of Juan Mata
After the lackluster performance in the first half of the season, Manchester United was linked to every possible mid-fielder on earth with realistic chances of signing none. Moyes then came out with a depressing statement expressing his unavailability of good players. Whether he was playing mind games or serious we don’t know because he was able to land the talented Spaniard from Chelsea Juan Mata. Though Mata’s arrival did not bring substantial changes in teams fortunes, he is an good armor in our arsenal. The next season United’s fortunes might well rest on the playmaking ability of Mata.