Manchester United - are the Red Devils on the decline?

David Moyes

The day that no United fan will forget. Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest British manager in history (and, according to me, the greatest manager ever), announced his retirement from the post of Manager of Manchester United after 26 and a half years at the helm, winning in the process 38 trophies, including the famous treble of ’99, a task yet to be matched by any English team till date.

Rumors flew around the football world about the appointment of the next manager of the greatest football club in England. Journalists and media spreads rumors of Mourinho, Klopp, David Moyes as being the ‘Chosen One’. The bookmakers favourited David Moyes to be the next manager, and so it was. Unanimously agreed by the Board, Moyes had been appointed manager of Manchester United, after serving 11 years at Everton.

Under Moyes, United have made their worst ever Premier League start ever, amassing 22 points off 14 games. Even Alan Hansen compared the current Manchester United team to the Liverpool team of 1990, who since then haven’t won a single Premier League title. But is Manchester United a club in decline?

The answer is no. A big fat NO. It’s true, Manchester United this season haven’t looked like the fearful football they did last season. They rather look like wounded champions. But people and the United fans keep forgetting that United are a club in transition. It was never going to be easy to replace the greatest British of all time who has been at a club, whose name is almost synonymous with success, for almost 27 years. And not only is there a transition in the managerial role, but also the coaching staff and the executive vice chairman role, when Ed Woodward succeeded his predecessor David Gill.

Moyes is bringing his own philosophy into the club, his own style of play. He’s still getting to know his players (5 months is not enough time to get to know each players strengths and weaknesses), and is still (rather struggling, though) find his preferred starting XI.

Fans are starting to blame Moyes and Woodward for an ineffective transfer window. But one must not forget that Moyes’ main priority was to keep Rooney at the club, who had been a summer-long target of Mourinho’s Chelsea. And fans should thank him for that. It’s no doubt that Rooney is star of the season so far, scoring goals, creating goals, tackling, defending.

To top it all off, there are the injuries concerns. van Persie has been about with groin and toe injury, Rafael with hamstring, Vidic too.

Looking at the season collectively, it hasn’t been that bad. (Better than all other previous managers, Sir Alex included). He’s guided them to the quarter-final stages of the Capital One Cup, beating Liverpool 1-0 and Norwich 4-0. He has safely steered United through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, without a single defeat, with one game to go. The 5-0 drubbing that Leverkusen received at the hands of United demonstrated the fact that United, when at the top of their game, still are the team to beat.

One must not forget that this is still the same group of players that won the League last year by 11 points. 11 POINTS, above lavishly spending City and Chelsea. And when everything clicks together, I firmly believe that United will be back among the top dogs aiming for that top spot at the table.

So are United a team in decline? A very resounding NO.