Manchester United boss David Moyes needs to drop the ultra-pragmatic attitude for away games

David Moyes

David Moyes is a man under a lot of pressure right now. His first season in charge of Manchester United has been disastrous in so many ways, to say the least. A lack of transfer activity during the summer meant the new manager started his reign at the club with a squad inferior to title rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal – all of whom made significant additions to their side.

The fact that very few of their players have consistently performed well hasn’t exactly helped his cause. The result? United currently languish 14 points away from first-placed Arsenal. It seems highly unlikely that United will retain the Premier League this season; a top 4 finish would be considered an achievement unless they add one or two players in January.

Another problem that hasn’t been highlighted as much is the transition that Moyes himself had to make in terms of his style of management. At Everton, he was used to being the underdog; he worked on a budget, and since expectations weren’t really that high to begin with, there was never any massive pressure on him. The United job is a lot different, of course. Expectations are sky-high and being one of the biggest clubs in the world allows them the luxury of signing almost any player that catches their fancy. As far as transfers go, Moyes hasn’t had the best of times so far; his sole summer signing Marouane Fellaini has struggled at United.

United’s results against teams that are in the top 5 don’t make for good reading either. Aside from a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford against Arsenal, they have struggled against other teams. They lost 1-0 to Liverpool, 4-1 to Manchester City, drew 0-0 with Chelsea at home and lost 3-1 at the Bridge while also losing home games to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. A common factor in most of these games mentioned is that United didn’t look to do enough to get the victory, particularly the away fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Moyes has always been something of a pragmatic manager. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s an attitude that comes with a price. In 48 games against the Premier League’s traditional ‘top 4′ (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool) he hasn’t won a single game. Stats don’t normally tell the whole story, but this particular one is a pretty bad indictment of how Moyes’s safety-first approach has cost him wins away from home. If he wants to be successful at Manchester United that is something that must change, and fast.

Unfair as it may seem currently, let’s compare Moyes’s stance to that of Sir Alex Ferguson. The former United manager was never the type to back down from anyone and always set up his team to win by any means necessary. This doesn’t mean he always looked to outplay tough opposition away from home, but even if he looked to let them play their game he had a plan on how to counter them. Sir Alex, like most great managers, not only planned for his own players but also for the opposition instead of sitting back and looking to get just a single point. That’s what made United so tough to play; Fergie would tinker with his game plan and change it in order to exploit any perceived weaknesses of the opposition.

Let me be perfectly clear and say that there is nothing wrong with being pragmatic; the best of managers have placed getting a result ahead of being an entertaining side. However, Moyes must drop the attitude that a draw away from home is as good as a win. Not losing away from home is important, but that must not be the sole aim; he must look to exploit team’s weaknesses and try and sneak an away win if he isn’t willing to go all-out for a victory.

The beginnings of Moyes’s reign at United haven’t been the best, but he has both the time and the means to turn this around. United won’t look to sack him as they have made it clear they are looking to build for the long run. That being said, Moyes will have to come out of his shell and be a much more aggressive manager in more ways than one if he is to be considered the right man to replace the great Sir Alex Ferguson.