Why Moyes’ pragmatism isn’t too bad for Manchester United

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Ever since David Moyes took over Manchester United he’s being accused of bringing in his Everton culture of conservatism and pragmatism.

Moyes is definitely a pragmatist, so is Jose Mourinho. Even for Sir Alex Ferguson with all his emphasis on expansive, fluid football, his European record improved only when he adopted a more pragmatic approach to the games.

Despite winning a Champions League crown in 1999, Ferguson suffered in Europe in the subsequent years. The 3-2 home defeat to Real Madrid in the 1999-2000 Champions League was an important one. Real Madrid fielded an all-attack 3-3-2-1 formation which caught Ferguson’s team off-guard. By the time United woke up to it, the game was already lost. After the game the Real Madrid manager Vincente del Bosque made a memorable assessment of Ferguson. He described Ferguson as a “tactical anarchist”.

From the year 2000 to 2007 United won only one knockout tie in Europe. Finally in the year 2008, United demonstrated that they have learned from all their previous mistakes, and have become more practical in their approach. The tournament also saw Ferguson’s best pragmatic tactical display ever. The best example was the semi-final victory over Barcelona. United held on to a 1-0 lead with almost the entire team parked in front of their goal. The approach was justified as United went on to win the trophy beating Chelsea in the final.

The point is, if pragmatism can win you titles and trophies, why not be a pragmatist? Jose Mourinho has proved with all those trophy hauls that defensive tactics isn’t bad after all. Moyes and Mourinho aren’t too dissimilar in their philosophy and the way they build their teams. They both have a defense-first approach and their teams displayed great power and grit.

Jose Mourinho enjoyed great success in his career having had considerably better quality players at his disposal wherever he went, but Moyes too was highly successful though in a different way at Everton. And now, Moyes being at Manchester United, I couldn’t see why he cannot emulate the success of Mourinho.

On the negative side, Manchester United fans may no more be treated with those 6-5, 7-0 victories and 5-5 draws under Moyes. But Moyes can win them titles which would be built on gritty 1-0 wins.

For men like Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, the end justifies the means. After all, at the end of season, that’s what matters, isn’t it?