David Moyes Sacked: 5 Reasons Man Utd Job Was Impossible

2. The Press Out For Blood

Moyes' pre-season may have been severely disrupted by disarray behind the scenes, but the press appeared all too ready to pounce on every fresh incident as proof that Moyes was destined for failure. Many clubs lose pre-season games they would be expected to comfortably win under normal circumstances, yet Moyes' 2-0 loss to Singha All-Stars in July was reported as though this most meaningless of games were a crucial competitive fixture. Manuel Pellegrini lost both his games on Man City's pre-season South Africa tour (against the less-than-prestigious competition of Supersport and AmaZulu) and Chelsea scraped to an unimpressive 1-0 win over Singha in their first pre-season game, yet the press seemed content to treat them as the meaningless results they were. The pressure didn't relent once the season had kicked off, either. Questions were raised over whether Sir Alex was continuing to exert influence behind the scenes, and every blip was reported as an indicator of looming disaster. United and West Brom may have drawn 5-5 (remember what I said about those defensive frailties?) in Sir Alex's final game in charge, but Moyes' somewhat unfortunate 2-1 loss against the Baggies was treated as a sign that the 'magic was gone'. Had the press forgotten that Sir Alex had lost to such comparative minnows as Norwich City the previous year? Probably not, but they seemed entirely happy to ignore it so long as there was the opportunity of manufacturing a narrative where Moyes' failings would be the story of the season. It looks like they succeeded.