Fergie’s ego forced United into wrong call on manager

There is one simple reason why David Moyes should never have got the manager’s job at Manchester United.

The instant Alex Ferguson recommended the Everton manager’s name it should have been immediately removed from the list. Why? Because an egomaniac like Ferguson was never going to push for someone who might actually surpass his achievements.

After 27 years at Old Trafford, Fergie won the European Cup twice. José Mourinho won it twice in six years with two different clubs. What if José had taken over Manchester United and led them to European glory? What if José then equalled Ferguson’s record or even eclipsed it? Where would that have left Fergie? There is another reason why United’s decision to appoint Moyes was unforgivably stupid. In selecting David Moyes, they are simply repeating the mistakes of the past. History should have taught the directors at Old Trafford that you must replace a giant with a giant. Did the generation of failure which followed Matt Busby’s retirement teach them nothing? Frank O’Farrell, Tommy Docherty, Dave Sexton and Ron Atkinson — all four men were moderately successful managers who wilted under Busby’s long shadow.