United hardcore remain firmly behind Moyes

As a small group of young Manchester United fans stood on the Stretford End on Sunday afternoon, they tried to start a chant of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” directed at David Moyes as their team edged towards a shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Swansea.

But they were abruptly silenced by more seasoned supporters in the famous Old Trafford stand.

This is not a fan base who calls for their manager to be axed after just six months in the role.

The young generations know nothing other than success at United, many are not old enough to remember a time before Alex Ferguson and domination.

Their older counterparts can silence them inside Old Trafford but Twitter has also given millions an audience to vent their frustrations.

When Ferguson went eight games without a win three years into his reign in the 1989-90 season, he can be thankful that the only social networking in those days was down the local pub.

Those eight games were followed by the now fabled Mark Robins FA Cup goal against Nottingham Forest that apparently spared the Scot from the sack and started the run to his first major trophy at Old Trafford.

The rest is history.

Unfortunately for Moyes, his successor, the Twitter beast is very much awake and is snarling at his so far underwhelming reign. United are 11 points off Premier League leaders Arsenal, out of the FA Cup and chasing a 2-1 deficit heading into their Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Sunderland. Only the Champions League, where they have eased to the last 16, has offered Moyes solace.

But those who really matter are nowhere near ready to call for his head. The hardcore are behind him.

“Moyes stay or go? Stay, undoubtedly,” believes Barney Chilton, editor of fanzine Red News.

“You can’t get rid of him,” said Rob Mager of United We Stand, another popular fanzine. “It is in our history to keep a manager and create a dynasty like we did with Ferguson.”

Stuart Mathieson, the long-serving United reporter for the Manchester Evening News, has been at the dizzy heights with Ferguson and is now forensically watching the transition to Moyes.

“He needs a proper transfer window,” believes Mathieson. “Let him get his teeth into the transfer market next summer. Let him bring in his players and then you can judge him on his team, his style of team.”

Of course there has to be improvements. It is not a title-winning squad. This may have been a side that won the Premier League last season at a canter, but they were driven on by the sheer will of Ferguson who knew it was his last hurrah and was not prepared to go out a loser.

“The longer we mess up transfers and ignore their significance, the worse it could get,” continued Chilton. “This squad needs huge investment, 20 titles or not.”

For now though, the supporters will back the current side and the manager. At the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, they sang “every single one of us, will stand by David Moyes” as they continue to heed the words of Ferguson on his Old Trafford well who called for them to “get behind our new manager”.

“The fans who go away with the team, they are backing Moyes,” said Mathieson. “That tells you a lot. They have been there before through thick and thin when it was not all glory.

“The negativity is coming from the younger fans who only know glory. They think it is a God-given right that United should succeed. Well it’s not. The ones to listen to are the regulars and the ones who travel.”

While the keyboard warriors throw the insults at Moyes from afar, United’s struggles have remarkably had a cohesive effect on the fans who regularly frequent Old Trafford and the away coaches that travel the land.

Even some of those who left to support FC United, the breakaway club formed in 2005 following the Glazer family’s acquisition of United, have returned to lend their backing.

“It has really galvanised us, there is a real common purpose to get behind the team,” Mager, who is also a season-ticket holder, revealed. “There has been a culture change. There was a wall of noise at Norwich over Christmas and Moyes respected that.”

Twitter’s vocalists may lead the call for Moyes to go but they could yet turn out to be a collective symbol of that now infamous fan who unfurled a “Ta ra Fergie” banner at Old Trafford in 1989 amid that eight-game run.

Only time will tell but United’s loyal fans are seemingly willing to afford plenty of it for now at least.