Buttner must stop Robben to really get boss off hook

Manchester United 4 Aston Villa 1

It was, Moyes said later, his attempt to show his critics that he would not back down, that he is in charge of the world’s self-styled biggest football club and will be in his dug-out, ready to rule and be shot at in equal measure, for the foreseeable future.

Four goals and an insipid Villa performance later, and Moyes’ grandstanding appeared a well thought-out gamble as he deflected attention from a plane, funded by disgruntled United supporters, that flew over the ground hauling a banner demanding the manager’s dismissal.