The Fergie Factor

[goonersid]

How much do you attribute utd's seemingly unstoppable demise down to Fergie's departure? or is Moyes simply not up to the job.
Probably a bit of both, but I think mainly it's down to the Fergie factor, I said to any of my manc "mates" who would listen that his departure would signal the end of their dominance of English football probably for our lifetime.
He was simply irreplaceable and I don't think it would have mattered who got the job, the result would be the same.
Ferguson was probably worth 15 to 20 points a season, from getting the best out of average players, his tactical ability, to intimidating referees and officials, even the FA were afraid of the old bastard.
I wonder just how many refs and officials are now thinking to themselves, "I'm going to give these fuckers fuck all" they already seem to be picking up more bookings than they ever did under fergie. And the pen they didn't get against the mousers was virtually identical to the one they did get last season.
Anyway, as it goes I am enjoying their demise almost as much as our resurgence and long may it last.

[Perryashburtongroves]

I think you're right and you can add to that the fact that the players probably don't rate Moyes. Fuck em though, they have bullied, cheated and pissed off other teams for 20 years now and can spend some time at the back of the queue for the foreseeable future as far as I'm concerned.

[Deise Gooner]

Was watching MNF in the week and Neville was showing how the United players reacted to West Brom's 1st goal. They all stood off West Brom in the immediate aftermath of the goal and let them maintain possession in and around the United box without any form of pressure. That seems to be the difference so far, there is no way the players would have done that under Fergie as they were fully aware of the consequnces. Personally I dont give a fuck as its brilliant to see all the plastics over here crying about how poor United are, theyve had it their own way for too long, this is long overdue.

[augie]

For me there are a number of issue's there -

1. ferguscum left behind the most average squad he had ever had in that shithole
2. moyes is totally dependent on people above him to seal those transfer deals - moyes indentifies the players he wants and then some other dick is meant to do the necessary and so far I would suggest that they have sold moyes down the river
3. moyes will not be the draw for top players to join manure - I argued in the summer with manure fans, that if they go in for a top player, the player in question will probably look at the club and ask "who the fcuk is david moyes ?". They needed to appoint moaninho cos replacing a manager of ferguscum's stature meant that they had to appoint a similar profile manager.
4. the media have decided that they are gonna squeeze moyes right from the off - sadly nowadays the media c***s wield no small amount of power and they questioning and slating any manager will result in the braindead fans (of which there are loads) also questioning him. We have the reverse situation of this at AFC - everytime wenker even pisses in a straight line, the media ***** themselves stupid and immerse the man in praise in the papers thus convincing the akb's that arsole wenker is indeed a genius

[armchair]

I rate moyes and would welcome him at the Arsenal in a heartbeat.

Utd will back him and give him time. And rightly so. Just a look at the way Wenger has been backed (and still is) for waaaay too long.

United haven't gone away you know.

But I totally agree - fergie was a different animal to anything we've ever seen. And won united points/trophies by virtue of him being , well, fergie.

I don't know if I hated fergie more when we were in direct competition with them for trophies or when Wengers "project" reduced us to also rans and fergie started saying nice things about us and ringing Wenger up to get our captain

[Dan_85]

The Utd job is now a poison chalice. No manager that takes over will ever have the same effect, match the expectations of Utd fans or achieve as much as Ferguson did, and certainly not within the space of a few months. They've been spoiled for the past 20 years and they need a reality check. Football goes in cycles, what did their fans think would happen when Fergie left? That it'd be service as normal and they'd continue to win everything for the foreseeable future?

Moyes is a decent manager, not Fergie level for sure, but he's a decent manager. He needs time to build his team, impose his style on the players etc and as has been said, i'm sure he'll be given it. But in the meantime it's fucking hilarious to watch all the plastic mancs spitting the dummy They've been ever so quiet on Facebook recently lol

[armchair]

The Utd job is now a poison chalice. No manager that takes over will ever have the same effect, match the expectations of Utd fans or achieve as much as Ferguson did, and certainly not within the space of a few months. They've been spoiled for the past 20 years and they need a reality check. Football goes in cycles, what did their fans think would happen when Fergie left? That it'd be service as normal and they'd continue to win everything for the foreseeable future?

Moyes is a decent manager, not Fergie level for sure, but he's a decent manager. He needs time to build his team, impose his style on the players etc and as has been said, i'm sure he'll be given it. But in the meantime it's fucking hilarious to watch all the plastic mancs spitting the dummy They've been ever so quiet on Facebook recently lol

yea. It's feckin great to see.
All the plastic mancs will be lookin for a different team to support now......

They'll be buying season tickets at the emirates next fs...

[northbank123]

Largely agree with what Sid says. I think it's broadly speaking a combination of 3 things.

1. Squad - a side that amassed 89 points last two seasons are hardly "average" in the ordinary meaning of the word but without van Judas winning matches single-handedly and without Vidic on top form holding their defence together the shortcomings are pretty obvious.

2. Moyes - the guy probably deserved a shot at a top job but the transfer window was a farce. They were in the best position of everybody - one or two choice additions would really have rejuvenated a squad that cantered to the title last year and is used to each other and used to winning. Instead he's amplified concerns about his ability to attract big players and was left scrabbling to sign Fellaini for a ridiculous fee when he could have had him quite a bit cheaper in July, which absolutely screams panic signing. Any poor start was going to be seized on by the press.

3. Fear factor - don't think West Brom would have had the stones to go to OT and have a real go at them with Ferguson in charge but finally teams are believing they can beat them instead of rolling over. The media are also laying into them in a way they never have before and having your team constantly criticised and questioned in the papers, on the radio and on the TV will take a toll on the players as much as they'll say they ignore it.

[Ryanswannell]

3. Fear factor - don't think West Brom would have had the stones to go to OT and have a real go at them with Ferguson in charge but finally teams are believing they can beat them instead of rolling over.

I believe this is the main cause of Utd's demise at the moment. For many teams, any game against Man U was over before kick-off as they believed if they had a real go against a team against Ferguson, they would be anihilated either by great management or fear of being dicked by the ref's. So instead teams would often sit back inviting Utd attacks, which would inevitably just result in a loss.

Just think about it for a second, how many teams last season threw players forward in an attempt to grab a goal against Manure compared to this season? I really don't think Sunderland would have even got a goal this time last year against Utd, let alone breaking into three or four counter-attacks during the first half.

I don't have anything against Moyes, but while he is at UTD he is considered an enemy in my eyes for being at one of my most hated clubs. Let's just hope this Utd win was an anomaly

[northbank123]

3. Fear factor - don't think West Brom would have had the stones to go to OT and have a real go at them with Ferguson in charge but finally teams are believing they can beat them instead of rolling over.

I believe this is the main cause of Utd's demise at the moment. For many teams, any game against Man U was over before kick-off as they believed if they had a real go against a team against Ferguson, they would be anihilated either by great management or fear of being dicked by the ref's. So instead teams would often sit back inviting Utd attacks, which would inevitably just result in a loss.

Just think about it for a second, how many teams last season threw players forward in an attempt to grab a goal against Manure compared to this season? I really don't think Sunderland would have even got a goal this time last year against Utd, let alone breaking into three or four counter-attacks during the first half.

I don't have anything against Moyes, but while he is at UTD he is considered an enemy in my eyes for being at one of my most hated clubs. Let's just hope this Utd win was an anomaly

Didn't they take 55 out of 57 points at home one season (maybe 2008?). As good as their team was, that's a ridiculous record facilitated by teams being beaten before they went out there.

[I Hate Hleb]

The famous Mark Twain quote comes to mind when people are discussing the 'demise' of Man Utd.

[arseofacrow]

The famous Mark Twain quote comes to mind when people are discussing the 'demise' of Man Utd.

Quite right,

The demise of man u

The success of Arsenal


A few games and the whole paradigm shifts. Odd.

[g88ner]

The famous Mark Twain quote comes to mind when people are discussing the 'demise' of Man Utd.

"That Don't Impress Me Much"? - come to think of it, that may have been Shania Twain

[arseofacrow]

The famous Mark Twain quote comes to mind when people are discussing the 'demise' of Man Utd.

"That Don't Impress Me Much"? - come to think of it, that may have been Shania Twain

I wish somebody had got you a ticket for West Brom

[g88ner]

The famous Mark Twain quote comes to mind when people are discussing the 'demise' of Man Utd.

"That Don't Impress Me Much"? - come to think of it, that may have been Shania Twain

I wish somebody had got you a ticket for West Brom

Me too - sadly for you all, I'm here all day