Moyes is gone in bizarre timing. It may be confirmed one day but it can be imagined that firing him before the beginning of his second year in charge allows the club to reduce his total compensation, otherwise the timing just seems most absurd. The choking throughout the season hit a final coma against Everton and he is gone, the nature of the sacking hardly the way that Manchester United supposedly pride themselves. The made up lists of who people think should leave get tiresome, yet they’re all the same. A mass overhaul rarely has immediate successful effect and it will require some clever rebuilding and utilising the resources they currently have far better than Moyes did.

The man was broken, the same old people are hypocritically saying they never thought he was the right man and Alex Ferguson should have a lot to answer for. Into double figures in defeats and it wasn’t just the bare statistics that damaged him but the manner of all results; even victories. Would Ferguson appoint a successor to emphasise his own brilliance? Did he really believe Moyes would succeed? Well, quite rightly, Ferguson holds no more power than any other board member over the next appointment and why should he?

The squad has such a great deal to be looked at and the loss of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic would hurt any club, here is a look at what the new manager and the board need to do just to be competing for the top 4 next season.

Goalkeepers

David de Gea is flawed at times and questionable at where the ball ends up when he saves it, but his age can only make him a certain to keep his spot long-term, nailed on. While Anders Lindegaard may be thinking of aiming for a number one spot elsewhere he can be kept as back up and it may just be one position that the club won’t need to think about. However, keeping the backroom goalkeeper coaching at the standards they deserve shouldn’t be neglected to minimise the mistakes that have haunted de Gea at times. None more so than to gift Fulham an equaliser at Old Trafford.

Defence

Its been ugly, hasn’t it? Moyes’ infamous 51 line ups in 51 games will have damaged the defensive stability more than anything. If anything needs revamping the defence has been crumbling at the foundations for years. Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra will be gone for next season, Rafael has struggled with injuries and the less said about Chris Smalling the better. If Phil Jones does have a future at the club, it has to be at centre back. The ideal scenario would be a long-term Smalling and Jones partnership but that just seems a dream given the shaky performances of both. Evans, Smalling and Jones may all be around next season but they should really be aiming for a first choice pairing of Jones and another. Keep Smalling around and invest another year in him as long as he is as far away from playing right-back as humanly possible. Build the defence around Jones, look to Subotic, Mangala, Shawcross and invest in a partner for Jones and give him a year in the position to see if he really will make it to the heights Ferguson suggested.

The talk of Luke Shaw will persist and an obvious brilliant start to a rebuild, although other options may be more efficient. Ben Davies of Swansea is not far from the talents of the Southampton youngster and likely to command significantly less than the ludicrous £30 million being touted. A supporting figure at right-back can be desired and Callum Chambers (yet another Saint under transfer siege) may be an option to back-up Rafael. Alexander Buttner has looked more comfortable of late and could be rotated with the new left-back, while Rafael and another for the right will at least provide balance and some attacking threat that Smalling and Jones lack when put at full-back.

Should Target: Davies/Shaw, Subotic, Shawcross, Mangala, Chambers, Stones, Uchida, De Sciglio, Schar, Ricardo Rodriguez

Ship Out: Vidic, Evra, Ferdinand, Smalling (Loan perhaps)

Midfield 

Fellaini may have struggled to impress so far, but he isn’t really being asked to do the same role anymore. The real pressure on the midfield often begins with Carrick. As good as he is, he has severe limitations that require runners around him and this does not remotely suit Fellaini. By no means should Carrick be moved on, but kept as an option for certain games to dictate rather than a man to build the midfield around.

Carrick needs a 4-3-3 often, the 4-2-3-1 that suits so many attacking players at the club. Fletcher’s return seems all too sentimental now and its his role that has been the real loss in the midfield. A man with to take over from the industry of Fletcher could partner Fellaini to give a strong base of the midfield and far greater mobility to compensate for the lack of tracking back from Juan Mata. The shape will, of course, depend on management and the retention of Shinji Kagawa is a must if the style of the side is to develop. The much-maligned, Tom Cleverley, is no longer a hot young prospect and at 24 it may just be time for both him and Fletcher to move on for quite different reasons.

The attacking positions are less of an issue with the addition of Mata, although I may be a rare person who supports the retention of Luis Nani. A player who’s own flash performances and questionable attitude has been distracting from his match-winning talents and would never lose his place to Ashley Young if I were manager. Finding the best role for Wayne Rooney may need greater rotation and a fluid system to find both him and Juan Mata off of a main striker and could see minutes difficult to come by for Antonio Valencia (the typical hard-working right wing option) if they opt for a narrow formation.

The options to fix sluggish play through the midfield are endless. Players who look for a forward pass are not as difficult to come by as made out and questions should be raised to why Manchester United didn’t make a significant challenge for Nemanja Matic in January. A runner from deep in midfield – much like Jordan Henderson has done for Liverpool – is a must. Juan Mata is wanting to sit deeper and pick a pass rather than run beyond and cause a problem to make midfielders back track. Adnan Januzaj’s season has meandered and may benefit from a loan away to show the performances he put in earlier this year were not fluke. Most importantly to look for people who can get them goals from the midfield rather than the embarrassing statistic of less midfield goals than Everton’s two full-backs this season. Another year on loan for the unimpressive Wilfried Zaha wouldn’t do too much damage either.

Should Target: N’Zonzi, Matuidi, Paulinho, Sandro, Draxler, Arda Turan, Delph, Fernando,

Ship Out: Cleverley, Zaha (Loan), Januzaj (Loan), Fletcher, Ashley Young, Anderson

Forwards

Wayne Rooney may have been the initial storm in Moyes’ tenure, yet it seemed Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck were the two to finally put the boot in. Partially down to the signing of Mata, van Persie’s continued time at the club may need to be cut short for further development. Welbeck was seemingly unhappy with everything this season and he can still do a job for the side (particularly in big away games) whilst van Persie’s availability caused difficulties and saw Juan Mata pushed wide. To move on RvP would be brave in the extreme but it may need to be done and he looks for his final couple of seasons of Champions League football, he is 30, after all. The side has to change for him and that – partially due to his age – will not be good long-term.

Rooney alone as a striker fails to convince me often and looks best when playing deeper. Now with Mata and Kagawa wanting that role the formation will need to be inventive and Rooney – if played up front – can often end up out of the game and come looking for possession. Such an all action player needs an accepted costless role to avoid messing up the shape of the side. They need a player offering them everything up front and perhaps Moyes should’ve given Hernandez greater time to prove his worth as the striker, surely destined to feed off of Mata’s through passes.

The Mexican also sounding out moves away from the club as his style makes him terminally destined to be a ‘super-sub’ should be held on to for all they can. His goals per minute is rivalled by very few and rightly so. Starved down to only 5 starts this season and four goals he wants away, keeping him should be prioritised over van Persie.

Should Target: Mandzukic, Remy, Benzema, El Sharaawy,

Ship Out: van Persie

There’s a lot of work to be done at Old Trafford. The huge transfer kitty and desperation to spend will see them pay over the odds. Most crucially, they must be wary to build the side rather than buy players on reputation of name. Look for a style and pattern to build the side towards and pick players to work together, unlike the signings of Fellaini and Mata.

No pressure, new gaffer. 

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