5 of David Moyes’ Low Points Since His Last Manchester United Game

It really is slightly mad that six years on from David Moyes’ last match as Manchester United manager, things haven’t really improved at Old Trafford.

They’re now onto their third permanent boss since his 2014 departure, having chewed up and spat out two world class coaches in Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho, and the same problems which have remained constant throughout remain prevalent to this day – recent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revival aside.  

In truth, it’s been a similar story for Moyes. Just as ​United have buckled under the almighty task of replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, his handpicked successor has never really recovered from his unsuccessful attempt to take the reins.

It hasn’t been all downhill for Moyesy, but when it’s been bad, it’s been really bad. Like, this bad. 

Trying to Count in Spanish 


There are a great many questions surrounding his ill-fated 364 days in charge of Real Sociedad. Questions such as ​’why?’ ‘how’ and ‘who the bloody hell sanctioned this?’

The biggest question, however, the one burning a hole in all of our brains, is why on earth did Moyes decide to count to four in Spanish in an interview one time? 

This is legitimately uncomfortable viewing. ‘They’ve trained with me, ehhhh, ehhhhh, dos, tres, quatro times.’

Seriously, who did he think this was helping? 

The Las Palmas Disaster


For most of Moyes’ (almost) year in the Basque region, he wasn’t viewed as an absolute disaster. There were frustrations about the team’s inconsistency, but having taken over a pretty awful team in November 2014 and steered them towards a comfortable mid-table finish, time was on his side – especially after overhauling the squad in his first summer window.

That goodwill dissipated steadily as they picked up just two wins in their first ten matches, and then went off a cliff after a hilariously bad defeat to Las Palmas. 

The home side, by this stage, sat rock bottom of the division and had won just a single game all season, but were able to outclass and outgun Moyes’ disjointed charges at every turn to record a comfortable 2-0 win.

Twitter trends in the wake of the defeat included #MoyesDimision (‘Moyes resign’) and #MoyesVeteYa (‘Moyes go now’). He was sacked the following Monday. 

Joining Sunderland ​


Sunderland, towards the end of their time in their ​Premier League, were the quintessential ‘poisoned chalice.’ They had gone through seven managers in the seven years in the run-up to appointing Moyes, and as has been underlined by hit Netlix show Sunderland ‘Til I Die, they were perhaps the worst run club in English football – relying on owner Ellis Short’s billions to keep afloat. 

It was abundantly clear from day one that this wasn’t a good place to work, but Moyes wanted a return to the England after his Spanish holiday didn’t quite go to plan. 

Getting Relegated With Sunderland


Ten months later, after a dismal 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, the Black Cats were relegated with their tails between their legs. They’d won just five of their 34 matches; it was one of the worst ever Premier League seasons. 

Moyes later remarked: “It really is a brilliant club with passionate supporters, but they had big financial problems.

“We didn’t have the funds required to rebuild the team and it was also difficult to attract a level of player to make the difference. We couldn’t get it going, but lots of good managers couldn’t either. After I left, it sadly continued on a downward spiral.”

If only there were mounting swathes of evidence that the club were an absolute catastrophe prior to you taking over in the first place, eh Moyesy? 

Wigan 2-0 West Ham

It’s universally accepted that Moyes was hard done by not to earn the ​West Ham job on a permanent basis after masterminding their revival in 2017/18, but even that spell – by far his best since leaving ​Everton in 2013 – had its low points. 

The 4-1 defeat to Swansea and subsequent 3-0 thumping at home to Burnley deserve honourable mentions, but the unquestionable bedrock came in an FA Cup fourth round tie away to Wigan. 
​
​Arthur Masuaku saw red after the referee adjudged the left-back had spat at Nick Powell, West Ham failed to muster a single shot on target, and Will Grigg(‘s on fire) scored in either half to send the Irons packing in the fourth round. 

Grigg, ironically, would go on to sign for Sunderland. 

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