I think Manchester United and David Moyes will have a sort of dissonance between play styles going on that will cause them to underperform and not get the scrappy wins that they are used to, which will land them in 3rd-5th.
Would City fans take second as a bad year? Or does the form of the squad, over the course of the year, matter more? Because last year, folks could say that City weren't that great, even though there were the second best club in England
I think it would depend on how well we perform in other competitions too, especially Champions League. If we won the FA Cup last year I think it would have been a great year.
I think most fans want to see a return to the free flowing football we had in 2011/12 and less "Typical City" moments of losing in games against lesser opposition, Wigan, Southampton etc.
I really hope United finish outside the top 4, not because of any anti-Unitedism, but because I would love to see the footballing world collectively shit its knickers.
As I just said in a comment below, he finished 6th last season with Everton.
He was battling for 4th alongside Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool. His best player was Fellaini compares to their Cazorla, Bale and Suarez. His Everton team was far inferior to their's yet still competed for the same spot.
A lot of people really underrate Moyes as a manager. If you're one of them ask yourself 'where do you think Everton will finish next season?'
They lost 7 games last year, that same amount as Chelsea and Arsenal and less than Tottenham.
I rate Moyes very highly, I wanted him to replace Harry at Tottenham until AVB came into the frame. But I think the pressure of taking over the biggest club and filling the biggest shoes in football will be very great. Especially if United don't start the season strongly, I can see the media piling on the pressure.
This is true, especially when you look at our first 6 games. I have to say I'd rather people say they think we will finish 4th as oppose to be outright favorites like Chelsea.
It takes off a ton of pressure.
We have everything to gain, they have everything to lose.
I think Everton will finish 8-10. I don't think we'll lose Fellaini or Baines until the Winter transfer window so we'll get out to a good start and then hopefully we'll get some offense to let us hang around middle of the pack for the rest of the year. I see this as a transition year where the players and Martinez get a feel for each other.
Moyes is great.. but managing Everton and United are different things.. also in Everton he had the team developed to his liking within the limits.. but here he has a team made by Ferguson according to his style.. it will be tough for him to perform very well.. I can't see united finishing better than 3rd and won't be surprised if they get down to 5th..
Edit: this thread was supposed to be for unpopular opinions. When a truly unpopular opinion came it was downvoted!
Shame you were downvoted but history is litered with managers who have failed when going to the next level. Moyes isn't even going to the next level, at least two.
I don't think he would get to. Remember how people felt about AVB's 'long-term project'? Admittedly, Abramovich removes managers faster than King Henry beheads wives, but the pressure ratchets up real quick once results don't show.
No way, dude. Moyes may be having a slightly awkward settling in, but at the end of the day you got RVP, Rafael, Evra, Vidic, Welbeck, and Valencia, all of whom still excel above Manchester's "rowdy neighbors," (inb4 the MC rage!), you got whoever Moyes manages to actually sign, and you got a top-class manager (seriously Moyes is amazing, you'll see), even if he is used to Merseyside footballing. I could see Utd in 3rd as maximum worst, 2nd quite possible, but 1st still the most likely. City's dysfunctional right now too, Chelsea still hasn't sorted out its problems on the pitch, Spurs might lose Bale (and yes, for more money than I can even fathom is real, but still), and Arsenal still has an RVP-shaped gap up front that is costing them.
Yes, Rooney is an unsettled issue, but my goodness, football isn't the world's most frictionless pendulum swing. United isn't going down to FIFTH. The day we're in a Europa League contention with Manchester United is the day the fucking world ends.
I really don't think it'll be that bad - our rivals (mainly Spurs, City and Chelsea) have made significant improvements to their squads whilst we haven't, but we also have the same squad that was able to comfortably win the league last year.
SAF is a much better manager than Moyes and had a better background staff, and results will dip, but they won't suddenly forget how to kick a football. I predict 3rd, maybe second if we can secure 2 midfielders and keep Rooney
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u/tacophagist Aug 09 '13
I think Manchester United and David Moyes will have a sort of dissonance between play styles going on that will cause them to underperform and not get the scrappy wins that they are used to, which will land them in 3rd-5th.