Careful What You Wish For – What Arsenal Can Learn from United’s Sacking of David Moyes
As a supporter of a football club, we all are prone to a certain amount of schadenfreude and abject glee when one of our rivals endures a series of epic woes that seem to put said club into a tailspin. So you have to forgive us supporters of Arsenal and even of other clubs as we laugh openly and inwardly at the sacking of David Moyes.
However, some of us may want to keep that abject joy in check. Why? Simply put be careful what you wish for. It’s no secret that a growing number of Arsenal supporters are ready for a change in the managerial chair. The reasons why are known and have been debated over and over again. This is not a piece to argue either for or against or even to argue that Wenger can’t be replaced. Any manager can be replaced. The question is not just who would replace but who would oversee hiring the new manager. As James McNicholas (@gunnerblog) points out in the Bleacher Report today, Arsenal aren’t led by anyone who has experience in finding a top quality manager. The man who last did that is gone and again as McNicholas points out – the bridge to bringing back David Dein not only has been burnt but the remnant structure has been tossed in the river.
The fundamental problem with the Moyes hire was that the decision to bring him in was left to one man – Sir Alex Furgueson. At one level it’s understandable. He is and was a club a legend who personally move United into the stratosphere it now sits in (and is sliding from.) If anyone knew the qualities that would lend itself carrying United forward it was the man who established those qualities. But it overlooked some fundamental flaws.
Moyes for all his time at Everton and the modicum of success they enjoyed, he wasn’t really a proven winner. He had never driven Everton to any big time or sustained success. The idea of managing in the pressure cooker that comes from competing at the top level was not something Moyes ever had to do.
He never had to deal with the super star personalities like Rooney, Rio, or Van Persie and from the outside looking in, his inability to manage those personalities made it look like the inmates were running the asylum. You need look no further than giving letting Rooney hold the club hostage and giving him £300,000 pw in wages. Fergie would never have let that club get held over the barrel like that. It was Fergie’s way or the highway. For Moyes its – any which way but his. Wenger for his part has gone on record saying he wants no part in picking his eventual successor. He has said that this is a decision best left to the executives of the club. Admirable but you have to question the ability of that board to bring in the right talent to the task.
The key will be to make sure that someone who comes in has managed on the level befitting a club of Arsenal’s stature. When we signed Arsene, Arsenal were a certified known entity in England but it was under Wenger and the first 8+ years of his tenure that the world really took notice. Now with the Emirates, its state of the art training facility and growing global brand, Arsenal can ill afford to not have a strong managerial candidate come in when the time is at hand.
United and Arsenal were lauded for their consistency in keeping their managers. And when Moyes came in no one expected instant success. Moyes would have to learn on the job and replace a squad that was aging and frankly living on life support as Fergie had squeezed everything he could out of them to get them across the line for that 20th title. It was fully expected that Moyes would be given time. It was after the United way to be patient. But it was clear from his interactions with the press, the players and everything in between that Moyes was mismatched for the task at hand. The “records” Moyes broke weren’t the records anyone would be proud of. With commercial revenue tied to a global brand and its success, United’s inability to challenge on any front had to become a serious concern in whether or not some of those commercial deals were in danger.
For instance rumour is that Arsenal’s Emirates deal has some contingencies in it that are tied to the club’s performances in the league and champion’s league. Surely United have similar clauses. United also have the added burden of having shareholders on the NYSE to please. If the overall value takes a hit there then Moyes becomes a money-losing proposition on many fronts.
Getting the replacement right is so important in this day and age. There is no knowing how long this could affect United. And if Arsenal don’t get the right man in, there is really no idea of what will happen there. As a club built on it’s own financial base, if it had 4 or 5 years like Liverpool just went through, would the club survive? No, I am not talking about a Leeds United situation – I am talking about would it be able to not start acting like all the extended clubs – spending needlessly and unwisely to arrest the
form? It’s a dangerous proposition and one that risks more than just table position.
Additionally, the right personality is needed to attract talent. Moyes and CEO Woodward failed to attract talent I am sure in part because no one knew David Moyes in the same way they know a Wenger or Fergie. The quality of both managers is known and even in the lean years at Arsenal players were/are interested in coming to the Gunners – because of the pull of the manager. Moyes had no such pull at United and no matter how “big” the club, certain things can’t be overcome.
Finally, United have now put them in the position to act like any other club that fires rather than exerts patience. If the next guy comes in and has a similar season, patience for them when there was no patience for Moyes would question the leadership of the club. Arsenal now stand alone as the club who show that even in lean times it pays to be patient (much to the chagrin of many supporters.) Whether constant sacking of manager destabilizes a club can be argued either way. Surely there is case against it
but Chelsea continue to enjoy some success even though that they change managers more than I change my shirts.
We will eventually have to face life without Wenger. He will either retire after this season or in the next 2-3 years. The question we have to ask is – are the board looking at the United situation and learning from it. Learning what not to do. Having a transition year is okay. Having a year similar to United’s is not. It would hurt the club as it has United.
The replacement of a manager no how much wanted is an important decision. It must be made and it must be right.
