After much hand-wringing and speculation, no small amount of derision and some frankly outright pleading by supporters, Manchester United finally cut ties with their ill-fated 'Chosen One' David Moyes today.
If nothing else, his post-loss looks of exasperation and befuddlement will be missed.
In his very first match in charge of Manchester United, kicking off the post-Alex Ferguson era, Moyes and co toyed around with Swansea City in a 4-1 win. Danny Welbeck and Robin van Persie each scored twice.
Very few good things happened after that.
Things got so bad under Moyes, in fact, that today Richard Jolly wrote for us that Manchester United need to find the 'anti-Moyes' in order to reestablish their standing in global football.
So, the argument seems pretty much settled: David Moyes was bad. Manchester United were bad with him. It is good that he is gone.
But how does his 10-month debacle at Old Trafford compare to other unfortunate managerial tenures of the Premier League past? Agence France-Presse takes a look below:
David Moyes’ 10 month stay at Manchester United is one of many managerial fiascos in the English Premier League. Here are five English football coaching disasters:
Brian Clough - Leeds United
Clough, one of England’s greatest managers, lasted 44 days at Leeds United when they were reigning champions in 1974. The players hated his brash style and remembered his past criticism of them and never cooperated. Clough went on to twice win the European Cup with Nottingham Forest.
Roy Hodgson - Liverpool
The man who now coaches England, started at Liverpool on July 1, 2010, but speculation of a sacking started in October and he left the following January 8. Poor league form and a fan clamour for club legend Kenny Dalglish to step in sealed Hodgson’s fate. Dalglish was in turn sacked in May 2012.
Jacques Santini - Tottenham Hotspur
Santini was one of France’s most respected coaches when he became Tottenham’s manager on June 3, 2004. He transformed Lyon and was coach of the French national team. But he left after 13 games in November. He blamed broken agreements with the club, but also admitted he was wrong to resign from the French post before the 2004 European Championships had finished.
Joe Kinnear - Newcastle United
The rough and tough Kinnear had a stormy four a half months in charge of the Tyneside club. He used 52 expletives at one press conference and annoyed player Charles N’Zogbia by calling him ‘insomnia’. Kinnear was taken ill and eventually had heart by-pass surgery.
Harry Redknapp - Southampton
Redknapp resigned from Portsmouth in November 2004 and a few weeks later joined their arch-rivals Southampton in a failed bid to extend the club’s 27-year stay in the top division. Redknapp could not transform the team, argued with the chairman and quit in December 2005, to return to Portsmouth.
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