Manchester United make it official: Moyes is out

The brief, tumultuous David Moyes era at Manchester United is over, the club announced on Twitter on Tuesday. Moyes has left the club following a season in which United have dipped to seventh in the Premier League.

David Moyes lasted 10 months on the job at Manchester United. Paul Thomas / Getty Images / April 21, 2014
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Manager David Moyes has left Manchester United, the club announced on their Twitter account on Tuesday.

“Manchester United announces that David Moyes has left the club,” United said.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”

News of Moyes’s exit comes a day after widespread reports in the British media that he was facing the sack, just 10 months after succeeding Alex Ferguson as manager of the world-famous club.

The 50-year-old Scot endured a horrid debut campaign at Old Trafford, with United falling to seventh place in the Premier League and being eliminated from both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.

Under Moyes' stewardship, United have fallen to seventh place in the Premier League and have been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.

Former United captain turned television pundit Gary Neville, whose brother Phil is on the Old Trafford coaching staff, said he was concerned for Moyes’ future on Monday night.

“I fear for him,” Gary Neville told Sky Sports.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone at the club today [Monday]. Usually they don’t comment on anything, but they’re going to have to clarify this position quickly.”

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Moyes would be sacked on Tuesday, having lost the support of the Glazers. Other newspapers also predicted a quick end to the Moyes reign.

Ryan Giggs, one of United’s most famous players, would take charge until the end of the season, the Telegraph added.

With the team facing one of its most disastrous finishes in recent decades, United still have Premier League games against Norwich, Sunderland, Hull and Southampton.

Giggs, the club’s record appearance-holder, has served as player-coach under Moyes.

Speculation about Moyes’s future intensified after Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Everton, the team that Moyes moved from.

The defeat was United’s 11th league defeat of the season and meant they could no longer qualify for the Champions League.

Moyes was the chosen successor of Ferguson – British football’s most successful manager – who retired at the end of last season.

United won the league title then, but have fallen precipitously this season. They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they lost to holders Bayern Munich, but will not compete in the competition next season for the first time since 1995.

A number of candidates have already been named as successors, including a possible return by Ferguson. Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp and Louis Van Gaal, coach of the Dutch national team who is to leave after the World Cup finals in Brazil in July, were two of the most widely tipped.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was also mentioned by British media.

Gary Neville, a member of England manager Roy Hodgson’s backroom staff, said he had hoped United would buck the trend of hiring and firing managers by sticking with Moyes.

“I genuinely believe when you give a man a six-year contract, that he deserves the opportunity and time, and professionally the respect,” he said.

“Football is a world of madness. The average manager gets sacked every 12 months and I’ve always felt Manchester United should be different, hold themselves up as a club that basically stands against what’s happening in the game.”

However, Neville said there was no denying the low-grade quality of United’s display against Everton, and many others this season.

After Sunday's match, Moyes said "rank" and "rotten" defending had led to Everton's two goals; a penalty converted by Leighton Baines and a goal scored by Kevin Mirallas.

It was a point emphasised by United’s former Everton striker, Wayne Rooney.

“We conceded two really sloppy goals, which we need to cut out because we’re making it hard for ourselves to get back into games,” Rooney said.

“For the second one, we should have stopped the counter-attack. They ran in behind us. It’s not good enough.”

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