As if he wasn’t already chastened by his experience at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson’s updated autobiography won’t make for pleasant reading for David Moyes.
This week sees the release of an updated version of the autobiography that Ferguson released late last year and a number of extracts from it appeared on the Guardian website this afternoon.
Much like the original version, Fergie doesn’t appeared to have held any fire this time around and from the quotes that appear on the Guardian today, it won’t make for particularly pleasant reading for David Moyes.
Fergie says that Moyes didn’t realise how big a club Manchester United is, criticised the tempo at which the Red Devils played at under the former manager and described as “nonsense” the notion that he inherited a team in decline.
You can read some of the extracts below and in more detail here but similar to the release of his autobiography last year and Roy Keane’s more recently, we don’t think we’ve heard the last of this.
Fergie on the selection process that saw Moyes appointed as his successor
“There appears to be an accepted view out there that there was no process. Nonsense. We feel we did everything the right way: quietly, thoroughly, professionally.”
Fergie on failing to convince Moyes to retain Mike Phelan on the coaching staff
“Maybe David felt that at such a massive club he had to be sure that all corners were covered in terms of his support system. I felt that network was already there, with plenty of great people already in important slots.”
Fergie on the lack of speed in United’s play under Moyes
“The reason for playing at speed was that United players had been accustomed to operating that way. “If the tempo slowed for any reason, I would be into them at half-time. ‘This is not us,’ I would say. Playing with speed never hindered our results. It was our way: energy and determination in the last third of the pitch.”
Fergie on defeat to Liverpool last season
“It’s hard to watch that kind of outcome when Liverpool are the ones dishing out the pain. It was a rough season for a United fan and it was tough for me because I knew there were plenty of good players in our squad. They weren’t showing their form – and that seemed to place a huge weight on David’s shoulders.”
On the notion that he left behind an ageing team
“Chelsea started the current season as favourites for the title, with a squad that also had six players in their 30s. I don’t hear any grumbles about the age of their group.”
