MANCHESTER UNITED; GLOBAL BRAND WITH A LOCAL COACH?

This obviously are the worst times in the life of Manchester United Club, for the fans, football staffs and board members. Days like this never would have been envisaged by pundits and lovers based on the close to three decades of gargantuan success on and off the field.

The body language of the man on the driving seat, David Moyes, says a lot about the nose diving syndrome the club presently faces. 38 trophies in 26 illustrious years for SAF, the shoes he left behind are too big to be filled. The appointment of David Moyes signalled the downfall of the global brand called Manchester United. However, he cannot be blamed in whole. Sir Alex Ferguson and the Board of Directors also must share the blame for appointing a man whose pedigree in modern football is average and never could muster more than mid-table success. He never could decipher the inner workings of a big organisation like Manchester United, a club with reputation for churning out success from the debris of failure.

Everton is not too small a club but not too big as compared to the global brand that Manchester United has become in the last 20 years. Now, the fans' patience has waned out and they showed it after the defeat to Manchester City, their bitterest rival, painting the once red Manchester sky blue. They wanted to tear the banner that was poignantly laced with the inscription "THE CHOSEN ONE" and the blurry picture of THE SUFFERING ONE, David Moyes beside it save for the stewards that stood guard.

I blame Sir Alex Ferguson, just like I blame Barack Obama and just like I blame Vladmir Putin and just like I blame all public leaders. But the truth is, there is something he must have seen in the relatively unsuccessful former Evertonian that made him stick his neck out for him. There's something deep down that he sees which we all can't even start to imagine, something beyond the failures of the present substituted for the future of stability and longevity.

The fans don’t want to listen to that. A further sign that Moyes is losing the trust of United supporters comes from Red News, the influential and oldest club fanzine. Barney Chilton the editor said "First [it was] 70% in favour of sticking with him during autumn, then down to 50% during New Year, then it started to become unnecessary to even ask the question. I know several stalwarts but they are few and far between.

It is a long journey down the alley but time alone can tell if David Moyes will hold the gauntlet in Manchester United when next season starts.