David Moyes, photo: john candy, cardiff, wales

Published: 24 April 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

ON a day where it was revealed 1,000 hospital patients in England die each month from avoidable kidney problems, and the threat of war between Ukraine and Russia edged ever closer, hacks across the country were adamant that they had uncovered the real big story.

David Moyes had been sacked as Manchester United manager after just 10 months in charge at Old Trafford. It was breaking news that led to blanket coverage, and killed any lingering doubts that the beautiful game was now anything more than just another commodity.

The fact that United were reportedly waiting until the New York Stock Exchange opened before revealing their decision said it all. The immediate seven per cent rise in the club’s share price, that came courtesy of a man losing his job, just another nail in the coffin of the so-called sport.

Believe it or not, there used to be a time when “sacked” was a taboo word, something that those who suffered would refuse to talk about in fear of the shame and pending struggle they faced to find a new job. In the modern world, where capitalism and football help pull up each others socks before a big game, however, the first thought when we hear about someone being sacked is “how much do they get?”

I did read one interesting take on the United debacle this week, but it wasn’t in a publication like FourFourTwo as you might expect. No, it was on the front page of Wednesday’s Financial Times. It explained how David Moyes had simply failed to tackle the PR game that comes with managing a club that receives more press coverage than any other firm in the country.

Simon Kuper wrote: “In PR terms, Moyes’s response to bad results was dreadful. His long, baffled, unhappy face – shown on television whenever United conceded a goal – became the symbol of his team's malaise. Sir Alex, a master of PR, usually responded to defeats with anger. That displaced blame – on to the referee, or, implicitly, on to his players. Moyes’s sad expression looked like an admission of guilt.”

It seems in the money-making world that is business masquerading as football there simply isn’t time to judge a manager on his tactics.