Misery for Moyes: What Is Going Wrong for Manchester United Manager?

On nights like Wednesday night, it is hard to feel sorry for David Moyes. 

However, that is exactly how we should feel. The Scotsman's former club strutted into town and left with a famous victory, with their fans chanting "you're getting sacked in the morning" as they exited Old Trafford. 

As a Manchester United fan, the simple option here is to say that it is Moyes who picks the team, and therefore, it is he who should carry the responsibility in defeat. Of course, there is truth in this. However, Moyes has just taken over at the biggest club in English football, who have just lost the greatest manager in the history of the game. 

This is not a normal situation in football. 

Three things are clear after the defeat to Everton. 

Firstly, Moyes clearly has not found out how to set this team up on the pitch. He has stuck with the United formula of 4-4-2 (and its variations) with a brief dabbling of 4-2-3-1 at times.

It is easy to say that the manager should have found a better way by now, but if he had completely ripped up the "MUFC playbook" in his first months in charge, he would have received a negative reception. He has opted to play it safe. He decided not to rock the boat and to take the conservative approach instead.

Secondly, United fail to pass the ball with aplomb or invention. This is an issue that dates back to the past few years, but success has masked how flair has been sacrificed for a pragmatic control in football matches. 

It is a myth that United play a "maverick" style of football. Once upon a time, they did. However, this has not been the case for a while.

Clearly, Moyes wanted reinforcements in the summer, and his open pursuit of Cesc Fabregas gave us a huge clue as to the type of player he desired. He wanted a player who could invent and create without sacrificing solidity.

Maybe one day, the likes of Adnan Januzaj and Nick Powell will offer United this kind of control, but at the moment, the squad does not possess such luxury. It is painful to watch how slowly United pass the ball from back to front and, as a result, how sterile they look when in possession. 

The third factor, I think, is the most disturbing. 

It was evident Wednesday night that players were going missing for periods of the match, and this element has surfaced countless times this season. It is something that has not happened at United for a very long time. 

Against Everton, United's senior players did not drive the team when needed. Wayne Rooney looked anonymous at times, with strike partner Shinji Kagawa looking ineffective. The wingers offered no service. Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra both looked their age in the last period of the game, leaving United short of the drive and leadership that was needed to succeed. 

David Moyes has a sackful of problems this Christmas. 

This now becomes an exercise in firefighting for Moyes. He needs to survive through this next month and make it intact to the next transfer window. Then the building program must commence. That should have happened last summer, but for various inadequacies, it did not.

What Moyes needs now is the support of the fans. The immediate journey after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be a very hard road, and United supporters knew this. United might not win the title this season, but what is important is that the building blocks are arranged correctly to allow growth to occur. 

If that means selling individuals and replacing them with hungry new players, then so be it.