David Moyes sacked: 10 reasons why it has gone so wrong for the manager at Manchester United

United owners finally lose patience in their beleaguered boss

It has been a season of despair for David Moyes, who has been sacked by Manchester United after the club lost patience with him.

Here are 10 reasons why it went so wrong for Moyes at United:

1 He was appointed by Ferguson

Taking over from the great man was too much to bear, and with the manager constantly watching from the stands, the "Chosen One" always had an impossible task.

2 His back-room staff

Out went Ferguson's experienced team of Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen and Eric Steele, in came Moyes trusted assistants from Everton - Steve Round, Chris Woods and Jimmy Lumsden.

3 Does Rooney have more power?

While Ferguson's stance was always that no player is bigger than the club, it did not take long for Rooney to be given a new £300k per week contract, with reported demands including that he should be the next captain.

4 'Overtraining' RVP

Van Persie has been blighted by injuries this season, and is it because of Moyes? The Dutch fitness coach, Raymond Verheijen, claimed the manager had "overtrained" the striker during pre-season.

 

5 Buying Mata

While the £37m transfer of Mata was needed as the club's marquee signing, would the money not have been better spent on a top defender or central midfielder?

6 The Mata, RVP and Rooney conundrum

When all three of United's attacking triumvirate are playing, Mata has to occupy the left-wing berth, having far less impact than he has through the middle. It was a conundrum that Moyes was never able to solve.

7 Transfer woes

Moyes managed to spend over £60m during his short time in charge, but accrued just two players with the huge layout and neither boosted his cause. Baines and Fabregas et al were linked, but the moves could not be pushed through.

8 Fellaini's anonymity

Although Moyes ended up spending £4m more than he should have after missing out on Fellaini's £23.5m release clause, he did sign a player who was the outstanding player from his final two years at Everton. That player has yet to play for him at United.

9 Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea all improved during the summer

United may have won the league last season, but that was against far weaker rivals than this term. Arsenal brought in Ozil, Mourinho rejoined Chelsea, Manchester City signed Negredo and Pellegrini became their manager. It is a tougher playing field than what Ferguson enjoyed straight away.

10 He (still) cannot win at a top team

After taking over at United, many thought that Moyes would surely win away for the first time at a traditional top four team (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool) in the Premier League. But this curse continued - he is now up to 49 league matches without a win at those clubs, with 30 losses and 19 draws.