by Kevin Henning
Newly installed Manchester United boss David Moyes has always tried to portray himself as a man of principles. Despite the limited budget on offer during his tenure at Goodison Park, Moyes never questioned his Everton board in public, choosing instead to bite his tongue, make do with his lot and search around the lower leagues in the hope of unearthing a bargain such as Tim Cahill or Phil Jagielka.
His morals have never been questioned. In the public eye, David Moyes has lived by the unwritten code of conduct that clubs are expected to follow. Respect the fact that clubs may occasionally not want to sell, don’t talk about players under contract elsewhere in a thinly veiled attempt to unsettle them. The following soundbite was a rant at the newest pantomime villains in the Premier League, Manchester City when former manager Mark Hughes had his heart set on capturing Moyes’ England centre half Joleon Lescott;
“There has not been one call to me. The way it has been handled is disgusting and all it has done is disrupt our club and made it very difficult for us,” Moyes said.
“I think it’s correct to assume they’re trying to destabilise us because we are rivals. I think other football clubs should not talk about players from others clubs in the media. If you do that, you are destabilising the player or the club. I would hope I don’t do that.
“We have got to do what is right for our football club. What is right for us at this moment in time is that Joleon Lescott stays. He is a very important player for us, we rate him so highly.
“We have not got an abundance of centre halves, with Jagielka injured we don’t have many other options for the game against Arsenal, and you would have hoped that they would have seen that we said no and they would have respected the situation.”
Moyes made clear his beliefs that once a club has stated that a player is not for sale, they should be left alone to concentrate their efforts on doing their best for their current employers.
So when Barcelona’s vice-president, Josep Maria Bartomeu stated on Thursday that “Barça can ensure they will not entertain any offers for Cesc. He is completely non-transferable.”, one would have been forgiven for believing that, under Moyes’ own rules, Manchester United’s pursuit of Cesc Fabregas would have been stopped dead in it’s tracks.
Whether Moyes simply forgot about the Lescott affair, we’ll never know. What we do know though, is that Moyes was aware of the Catalan clubs stance. He said so in his press conference.
“As I understand it, Ed had a response [to the first bid],” said Moyes at a press conference in Yokohama.
“We have made a second offer but Ed is dealing with it rather than me.”
The Scot added: “When you’re interested in good players you want to give it every opportunity to materialise and I’ll do that. I hope things can continue and move forward.
“At this moment in time I can only tell you that Ed is working hard trying to make the deals happen. We can only hope that some of them fall into place shortly.”
So despite being a man of morals and understanding that when dealing with other clubs’ players, that no means no, David Moyes instructed his board to go back to Barcelona with an improved bid despite being told no only a day or two previously.
Has the new United gaffer lost his morals or has the change in his approach been the result of his new employers? This, don’t forget, is the club that Moyes tried in vain to fend off when they came knocking for Wayne Rooney nine years ago. A club who despite being told not to approach Dmitar Berbatov by Tottenham Hotspur, sent their manager personally to pick him up and drive him to Old Trafford. A club who went that extra mile in their pursuit of Auxerre defender Phillipe Mexes by having a United shirt printed with his name on. The same club that tapped up PSV Eindhoven defender Jaap Stam, not opinion, Stam himself opened that particular can of worms.
Has Moyes been subjected to the Manchester United way of doing things then? Has he been willing to go directly against his own morals in an attempt to please his pay masters? With Tottenham Hotspur declaring over the weekend that Gareth Bale isn’t for sale at any price, can we expect Moyes to respect the situation or will we see a United bid for the Welshman as well? I think we all know the answer to that.
It’s not the same comparison. Reading comprehension, mate. Read this quote you use, carefully: “There has not been one call to me. The way it has been handled is disgusting and all it has done is disrupt our club and made it very difficult for us” In that instance Man City were talking to the press about Lescott before they made official bids, unsettling the player. I am sure Man Utd are in contact with Barcelona. In fact, to have made official bids they will be. There is no hypocrisy in bidding for a player, or raising an offer, in football. The Lescott example was tapping up. What is happening now is official bidding.
What you say is fair enough except that the only person who said that Man City had tried to buy Lescott was Moyes himself, Man City made zero comments about Lescott until after they had signed him, there were leaks to the papers but who knows where they came from, judging by the way it played out they would have been ore likely to have come from Everton’s side of things. Moyes knew he was leaving and seemed to want to play the victimised honest man so that the Everton fans didn’t get on his back.
Actually mate, it was believed at the time that City hadn’t made public any details about their interest in Lescott or that they had made an initial bid (this was backed up by a club statemen after the transfer was concluded; part of the furore was that it was believed Everton themselves had leaked the story to their local paper where it appeared before any of the nationals got hold of it; most likely in order to start a bidding war with any other interested team. You will recall City paid massively over the odds for Lescott, so why would they themselves leak news of the bid? Since the takeover Cityh have not discussed a single transfer target with the media until a deal has been concluded…even the Kaka bid was made public by AC Milan. With regards this story every player has his price and just like the Lescott transfer a club have made a bid, been told the player is not for sale, and have made a bigger bid…nothing wrong with that so long as it stays out of the media.
I agree!
I think you have missed the actual main point here. I think what is hyppocrital, based on the Lescott Saga, it that he has come back for Baines, knowing his ‘friend’ Bill Kenwright did not want to see, with a disgustingly low offer that Moyes himself turned down last year. Yet he continuies to try and unsettle the player. I think this issue and ont the Fabregas one should be the one highlighted here.
What a pointless article. Clearly United are the only team to tap up top players and they do it so regularly you’ve used Mexes and Stam as your examples….
Official, David Moyes is a MONSTER!!!
Your sarcasm doesn’t work I’m afraid, other than to illustrate that you have misunderstood the article. He isn’t claiming that United are the only club to tap up players. He is stating that Moyes is a hypocrite for his statements criticizing City and condoning United’s actions now re Fabregas and Baines. Look up the definition of hypocrite.
I think Moyes is correct in what he is doing. Nobody knows whats been said behind the scenes at barca. Informing man utd directly that cesc is not for sale is understandable. If that was the case i don’t think we would put in a 2nd bid. Clubs are always looking for more money from transfers so the barca presidents comments could indicate they want more money. Tapping up players is another story. I believe that was done by man city in their pursuit of lescott.
I guess the same can be said of his bid and imminent improved bid for Baines. RM has said he’s not for sale and is a pivotal player for us next season.
Ditto for Baines.
Everton said no when he left and said no with an undervalued £12m offer… Stance is made, leave it alone.
Unless Moyes is indeed hypocritical and disruptive.
He has done the same with Baines also don’t forget, he has been told Baines is not for sale yet he has made repeated bids for him.
Think the writer Kelvin Hen is off track … Really don’t see what’s so immoral about making or upping the offer to the CLUB, not the player. How else is football business done? One side offers, the other side accepts or plays hard ball to increase the price. If they don’t want to sell, deal will not proceed, simple as that. How is this tapping up? Sounds like he’s got an axe to grind …
Please read the article. Kevin’s point is not that Moyes is wrong but rather that he is a hypocrite. Talking about players at another club directly contradicts the diatribe aimed at MCFC during the Lescott saga.
Everyone in the world is like this not just football managers
We all say one thing and do another the next day
Personally i try to be consistent, it is very hard and frustrating when others around me are not both for me and them when I point out their inconsistencies.
Most people are blind to their inconsistencies. Stand by for lots more contradictions now Moyes is in charge at the swamp
Oh my you must realy have nothing else to write about.
Moyes is just as much a prik as Alex Ferguson was, United are a bunch of priks imo.
Mate, you are also a “prik”. Typical thick bitter blue!!
This is a very disappointing piece of literature. I had been swayed by the expectation of hearing something I didn’t know, something factual or based on concrete arguments! The writer, Kevin Henning, unfortunately chose to put a man’s credibility on line, with biased arguments based on mere speculation and shallow analyses! In Brief;
1. “Moyes tries to portray himself as a man of principles.” But sincerely, how easy is it to go for 10 years with continuous pretence, that even convinces the greatest ever manager in British football – SAF, to earmark you as his successor with a likedness of principles?
2. “Despite the limited budget on offer during his tenure at Goodison Park, Moyes never questioned his Everton board in public, choosing instead to bite his tongue, make do with his lot and search around the lower leagues in the hope of unearthing a bargain such as Tim Cahill or Phil Jagielka.” I expected the writer to instead praise Moyes for optimum utilization of resources, ability to understand and appreciate the circumstances surrounding his job, and ensuring stability at Goodison Park for a solid 10 years, during which many teams have suffered relegation and untold instabilities.
3. “So despite being a man of morals and understanding that when dealing with other clubs’ players, that no means no, David Moyes instructed his board to go back to Barcelona with an improved bid despite being told no only a day or two previously.” It’s clear that no one knows in certainity what Bercelona’s response was to the Fabregas bid, apart from the United and Berca inner circles. Some scrupulous British and Spanish journalists are busy fabricating stories about the proceedings, basing their assertions on nothing but speculation, milking small news bites and twisting statements to sell their fake news and fill their coffers with dime! Basing your arguements on such unreliable “news” sources to criticise a man in Moyes’ stature could only be interpreted as mere envy! You may question Moyes’ pedigree, feel a little speculative about his tactical nous and ability to handle the pressure that comes with the United job all year round, but you can not question his credibility and his principles!
4. If Bercelona had not really wanted to sell Fabregas, why did they take long to reject the bid? Why did Tito come out very softly about it with “I spoke to him recently, he wants to stay”? Why are they telling United to wait on their second offer? Why did Ed Woodward end his tour prematurely to rush and lodge another bid? Could this have happened without a strong signal? The answer is that Barca wants to sell, and United wants to buy, the issue is the price, the player and their management issues, following the resignation of Tito Vilanova. Basing on this, it’s easy to assume that Barca’s rejection of the bid was based on the valuation of the player other than the absence if intent to sell. Moyes’ reaction on the matter is therefore justified since a lot was going in the right direction and the bid was officially launched, awaiting a response. Do you know why Moyes is not talking about other targets? It’s because the signals are still very dim. Besides, United’s stand in the transfer market this season is a little worrying. You could expect Moyes to give them a ray of expectation, other than being completely numb about it.
5. Who said that United was looking for a saint to fill SAF’s boots?
6. Where do you draw the line between your principles as a person and the nature/weight of your job? Do you expect Moyes to walk in and undo the history of the club, change the transfer policy instantly, and decide on all the specifics of transfers? You need to be a little understanding before you attack the man.
It really is stunning how many seem to have missed the point. You could have saved yourself some time, pal. The core subject of the article is that Moyes has directly, DIRECTLY, contradicted himself.
“I think other football clubs should not talk about players from others clubs in the media. If you do that, you are destabilising the player or the club. I would hope I don’t do that.
And then after Barca has categorically said he is not for sale…
““We have made a second offer but Ed is dealing with it rather than me. When you’re interested in good players you want to give it every opportunity to materialise and I’ll do that. I hope things can continue and move forward.”
Get it?
He did a great job for Everton.
But now he is at Man U a different
club different people different life
Lets not run Moyesy down now he has gone
Not worth it lets remember him for being a great manager for us
“great manager for us? Good grief!!!
He won F@@K all and played shite football for 10 years.
Good riddance
Spot on. Moyes was only taking a cheap shot at City because he knew he was lined up for the United job.
I’ll start with jimharcourt. City never went to the press about Lescott. We haven’t gone to the press about any of our signings since the takeover. City were dealing directly with Bill Kenwright. David Moyes himself went to the press about it and didn’t stop bleating for over 12 months.
How much more factual would you like Barca’s stance to be? Their vice president stated that Fabregas is NOT FOR SALE.
To those who have asked why United have put a second bid in, maybe the club are pulling the wool over your eyes again. Kind of like when Spurs put a bid in for Rivaldo despite knowing full well they wouldn’t get him, it appeased a large percentage of their supporters. United have been doing this for a while now. See Ferguson’s “no value in the market” comment when Silva, Mata, Yaya Toure, Cazorla, van der Vaart and many others were being sold for prices United have never flinched at during a period where United were crying out for midfielders.
Good article, tho like an earlier poster said, picked the wrong subject matter. Baines is the better example of hypocrisy here.
And what a disgusting and insultingly low offer too!
I think moyes is the devil if he does or he doesn’t this whole tapping up issue needs to be dealt with by the fa because the league is crap if the so called big teams can ride roughshod over the less richer teams its always going to be the same teams winning the prem which is very boring
St. Kevin Henning, your analysis is pathetic, and so biased that you are to be pitied. Hope that helps
Would just like to point out a fact regards Man City’s pursuit of Lescott – they broke no rules regards speaking publicly about the player. Everton, rather foolishly, went public by putting it on their website, at that point the buying club is also allowed to comment and all City actually did was confirm they had made a bid. Moyes` comments at the time made little sense but it didn’t stop the press reporting it as fact. To me his comments back then, although uncalled for, were the words of someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and we probably shouldn’t look too much in to them.
I remember Steve Bruce making a similar rant when he was Wigan manager – only for Dave Whelan to blow him out of the water when he said a week later that City had behaved throughout with complete propriety. It’s the United connection…
Typical ManUre tactics and ‘scum’ behaviour!!! No class, never had, just a great PR machine using bully boy tactics, which included the media licking their ‘a~~e’ and the sky propaganda machine! The media will smell blood with Moyes. Out of his depth!
Tick Tock!
Harryr.
A great manager for us?
He won nothing and played negative defensive football for 10 years.
He wont be missed.
United have made a massive mistake.
Lots of deliberately obtuse rag commentators here. None so deaf as those that won’t listen.
Glad he f** off ….. Martinez is the man.
What Barcelona say in public and what they say in private could have been completely different, which happens a lot in football.
It’s common knowledge that Barcelona are looking to cash in on a few squad members, so maybe Utd have been encouraged to up their bid.
A bit of a non-article really.
Clearly missed the point of the article. Please read again and this time try to comprehend what is written.
Thanks and goo luck!!!
The truth hurts, doesn’t it, Red Devils. What goes around comes back around.
Moyes has always been a hypocrite look at his thug Cahill elbowing players and other thuggish behavior. Yet give it back and apparently you tried to ‘do’ his player. He’s the perfect man for that job sly and manipulative.
In plain english for the sake of our half wits who think trafford is part of Manchester.
No new manager of the rags has ever won a trophy in their first two seasons.
“Davey” you will be fired by March
Pathetic shite from a bitter. What’s the weather like in Stockport?