Manchester United’s Moyes faces potentially defining first month

And there we all were thinking David Moyes would be allowed time to bed in, and adapt to Old Trafford. When he unofficial started work at Manchester United’s Carrington training ground yesterday, his inbox would have been near breaking point.

Already Moyes has been forced into making potentially season defining decisions. Would the Scot be willing sell want-away striker Wayne Rooney for a second time? Which back-room staff does he keep, and which does he dispense with? Does he spend big, or stay conservative over the Summer?

The question on everyone’s lips though, is the Wayne Rooney question. As the 28 year old celebrates the birth of his second child, Klay,at the back of his mind the England striker will wonder  where his son will be brought up. Manchester? Madrid? Munich? Arguably though, Moyes’ appointment increases the likelihood of Rooney remaining at Old Trafford. Fractured relations between the two – resulting from Rooney’s controversial autobiography – have been repaired. Relations with his former manager were almost at breaking point – Rooney’s non involvement in Ferguson’s final home game demonstrated that.

If Moyes can show Wayne that he is at the forefront of Manchester United’s plans, then in all likelihood he will stay. And it would be a move that would suit both parties. In reality, Old Trafford seems to be the only place for Rooney. He has won 5 league titles with United, and if he continues to score at his current rate then he will eclipse the record set by Bobby Charlton, and become a Manchester United legend. Furthermore, his options are limited. Any move to another English club would be troublesome due to rivalry between them and Manchester United and, let’s face it, can we really see Wayne Rooney moving abroad? Furthermore, for Moyes keeping Rooney will be a prerogative. He has to show that the club still holds the  ambition that it did under Ferguson, and selling one of his main strikers would be a complete contradiction to this.

In terms of the back-room staff, a similar policy would probably be favourable for both Moyes and his new club. Manchester United already clearly have a set of devoted back-room staff – goalkeeping coach Erik Steele learnt Spanish in order to communicate with David De Gea, who has not yet grasped English – who know about the ‘United Way’. Moyes should be able to bring in his own man in order to held him settle in, and to make his powers as manager clear. However, he should avoid any drastic changes – United have a winning formula, and no good manager disrupts a winning formula.

The transfer market also poses an intriguing issue for Moyes, and might set the tone for the rest of his tenure at Old Trafford. Arguably the biggest change moving from Everton to Manchester United is in terms of finance and Moyes – who managed to develop top quality players on a shoestring budget- will now be able  to bring in some of the world’s best. However, one suspects that although Moyes will have the final say in transfers this summer, ultimately he will be given a huge helping hand by the departing Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill. Sir Alex will try to move into the shadows and not put pressure on the new manager by making decisions for him, but this summer he seems well placed to help Moyes. Ferguson will know better than anyone what Manchester United needs, and the experience of sitting alongside the man himself while he makes transfers will be a huge aid to Moyes going forward.

In terms of transfers, one of the big questions this summer will be whether or not Moyes looks to bring in players that he knows from his Everton days. It is rumoured that United have had a long standing interest in left back Leighton Baines, and the cries for a strong, bully of a midfielder could be met by bringing in Marouane Fellaini. Signing Baines would be a surprise, already Evra is established and playing extremely well at left back and, although their quality is disputable, Fabio and Buttner are available to fill in when needed. Signing Fellaini might be a preferable option for Moyes, with Scholes retiring, Anderson on rumoured to be leaving, and Fletcher’s possibility of returning to full fitness, let alone full form, looking slim, the big Belgium could fill a large gap in the Manchester United team

Although many would have wanted Moyes to be eased into the job, arguably a busy summer with big decisions to make will suit him and Manchester United. After all he will have to make even more significant decisions when the season starts, so a dress rehearsal will suit him. Although there was rightfully sadness at Ferguson’s retirement, Manchester United now needs to look forward. The tone of Ferguson’s speech stressed that, and his demand that the fans ‘stand by our new manager’ resonated around Old Trafford. Manchester United as a football club will need to do that over the next few weeks, months and years.