My junior year of college I was on a team with a lot of talent, a team that the year before only lost 3 starters and went to the conference championship and lost 1-0 in 2OT to a shitty penalty. You know what the problem with that team was? Drinking. One night after a 4-0 loss where the pregame talk was, by the players, primarily dominated by collecting money for the post game kegger I was furious. So I did what made me an extremely unpopular person and I called everybody out and the coaching staff knew about it. People hated me. I had no friends. I put my 'money where my mouth was' and told these people that if they really wanted to talk about 'National Championships' then they needed to get their shit together and focus on what they really want or risk being the reason this program goes to hell. One year later we were a team that only added 2 or 3 starters (one of them had to replace a current professional player) but had the largest record turn around in the NCAA. We made it to the sweet sixteen where our coach (IMO) made mistakes and we gave up a 2-0 lead on our home turf, losing 3-2. The point? While nobody wanted to be my friend for a while, nobody could look me in the eye and tell me I was wrong. This wasn't a coach who changed the culture of the program, it was me. Players make the difference at the end of the day, not the coach.
Actually coaches make the difference. If all it took was for you to call everybody out to change the culture, then clearly the coaches could have done that as well, but didn't. You effectively did their job for them. You also just fell into the trap of taking one thing that happened to you and assuming it applies to all other scenarios. Moyes wasn't scuppered by some players revolt. He was clearly scuppered by being woefully out of his depth and underperforming in multiple facets of his role. He was the aspect of a previously successful culture that needed changing.
1) I applaud you for your integrity 2) Your coach was weak 3) Coaches do make the difference. If a parent is controlled by their kids does that mean that parents are unimportant in general?
I 100% agree with this statement, but doesn't this support the idea that the players were stupid for doing what they did? They're not heroes for getting Moyes fired or anything like that. Moyes got himself fired with his overwhelming incompetence. The players just managed to make asses of themselves at the same time.* It isn't about blaming the players vs. not blaming the players. Moyes is of course at fault for his own demise, but I still expect the players to show up and act like professionals. If not for Moyes, then for themselves, for the club, or for the large paychecks they all continued to collect. *The obvious caveat that all of this is only if the stories are true still applies.
I am trying to imagine Moyes being escorted out of the building by security with a small box containing a plant and a few pictures. Did he get to keep any of the iPads?
I haven't presumed the players did anything. As I said before, the whole thing sounds like exaggerated or fictional melodrama used to keep debate on Moyes tenure flowing. I feel more like as the season has gone on, the players were both drained of belief and set up to fail by Moyes approach. As I said, I see reasons for players not having much love for Moyes, however that would not make sandbagging acceptable. Having said that, I didn't see sandbagging IMO. Against Olympiakos, the performance was more timid and gutless than outright lazy. Not all players can be like @tscboys and become the catalyst for not only broad success but also enacting philosophical and cultural change throughout the club.
Love Roy Keane as a player, but hopefully the talk of him being number two with Van Gaal is not happening. Don't want him near the club, especially in light of his blasting the players over the Moyes sacking. Would only create more dis-harmony.
He's bitter. As long as Fergie is around there is no way he would allow Keane anywhere near the club. Giggs and Scholes too could have reservations.
Agreed. I hope Roy comes in as second to Van Gaal, that would be perfect. With the coaches being Giggs, Butt, Scholes, and bring in Renee.
Given the flak we're taking over the handling of Moyes firing, it makes another situation in which Ed Woodward comes across as inept. He too should lose his job.