David Moyes was wrong to criticise the Manchester United squad, argues legend Bryan Robson. By Chris Wheeler Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has dismissed suggestions that an ageing squad was to blame for David Moyes’s failure at Old Trafford. Moyes presided over United’s worst Premier League season on record after taking charge of a team that won the title by an 11-point margin last season. Only last month, the Scot voiced what he had felt in private for some time, claiming that ‘people are aware there’s a squad that is ageing’, and added: ‘If Sir Alex were here this year it would be difficult for him as well and I’m sure he’d agree.’ Wrong! United legend Bryan Robson insists that Moyes had no right to bemoan the age of his squad Robson disagreed and the former United and England skipper believes the squad Moyes inherited was far better than he suggested, with players like Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra still at the peak of their careers. ‘You look at the squad and it was pretty good,’ said Robson. ‘They won the league by 11 points and the year before that they only got beaten on the last day of the season on goal difference by Man City. ‘These lads have been in there, seen it and done it. There are quite a few of them who are still young. ‘Yes, we’ve got Rio (Ferdinand) getting on a bit, Ryan (Giggs) getting on a bit, but the other lads are at the peak of their careers. ‘People said I should pack in at 34, but I won two championships when I was 35 and 36 with the club. You look at Steven Gerrard this season. ‘When we’re talking about people like Vidic and Evra, for me they are at the peak of their careers. They’re not past it. That for me shows that the squad was still a pretty good one.’ Robson admits he was surprised by the timing of the decision but agrees that the club had to be sure the right manager was in place as they prepare to spend up to £200million on new signings. ‘I believe that when you’re an owner or director or chairman of a club, you have to make strong decisions,’ he added. ‘If you have got that amount of money to spend on players, you have to be 100 per cent sure that the person or people within the club who are going to be spending that money are doing it in the correct manner. ‘If you don’t make the right decisions with that money, that’s when clubs get themselves in big trouble. ‘Whether that will be the fact with David we’ll never know because the club have made their decision, but the money made available in the summer has to be spent wisely. ‘It was a bit of a surprise because I think everybody in the country knows that Manchester United give their managers a real chance to prove themselves. ‘It has been a poor season, the worst we’ve had in the Premier League, and the expectations are big at Manchester United, but you know that when you’re going into the job. I think David will understand that side of it. Bryan Robson
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 14:36:37 +0000
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