EPL: He's out of his depth

Manchester United are simply too big a club for David Moyes.

He is a mid-table manager who cannot handle the pressure and expectations of handling such a big club.

Those were the views of United fans whom The New Paper spoke to in the aftermath of the Red Devils' 3-0 whipping by arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.

United fan Shawn Teo started a petition on monday to sack Moyes (right) on Change.Org and, as of press time, it had garnered close to 500 signatures.

And there are more disgruntled United fans who are disillusioned with Moyes.

"Moyes has never managed such a big club, so maybe that explains why he always looks like he's lost on the sidelines and doesn't know what he's doing," United fan Ryan Chew told The New Paper.

The 27-year-old operations executive at a shipping company added that Moyes lacks the charisma to command players the way Sir Alex Ferguson used to.

"Clearly, the players' attitudes have changed. They're mentally weaker now, and have lost that fear factor," said Chew.

Some fans have also criticised the way Moyes has reacted to the media.

Said Benjamin Lau, 30, a civil servant: "Fergie would have publicly said how furious he was with his players.

"Moyes always blames bad luck and, to fans, it looks like he has no conviction."

The under-fire United manager has recently urged the fans to have more patience with him and his players.

But patience is wearing thin for fans like Leslie Goh.

"Moyes wants the supporters to back him, but there isn't any solid evidence to make us believe in him," said the 32-year-old financial consultant.

"The results we've been getting just aren't good enough for fans to believe that things will get better."

Sir Alex Ferguson had urged the United fans to stand by his hand-picked successor and some fans are willing to give Moyes another season.

Ken Lai, 39, the president of the Manchester United Supporters' Club in Singapore, believes Moyes will come good.

"He should get another season to turn things around because one season is too short for any transition," said the property agent.

Lai argued that the United players may not have adjusted to Moyes' tactics and training methods after so many years of working under Ferguson.

"Maybe the players are still loyal to Ferguson and don't agree with how Moyes is running the team, so they don't give it their all," said Lai.

Melvin Tan, 26, an undergraduate argued that an abrupt change of managers may not be the solution to United's woes.

"The team are already in a transition, so any more changes will make things worse," he said.

There may be some United fans who are willing to give Moyes more time, but for Chew, enough is enough.

"United should sack him now," he said. "He can't live up to the expectations of a big club like Manchester United. He's got a mid-table mentality."

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