Champions League: Last stand of... The Chosen One

David Moyes' time is running out.

The fans, while continuing to show defiant support to Manchester United during matches, are losing patience fast.

The board, who have backed manager Moyes throughout this hideous debut season, are reported to be "nervous".

The players, abject for much of the year, are rumoured to be losing faith in their manager.

If ever there was a time for a famous fightback, for a great European night, it is now.

United's supporters believed that they had seen the worst of their team in the first leg of this tie.

That wretched 0-2 defeat to Olympiakos was spellbindingly terrible, a masterclass of incompetence. And then came Sunday, and Liverpool, and a new low.

As has been said many times this season, it wasn't the scoreline that hurt, it was the performance.

Even with three penalties and a dubious red card, it still couldn't be said that United deserved anything other than defeat.

They were as lethargic as Liverpool were electric, as unimaginative as Liverpool were bold.

There are times when supporters can be sold the idea of a team in transition.

Of this, Liverpool are the perfect example.

Brendan Rodgers' name was cursed by short-sighted Reds fans last year as they struggled pitifully for form, but the smarter fans could see signs of what lay ahead.

They knew that Liverpool were dropping points because they were adjusting to a difficult, but rewarding style of football.

Rumours

Their counterparts at Old Trafford have no green shoots to encourage them. United's performances are as bad as their results.

Manchester is awash with rumours - dark, unsubstantiated tales of dramatic fallouts between players and staff, between staff and manager, all vehemently denied by the club.

Sources within the club claim that the board is no longer certain that Moyes is the right man for the job and that an emergency escape plan has been initiated.

In the shadows, there are whispers of first contact between the emissaries of the club and the representatives of a host of big-name managers.

Louis van Gaal is the latest name to be circulated.

Whatever the truth of these claims, it seems highly unlikely that Moyes will survive another bad week.

The next seven days will be absolutely critical.

Olympiakos Thursday morning (Singapore time), West Ham at the weekend, Manchester City next Wednesday. There is no time left for excuses.

Unfortunately, they'll be playing an Olympiakos team in excellent spirits.

The Greek side's 2-0 win over Panthrakikos over the weekend gave them an 18-point lead and sealed their 41st league title.

They have nothing whatsoever to lose, but a place in history to gain.

To reach the last eight in the Champions League by bringing down one of the continent's biggest names would be a phenomenal achievement, not least because they lost their top goalscorer Konstantinos Mitroglou in the January transfer window.

United's top goalscorers need to come through tonight.

Wayne Rooney has just signed a £300,000 (S$630,000) contract. He has done little of late to prove that he deserves it.

He can describe Sunday as his "worst day in football" to whoever cares to listen, but he is the man whom the club should be looking to stop these days repeating themselves.

Robin van Persie has insisted that he wants to stay at United, much as he insisted that he wanted to stay at Arsenal.

If that's the case, it would be nice if he offered rather more than he gave last Sunday.

United may not progress tomorrow, but their players must at least give a performance that suggests they care, one way or another.

One way or another, this slump is going to come to an end. It will end either with a soaring rearguard action or with an all-too-familiar capitulation.

If it is the former, Moyes might have a chance. If it is the latter, then he may as well bring a large cardboard box to work the next day.

He'll be clearing his desk before long.

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