David Moyes is facing the axe at Manchester United[ACTION]While the club's board expected a transitional season following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement last May, they did not expect the campaign to turn into United's worst for nearly a quarter of a century.
Moyes, who was Ferguson's personal recommendation for the job, was expected to meet certain targets – the main one being to finish in the top four of the Premier League to ensure qualification for the Champions League.
Moyes is facing the sack less than a year after taking charge at Old Trafford [ACTION]And with no real discernible signs of improvement during the second half of the season, the Glazers are understood to have had second thoughts about entrusting him with a transfer war chest of around £200m this summer to re-build United.
Whether Moyes – who signed a six-year contract worth around £6m last May - is fired now or at the end of the season is unclear at the moment but the current mood at Old Trafford indicates he is a dead man walking.
Veteran Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal, Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and France boss Laurent Blanc – a former United player – will all be contenders for the job.
Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson recommended Moyes for the job [GETTY]The result ended United’s faint hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and next season will be the first since 1995-96 that United will compete in Europe's lucrative elite club competition.
And they may not even qualify for Europe at all, unless they can pip Tottenham for sixth place and gain entry into the Europa League or rely on Arsenal winning the FA Cup and finishing fifth in the League.
United are destined to finish in their lowest position since the Premier League was launched in 1992 with their lowest points tally, lowest number of goals scored and worst home record.
On top of that they went out of the FA Cup at the third round stage despite a home tie against struggling Swansea and then blew the chance of reaching the Capital One Cup final in a penalty shoot-out defeat to basement club Sunderland.
Moyes was heckled by the Grim Reaper at Goodison Park yesterday [ACTION]Moyes’ cause has not been helped by a record of only six points out of a possible 36 against the six teams above them in the table and that United’s north west rivals, Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton have all completed home and away ‘doubles’ over them in a depressing season.
Rio Ferdinand summed up the mood in the United camp yesterday when he tweeted: "Frustration & disappointment sums up the season so far"
Former United striker Dwight Yorke accusing the current players of lacking desire and already thinking about their summer holidays in a damning indictment of their performance in the defeat at Goodison Park.
Moyes lashed out at his defence after losing to Everton [GETTY]"The players and the manager have to take responsibility - the manager is putting out a team he believes is going to win him a football match. These players have not been able to perform.
"But what stands out even further is the desire from the players - they don't seem to have it. They had a lot of possession during the game but where is the end product? That is not the United of old that we know. Pace and power is what United used to do to other teams, now other teams are doing that to them.
"Credit to Everton who really took the game to United, they knew the importance of this game if they were to have any aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League. We saw that Everton came out of the blocks and they were outstanding. We looked for a reaction from United but they could not handle them – they were shred to pieces."
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