ManU claimed that "the decision to sack David Moyes was not made until 'late' Monday night," according to Simon Rice of the London INDEPENDENT. The club also denies "the dismissal of the Scot was handled unprofessionally." The news that Moyes "was to be relieved of his duties after less than 10 months in charge" broke around 2:20pm on Easter Monday. The club "initially refused to comment" on the reports. However, early Tuesday morning, the club "tweeted that Moyes had left the club." ManU added that when reports started emerging on Internet news sites on Monday afternoon, "no decision had been taken at that time." The decision "to wait to get rid of the 50-year-old until after the defeat to Everton on Sunday had a financial motive." The mathematical impossibility of ManU finishing in the top four this season, following its 11th Premier League defeat of the season at Goodison Park, "means that United need only give Moyes a one-year pay-off under the terms of his five-year deal, rather than honour the full four years left on that contract" (INDEPENDENT, 4/23).
THE LEGEND CHIMES IN: In London, Dickinson & Smith reported Alex Ferguson "expressed his dismay at the messy handling" of Moyes' departure. Ferguson said "it was wrong that the news was leaked almost 24 hours" before Moyes was formally told that he had been sacked. Ferguson said, “It’s upsetting the way it came out.” That was all Ferguson would say about the upheaval at Old Trafford, where Louis van Gaal "remains the favourite for the managerial vacancy" (LONDON TIMES, 4/25). In London, Daniel Taylor wrote that former ManU coach René Meulensteen accused Moyes of "ignoring the advice" of the club's more experienced staff and making a series of fundamental mistakes because he did not realise that leaving Everton to replace Ferguson was like "going from a yacht to a cruise liner." Meulensteen said Moyes "had only himself to blame" for being fired because he "under-estimated" the size of the job at Old Trafford (GUARDIAN, 4/24).
