Moyes opens up on disastrous Man Utd reign

David Moyes has opened up on the disastrous transfer dealings during his time as Manchester United manager.

The Scot was the underwhelming choice to replace Alex Ferguson when the latter retired in the summer of 2013 - indeed it was Ferguson who effectively hired his friend Moyes as his successor - and he endured a frustrating transfer window where the club, under the guidance of new chief Ed Woodward, missed out on several high profile targets before purchasing Marouane Fellaini for an inflated fee.

Speculative moves for Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas failed, causing much embarrassment to the club as they floundered after Ferguson left.

Moyes was eventually sacked after 10 months in charge, the style of football, mentality and results well below the expected level, but he still feels a better initial transfer window could have changed his fortunes.

"When I first went in my real target was Gareth Bale," he said. "I felt all along that Gareth Bale was a Manchester United player.

"I fought right until the last minute. We actually offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid. But Gareth had his mind made up on going to Real Madrid. That was, in my mind, the player I really wanted to bring to Manchester United.

"The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute. Toni Kroos was agreed to come in the summer. I had agreed it with Toni himself and his agent.

"The Cesc one was disappointing. It was very close. And Toni Kroos came up in January - it was done.

"I remember when I first met Sir Alex and he always said there was a chance Ronaldo might come back. So that was the level we were targeting

"I was not going out to bring in seven, eight players, because we had a squad which had just won the league.

"A lot of players come into Manchester United and have not necessarily made the difference. But I think that, given time and having got to this period, I would have hoped I would be working with a successful team now."

Moyes also claimed that Utd have broken a lot of their traditions in the post-Fergie era, bemoaning the fact the club no longer have a British manager in charge and have also broken the transfer record, ignoring the fact the club's first non-British manager was appointed in the early 1970s and the club smashed the club record on several occasions during Ferguson's reign.

"Manchester United was a club with great traditions, traditions where they tended to pick British managers," Moyes continued. "That tradition has now gone. They were a football club who enjoy traditions with the way they spent. They didn't try to compete with all the other clubs. They did what they thought was the right thing to do and spent the right way.

"I can say that’s gone. There have been a few changes at Manchester United but that’s the way they have chosen to go.

“Of course, they bought [Eric] Cantona and the best defender in Rio Ferdinand and looked for players, but Man United never went out there to show they had the biggest balls.

"Man United did what they thought was right for the football club, always. Maybe that has had to change because of the current situation. Sir Alex went out and bought wisely and correctly in the transfer market and what he thought he needed to do."

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