Rio Ferdinand on David Moyes' biggest 'white lie' as Manchester United manager

“That didn't happen.”

Rio Ferdinand and David Moyes didn't exactly see eye to eye during the Scot's brief spell as Manchester United manager.

About the latest stick to footballHowever, the former Manchester United and England defender has gone to great lengths to try to clear up some myths and “white lies” surrounding Moyes' time at the club.

In the summer of 2013, Moyes joined Manchester United from Everton, replacing Ferguson, who had coached Manchester United for 27 years and led the team to win 13 league championships and 2 European Cups. Moyes never really realized the enormity of his task and was relieved of his duties when it became mathematically impossible for the club to qualify for next season's Champions League.

There are plenty of anecdotes from the Moyes era (if it can be called that) at Manchester United, including how he banned chips from the club canteen and showed videos of his Everton defenders to the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic snippets to help them improve their game. Ferdinand commented:

“There were some old wives' tales and little white lies. They said he showed me and Nemanja Vidic the Phil Jagielka video, or whatever… but that didn't happen.”

“It's Joleon Lescott!” joked Jamie Carragher.

Ferdinand then spoke of “two or three moments” that planted the seeds of doubt regarding Moyes and his suitability as United manager.

Rio Ferdinand on David Moyes

“One of those moments[after Alex Ferguson left],” Rio Ferdinand recalled to Gary Neville, Roy Keane and the panel. “I remember getting on the plane, you know what those trips are like, I think we went to Asia. They weren't very tired, they were tired. Two long weeks, hard work, jet lag and all that.

“I remember on the way home I saw David Moyes splayed out on his chair, looking disheveled. “Big club, this one”-That's what he said to me. I thought, 'Oh'.

“I've said this before but, like Everton's kit launch was at Goodison Park, on the pitch, no disrespect intended. But launching the kit at Manchester United was like a Touring the world – it’s very different.

“So Moyes figured it out very quickly at the end of the tour, I think, “Well I wish he'd known that before”“.

Ferdinand on Moyes' caution

Another big red flag for Rio Ferdinand came in the early weeks of the 2013/14 Premier League season under David Moyes.

“We (prepared) to play Liverpool and Chelsea,” Ferdinand recalled. “I remember in the training session – we were preparing to stop (Eden) Hazard and (Philippe) Coutinho. He put a box in the middle of the pitch, or in the area where they were playing, on the inside on the left.

“The players looked at each other; 'We're not really trying to block individuals'. Nothing like this has ever been done at Manchester United, I wonder if you still remember it. (Lionel) Messi, there’s not even a big plan for him… maybe there should be!

“It's almost like you have to worry about us, rather than us having to worry about you. Those two games really made me feel like we were establishing a defeatist mentality that was very different from the team that won last season.

“So, it's a very big change in mentality and it's one of the things that a lot of players, not against him, but it just puts a question mark in your mind and that little question mark is a big part of a team. A big deal.”

Ferdinand's third problem with Moyes is that he didn't give much time to players who weren't included in the matchday squad. He stressed that Alex Ferguson always tried to keep his players informed, while Moyes only spoke to his players on Monday morning, once an important game was over.

Jamie Carragher spoke of how he was working as a pundit for Sky Sports that season and how surprised he was to hear Moyes was so positive after Liverpool beat Manchester United at Anfield. “He was really happy… I remember thinking, if Everton came to Anfield, this would be their mentality – I know we lost but we put them at a disadvantage.”

That season, Manchester United ranked seventh in the league, lost 12 games, and completely missed European football. They were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup by Swansea, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, and in the League Cup by Sunderland (on penalties).

Ryan Giggs replaced Moyes on 22 April 2014, with the Scot out of work for seven months until he took up La Liga duties at Real Sociedad. He has been the head coach of West Ham United since December 2019.