Soccer: United's problems not all Moyes' fault

United's best buy since 2008 was Robin van Persie, from Arsenal. Photo / AP

Ferguson papered over so many cracks it was only a matter of when the Chosen One fell through them.

There is a mood of optimism around Old Trafford. The grumpy, tetchy gloom has lifted; the fug of incompetence has been cleared; the hapless and the hopeless have been expunged.

David Moyes has been put out of his - and everyone else's - misery.

Now, with the Class of '92 temporarily in charge the club are back in the hands of those who understand them. And with Louis van Gaal or Carlo Ancelotti on the horizon all is well again in the red quarters of Manchester. Problems are a thing of the past now the Chosen One has been deselected.

If you believe that, then you presumably believe that Kevin Pietersen is a team player and that Formula One is purely a test of driving skill.

For all his mistakes the reason United are not in contention is not entirely due to Moyes. More to the point, the issues that ultimately cost him his job are still extant: in his 10 months in charge he did nothing to resolve the problems threatening to consume the club.

It is true that Moyes inherited from Alex Ferguson a squad who had just won the title. But it was also a squad coming to the end of its cycle, a squad in which old stalwarts had not been adequately replaced.

Blessed with a full season of fitness from Robin van Persie, in his last season Ferguson had given new definition to the term papering over the cracks. The moment he stood down, his successor fell helplessly through the now-exposed fissures.

The truth is, since the moment Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid, the club have been in steady decline.

Football is a cyclical business, teams dip and soar. But United's direction of travel since 2008 has been in one direction.

Since 2008, the money was found just the once for an unequivocally excellent new recruit, when Van Persie was bought from Arsenal.

Whoever replaces Moyes will inherit a squad that has been allowed to slip so far behind the elite it will need major surgery. To reclaim their position at the top of the game, United need absolute quality. But absolute quality tends to restrict itself to clubs in the Champions League. A vicious circle threatens which could well consume any incumbent. But hey, now's not the time to cavil. David Moyes has gone. The real United are back.