David Moyes sacked as Manchester United manager

David Moyes watches Manchester United against Everton on Sunday, which was his last game in charge. Picture: Getty

It is believed Moyes was sacked by vice-chairman Ed Woodward during a meeting at the club’s Carrington training ground this morning shortly after 8am.

The club had previously backed their manager despite a series of dreadful results, but Sunday’s defeat at Goodison Park proved one too many.

With a £150 million spending spree planned for the summer the club’s owners, the Glazer family, wanted to make sure they had the right man at the helm to bring success back to Old Trafford.

A statement from the club, released at 8:30am, read: “Manchester United has announced that David Moyes has left the club.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”

The 50-year-old Scot was appointed as successor to Sir Alex Ferguson last summer on a six-year contract.

However, he has paid the price for the club missing out on Champions League football for 2014/15 and making a feeble defence of the Premier League title, which has seen last season’s champions slip to seventh in the table on the back of 11 league defeats.

Contenders for the newly vacant post include Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, Holland coach Louis van Gaal, and even United veteran Ryan Giggs, who has been made the 5-1 favourite by bookmakers Ladbrokes.

Sunday’s limp 2-0 loss to Everton proved the final straw for the Glazer family, who won the Barclays Premier League last season in Sir Alex’s final year at the helm, have no hopes of a return to the Champions League next season, with the gap between them and fourth-placed Arsenal now too big to bridge.

United were also knocked out of this term’s Champions League by holders Bayern Munich in the last eight, having led briefly in both legs. They were eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle by Swansea and were knocked out of the Capital One Cup at the semi-final stage by Sunderland.

United will end the season with their worst points total in Premier League history. They have failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the mid-1990s, and only have an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa League.

THE LOW POINTS

1 September - United suffer first defeat under Moyes as Daniel Sturridge gives Liverpool victory at Anfield. Wayne Rooney misses the game with a nasty head wound after being kicked in the head accidentally by Phil Jones in training.

22 September - Hammered 4-1 at Manchester City. This time Robin van Persie is absent with a thigh injury.

28 September - United lose 2-1 at home to West Brom, ending the Baggies’ 35-year wait for an Old Trafford triumph.

19 October - Concede last-minute Adam Lallana equaliser against Southampton at Old Trafford.

4 December - Bryan Oviedo scores four minutes from time as Moyes’ former club Everton end their 21-year wait for an away win over United.

6 December - Rio Ferdinand criticises Moyes’ policy of leaving it late to pick his teams, claiming on BT Sport: ‘’It turns you into a madman.’’

7 December - Yohan Cabaye gets the only goal as Newcastle win at Old Trafford for the first time since 1972.

10 December - Van Persie suffers thigh injury taking a corner against Shakhtar Donetsk, and is ruled out for seven weeks.

1 January - Rooney plays in the defeat by Tottenham but is then ruled out for four weeks with a groin injury.

5 January - Swansea win at Old Trafford for the first time as Wilfried Bony’s late goal sends United out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage for only the second time in 30 years.

7 January - Defeat in Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Sunderland means a third straight loss for the first time since May 2001.

19 January - Skipper Nemanja Vidic is sent off as United crash to defeat at Chelsea.

22 January - United beat Sunderland 2-1 in the Capital One Cup semi-final return leg thanks to Javier Hernandez’s last-gasp effort in extra time but come off worse in an awful penalty shoot-out, with only Darren Fletcher scoring from their five kicks.

1 February - Stoke end their long wait for a win against United. Charlie Adam’s double gives them their first since 1984.

7 February - Vidic confirms he will leave at the end of the season.

9 February - United come from behind to lead bottom side Fulham at Old Trafford, but Darren Bent’s stoppage-time equaliser settles a 2-2 draw to deny the hosts all three points. Moyes describes the result as being “as bad as it gets”.

25 February - It proves gruesome in Greece for United in the Champions League last 16 as a poor performance leads to the Red Devils being beaten 2-0 by Olympiakos in Piraeus.

16 March - Another day United will want to forget in a hurry as two Steven Gerrard penalties and a Luis Suarez strike earn Liverpool a crushing 3-0 win at Old Trafford. It could have been even worse for Moyes’ men as Gerrard also hit the post with another penalty.

25 March - United lose 3-0 to bitter rivals for the second consecutive home league game as a brace by Edin Dzeko and a late strike by Yaya Toure hands Manchester City a derby double. The result ensured United were guaranteed to end the season with their lowest points total in Premier League history.

9 April - Despite an encouraging 1-1 draw in the first leg and taking the lead through Patrice Evra, the Red Devils go down 3-1 to defending champions Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena.

20 April - Moyes’ return to Goodison Park is turned into a nightmare as Leighton Baines’ penalty and a goal by Kevin Mirallas give Everton a 2-0 win - a result which confirms that United cannot qualify for the Champions League.