By Jonathan O'Callaghan Was the turbulent reign of David Moyes at Manchester United necessarily his fault? One researcher says he might have been doomed from the outset, owing to how Sir Alex Ferguson ‘over-achieved’ at the club. But ultimately even science may not redeem him – the final straw was likely more to do with ‘politics than the performance of the club’. Science behind the sacking? Research suggests David Moyes is the 10th greatest manager in the last 40 years of English football, so why didn't he survive at United? The information is based on research by Dr. Stefan Szymanski, a Professor of Sport Management in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan.
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New research has tracked the success of managers over the last 40 years
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It compiles data for 528 managers across English football's four divisions
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Dr. Szymanski compared wages of clubs with their performances on pitch
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This data was used to work out who were statistically the best managers
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Sir Alex Ferguson topped the list ahead of Harry Redknapp
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But thanks to his time at Everton, David Moyes came in at tenth
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Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, came in at a lowly 117th out of 528
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The data suggests Moyes should perhaps have been a success at United
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But Fergie's 'over-achievements' ultimately left him with too big a task
While @placeholder tops the list, perhaps as expected, it is the positions of others that are of most interest.