LONDON, England, March 26- Manchester United supporters vented their anger at the former manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of the shambolic 3-0 derby defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford.
In the first signs of open revolt at David Moyes, fans furiously questioned Ferguson’s decision to appoint the Scot as his replacement.
With Moyes also receiving verbal abuse from supporters and stewards being asked to guard “The Chosen One” banner that hangs at the stadium’s Stretford End after the 167th Manchester derby, the ire shown towards Ferguson, who is a club director, will cause serious questions at boardroom level.
Moyes has consistently spoken of how the support has stood by him throughout his overseeing of a dismal title defence.
This defeat guarantees United will end with their poorest ever points tally in the Premier League era, with their previous lowest being 75.
City took only 43 seconds to take the lead through Edin Dzeko, who also scored again in the 56th minute, before Yaya Touré sealed United’s humiliation with a third for City at the end.
That provoked fans to target Ferguson as he sat in the directors’ box at the final whistle.
The 72-year-old was the driving force in Moyes being appointed as his successor at the end of last season, with the former Everton manager being summoned to Ferguson’s house to be offered his job.
While the loss made it six home defeats in the league for the first time since the 2001-2 season to leave United 18 points behind the leaders, Chelsea, and 12 from a Champions League berth, Moyes refused to blame his players.
Asked to explain how a squad minus only the retired Paul Scholes has gone so far backwards this year after winning the title by 11 points, the manager said: “I take responsibility.
“I have to be the one who plays them, picks them and that is what it is. I think there are a lot of really good players there, some can play better, but there are a lot of really good players in the squad, a lot of international players and players who I think on their day can be a match for most players.”
-The Guardian