Of all of the managers who have tried and failed to restore Manchester United to their former glory in the aftermath of Alex Ferguson's departure, perhaps none have gone out with such a whimper as his very first successor, David Moyes.
Hand-picked by Ferguson to be his long-term replacement at United, Moyes ultimately lasted only eight months at Old Trafford. A 2-0 defeat away to his former club Everton in April 2014 guaranteed United would miss out on Champions League football - and cost Moyes his job.
Wayne Rooney, one of the few veterans to last past the end of Moyes' tenure, this week spoke about the harsh reality experienced by Moyes with the senior players in the Manchester United dressing room. His revelation that many of the senior players never bought into the ex-Everton boss to begin with left Roy Keane stunned.
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Roy Keane left disappointed by Wayne Rooney's David Moyes comments
Rooney appeared on the ever-excellent Stick to Football podcast in association with Sky Bet. Manchester United's all-time leading goalscorer, Rooney saw many of his experienced teammates depart the club either during or immediately after David Moyes' disastrous reign.
The 38-year-old revealed that the senior players at the club "just weren't having" Moyes when he took over from Alex Ferguson, leading to the shocking 7th-place Premier League finish and a mass exodus come the season's end:
We were losing the core of the team really. Giggsy, Rio, Vidic, they were all on their last legs, basically. We were losing that presence in the dressing room. It was literally me and Michael Carrick left still playing from our generation.
You're getting the likes of Jesse Lingard coming through, Welbeck, Cleverley, who have had good careers but it was never the same.
No [the players didn't give him a chance]. It was always going to be difficult for him. I know David from when he was at Everton, and he wasn't the same as when he was at Everton. It was a massive change for him as well, so I don't think he did as well as he would have liked.
I also think there was a lack of...more senior players just weren't having him. That was very difficult.
There has been much talk since Moyes' time at Manchester United about his polarising methods and policies around the training ground.
In the years that have followed, autobiographies and interviews galore have shed light on the fallout between Moyes and senior players at the club during the disastrous 2013-14 season.
Rio Ferdinand has been among those to say that Moyes' strict methods around Carrington led to him losing the goodwill of the experienced heads at Carrington, with several other senior players saying that they lost faith in the Scot as the season progressed.
(The discussion on David Moyes begins around 35:30 in the above video)
Rooney confirmed that many players found Moyes' "hands-on" style to be too much interference, after an era during which Ferguson had taken a more detached approach to midweek training.
Stick to Football regular Roy Keane was beside Rooney on this week's show, and was left disappointed by the revelation that many veterans of one of the Premier League's greatest ever teams had allegedly downed tools without giving Moyes a chance:
It's sad when a manager never gets a chance. When a manager goes in, that players wouldn't have the respect at least to give him a chance.
Listen, we've all fallen out of love with managers, but you certainly wouldn't not train properly and not try for a manager. You mightn't like his training methods, you mightn't like his personality, but this idea of downing tools and not trying for a manager...
Wayne's said there...you've a manager who deserves respect, who's done really good stuff with Everton, and before he walks in the door, they're saying, 'we're not having him.' That's the bit I don't get.
When interim coaches are included, Manchester United are on their seventh manager in ten years since David Moyes was ousted in April 2014, with little sign that they are any closer to returning to the top of English football.
With Roy Keane regularly raising issues with the standards around the club, perhaps the problems which pervaded during Moyes' regime have yet to fully disappear.
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