Manchester United News: Was David Moyes The Right Choice?

Just one day after the retirement announcement of legend Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United have named a new manager.

Everton manager David Moyes, who has been with the club since 2002, has been appointed as the new boss at Old Trafford, and will take charge of the club on July 1 under a six-year contract.

Like Ferguson, Moyes is a native of Scotland, and played for the Scotland national team. The 50-year-old began his career with Celtic, and as a center back played with six other clubs including Dunfermline Athletic and Preston North End.

Moyes retired with Preston North End, and managed the club for four years, before accepting the Everton position. He has shared a strong relationship with Ferguson since rejecting the chance to become Ferguson’s assistant in 1999.

Like Ferguson, Moyes commands respect from his squad, and is considered to be fiercely loyal. He is not expected to deviate much from Ferguson’s strategies.

The decision to hire Moyes was not much of a surprise. He was immediately a frontrunner for the position, and the only other candidate who United may have considered was Jose Mourinho, who has hinted of a departure from Real Madrid for the Premier League this summer.

Betting sites had Moyes as the favorite, with Mourinho second. The decision to hire Moyes over Mourinho is not considered controversial, but some detractors of the move might point to Mourinho's success in Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan. While Moyes appears to be the safe decision, Mourinho may have been considered the bolder one.

"When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes,” said Ferguson, according to Manchester United’s official website. “David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I've admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of assistant manager here. He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club.”

While Moyes brings experience, he does not bring much success. Everton have finished in the top four in the Premier League just once under Moyes, and he has never won a major trophy in his coaching career.

However, he did help lead Everton to the FA Cup final in 2009, where they lost 2-1 to Chelsea, and managed Wayne Rooney before he moved to United in 2004.

"It's a great honour to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United,” Moyes said. “I am delighted that Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I have great respect for everything he has done and for the football club.

“I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn’t something that comes around very often and I’m really looking forward to taking up the post next season.

“I have had a terrific job at Everton, with a tremendous chairman and Board of Directors and a great set of players. Between now and the end of the season, I will do everything in my power to make sure we finish as high as possible in the table.

“Everton’s fantastic fans have played a big part in making my years at Goodison so enjoyable and I thank them wholeheartedly for the support they have given me and the players. Everton will be close to me for the rest of my life.”

Early candidates to replace Moyes at Everton include Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, Swansea's Michael Laudrup, and Celtic’s Neil Lennon.