Hothead who can’t handle the pressure

DURING a career that has headed stubbornly in the wrong direction since he swapped Everton for Manchester United, it has always been clear that David Moyes’s achilles heel was an inability to consistently handle the stifling pressures of management.

It is this stark professional flaw, rather than anything deeply malevolent, that underpins the verbal assault on BBC reporter Vicki Sparks which has now left such an unfortunate imprint on his reputation.

Moyes should not be excused for what he said, nor the way he said it. Ignore the smile and the laughter, the message was clear: don’t come here with your smart-a*** questions, love. This is my house, not yours.

It was patronising, unequivocal and maybe a little sinister. It makes for uncomfortable viewing through a computer screen, so no prizes for guessing how it felt for Sparks. Moyes’s subsequent telephone apology may have been sincere but does not represent mitigation.

However, this episode is not really about Moyes’s perception of women or violence. There is no great evidence in his 35-year football back story of problems with either. Rather, it speaks of a fundamental coping problem with the strains of his profession.

Take this assessment provided by a respected female broadcaster.

‘David has never liked a straight, uncomfortable question. He doesn’t like being pushed. We have all been there when the eyes have popped out of his head.

‘I have never felt it was anything to do with men or women, though. It’s not that complicated,’ she said yesterday.

Moyes has a reputation within football for decency. He will not be short of supportive messages.

Nevertheless, the 53-year- old has always been uncomfortable in the glare of the lights. It has always brought out the worst in him. That was most apparent during his short time at United. The attendant pressures of that job were too much and the only surprise is that those who appointed him did not ask enough questions of those who could have warned them.

But that was not just a case of big- club syndrome. Moyes’s issues with criticism and straight questioning were there at Everton and before that at Preston North End.

THERE are provincial journalists in Lancashire who have never forgotten the breadth of the repercussions when the Scot felt he had been wronged. One was forbidden to set foot on the premises at Deepdale and was once confronted in the car park. Another will not mention Moyes’s name to this day.

Meanwhile, one supporter who wrote a critical letter to the local paper found Moyes on his doorstep. At least that one ended amicably. This one, sadly, may run a little longer.

Some on social media excused Moyes simply because Sparks is heard laughing on the audio.

She has told friends that was nervous laughter, the type born of embarrassment and discomfort.

In taking her on, Moyes was picking on the weakest person in the room as he tried to come to terms with another dismal result. He has form for this, too.

It is hard to take on the written media. In a press conference before or after a football match, they represent a collective.

TV reporters have it tougher in that regard. They stand alone, often broadcasting live, and have nothing but their own wit and instincts to help them if an interviewee decides to get on the front foot.

Moyes certainly seemed a little less sure of himself when he appeared before the media at a gathering originally scheduled to preview tonight’s game at Leicester. We have no reason to doubt his sense of regret, nor question his assertion that managers can say the wrong things ‘in the heat of the moment’. He is not alone there.

But he could have helped himself by referring to Sparks by name. If he really does wish to move clear of accusations of misogyny, then he should realise that talking about ‘the girl’ is not helping.

A personal view is that this should not end Moyes’s career in football. He has credit in the bank.

Equally, let us not ignore evidence of previous years. Another female TV journalist spoke privately yesterday of an angry incident during Moyes’s time at Everton that never came to light. Maybe it is to his long-term benefit, and indeed football’s, that this one has now done so.

Moyes has been a manager for almost 20 years. For the last four he has been fighting an apparent waning of his powers. Now he has a new battle to face, one concerning his reputation, one caused by a fundamental kink in his make-up that many of us have known to be there all along.