VAMPIRE MOYES SUCKED LIFE OUT OF SUNDERLAND

THERE is a nickname doing the rounds for David Moyes, coined by a former Sunderland player — the Energy Vampire. Those who hear it for the first time do not really laugh. They nod. And sigh. That is what Moyes has done to this club. He has drained its players, staff and supporters of belief and enthusiasm. He did not have to. He could have made the best of a bad job, for the problems he inherited were, in mitigation, plentiful. Instead, he made a very bad job of a bad job. For Moyes, this has been a seasonlong exercise in self-preservation — ‘Not guilty, Your Honour’. Except, he is. Guilty of feeling sorry for himself having made an almighty error of judgement in saying ‘yes’ to Sunderland in the first place. This relegation belongs to him. He has always said that any manager would have struggled to keep this team up. That has done little for morale and players have long since become fed up with his negativity and unimaginative training sessions.

Moyes and Sunderland were cursed from day one. He had been in the job less than 24 hours when the plane taking the squad to France in pre-season lost power in its engines and was forced to make an emergency landing in Manchester, the scene of his sacking by United in 2014. They feared for their lives that day and we can reveal that Moyes and his players endured another scare when the aircraft carrying them to Germany a week later aborted its landing.

Sportsmail had access to one of Moyes’ first pre-season sessions in the French town of Evian. The new manager put on a shadow drill where his team played against no one and, even then, you could sense his frustration. ‘False cross’ he

screamed at Patrick van Aanholt following one lazy delivery. The players looked bored as they stood still for minutes on end and that was reflected in their application; they were hardly making an effort to impress. Moyes was alarmed. He could not believe their inability to make simple passes and was concerned that several players were all too happy to sit out with minor knocks. But it was on that trip that he told us of ‘guarantees’ from owner Ellis Short over the budget to renovate the squad he held in such low regard. By the new year he had accused the American billionaire of being untruthful — the funds weren’t forthcoming and he wanted to sell the club. The £30million which Moyes was given, he invested badly. His signings showed no imagination; five has-beens from former club Everton and a couple of never-willbes from United. Loanee Adnan Januzaj has been a failure, especially when you consider Moyes gave him his United debut and promised to revive his career on Wearside. Defender Van Aanholt was allowed to force through a move to Crystal Palace, a relegation rival. We understand he told team-mates he would feign injury if he had to stay. Then, in April, Moyes threatened to slap a female interviewer, for which he faces an FA charge. Moyes was by now broken. On Saturday night he left the stadium via a side entrance where a car was waiting. The Energy Vampire disappeared into the night, leaving behind him a lifeless club.