Moyes odds-on to lift first Man Utd trophy faster than Fergie

Having arrived at Carrington for pre-season, the work of building upon the trophy-laden legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson has officially begun for new Manchester United manager David Moyes. It’s a testament to the rock-solid foundations left by the outgoing overlord that his successor is as short as 1/4 to bring silverware to the club in a shorter time than it took Ferguson to gain his first trophy.

It’s often recalled that – after arriving from Aberdeen to replace Ron Atkinson in November 1986 – Ferguson endured some years without coming close to winning a trophy and indeed it was only at the end of his third season in charge when the man that would become “Sir” finally brought silverware to Old Trafford, in the form of the 1989/90 FA Cup.

Unlike Moyes he had a trophy-winning pedigree prior to joining Manchester United.

The great Scot arrived in the north west on the back of a decade’s grounding in glory north of the border, which had started with the 1976/77 Scottish First Division title at St Mirren.

He then went on to Aberdeen, where he presided over their most successful period in their history, winning no less than three league titles, four Scottish Cups, one Scottish League Cup, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and a European Super Cup.

Moyes’ managerial career started in a similar fashion to Fergie’s, picking up an English Second Division title in his second full season at Preston North End, however since then he has failed to add a title of any form to his portfolio, despite such notable achievements as the fourth-placed Premier League finish he guided Everton to in 2004/05.

The new man in the United hot-seat is taking over a machine that last ended a season without a trophy in 2005/06 and despite his lack of prior trophies it’s difficult to foresee him going longer without silverware at United than Ferguson, who arrived at a club that had won just two FA Cups and a Charity Shield in that decade.

Conversely the new United manager inherits reigning champions, who have added some choice young talent to the squad in the form of Wilfried Zaha and possess the funds to further improve the situation.

Moyes came closest to ending his competition-winning drought at Everton in the FA Cup, when the Toffees went down 2-1 to Chelsea in the 2008/09 final and it’s 6/1 that United lift that particular pot in 2013/14.