Players knew Moyes was doomed

Developments, developments. According to the Mirror, a number of United's players were aware that David Moyes was on his way out before the Everton game on Sunday.

Mirror Sport can reveal United players were telling friends they were adamant that their manager would be ‘sacked within days' on the eve of the 2-0 loss, having heard of significant developments within the Old Trafford hierarchy.

If true, then it certain lends credence to the widely-reported story that Moyes's fate was determined well before the recent losses, perhaps after the first leg defeat to Olympiacos. It certainly explains why United's players set about Everton with the blithe freedom of troubled souls finally released from purgatory ... oh, no. That didn't happen. They were still rubbish.

Obviously, it would be fairly horrendous if the players knew before Moyes did. But intriguingly, the paper goes on to suggest that Moyes himself may have been aware, yet was resolved to go back to Goodison to face his former team regardless. How oddly and tragically noble.