16 Sep 2014

Ferdinand reveals Moyes' mistakes

6:00 am on 16 September 2014

Rio Ferdinand has revealed what he believes were a series of mistakes David Moyes made during his unsuccessful stint as manager of Manchester United -- including the banning of chips the night before matches.

English footballer Rio Ferdinand

English footballer Rio Ferdinand Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The former United captain, who made an unhappy return to Old Trafford at the weekend when his QPR side were hammered 4-0 by his old club, has had his say on Moyes's woeful 10 months in charge of United in his autobiography '2Sides'.

The 35-year-old centre-back labelled Moyes's tactics "embarrassing" and said the Scot had brought with him the "mentality of a small club" following his time in charge of Everton.

Moyes was the hand-picked successor of the former United manager Alex Ferguson, who retired in 2013 after more than 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile the Louis van Gaal era finally got lift off as Manchester United demolished Queens Park Rangers 4-0 for their first competitive football win since the Dutchman took charge at Old Trafford.

Barclays Premier League - Burnley v Manchester United - Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal (R) and assistant Ryan Giggs. 2014.

Barclays Premier League - Burnley v Manchester United - Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal (R) and assistant Ryan Giggs. 2014. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

New signing striker Angel di Maria was outstanding throughout, scoring the first goal before Wayne Rooney and fellow new boy Ander Herrera made the result a formality before the break.

Juan Mata the completed the rout in the second half.

Striker Radamel Falcao was introduced for the last quarter of the match for his debut, joining Robin van Persie, Rooney and Di Maria in a potentially prolific front quartet.

United's first win in four Premier League matches takes them to ninth place in the table, only two points outside the top four.

Although Rangers provided feeble opposition, there was the promise of better things to come from United, given their enviable range of attacking options.

New manager Van Gaal, who also gave debuts to defender Marcos Rojo and midfielder Danny Blind, enjoyed the crowd's applause as he left the pitch following a first victory as manager after a difficult start which included a League Cup defeat at third tier MK Dons.

It all added up to a forgettable return to Old Trafford for QPR centre-half Rio Ferdinand, who played for United for 12 years until last May, winning six Premier League titles and a Champions League final.

He received a presentation before kickoff from the United director Bobby Charlton but once the game started was soon under pressure, being forced into a hurried clearance to deny friend and former England team-mate Rooney.

In the 24th minute Ferdinand was as helpless as the rest of the visitors' defence when Di Maria flighted a perfect free kick that bounced once and flew past goalkeeper Rob Green.

Di Maria said afterwards that he had meant to score, having practiced the same free-kick in training.

There was a rare alarm for the home side when Matt Phillips had his shot blocked by Jonny Evans with goalkeeper David de Gea out of position but by halftime United had two more goals.

In the 35th minute Di Maria's run allowed Rooney to cut the ball back for Herrera to drive low into the bottom corner of the net and nine minutes later Rooney found the same spot after a smooth passing move.

Ferdinand was badly embarrassed for the fourth goal after 58 minutes when Di Maria's cross bypassed him and Mata lifted a shot over the goalkeeper.

For the London side it was a second heavy away defeat following their 4-0 loss in the local derby at Tottenham Hotspur and a third defeat in four league games this season, leaving them in the bottom five.