Moyes heads candidates to succeed Ferguson

Longtime Everton manager David Moyes emerged as the likely successor to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United on Wednesday, despite his lack of trophies and limited experience in top-level European football.

United chief executive David Gill said the club "will move relatively quickly" in naming a successor to Ferguson, who will retire at the end of the season after 26 trophy-filled seasons at Old Trafford.

British bookmakers immediately installed Moyes as odds-on favorite to land one of the top jobs in world football, with Ferguson having previously included his fellow Scot in a short list of potential replacements.

The 50-year-old Moyes is a fiery, no-nonsense coach in the Ferguson mold and has shown loyalty and staying power in his 11 years with Everton — attributes that should go down well at United after Ferguson's reign of more than a quarter-century.

"He's cut from the same cloth," said former United defender Steve Bruce, who will manage Hull in the Premier League next season.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a former United striker who has made an impressive start to his managerial career at Norwegian side Molde, are also viewed as contenders.

Moyes, who met Everton owner Bill Kenwright for a pre-arranged meeting in London on Wednesday, has craved the chance to manage an established European side and reportedly came close to taking over at Tottenham and Chelsea in recent seasons. Many believe he has served his time at Everton — he is the third longest-serving manager in the league behind Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger — and deserves to finally move to a club of United's stature.