Beckham backs Moyes “100 percent”

MIAMI — David Beckham said he backs manager David Moyes “100 percent” at Manchester United.

Speaking on Wednesday in Miami to ESPN at the news conference to reveal his investment in a new Miami Major League Soccer franchise, Beckham referred to the club at which he made his Premier League debut in 1995 in the first person plural.

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“Any season that we’re not on top of the league, is a tough season. We, as a Manchester United fan and ex-Manchester United player, we’re used to winning championships,” Beckham told ESPN in Miami. “We’re used to being at the top of the league all the way through the season, so when that doesn’t happen, obviously people think, outside of the club, that there’s a crisis. I don’t see it as a crisis. I see it as a transitional period. We win two games, we’re in fifth, fourth place. It’s simple as that, and then things start looking rosy again.”

United suffered a 2-1 defeat at Stoke on Saturday, their eighth league loss of the season, and currently sit seven points off fourth-placed Liverpool.

“I think that David Moyes is a great manager, but it takes time,” Beckham said of the manager’s struggles even since Juan Mata’s club record 37.1 million pound arrival from Chelsea. “You know he’s joined a club like Manchester United, biggest club in the world, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and there’s a transitional period. People talk about it being a tough season.”

Beckham said he thinks the fans have not yet given up hope.

“I think the fans believe in Moyes. The fans believe in everything that he believes in. It’s just about winning games.”

As for the race for the league’s top spot, Beckham singled out Manchester City and Chelsea.

“As a Manchester United fan, I’ve been watching City and City play some great football,” he said. “They’re a strong team. They’ve got a strong unit. But personally, seeing Jose Mourinho going back to Chelsea. There’s something about Jose and Chelsea that not many other clubs have. He’s won championships, he knows how to win championships, he knows how to win trophies, and he’s not just a great manager, he’s a strong personality as well. Some people can’t compete with that.”

“There are strong teams there … Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, strong team, great manager, great players. Obviously Liverpool are having a pretty good season as well. But Chelsea, Man City, Pellegrini… I think is a great manager, so we’ll see.”

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