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A list of things that Rio Ferdinand did not like about David Moyes

A list of things that Rio Ferdinand did not like about David Moyes

Rio Ferdinand has a new autobiography entitled #2Sides. Sadly, the hashtag is not a typo. It should also be noted that the book only presents one side. Rio Ferdinand's side.

The plumbing of new depths in terrible book titles aside, Ferdinand has taken this opportunity to become the first former Man United player to publicly air his grievances with ex-manager David Moyes (for financial gain). The following is a list of Moyes horrors that the current QPR defender felt compelled to put in print.

Negative tactics: You didn't have to play for Manchester United to realize that Moyes' tactics were markedly different from Sir Alex Ferguson's and his six home losses (Man United's most in 12 years) were a consequence of that.

"Moyes' innovations mostly led to negativity and confusion," Ferdinand writes in the book, which is being serialized by The Sun. “Sometimes our main tactic was the long, high, diagonal cross. It was embarrassing. In one home game against Fulham we had 81 crosses! I was thinking, why are we doing this? Andy Carroll doesn’t play for us!"

He adds: “The whole approach was alien. Other times Moyes wanted lots of passing. He’d say: 'Today I want us to have 600 passes in the game. Last week it was only 400’. Who cares? I’d rather score five goals from 10 passes.”

Lack of directional clarity: "You heard a lot of guys complaining: 'I just don't know what he wants.' He had me doubting everything," says Ferdinand, reiterating the sense of confusion that Moyes instilled.

BANNING CHIPS: As reasonable as the previous two complaints are, this shows just how tyrannical Moyes was. Man United players loved having low-fat chips the night before a match and Moyes took that away from them like the Grinch who stole low-fat chips. 

"It's not something to go to the barricades over [the chips]. But all the lads were pissed off," Ferdinand declares. And when Moyes was sacked, the chips were promptly restored to their mistreated bellies.

Team walks: The hardships inflicted upon the players by Moyes extended beyond the chip withholding and into the nightmarish realm of 10-minute team walks on the mornings of matches. This somehow "destabilized" the squad, according to Rio. Presumably because they did not have the fortification of low-fat chips to get them through the short walks.

Training in a public park ahead of a match against Bayern Munich: Ferdinand felt this was "amateurish" and evidence of Moyes' small club mentality. 

Upsetting Chicharito: Ferdinand believes that Javier Hernandez's life at Man United was all sunshine and lollipops until Moyes relegated him to the periphery.

Benching the author of #2Sides: David Moyes' greatest sin? Upsetting the great and not at all past it Rio Ferdinand. By telling Ferdinand that he wouldn't play against Bayern and doing it in front of his teammates, it made the 35-year-old want to "scream and grab" Moyes. It also led to his decision to leave the club for QPR, where he proved why Moyes didn't want to play him against Bayern by being a part of the backline that surrendered four goals to Louis van Gaal's Man United on Saturday.  

So those are Rio Ferdinand's David Moyes complaints. It's kind of a shame he didn't keep with the theme established by the title of the book and sum it all up by writing "#Tears4Rio" on an otherwise blank page, though.

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Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!