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Plane flies 'Moyes Out' banner over Old Trafford, banner gets booed instead of its target

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a plane with an angry banner!

Sitting seventh in the table and 26 points off last season's title winning pace, a small group of Manchester United fans have decided it was time to make a serious statement that would in no way be a waste of time and resources. So, they chartered a plane to fly over Old Trafford for Saturday's match against Aston Villa dragging a banner that read "Wrong One — Moyes Out" behind it.

From the BBC:

"The rumblings of discontent have started in the stands," said protest organiser Wes Jones.

"We wanted to show that support isn't as 100% as Moyes would like to think."

The pilot of the plane, meanwhile, wasn't much of a disgruntled protestor.

For pilot Chris Mustow, who will be responsible for flying the light plane trailing the banner, it is just a bit of fun.

"I am not a football fan, so it doesn't bother me in that sense," he told BBC Sport.

"But of course I am aware of the situation.

"I just find it all quite amusing really. No-one is going to miss the message, that's for sure."

So the useless plan was set. And mere seconds into the match, it was carried out to perfection. But instead of David Moyes immediately getting sacked or exploding or being melted by his own tears, it was the plane that got booed by fans in the stadium after Moyes himself got more cheers than jeers upon walking out before kickoff. A pair of decisions the fans might have reconsidered when Aston Villa opened the scoring with a free kick in just the 13th minute.

Wayne Rooney equalized just seven minutes later and put Man United ahead 2-1 with a 44th-minute penalty — a development that might have surprised Moyes himself more than anyone else considering he said this the day before:

"I actually think if Sir Alex was here this year it would be difficult for Sir Alex as well, and I'm sure he'd be aware of it. I think people are aware there's a squad that is a bit more aging, so I think it would have been a tough season for probably whoever was in charge of Manchester United this year."

That's David Moyes: making the case against himself better than any banner ever could.

Bookmaker Paddy Power then followed the first plane up with one of their own, this one with a banner that read "Fergie back in 6/1 Paddy Power." In January, they put an emergency Sir Alex Ferguson wax figure outside Old Trafford.

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Brooks Peck

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