Manchester United are struggling in the Premier League right now. They are currently in 9th position and a massive 13 points behind league leaders Arsenal. Thomas Rooney of footballtips.com explains how David Moyes only has himself to blame.

The transition period following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement was always going to be just that – transitional. Well, apparently Moyes didn’t get that memo.

One of the first things the Scotsman did at Old Trafford was lose the services of Ferguson’s back-room team. Every single one of them. Not the actions of a man targeting a smooth transition.

Moyes is entitled to want his own team around him – that’s fine. However, he is obviously keen to use Ferguson’s previous success to his advantage, so why start a complete fresh?

Phil Neville was a solid player for Manchester United, but he has never been a coach before. Now suddenly he had a senior role at the Premier League Champions?

For Ferguson, his No.2 was always extremely important and something which helped him through all the years he succeeded at Old Trafford.

What worked for Moyes at Everton wasn’t necessarily going to work for Moyes at Manchester United. He should have known that. He should have retained some of Ferguson’s legacy.

So that was mistake No.1. Mistake No.2 came in the transfer market.

Manchester United’s lack of activity was baffling. Moyes was far too reluctant to spend big. The signing of Marouane Fellaini was then a panic-buy he could have gone for at any stage.

You hear Moyes say now that Mesut Ozil was an option for United, but not one they decided to take. Given the impact the German has made at Arsenal, this must be hard for Man Utd fans to hear.

This Manchester United squad is not as strong as their points tally last season suggests. It was the Ferguson factor that made them title winners.

Moyes then came in, refused to retain any Premier League title winning coaches and failed to add significant quality to a squad that clearly needed improving.

Fair enough, he has sorted out the Rooney situation – but where has this got them? Moyes needed to add to the Champions, not try and patch up the Champions.

So that was mistake No.2. Mistake No.3 has been his team selection.

No manager has made more changes than Moyes this season. He has absolutely no idea what his best team is and from the defence to the attack, the personnel has changed each week.

Injuries have of course played their part, but there is so much confusion in the squad. What is Phil Jones’ best role? Is Nani a big part of the set-up? Does Ryan Giggs pick and choose?

Moyes needs to find a formula and stick to it. Be patient and remember that this is a transitional time. Just because it doesn’t work one week, doesn’t mean it won’t work the next.

It seems the new United boss has fallen into the trap of wanting immediate success and is currently paying the price.

Time to show why you are the chosen one Mr Moyes.

Thomas Rooney is a betting expert at footballtips.com, a site offering Premier League odds, tips and news.