As I wrote in a blog post for The National, I am predisposed to like David Moyes. He twice gave Landon Donovan a chance to play Premier League football, during the Major League Soccer offseason, and Landon used those two winter loan stretches, at Everton in 2010 and 2012, to put to rest the “can’t hack it in Europe” silliness some had tried to attach to him.

Landon came back a big fan of Moyes, and Moyes said nice things about Landon, too, and if he’s he is OK with Landon, I’m OK with him. (Conversely, if Jurgen Klinsmann is not OK with Landon, I’m not so sure about Klinsmann.)

Moyes was identified today as the replacement at Manchester United for Alex Ferguson. (Stick the “Sir” in front of that, if you are a monarchist).

Ferguson has been a powerfully influential and successful and lasting figure in English sports. He’s sort of a Phil Jackson/Vince Lombardi/Joe Torre rolled into one, when we take into account that Every Other Sport in England pales into insignificance behind soccer.

And I am not sure David Moyes is the right guy to replace him.

In short, you generally don’t want to be the guy who succeeds the legend. You are far better off being the guy who replaces the guy who replaces the legend. You do not want to be Gene Bartow (after John Wooden) or Lane Kiffin (after Pete Carroll) or Bill Russell (after Tommy Lasorda.

Moyes at Everton was dealing with a club of modest means, and he nailed it, when it came to coaxing just about everything he could out of that group.

Year in/year out, Everton was cohesive, balanced and warmly complimented for finishing sixth or seventh.

Moyes is about to step into a world he has never known. Manchester United is one of the three biggest/most successful clubs in the world (Barcelona and Real Madrid being the other two), and almost nothing Moyes did at Everton will have prepared him for the expectations and pressures of dealing with Man United.

(Though one of our contributors in the Saturday editions of The National suggests he is, in fact, ready. And another outlined his “to-do” list.)

Moyes, at Everton, won zero trophies. In 11 seasons. Everton played in the Champions League — once — and went out after two defeats. And Everton fans and officials were OK with all that.

At Manchester United, you need to win something every season. Not just once in a while. And it would be nice if you won a couple of somethings. A double, as the Britons say. Even a treble. (What they have against “triple”, I don’t know.)

Also, Ferguson will be hanging around as an adviser, or some such. And that is never, ever good. The “looking over the shoulder” as “not good” has been recognized by British pundits, but Ferguson somehow is going to be the first guy in the history of sports to have built a great franchise to remain on the grounds but not offer his two cents about what happens next. At least, that’s the line coming out of Manchester.

Moyes will start hearing the whispers the first time United loses two straight. It might start after a loss and a draw.

I do not doubt he is a very bright guy, and his work-ethic is unquestioned, and at 50 he is in his coaching prime … but coming in immediately after The Legend leaves United? Not the smartest thing he could have done — though we understand his statement that it was an opportunity he could not pass up.

What should Manchester United have done differently? They probably should have taken a hard look at Jose Mourinho, who is keen to escape Real Madrid and has been talking about how great things were when he coached at Chelsea. He also has the Ferguson seal of approval, and he knows all about life in a soccer fish bowl.

But we also concede that Mourinho is a prima donna, and a drama queen, and a prickly character, and Manchester may not be the kind of city where that stuff would be accepted as part of the great auteur’s idiosyncrasies. (Who names himself The Special One? Really.)

Moyes has a hard road in front of him, and since he seems like a good guy … maybe it would have been better to be the second someone to follow Ferguson at Manchester United.