A few interesting questions there.
In terms of tactics/motivated players, thats an age old question that there's no real answer to. If you go around the world different countries have different takes. In Argentina for instance, I've read that every victory or defeat is talked about almost solely in terms of the tactical battle. England however is actually one of the countries least interested in tactics, where wins or losses are always seen in terms of effort and motivation. I guess its fair to say that both have to be in place to be successful.
The next is about whether Moyes could be successful if he had the players he wants. I worry that a flat version of 4-4-2 is hard to make work at all in the modern game, even by players adept at it. The heart of the modern game is about possession. Most of the top teams play with 3 or more in the middle at all times. Either like at City where they have two wide players drifting in from the flanks at once to outnumber the central players, or at Bayern & Barca where every player seems to be midfielder - even the centre backs and strikers. Even Fergie ditched plain old 4-4-2 circa 2000-03 when we were getting outsmarted every week by teams like PSV, Fiorentina and (memorably) Madrid. Ever since that time he's normally sought to play at least three in the centre of the pitch, either by adding Veron to the mix, or later by playing Park on the wings, who always moved in and played as an extra midfielder, or by playing Scholes, Anderson, Carrick at once. My guess is that 4-4-2 might make you competitive in the day to day PL, but to win the key games against the top teams in the league or Europe, its unlikely to work.
We don't play a passing game.
