David Moyes is the third longest serving manager in the Premier League behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
In that time he has worked wonders at Everton on what can only be described as a Championship club budget. Recently I have become more clued up on the clubs finances due to another great piece by Swiss Ramble.
The good thing is I finally understand why Moyes spends every transfer window saying: 'We re looking to bring in a couple of players on loan.' Unlike some other managers he is not just blagging.
Moyes is the man who unleashed Wayne Rooney on the world as well as guiding Tim Cahill, Steven Pienaar and Joleon Lescot into the stars they are today. He has shown himself to be a man of loyalty, something often missing in today's game. During his tenure the Scot has been committed to the board, the fans and more importantly, he club.
In the nine years he has been in charge at Goodison Park, the team have finished in the top eight, six times. They have been to the final of the FA Cup where they lost narrowly to Chelsea. He has also won the LMA League Manager of year award a hat-trick of times, the last being the 2008/2009 season.
These facts lead me to question why no one in the football world has taken a chance on Moyes, there is no doubting his obvious managerial skills. Yet all the while he has had to watch many other - some less able - managers get the big jobs ahead of him. I am not saying Everton are a small club but financially they cannot compete. I have to wonder if it is time for the club and the manager to part company.
If you disregard the FA Cup penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea, this has been one of the clubs' worst seasons. they have struggled throughout and unlike previous years injuries are not the key reason. There appears to be a general malaise surrounding the whole team and that is spreading to the stands. Moyes has the look of a man who is physically drained and void of ideas regarding what to do next.
You have to wonder if he has lost his mojo for the struggle. Not for football in general but for the challenge of stepping into the ring on an empty stomach as he has been for years. Season after season he struggles to keep hi best players and can only strengthen his squad by bringing people in on loan. You have to wonder what more he can do. If he can do anything at all.
At one time he was touted as the natural successor to Sir Alex but as he doesn't appear to be retiring any time soon, he could be waiting a long while to succeed his fellow countryman. So as he sits in his office he has watched Mark Hughes, Harry Redknapp and other British managers given the keys to a transfer kitty he could only dream of. I can imagine he doesn't get offered these jobs because 'people in the know' believe he is too noble a man to leave the Toffee's in the lurch. It would certainly stand to reason.
Unless the club is taken over by a wealthy owner in the very near future it is apparent nothing will change. As they fight to balance the books, expenditure on players looks less and less likely. It is like giving someone the keys to a clothes store and telling them they cannot replenish their stock even though the world is rapidly changing around them. As ludicrous as it sounds, that is virtually he position Moyes is in. It's not anybodies fault, it's just the situation they are in.
So maybe it is down to him to make the first step in order for him to further his career. If he is not to become and also ran I honestly believe this is the season he has to be brave and walk away from the blue side of Liverpool. He deserves a chance to show exactly what he is capable of with the tools that are available at other clubs. He has no need to feel bad about this and the Evertonians should thank him, wish him all the best and wave him on his way.
For they cannot give him what he needs and he has already given them so much.
Interesting article. As an Everton fan I can agree that Moyes has done a fantastic job while here..there are however some negatives a few big money signings have not worked out (Beattie,Kuldrup and more recently 10 million spent on Bilyaletdinov ) and with our budget like our we cant really afford to spend big money on players than sell for a loss.
ReplyDeleteMoyes seems better when spending small money on championship players or unknown from europe and improving them....when it comes to fully fledge stars the jury are out on whether he can do that...I think that is one of the things that maybe will turn of a lot of the bigger clubs.
Also we have qualified for europe a few times now and we always suffer majot beatings against half decent teams so that is another thing I feel would put of the likes of Man Utd....although our recent record against Chelsea is pretty good overall we have had some heavy defeats espefcially against Arsenal where we have had a 7-1 defeat and 4-1 as well as some to Liverpool and Utd.
While Moyes is a superb manager and we would probably suffer when he leaves he isn`t without faults and there is quite a large number of fans who are and have been annoyed with what is seen as negative tactics for a while now.
He always favours a 4-5-1 formation even if we are at home to say a lesser team like Wolves....most people wish he would stick on two strikers and go for it.....also subs are always seen as left too late.
so its not all as bright as it might seem from outside the club
Hi Matthew,
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comment. It's really nice to hear the fans side as you obviously have a different perspective.
I do agree he is too defensive at times but I also wonder if you would have got into Europe with that squad under another manager.
You also raise a good point about his lack of experience when it comes to managing 'big players', although we will never know unless he gets the chance at a club that is financially stronger than Everton.
Keep reading and take care.
Natasha