There’s not much to say about Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign as Manchester United manager that hasn’t been said already, but his successor David Moyes has built up a pretty good recent history of his own during eleven years as Everton manager. Join Football Burp in looking back at five major plus points of the fiery-eyed Scot’s reign in the Goodison Park hot seat…
Top 5 David Moyes triumphs at Everton
Instant impact… Almost immediately after Moyes succeeded Walter Smith, Everton’s players looked fitter, better organised and more motivated. It saved them from relegation within the space of a few games, then the following season took them to the brink of Europe. The sight of Moyes actually joining his players on the field for the warm up was frequently remarked upon by the Goodison Park faithful as being a sight for sore eyes.
Three LMA Manager of the Year awards… Moyes has thrice been voted manager of the year by his peers: for the 7th place finish he achieved in his first full season, his fourth place finish in 2004-05 and a second consecutive 5th place finish in 2008-09, a year in which the Toffees also reached the FA Cup final.
Excellent record in the transfer market… Tim Cahill: £1.5m. Mikel Arteta: £2.5m. Steven Pienaar: £2m (then another £3m to sign him back). Leighton Baines, £6m. Tim Howard, £3m. Joleon Lescott, £5m. Phil Jagielka, £4m. Seamus Coleman, £60,000. Even Marouane Fellaini at £15m looks like a bargain now, while the £11m Yakubu scored 21 goals in his first season before succumbing to an injury from which he never fully recovered.
Louis Saha was feared finished but Moyes managed to get 35 goals and over 100 appearances out of him, Joseph Yobo repaid his £4.5m with several years of good service, while Jermaine Beckford, Andy Johnson, James McFadden, Kevin Kilbane and Marcus Bent were all sold on at profit.
Consistent top 8 finishes on a bottom-half-of-the-table budget… In Moyes’s time in charge, Everton have finished 7th, 17th, 4th, 11th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th and quite likely 6th this season. He may have no silverware to show for it but that’s bloody impressive for a club of Everton’s resources and current standing.
Attention to detail… When Moyes buys a player, his background checks are thorough to the extent that he can be sure of cultivating and sustaining the kind of team spirit upon which a whole ethos can be based. Tactically, players know what they need to do, where they need to be and when, all of which the players are said to find reassuring.
Honorable mentions… That time he looked like he was about to deck Roberto Mancini – and the end of this…