David Moyes

Evening Lads. Have a look at the latest post at http://the-beautiful-game.org/
Also, i would post this on the Everton board, but did a quick scout and it was quite frankly, dead.
---

Everton. Ever the underdog. David Moyes recently celebrated 10 years in charge of the historic Merseyside club. That in itself is feat worthy of a standing ovation. Only Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have maintained longer tenures in England’s top league in recent memory.

But there’s more to it. Everton have consistently finished in a position battling for the top 6, with a net spend that would make every club in the world jealous. Up until the singing of Darron Gibson, all of Everton’s singings in the last 30 months were frees, loans or nominal payments. There was even a website dedicated to the club’s failure to purchase a new player, such was the frustration of the fans towards the ownership. http://evertontime.com/

Yet Moyes’s boys have finished in the upper echelons of the league on a regular basis, which leads me to think, how is he doing it?

Well firstly, he plays a system so that everyone on the pitch knows what to do. Whether that’s a variation of a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-1-1, each individual on that pitch plays with a fluency and efficacy that yields success. For example, Tim Cahill has proven to be one of the most lethal attacking midfielder’s in the last 10 years due to his ability to arrive late in the box, all due to tactical prowess.

Secondly, Moyes has manipulated the transfer market to a great success. Whether that’s bringing in young foreign talent for a nominal fee, or utilising the loan and free transfer markets, he is doing it without spending a penny. Beyond Moyes is a stringent scouting network that has a particular interest in the lower leagues. Signings of Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill and Joleon Lescott etc. have proven wonders, with the latter being sold for £22 million to Manchester City in 2009. Not bad, particularly as he only cost £950k in 2007.

Why some managers do not look to the Championship for quality players is beyond me. Norwich and Swansea have stabilised themselves in the Premier League using ‘championship players’ – Surely they have proven themselves to be established Premier League players? Put it this way, how much were the likes of Joe Allen, Leon Britton and Grant Holt worth this time last year. Simple knowledge would indicate their market value would’ve increased three-fold at least since.

Cup finals, European places, and also the odd much coveted Champions League finish was all achieved with minimal spend – hats off to Mr. Moyes.

Moyes never had the financial backing to provide success for the Evertonian public; he has used transfer-market initiative and tactical nous to do just that.

Just goes to show money isn’t everything in football.

Comments welcome.

---

Sorry to be a pain but would much appreciate following on twitter (link via the blog) or follow via email or however you like.
http://the-beautiful-game.org/