Over 11 years after leaving Everton, David Moyes is back in charge of the Toffees at a crucial time in their history as a club.
Moyes spent 11 years at Everton from 2002 until 2013 as they punched above their weight, reached Europe four times and lost narrowly in the 2008-09 FA Cup final, all on a modest budget. The fact that Moyes is returning to steady the ship now, plus will have more investment if he can keep them in the Premier League this season, is the stuff of fairytales for him and most Everton fans.
MORE - West Ham fire Lopetegui, hire Potter | Transfers: Ins & outs
The Scottish manager was announced as Everton’s new manager on Saturday, as as new owners The Friedkin Group acted quickly to make a change amid growing fear of another relegation scrap.
Sean Dyche was fired on Thursday with the Toffees just one point above the relegation zone and the urgency to stay in the Premier League has intensified given the financial investment promised by the new owners, and the fact that Everton are moving into their stunning new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock for the start of next season.
Moyes’ main aim is to make sure Everton kick off a new era in their new home as a Premier League club.
David Moyes statement on Everton return
“It’s great to be back! I enjoyed 11 wonderful and successful years at Everton and didn’t hesitate when I was offered the opportunity to rejoin this great club. I’m excited to be working with The Friedkin Group and I am looking forward to helping them rebuild the club,” Moyes said. “Now we need Goodison and all Evertonians to play their part in getting behind the players in this important season so we can move into our fabulous new stadium as a Premier League team.”
Everton’s executive chairman Marc Watts added that Moyes “is the right leader to propel us through our final season at Goodison Park and into our new stadium” and that he will be asked to “build the foundation of a new era for Everton.”
David Moyes back to Everton — Does it make sense? — By Andy Edwards
On so many levels, yes. As the on-field part goes, Moyes isn’t going to have the Toffees playing tiki-taka anytime soon, but Everton fans will be happy to see anything other than Dyche’s tactics on display (as effective, and at time necessary, as they were). It does feel like Everton have more technical ability than in past seasons and they need a bit more freedom to flourish.
Off the field is where it makes all the sense in the world, as the club prepares to move into its new stadium in August. It feels like a perfect moment, at perhaps the perfect time, for a club legend to come back home and lead them into a brand new era. West Ham fans might feel like Moyes failed because he failed to turn them into perennial European contenders, but Everton fans would snap your hand off for a run of finishing 6th, 7th, 14th and 9th right about now. Moyes is 61, so this is probably the last “big” job of his career, and it’s darn near fairytale stuff that he’s doing it where he’s already so beloved.
This is the kind of move that unites the club and fans after a number of rocky years, and it’s no surprise that doing so was the first real order of business for the new owners. Even the minority of fans who don’t necessarily want a reunion with Moyes will begrudgingly get behind this, and having nearly everyone on the same page sounds like a heck of a win for Everton Football Club right now.
Harsh to sack Sean Dyche?
The Toffees sacked Dyche on Thursday after speculation he was under pressure following a poor run of recent form which has seen them go five games without a win in the Premier League. Dyche was sacked just a few hours before Everton beat Peterborough United 2-0 in the FA Cup third round at Goodison Park.
Everton’s form has been poor with one win in their last 11 in the Premier League, but they recently had three draws against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City as things were getting back to a solid base with decent defensive displays. But overall goalscoring remains a huge problem and with both Wolves and Ipswich picking up wins in recent weeks the threat of relegation has increased substantially.
Still, Dyche had kept Everton up in each of the last two seasons under extremely difficult circumstances amid financial constraints and an eight-point deduction last season after Everton breached the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) twice. He must be praised massively for steadying the ship but this felt like the right time for the Toffees to make a move and Dyche did all he could.
