Magic Moyes defying the odds again

How does he do it? 

Year after year David Moyes manages to baffle us all as he creates a team that is one of the best in the league, despite having to sell his best players to fund his ambitions. 

Last seasons campaign started with Moyes losing Mikel Arteta to Arsenal at the 11th hour of the transfer window and this season he has passed on the services of Tim Cahill to the New York Red Bulls. But now 5 games into the new campaign, Everton sit 3rd in the league, 3 points off the top and have already claimed the scalp of Manchester United. 

It remains a mystery how he manages to pull off such a feat every season. It's also mystifying as to why the Everton coffers remain closed despite how obvious it is how well they could do with one or two golden ingredients. Remember that season they made it to the Champions League? OK they crashed out in qualifying, but how good was that? I'm sure the Toffee's would love to taste that success once more. 

Last season saw the Merseyside Blues finish 4 points ahead of their local rivals. This season is shaping up to have a similar feel to it and now that they have the wheels in motion and the knowhow of how to topple the big guns, surely Everton fans deserve more success and their manager more praise?

Everton have the opportunity to apply real pressure on Liverpool over the next few weeks with games against Southampton, Wigan and QPR. With 9 points potentially banked and some serious momentum behind them, Everton could give Liverpool a Halloween nightmare when they visit Goodison at the end of October. 

The big question has to be though How long will David Moyes put up with this frugal approach? I believe it's more a question of How long before a 'bigger' club sweep him off his feet with the funds for his master plans?

Follow @GregJSmart

Comments

[Jonesy]

Sorry Greg but this is a case of here we go again with someone else who doesnt really understand why Moyes is having the success he is at Everton.

Longevity, cotrol and stability. Its not flashy or involving of exciting swoops for megabucks galactico-class players...which is why the mainstream media tries not to notice, but, its absolutely the key to the way Moyes operates. At Everton Moyes has had the time to build and mould his squad to his own work ethic. In fact this is the second time he's done it in the last decade.

First off, when he joined the club in '02, we were poor going forward and couldnt keep a clean sheet. His first job was to shore up the holes. He concentrated on the defence and made us the hard to beat 'dogs of war' thats been such a difficult image to shake off ever since. From that base though, and it was the 'heavy defence plus nicking 1-0's' system that got us into the CL qualifiers, he started adding what he terms 'craft' bringing in the likes of Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Lescott etc but only a couple at a time. Each season he'd graft on just a bit more talent and let it take hold building to a pinnacle in 08/09 when we were playing great football and only simultaneous injuries to Jagielka, Arteta and Yakubu denied us a really strong shout for the FA Cup and a top-4 finish.

City coming in for Lescott so acrimoniously plus the long term injuries to Arteta and Yakubu tore that team apart such that Moyes, practically, had to start from scratch again. He did well to cover the gaps at the back with Distin and Heitinga, but, Arteta's craft and Yakubu's goals were harder to replace. The thing was though, despite the fall from where we were in 08/09 Moyes's job has never been in jeopardy. He's had the time and the confidence of the club hierarchy and the greater percentage of the fanbase and he's converted that license into reshaping and rebuilding the team into a unit that is familiar and comfortable with itself and has the correct balance.

Look at how long Moyes has had players like Baines, Jagielka, Osman, Fellaini, Pienaar (despite his North London sabbatical) and Howard. If he moves to a new team, much like Rodgers is finding at Anfield, it will take him a good few seasons to establish the same kind of familiarity...even if he were to take key players across,. Money isnt the issue....faith in the manager is. Are City, Utd or Chelsea fans going to wait a few seasons for Moyes to establish his ways at their club?. We know Chelsea wont after the AVB debacle...there are calls for Rodgers to go at Liverpool 5 matches into his tenure?!!.

Moyes knows this and he wont give up what he's built at Everton easily....especially not just as he starts to get his European ambitions fulfilled by the club he has given so much to!.