Moyes leaving Goodison: The aftermath

When Sir Alex Ferguson decided to call an end to his time as Manchester United boss, former Everton boss David Moyes emerged as the undisputed candidate to take over the biggest job in the world of football. Given the successor’s humble past (Everton and Preston North End), the anxiety among the Mancunian population isn’t entirely misplaced.

Although few remember Ferguson for his spell at Aberdeen, the Scotsman was widely regarded as one of the finest coaches around even before he took charge at Old Trafford, much unlike Moyes. It’s clear what motivated the people at United to choose Moyes ahead of other potential candidates; the loyalty he has shown during his time at Everton has gone down extremely well with Ferguson given the existent scepticism at the club with regard to managerial instability. With Fergie gone, most United fans have braced themselves for what could possibly be one of the most testing periods for the club in their recent history. Amidst this, the uncertainty at the club that Moyes leaves behind has gone largely unnoticed.

David Moyes took charge at Goodison Park back in March 2002, when the Merseyside club were seemingly going through one of the most trying phases in their history, having had to fight relegation in the previous few seasons. The 39-year-old was greeted by senior players Paul Gascoigne, David Ginola and Duncan Ferguson at the club’s Bellefield training grounds; while Gazza demanded a transfer away from the club, the other two pressed for more involvement in the team. Hardly the sort of welcome a coach would look for on his first day at the club, especially someone like Moyes whose only managerial experience had been at a second division club in England. However, despite all the doubts regarding his survival in the Premier League, Moyes did succeed to beat the odds.

The next season, 2002-03, was arguably the finest for the club in close to a decade as Everton finished seventh in the league table but narrowly missed out on a UEFA League spot. Indeed, the return to the upper half of the Premier League table for the first time since 1995-96 was engineered by a little-known manager from Glasgow. In the club’s annual report, the Chairman at the time, Sir Philip Carter, lauded the manager and his team:

“After so many years of unfulfilled promise, it was refreshing to witness not just the name of Everton anchored in the upper echelons of the Premiership table but, perhaps more significantly, to see our team perform with style, flair and consistency.”

Referring to Everton’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on the final day of the season which resulted in Blackburn Rovers’ stealing the final UEFA Cup berth, he added:

“Indeed, it is a measure of the progress we have made since the installation of David Moyes as manager less than two years ago that the over-riding emotion on the final day of last season was one of absolute disappointment.”

The following season, 2003-04, the club was once again involved in the relegation battle and finished in a disappointing seventeenth position. This season was the worst Everton have had under Moyes during his time at the club; an aberration of sorts in Moyes’s CV. However, the Toffees staged a spectacular turnaround the following season, basking on new signing Tim Cahill’s heroics, to finish ahead of Liverpool in fourth position. Since then, Everton have finished in the top half of the table in every season but one (2005-06), having qualified for European competition thrice in three consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2009.

It would be safe to conclude that there aren’t many managers around in England who can function as highly as Moyes with such minimal funds. Under him, Everton found themselves consistently finishing in the upper reaches of the table for the first time since the inception of the Premier League. And given the funding, or lack of it, that Moyes had to work with at Everton, to restore them in to a side regularly contesting for a European competition berth reflects the great work he has done.

The Telegraph conducted a survey recently based on the annual financial reports of every Premier League club from 2010-11 and onwards. According to the survey, Everton have spent a net worth of £6.6m on transfers; approximately £20m lesser than Tottenham, and £34m lesser than Merseyside rivals Liverpool. The only club to have finished higher in the table than Everton last season despite having spent less on net transfers are Arsenal(no surprises there).

Everton have also spent a net worth of £58m on salaries towards players, which is £33m less than what Tottenham pay. No other Premier League team who have managed to finish above Everton last season in the league have spent less than what the Toffees have; Fulham are the only club to have finished in the top half (eighth), and have spent lesser than Everton.

In the age of chequebook-driven football, the only way to measure a club’s success is the amount of silverware they have won. And with Moyes not having succeeded to deliver any to the club, calling him a ‘success’ would evidently mean that Joe Royle wasn’t one. But you cannot call him a ‘failure’ either; after all, he successfully took the club in the top half of the league especially considering the tumultuous phase the club was going through when he first took charge.

Moyes’s contribution towards Everton has not been limited to improving the competitiveness of the squad; he planned the shifting of training grounds from Bellefield to the much-improved facilities at Farm Finch. The Scot’s pragmatic approach towards improving the scouting and training facilities have gone a long way in improving the overall performance of the club.

Moyes brought with him the highly experienced Jimmy Lumsden and later appointed Steve Round as first-team coach at Goodison; decisions that have gone a long way in improving the standards of the backroom staff at the club. And the fact that Everton FC are in a better state (purely in terms of football) as compared to what they were back in 2002 exemplifies the splendid work Moyes has done.

But now with Moyes gone and the club’s debts worse than ever before, Everton are now faced with the possibility of bankruptcy. However strange it may sound, a large section of Evertonians do not hold Moyes in the highest regard for failing to deliver any trophy, and for not choosing to revolt against Billy Kenwright’s suspicious running of the club.

The club’s group balance sheet in the annual report of 2002-03 stated the equity shareholders’ deficit to be at £7.699m. Despite having a strict transfer and wage budget, the deficit has spiralled upwards to £44.9m by the end of 2011-12. The Chairman and the fans alike realize the urgent need to find investors for the club or the new manager would be forced into selling their top players to balance the charts.

“We haven’t spent money because we haven’t got it, we haven’t traded. So I look at the huge leaps forward this Football Club has had. And the next question, still I can’t sell it – that’s where I have failed.”

‘The banks are tightening in now. We just can’t borrow any more money. A, to protect the football club and B, to protect the fans. I know the progress over the past decade has been phenomenal on and off the pitch.” – Kenwright back in 2011.

New Everton manager Roberto Martinez (R) and Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright

Roberto Martinez’s appointment has been received well by the fans given the Spaniard’s recent FA Cup triumph with Wigan. With Everton’s performance in the domestic cup tournaments being dismal, Martinez is being looked upon as an immediate answer to the club’s trophy drought. The 39-year-old has worked with a low budget at Wigan and has been doing pretty well to stave off relegation until this season. But the expectations at Goodison will be much higher, whereas the transfer budget wouldn’t be much of an improvement from what it was at Wigan.

Only time will tell if Martinez can guide Everton to the Promised Land or Moyes takes the stability away with him to Old Trafford.