All far too touchy feelly perhaps... but what an opportunity to put this "Power of Positive Thinking" business to the test! A massive test with a huge potential outcome for Everton FC and all its fans.

Are you with us? Or are you going to be a Naysayer???

What Moyes has done is make sure that his teams have shown pride in the shirt and he has been brutally honest in assessing himself and his team. He's a classy guy in my humble opinion and, even though we haven't won anything yet, he's enabled me to continue to be proud of my team.

The ruthless indoctrination of my children into a love of EFC has been worth it, even if they all feel a bit odd in the playground, being nearly the only child with a blue Everton shirt on. Moyes is always fair to the referees and shows great respect for his opponents (learning point for Benitez). He is a great model to sportsmen anywhere and I hope this year he gets his just desserts with a fantastic season. COYB

It all starts on 13 March 2002. Walter Smith, a manager with 13 SPL trophies to his name, is sacked as Everton manager. The club is out of the FA Cup, one point away from the relegation zone and has not finished above 13th in the table under Smith's management.

Despite what many may claim, Smith is not a bad manager. In fact Smith, who later led Scotland to the brink of Euro qualification, is a relatively good manager. So why did the club underachieve so badly? During his reign, Smith spent £57.8M on his squad, but to do this he had to raise the money by selling £57.6M worth of his players. In the crazy new world of the Premier League, this is ultimately the same as shooting your star player in the foot.

The club are skint, relagation fodder... and, despite the good intentions of the major shareholder, Bill Kenwright, have no chance of attracting a high profile manager. But Bill has an idea up his sleeve...

At Preston, a young Scot called David Moyes is building a bit of a reputation for himself, having taken North End to the Division One play-offs. Moyes, half-way on a scouting trip to Bristol I believe, continues his journey down south and meets Bill in London, talks to him... and then returns home to Preston.

And there lies one of the most important journeys in our recent history, as Moyes signs. A few days later on 16 March, there is an air of anticipation around Goodison Park. Bill sits in the stands, Moyes in the dugout, and Everton face Fulham, a team comfortably above them in the table. But Everton score within 30 seconds and then go on to win the game, 2-1. They end the season in 15th, only 2 positions worse than Smith's very best.

Now we jump to today, over 8 years on, and Moyes is yet to win a trophy (a fact that caused a few fans last season to want him replaced by "former" football manager Steve Coppell.) But here is my point, and many may disagree: if you were to give any other manager the same amount of money, none of them would return the same "profit" over 8 years that Moyes has. European trips, Champions League qualifying and an FA Cup Final all felt relatively impossible back on the 13 March 2002, but Moyes came in, changed everything, and made the impossible, the expected.

But, despite all that, Moyes achieved something far more important last year than even the FA Cup Final appearance. I remember watching the game against Manchester City, billions and unbeaten at home, and Everton were simply sublime. They played beautifully and ultimately that is something that has been missing longer than any trophies or championships. The team were playing completely true to their glorious history.

So thank you Moyes, the most successful "unsuccessful" manager in football history.

For the "haves" (which we are not), success is measured in both silverware and a top four finish which then allows membership to this "haves club" for another year at least.

For the "Have nots" which we are executive members of, success is measured in how many years you can survive in the PL and maybe the occasional sniff at some of the cup silverware. Broken down further, the elite of this group are those that consistently finish in the top half of the PL but outside of the top four.

We belong in this latter grouping and seeing as we hardly ever seem to have a pot to piss in then I'd say that what David Moyes has achieved at our club in the last eight years is immense and as such I'd say it has definitely been worth it.

A remarkable job and we should be very thankful for him.

Please, Everton ? don't let it be like that this coming season!

So really, that's what is missing from Davey's CV, so let's hope the trophy room gets a new resident this season.

However, I don't agree with the fact that this isn't a make or break season for us. This year, it's rightfully acknowledged that this is our best squad in a long time and I think it's hugely important Moyes becomes a trophy-winning manager; if he can't do that here, then he may be looking to pastures new where he can fufill his ambitions.

There's plenty to admire about DM's demeanour but the bottom line is, one final, a 4th in the league spot and not being relegated.... not enough for me.

Some of you really are and I truly cannot believe how much apparent enjoyment you get from demeaning Moyes and his achievements.

Cheer up, lighten up, wake up and get behind the man and his team for once.

You never know... it might rub off.

I have never used the term apologist to describe his supporters so how about some respect for doubters. I have stated that I do not expect miracles from him but he has had eight years, won nothing and, in my view is entitled to some scrutiny.

So yes, it has definitely been worth it because, without Moyes, we could've been in a really bad situation by now, maybe even relegated. I have been critical of Moyes in the past over many things like not making substitutions until to late in games, being over loyal to certain players when they're not playing well or when we have better options (Neville in midfield; should never happen again), playing too defensively against the so-called big four... I could go on and on

But, for all the negatives, there are many more positives, the most important of all is that he is still learning and is getting better, older and wiser as time passes. I'm sure he's going to make some mistakes this season, like some of the same ones in previous seasons, but this year unlike other years, when Moyes says that his aim is to win the Premier League, I believe that he thinks it is possible. This is one of a number of reasons why I think we will be challenging.

I found Michael's comments about the power of positive thinking very interesting because I think many of us have got this bug and think that there is this kind of wave of belief and positivity that is transcending through the whole club and through the players. Ok, there are many people on here who think at best we could get fourth spot... but I'm not one; I think we can win it.

If anyone believes in fate and this 24-year thing, then think of the chances of Everton continuing this pattern if we had had a different manager after Smith, sacked him for not being good enough, then replaced that manager with someone else. We wouldn't have a cats chance unless we hired someone like Mourinho who is capable of turning things around in a short space of time and that would never happen with a shoestring budget to give him.

No, this is the only way that we could have any chance of keeping this particular statistic alive, through a slow building proccess by a very good manager. I hope I'm not reading too much into things but I am a believer and sometimes strange things happen in football, just look at Newcastle under Keegan when they won the First Division and then the following year nearly won the Premiership. A lot of that success was because there was a positivity and belief throughout the club.

I feel like a kid in a sweet shop with a big secret that only us Evertonians know.

Have you forgotten the cup final against Chelsea? The team sweated blood to get there and then what? The most abject fucking surrender in the history of the club ? down, entirely to the coach.

This site used to be an alternative to bluekipper and the OS but I have noticed lately a lack of tolerance to any dissent. Not, may I add, from the editorial team but from the David Moyes fan club. I know I must sound like a miserable bastard but how about some balance?

And then people wonder why Moyes hasn't been sacked. Before he arrived, we were constant bottom-half laughing stock of our neighbours across the park. Mark my words, when Moyes leaves (which is most likely to happen in the next few years!) we will return to what we were like (bottom half drivel) because, believe me, there is no-one we can afford and most managers that we can't that will do nowhere near enough as good a job as Moyes.