Everton have confirmed the appointment of David Moyes to replace Sean Dyche, whose sacking was announced only hours before the FA Cup tie against Peterborough Utd on Thursday.
The 61-year-old has signed a 2½-year contract with new owners, The Friedkin Group, and hopefully he will provide the stability needed to preserve the club’s Premier League status before they move into the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock at the start of next season.
Upon his return, Moyes said: “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.
“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.”
Moyes, who has been out of work since his last contract expired at West Ham in May, spent an 11-year spell at Goodison Park after initially coming on board to drag Everton away from relegation danger in 2002.
Everton executive chairman Marc Watts said of Moyes’s return: “We are pleased that David is joining us at this pivotal time in Everton’s history. With over a decade of experience at the club, he is the right leader to propel us through our final season at Goodison Park and into our new stadium. We look forward to working with David to build the foundation of a new era for Everton.”
The club became known as “plucky little Everton” under the Glaswegian before he departed under acrimonious circumstances for Manchester United in 2013, having been hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson to be his successor at Old Trafford.
His tenure in Manchester lasted less than a season, however, and included two memorable defeats to Marco Silva’s Everton before he was sacked. After poor spells with Sunderland and Real Sociedad, he had two stints with the Hammers, pulling off two more escapes from the drop before landing the Europa Conference League for the London side in 2023.
Although Moyes represents a controversial choice for many Evertonians, some see him as a steady influence who can get the most out of a squad that is limited in talent and hit by injuries in key areas but which many believe has under-performed playing Dyche’s brand of anti-football.
The Toffees won just one of the former Burnley boss’s last 10 games in charge, scored in only two of them, and failed to register a single shot on target at the Vitality Stadium last weekend.