Things you could have discovered by probing(!) a Preston North End fan before you came in for Moyes:

1. If things start off badly in a game - he finds it impossible to rectify the situtation. Every single person in the crowd knew that if we went one down - we were in the shit.
2. He would constantly scupper 'done deal' incoming transfers with his dour personality. It's believed that the once prolific striker, Nicky Forster, went to Reading instead of us for just this reason.
3. He hates flair players, or any kind of individualism. David Healy, who has scored goals everywhere he's ever played - including at international level - for reasons unknown to everyone outside of Moyes's head - could not get a game. He ended up going out on loan, begging publically in the paper for someone to come in and buy him.
4. He's incredibly indecisive in the transfer market. By the time he's made up his mind about a player, it would have been in the papers for months that he was interested. By this point, other clubs have become aware and the price has increased exponentially (Nugent!).
5. He always pays over the odds for players. Always. This is almost entirely due to the point above. PNE, despite selling all of our best players, are still in the red after his final spending spree, 4 years or so since he left.
6. He's incredibly miserable - even when things are going well. His interviews are like pulling teeth. "We have to do better".

Jim  William

A Preston Perspective

As a PNE supporter, Moyes' record at Preston bears a few interesting similarities with the 'progress' under his regime at Goodison:

Moyes' inherited an underachieving squad at Preston and, as with Everton, kept them up in his first season.

Second season, with limited additions in the summer, Preston got off to a flat start, enjoyed a great spell around the middle of the season, only to fall away badly at the end.  Play-offs were reached but we failed to reach the final.

Third season, again limited additions, Preston are promoted as champions.  Great season.

Fourth season, 4th place in what is now the Championship.  However, the results show something interesting.  Virtually all the bottom-half clubs we have taken either 4 or 6 points off.  However, in 10 games against the other top 6 sides we have won 1 lost 11.  Lose play-off final 3-0.

Fifth season, here is where Moyes leaves us.  In the play-off final, despite having been at the helm for 4 years, only TWO players feature that have been signed by Moyes.  Money has been frittered away on the likes of Iain Anderson (£500k for an injury prone, lazy waste of space - remind you of anyone?).  The likes of Dobie, Crouch (!) and more have all been for trials under Dithering Dave, but all joined clubs with a more decisive manager, despite the chance of a crack at the Premiership under Moyes.  By this stage, Gary Peters's team was being asked to do too much, age was catching up with them and they needed replacing.

Moyes failed to do this, failed to build on getting so close to the Premiership and although he left us in 12th, our season was incredibly frustrating.  Frustrating because the opposition we had crushed in the previous season we were letting get results against us through an unbelievable number of crass individual errors, low team spirit, uninspired tactics and a flawed, invisible transfer policy.

Craig Brown won few admirers succeeding Moyes but his record in the transfer market provided the nucleus of Billy Davies's push for promotion that led us to the play-off final.  The likes of Mawene, Nash, Fuller and Lewis signed for Brown — aside from Healy, the names of Moyes's successes fail to roll off the tongue.  It's best not to mention spats with the players like punching two on a pre-season tour, then mishandling Jon Macken's transfer request so spectacularly.

Preston did enjoy two great seasons under Moyes, playing excellent football; however, this was never a team built by Moyes.  Once we needed a little more than motivation and were no longer the surprise package, Mr Moyes was found severely wanting.  Despite his success with us in the past, I don't think there's many North End supporters that would have him back now.

As an outsider looking at Everton — and who has attended 4 matches this season at Goodison Park — I stood there in the deafening pre-match atmosphere against Villarreal and thought Everton were a club on the brink of greatness.  £5M on Krøldrup, £6M on Beattie, £4.5M on Wright, £3.5m on Valente, £1M on Kilbane, £3.5M on Davies — any guesses why its all gone wrong, Davie?

Steve Johnson

©2005 ToffeeWeb