The Mail Bag
Moyes on Easy Street
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There was a very interesting and good article in The Times this morning from Matt Dickinson regarding Steve McClaren's reversal of fortunes in Holland. Dickinson asked a question about the real trophy-winning ambition of managers like David Moyes who bang their heads against the Premier League glass ceiling whilst Steve McClaren goes to Holland and now experiences the real satisfaction of winning a trophy. (By the way, for those fans under 20 and others who are happy finishing 6th every season and winning nothing, a trophy is a big silver thing which you parade around the city!)
Now I'm aware that Steve McClaren may well have had no option but to go abroad and chance his luck in the land of Edam... but at least he had the balls to do it and now something to show for it. Hardly any British manager tries his luck in a different country, despite the fact many foreign clubs would probably love to give someone like David Moyes a chance.
So, it begs the question... Is David Moyes just as lacking in real ambition as many supporters and our Chairman? Yes, he earns more money here than he would at many other clubs on the continent but surely it's about more than just pay cheques? What about glory and trophies? Surely that beats cosy eighth-place finishes.
Yet again this summer, we and Moyes are faced with the enduring scandal of having no money to spend and the loss of one of our best players because we offer unsatisfactory wages. Surely there must come a point when Moyes says, "Enough is enough"?
Steve McClaren, the former national joke, the wally with a brolly, now has a European Title on his CV and will no doubt move on to another bigger club elsewhere in the continent. Meanwhile, David Moyes risks being remembered as a manager who turned top half finishes — without ever winning anything — into an art form.
Gareth Hughes, Posted 04/05/2010 at 16:13:08
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http://www.hecklerspray.com/steve-mcclaren-adopts-a-flawless-dutch-accent/200815679.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90
Glasgow is a tough place to manage and plenty of good football men have gone there and failed. "The dark days of Walter Smith" is one of the most annoying phrases that appears on this site. Walter was, and is, a winner.
He was then let down by the players, especially the likes of Lampard and Gerrard, then with one of the worst goalkeeping displays in history in the final qualifying game against Croatia.
Scandal? Unsatisfactory wages? What happened to Sport? Forget about trying to find a billionaire, why not try to get our sport back from the rich boys who have taken our toys away.
The only hope our sport has is to see more clubs going the way of Portsmouth. Strict rules introduced regarding wages and turnover and more restrictions on foreign players.
When you say it is a scandal that we can't pay someone over £60k a week then the whole sport of football needs to take a good look at itself.
I'd rather wait until it all goes tits up than have a sugar daddy. After all we will be eight in line for a billionaire and if we get one we won't be anywhere different than where we are now.
Moyes knows he is doing a good job here and will not move until a huge job comes up. That's not a lack of ambition just sense. He's hardly a pensioner either so has plenty of time on his side.
Surely it's more ambitious to fight for a trophy in Europe's strongest league?
I don't want to belittle his achievement, I actually think he is a decent coach, to a point. But notice that no serious club came in for him from England, Spain, Germany or Italy. Twente are a tiny club in a tiny league. But he still got ahead of Ajax.
The idea that managing a provincial Dutch club to success in Europe's 10th best league somehow indicates more ambition than pitting your wits against Chelsea, ManU, Arsenal etc is of course bollocks.
Moyes is desperately ambitious. He is also fundamentally loyal. He also likes to build something. McClaren will be off this summer (Wolfsburg, 8th in German league).
This article has a rather bizarre focus. Surely it should be about EFC rather than David Moyes. EFC can't compete for the Eridivisie, we can only compete in one league. We have a manager with ambition, but also with commitment and understanding. He's thrown his toys out of his pram before, but probably won't do again.
I suggest you let McClaren have his day. I applaud his willingness to go abroad, albeit in an enforced way. I like broad minded people. But it has zero bearing on the ambition of Moyes or any other manager. Our business is here.
If you don't like the guy fine, just don't go making ridiculous and tenuous accusations to rally anti-Moyes support!
Best of health to you Sir, and I bid you good day!!
I could be wide of the mark but I do believe you put the current Everton team in any European league outside England and we would both qualify for CL and be in with shot of the title - I conceed the Spanish title may be a bridge too far, but we would get CL if we played in La Liga.
To that end - the job Moyes is trying to do is that much harder in England than anywhere else. His job is the hardest in management, getting Everton in with a title shot or CL's in England. He could fuck off to Italy take an Everton type club (Lazio, Sampdoria or Napoli), pick up an italian accent and wooow fans with a title. Get the verbal blow jobs currently being dished to the Tit @ Twente... who knows winning an international title might get him in with a shot of getting the Man U job.
But he doesn't, it'll be a greater achievement doing in England, especially up against the cheating mega rich teams who go and buy who the fuck the want... We should praise Moyes, he is trying to get the team pass the ball and this season has seen looking better on the pitch.
Go DM - spend no money this close season and continue to improve the squad.
Do you mean Champuns Leeg.... AGAIN
The wages of modern footballers, the monopolization of our league and the shameful cartel that is the Champions League are the problems.
No good denigrating McClaren either, good luck to him, he did a great job at Boro and at Man Utd. He was a wally with
England mind... Scott Carson, what was he thinking of? Next year, I will accept no excuses though from Everton. I expect to be competing for the league and at least one good cup run. Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal will all suffer disproportionately from the World Cup.
Liverpool, well, I cannot wait for that to unravel. Villa and Spurs are not as good as us though they both have some excellent players. Man City will have a lot of pressure and they have some strange individuals.
We need a good start for once though and we need to ambush those teams coming back from arduous European ties. We can't afford to gift the RS 6 points like last year.
There are some top teams in European leagues, but in most, not many. The Prem has eight teams that could win the Europa League and two or three that could win the CL. The Times journalist misses that point. If Moyes is comfortable with 60 points and 5th-8th in the League, then right, he lacks ambition.
But he isn't.
And why would he leave now? Another thing the Times (same owners as Sky) journo misses is this Everton team would maul those of the last three years. We haven't bought big in the past two seasons, but have accumulated a squad. We are up to the level of all but Chelsea, Man U and Arse.
With just a couple of freebies, such as Beckford to improve the Squad, not team, plus Donovan – I still hope – for the team, we (they) can do it. The second half of the season has proven it.
The only team I thought outplayed us in the second half was Spurs, and they were hanging on.
Why build if you're not gonna live in the house? Don't lose players, and we're ready. We should be a lot more bullish.
ps: Well done, McClaren. But to say Moyes isn't ambitious is plain wrong.
The point I was trying to make was that there must come a point when a manager with REAL hunger to WIN things must get fed up of finishing 6th - 8th every season and if Moyes or anyone else is happy to take the money and make up the numbers, then he isn't the man many people believe him to be.
I think it's a feature of many players and managers in this country that they are insular and never look to broaden their experience elsewhere.
Despite his considerable success at Twente, I am sure McClaren would be on the first plane back if he was offered the Hull or West Ham jobs.
Give the man a break ffs. He is the best gaffer we have had since Kendall #1 and will be lucky to keep him for another 2-3 years. It baffles me when people question his desire/ wil to win etc. Week-in, week-out, you can see it etched on his face. The man is driven by a winning mentality and a bloody strong work ethic.
Some day he will move on and we will all look back on his tenure and smile. What ever his legacy will be, he has moved us forward no end and I’m sure on his eventual departure we will be a very different club to the one he first took on.
There is only one reason Moyes is still at here — well actually theres 15 million of them... spread over about 5 years.
Aye, there's the rub. It seems that he felt that way in pre-season, hence the stalling of the contract signing. He must have been as pissed off as the rest of us that there was no money to spend and the transfer of Lescott looming. You can have all the ambition in the world but if you have shite tools there is not a lot you can do about it.
We have a very good starting XI when fit... however, a couple of injuries and were are ordinary again and we simply do not have the squad to cope with any injuries. It's funny that a redshite next to me is bemoaning their injuries and lack of a squad and suggesting that Rafa needs more money
And it now looks as though he'll be off to Wolfsburg or Hamburg. Both teams who have a chance of winning the German league. If he has success in Germany then La Liga or Serie A could come calling.
Sure he was crap with England and Capello has done a much better job. But Capello came into the job with 20 years experience at clubs like AC Milan, Juve and Real Madrid. McClaren had about 5 years at Boro.
In a perverse way I want him to leave to see a) who we could get and b) if they could actually do any better. I pray that they can but I fear that they won't.
I'm not averse to perverse speculation either, also about where the man himself might end up if he left. I think Woy Hodgson could do a similar job to Moyes possibly. Before his antics last summer I would've had Mark Hughes on any shortlist to replace Moyes if he ever did leave. Wouldn't now of course.
The whingers on here would have a fucking field day with that one.
It seems the fact that he hasn't won anything frustrates them; however, if he did win anything off their beloved Sky 4 plus Spurs & Man City, then they would just write it off as a fluke and poor play from the others.
Our only hope is Man U and Liverpool go to the wall because of the way they are run and Uefa and the FA actually do something about it.
In other words, I understand how he came to his conclusion even though I fundamentally disagree with it.
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/05/05/steve-mcclaren-twente-tactics/
... in to your browsers for a fairly balanced appraisal of McClaren’s strengths & weaknesses.
I think Walter was and is shite.
Kept us 'afloat'!!?
Afloat like a fucking brick.
As for the SPL, there are two teams and if one of them has an off season, the other is guaranteed the title.
This is my honest opinion and therefore not 'snide'.
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1 Posted 04/05/2010 at 17:11:27
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