Anyhow, I was ready for him to go after the double capitulation against Liverpool last season so I’m not going to cry crocodile tears over it. We’ve had a good few highs and a fair amount of lows during his time with us but we’ve got our dignity back and for that I’m grateful.
You can’t say we’ve had a bad season; we should finish 6th and with less losses than anyone except Man Utd and Man City... but what will we remember from this season?
The capitulation when it mattered against Wigan and dropping stupid points because of negative tactics against lower sides. We didn’t have our usual season of two halves but still couldn’t break through. By his own admission this was the best squad he’d assembled but once again when in a position to kick on we didn’t take it. We’ll never have a better chance of finishing top 4 with Chelsea and Arsenal in early season turmoil. It was the Moyes mind-set that I struggled with. 15 draws this season says it all.
After 11 years it was time for a change all round because it was all beginning to smell a bit stale. My JFK tendency thinks he must have had an inkling of what was going on at OT because these things don’t just fall conveniently into your lap. I suspect he had no intention of signing a new contract and buying no-one in the January window was a bit of a giveaway.
Blue Bill is now firmly in the spotlight because he’s lost his human shield. On the basis that there was uncertainty over the contract any normal board would have had a contingency or succession plan in place. I suspect Bill has been in denial when what he should have done when Moyes stalled on the contract was take it off the table and tell him we’re all moving on. What he’s probably doing right now is sobbing in the back row of a theatre in the west-end and with a shaky hand writing a few names on a napkin. His utterances about not rushing in to an appointment would indicate that he hasn’t got anyone lined up and is going to put a few names in a hat.
We’re in a different place to when Moyes was recruited, due mainly to the manager and not the board. We’ve gone from bottom 6 to top 6 on the pitch but gone backwards off it. We’ve hocked everything we owned to service providers, had a spectacularly failed ground move (which was actually a blessing but no thanks to the board) and failed to attract any inward investment. So with form like that can we trust this board and BK to manage this transition?
We won’t have any difficulty attracting a new manager on considerably less than the £3.5m a year of the previous incumbent... but will we get the right one?
Some of the names on the bookies list turn my blood cold. To get a marque manager will take a lot of persuasion and a commitment from the board to support a new manager’s plans to kick us on from where we are.
Back in 2002 Moyes was just pleased to get himself into the Premier League and we were relieved to get someone fresh, eager and (at the time) cheap. We are now in a different place and should be far more attractive to established managers looking to further their careers.
We’re a top 6 side that needs to look upwards not down. The cozy relationship between Chairman and Manager has gone we now need to sell our credentials and ambition to a potential new manager as much as he does to us. This is not a one-way street if we want to get the best.
On the other hand, if we want one of the usual suspects we just have to whack a contract on the table and they’ll sign it. I fear we’ll fall short of the marquee manager because we haven’t demonstrated that we’ve got a sustainable business plan in place. We relied on Moyes unearthing a few gems, selling a player a season and over achieving. It may happen again with the next guy but I’d like to see something a bit more coherent and joined up.
All eyes are now on Bill, being in the limelight doesn’t usually faze him, so expect the obligatory interview with SSN in his front room and out will come the stories of the boys pen, getting the bus with Dave Hickson to the match and a nice eulogy about his special relationship with David and how he couldn’t stand in his way.
What we actually need is a steely determination and decisive action above theatrical rhetoric. If he works 24/7 on a replacement the way he’s worked 24/7 on getting investment in we’re really in the cart.
Deep breath, have faith, we’re Everton.
Reader Comments (16)
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2 Posted 10/05/2013 at 15:25:02
3 Posted 10/05/2013 at 15:44:13
4 Posted 10/05/2013 at 15:46:36
I don't trust Kenwright to get the next manager selection right and I reckon all we can hope for is a 3rd rater with nothing to lose but a crack at this job.No seriously ambitious guy would touch us with BK in charge and there lies our problem.I have been asked numerous times who do I want next but its all about who would come here.Our choices will not be from the top draw but Moyes was a no mark from Preston and many worshipped him.
Roberto Di Matteo would possibly come as he did go to West Brom.Roberto has a very good CV going for him so he would do me fine.Not really who I would want above all else but probably available I think.Sooner Di Matteo than Malky MadKay or Niel Lennon thats for sure.I can definetly see someone being appointed from within on a temp basis though and thats a huge worry.
5 Posted 10/05/2013 at 17:57:53
I'm now extremely worried by the future - whereas I was optimistic a few days ago. To me Moyes with a decent amount of new TV revenue equalled a bright future.
The wrong choice now and we'll be cast into oblivion.
Whoever you are good luck.
And to David Moyes - thanks for giving us back our self respect.
6 Posted 10/05/2013 at 18:13:56
Ross fair do's mate can we give it a rest now. If he was that bad he really wouldn't be at Utd. Whatever his style and weaknesses he gave us back our dignity after a decade of shite.
I quite like the idea of Steve Clark.
7 Posted 10/05/2013 at 18:33:40
I reckon Moyes will Bomb out at OT and all the frailities he has shown at Everton
will come back to haunt him on a much bigger worldwide stage..Why and How do you think that DM will suddenly grow a pair of balls when his personality is one of caution and trepidation.Money or a bigger club cant change what a man actually is or thinks...To many Evertonians think to much of Moyes and what the press portrail of Moyes is.I never bought in to it and always thought Moyes was lucky to have us.
.
9 Posted 10/05/2013 at 19:11:23
I think some of the Fantasy Manager choices are just that. I agree that whilst we should be attractive to a top notch manager they wouldn’t touch us with a proverbial barge-pole without a Board that has a proven track record and the funds to support a sustained tilt at breaking the top 4
.
We need to find a manager who has the right footballing credentials with the potential to grow but can handle the handcuffs that will be placed on him.
No wonder BK is looking so chastened he knows he needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Very few of us will accept some of the usual suspects being touted.
If we’re going to take a punt, we could do worse than Poyet. Can’t say I’m an expert on Brighton but it appears he plays decent football. Cue Brighton getting stuffed in the play offs.
10 Posted 10/05/2013 at 19:21:26
11 Posted 10/05/2013 at 19:30:33
"What will we remember from this season?"
Probably what being in contention for a European place used to feel like?
12 Posted 10/05/2013 at 18:56:01
As supporters, we are looking to the future for the club by hiring the right manager although some of the names being mentioned do not inspire me.
What will a new manager face in coming to Everton?
(A) The smallest first team squad in the Premier League, consisting of 22 players that is made up of the 11 regular first team plus backup keeper and at least 4-5 players due to age or ability that are no longer good enough for the Premier League and the rest are youth players whose ability to play a full season in the league is still questionable.
(B) He may loose 2-3 players from the first team so now he has to enter the transfer market for a number of players and going on past performances from a pathetic Board of Directors, he will face an uphill battle from the beginning, even if as a bonus they offer him free food stamps from Tesco. This may not turn out as I say but, if it does, I do not know of another manager who can keep us up in the top 10 while trying to implement his style of play.
As for a new manager, the supporters who ask for a managers from the lower leagues or ex-players with no managerial experience, ask yourself how many of the ex-players or lower-league managers have kept their club in the top 10 of the Premier League over the last 6-7 years.
The club are at the beginning of a new future and I am worried that Bill Kenwright, as per his past performances, will make another bad decision and we will return to mid-table or lower with a turnover of managers every couple of years.
13 Posted 10/05/2013 at 19:37:39
However he played with us he got positive returns over a season, and repeatedly. Also the Mob cant have it both ways. He's gone to a big club which is something you and others never thought would happen . Mistake or not he's gone, and he was chosen by people who know infinitely more than you and I about premier football.
TW will be a better place without Moyes. It got too much at times of late. Every thread moved to a love hm/hate him Moyes debate. There's only so many times you can read and post the same kind of thing and it remain interesting.
I hope BK avoids the usual Uk familiar names. Surely there's a European manager with panache and an eye for a player. A bit of creativity please.
14 Posted 10/05/2013 at 20:11:06
There’s no reason why we couldn’t have qualified this season. It was the mind-set that did for us.
15 draws, a lot of which were from winning positions was a consequence of negative tactics and players who didn’t believe in themselves.
6th will look respectable through the telescope of history but for those of us who lived through it this season will always think what might have been with a bit more ambition.
Let’s hope a European tour doesn’t become an even more distant memory.
16 Posted 10/05/2013 at 23:37:49
17 Posted 12/05/2013 at 16:36:23
Not everything in life is about money, boards and investment! Sometimes it's about belief and true faith in other human beings. Some of the best returns in my life have been as a result of those around me and the way they made me feel – not about how much money they've invested in the process.
So what if the "Board" had removed any potential offer from David, earlier in the season?? Held him in a corner and demanded an answer? He would of either stayed and lived to regret the decision or left – leaving the club with no manager and lots left to play for this season. Perhaps you should consider the potential outcome of strategy decisions rather than playing pathetically in tactics.
The strong are sometimes wrong, but the weak are never free....
I'm made up for Mr Moyes and believe other true Evertonians should support the Board rather than spit from a distance.
I'm left wondering whether your CV would be selected for Business Development at EFC?? Probably not.
18 Posted 13/05/2013 at 11:52:59
Sorry for the late reply I was at the match when you wrote it.
Wow, I’m not quite sure where you got all that from but I’ll try and pick my way through it.
I strongly believe the board should have withdrawn the contract offer when David Moyes refused to sign it and not allow him to kick it in to long grass. As has been proven by events Moyes had the control and we looked weak.
I wasn’t advocating summary dismissal he would still have seen his existing contract out and managed us until the end of the season as he is doing now.
I think it's you that misunderstands strategy and tactics. Managing a football club or any business is about creating the long term vision and from which the tactics are implemented to deliver against them.
This board is bereft of any strategic direction and have relied upon short term tactical fixes to get by.
Business development........now you are having a laugh.
Successful business development is about a joined up approach linked to vision, strategy and tactics. This board has hocked all our assets, had numerous missed opportunities to develop and grow the business (KD being one of the biggest) and failed to attract any investment.
Based on that track record I’m over qualified for the role, if one actually exists.
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1 Posted 10/05/2013 at 15:04:45
I think any possibility of keeping Moyes (and cracking the top 4) was lost then. The results in the second half of the season are broadly similar to the first half in terms of points per game, if not slightly better with 2 to play.
Although like you I became ambivalent after the two derby games in the latter half of last season, Man U has obviously done their homework - even if he was being championed by SAF - who we've learned wanted him as #2 way back in '98 - it was still the board's appointment. He owes Everton nothing. He certainly owes Kenwright nothing.
So now we wait until the new manager is in post. This could be music to BK's ears - allowed to sell players with impunity before promising the new man "an historic transfer kitty at this club" - all funded from player sales. So it's back as usual.
Not looking forward to the speculation frenzy though. Daily news stories on who's turned us down, hourly updates on 5Live from Dave Whelan about why he felt he had to give Roberto permission to talk to us, but things there's better out there for him. Depressing. Thankfully I'm off overseas on a 3 month contract.