Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who knows a thing or two about management, was asked earlier this year who he thought the Premiership’s most talented managers were. Being humble enough to exclude himself (although unable to resist a cheeky swipe at Rafa Benitez by excluding the Spaniard), the Manchester United boss said: “You’d have to say Arsene Wenger, Martin O’Neill and David Moyes.”
It’s a given that none of us would dare question Ferguson, thus avoiding the wrath of his infamous hairdryer treatment. But it’s a doubt anyone would even want to disagree, as to see David Moyes in such exalted company is now so commonplace as to be taken as fact. A regular contender for Manager of the Year (an award he won in 2005), the Everton chief has raised the abject Toffees team he inherited in 2001, a side soiled by four years of short-sighted management by Walter Smith, into one of the most likeable and gifted squads in the league.
As a result, few would begrudge Everton this year’s F.A. Cup to go with the Europa League spot they have now surely achieved by virtue of a top six league finish. These are phenomenal achievements on a restrained budget, but do they also represent the peak for Moyes at Everton? It would seem so, with Everton lacking the financial clout to break through the glass ceiling of the Premier League’s Big Four clubs.
Debt
Everton’s debt is estimated presently to sit at around £36m, arrears that show no signs of abating. The Goodison chairman Bill Kenwright, an endearingly honest figure, has been so ready to encourage the influx of foreign investment that he has appeared almost desperate.
As well he might be, for his sentiments are consensual at Everton – as evidenced by Moyes’ own comments: “A lot of clubs are spending now, Man City, Villa, Tottenham, Newcastle . . . so we might need £30m just to stay fifth. And it could take four years of spending £30m to bridge that gap with the Big Four.”
For every year Everton do not finish in the Champions League places, they are falling behind the teams that appear in that competition because of the revenue the European Cup generates for the Big Four. Unlike those sides, if Moyes wants to invest £30m in his playing squad, the money will need to be generated by the sale of one of his key players.
The squad
And so it has been throughout the Scotsman’s tenure at Everton. Yes, he has spent big on Yakubu and James Beattie, but these signings were funded by the £20m+ sale of Wayne Rooney to Manchester United. Yes, Marouane Fellaini arrived for £15m in the summer of 2008, but not before Andy Johnson had left for Fulham for a similar fee.
With this one-in one-out policy, building a squad with the depth of quality necessary to sustain a fight for a Champions League position is near impossible. Indeed, after Yakubu’s injury early in the season, the Toffees were forced to play for months without a recognised striker, with Tim Cahill asked to play as an auxiliary frontman.
The stadium
Even the promise of a new stadium, for so-long now a shining beacon of hope on the horizon, keeps meeting preventative obstacles. The Kings Dock project (which would have held 55,000) was rejected in 2003 by the city council. The new Kirkby stadium, first mooted in 2006, is the subject of an inquiry that will mean further delay to the commencement of construction work.
The Kirkby stadium would hold 51,000, whilst Goodison Park presently seats just over 40,000. Although this is a not insignificant difference, it is hard to see how sufficiently improved revenue will be generated to make a large impact on the amount of money available to the manager for investment in the playing staff. Of course, there’s also the fact that the cost of the stadium is likely to plunge Everton yet further into debt.
Moyes
It should be noted that all these financial hindrances to progress have nothing to do with the Everton manager himself – indeed, he has performed fantastic work in view of the restraints placed upon him .
So, whilst Moyes may have taken Everton as far as he can, it’s also fair to say he has taken them as far as anyone could have done in the present circumstances. And though it is a phrase that has acquired negative connotations – as with Curbishley at Charlton – taking a team ‘as far as they can go’ must be heralded as a great achievement.
It will be no surprise in the post-Ferguson years if it is David Moyes that journalists go to when seeking the most-informed opinions about the talents of other managers.