Season 2001-2002

David Moyes: as expected, he takes control of the Goodison hotseat

Just a day after officially announcing the dismissal of Walter Smith, Everton have named David Moyes as the new manager at Goodison Park after ironing out the last remaining issue of compensation for Preston North End.

Having agreed personal terms with the Blues yesterday evening, the 38 year-old former Celtic defender was unveiled at a press conference this evening. He becomes the 7th man to take the hotseat at Goodison since Everton last won the championship 15 years ago.

Everton are believed to have paid Preston in the region of £1m compensation for the loss of Moyes, who leaves Deepdale with the Lancashire club very much in cotention for a second successive play-off berth in the Nationwide League First Division.

In his time with Preston, Moyes has led Preston from the depths of the Third Division to the brink of the Premiership but was denied a fairytale promotion to the top flight when his side lost the play-off final to Bolton Wanderers a year ago. However, his record at Deepdale has made him one of the most sought-after managers in the domestic game; Moyes has turned down opportunities to manager Southampton and West Ham as well as the assistant manager's job at Manchester United in the past.

Everton will be hoping to leave the conservative tendency of Smith's management behind, putting their faith in the raw talent and enthusiasm of a "tracksuit manager" who can energise the players and employ his brand of enterprising football at Goodison. A genuine student of the game, Moyes has earned his official UEFA coaching badge and offers a breath of fresh air from the old guard represented by Smith, Royle, Kendall and Walker over the past decade.

And the new boss' first words as Everton manager will have Blues fans drooling in anticipation: "I want to win and I am sure the supporters want to win,"he told the Official Site. "I am not really interested in pressure. If pressure is losing then I don’t feel good when I lose.

“I want the players to know what it is like to win again and I want the supporters to know what it is like to win. We will try and play a brand of football that the people will enjoy, but when it comes down to it winning is the thing I want to do.

"At Preston North End I was allowed to manage with no interference whatsoever, which was important to me. I have been guaranteed that will be the situation here as well and I felt that the opportunity to manage Everton was far greater that the other opportunities that have come around.

"Everton has been the best opportunity I have had, and I am going to try and grab it with both hands."

Moyes is under no illusions about the size of the task, but appears unphased by the challenge: "It is a massive job and I don’t think anybody who took over this job would say any different. It is a difficult situation and we are going to everything we can to stay in the Premiership and then we are going to build on that.

"It won’t happen overnight, there is going to be a lot of change but I think the Everton supporters deserve a good side. But the most important thing is that we start winning games quickly. It will make everyone feel good about themselves and put behind the disappointment of last Sunday behind them.

Although Moyes knows he won't have millions to spend, chairman Sir Philip Carter suggested that funds would be made available to the new manager: "We have funds available, but they are not unlimited obviously as nobody would expect them to be. I am sure David, having already spoken to him, will be anxious to examine the existing squad first before dashing out in the transfer market."

Majority shareholder, Bill Kenwright, will be relieved at the opportunity to provide the long-suffering Blues fans some real hope for the future, having had to let go a respected friend in Walter Smith. Speaking of Moyes' appointment he said: "He’s got great credentials, he’s done a fantastic job at Preston and the appeal of a young tracksuit manager was immense. Within five or ten minutes of meeting him there was an energy and a positivity and a desire to accomplish that was instant.

"Life is all about making choices and if [bringing in a manager with only lower-division experience behind him] is a risk then it’s a risk that the Board felt was worth taking and there are very few Evertonians, myself included, who will not think it a very good gamble…if a gamble at all."

More on this story from:
The Official Everton Site

by Lyndon Lloyd