Joe Royle took us from relegation fodder to FA Cup success and, the following season, a decent 6th place finish. However, only 12 months later he was gone and the club were too close to the wrong end of the table. Yes, he did have some hinderances:
His man-management was highly impressive and The Dogs of War were testament to that. But his own signings (and he had a bigger budget than Moyes ever has had, relatively speaking) were sublime to the ridiculous. Kanchelskis and Speed were class. Barmby was disappointing. Short and Barrett uninspiring and incompetent at times. Why were we buying Short when Alan Stubbs was on the market at Bolton?
Yes we had some great games against Liverpool and Man Utd but there were some awful performances. Remember the shocking home defeat to Wimbledon? Away to Coventry? Away to Wimbledon? Away to Coventry? They were humiliating.
Also, back then there wasn't a Sky Four. There weren't four teams with massively larger spending power way in excess of the others. Man Utd, Blackburn, Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Villa and ourselves all had a few quid. Hence why we allegedly bid for Shearer and Collymore. Can you imagine David Moyes in the running for Berbatov or Tevez?
People criticise DM for being defensive but JR was just as stubborn with his use of the "big man" up top. When Rideout and Ferguson were injured or suspended at Loftus Road he opted for Angell and Barlow, leaving Amokachi on the bench. Unsurprisingly Angell was awful and our poor defending meant we went behind. Amo came on and changed the game. JR was a little behind the times tactics-wise.
His subsequent managerial posts have not exactly suggested we missed a trick although Man City treated him very poorly. Bringing him back now would be crazy as he is not equipped to deal with modern methods and coaching.
So my point? Joe Royle was a successful but limited manager with no real long-term design. He had funds and the jury is out on how he spent them. David Moyes is a successful and sometimes frustrating manager. He has a long term plan, not had great funding and certainly did not inherit the wealth of players Joe Royle did. Yes David Moyes was fortunate to have Rooney but there were no Limpars, Stuarts or Amokachis.
Therefore, things are admittedly not great but I sat through a strong and enjoyable performance today where we should have won. It beats my visits to the capital under Big Joe where we were agricultural and sometimes embarrassing. That aforementioned Fan Article is the kind of thing that leads to Howard Kendall Mk III. Need I say more?
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It may not have been your intention, but this piece reads as a pitiful attempt to downplay the positive aspects of Royles short spell at the club (let's not forget he only actually had one full season at Everton), & in so doing portray our current managers tenure (eight full seasons so far) in a better light in comparison. A poor show!
Under Moyes we are negative playing one striker against smaller teams even when Cahill is injured. We have three tough games coming up that could see us start to be adrift at bottom of league. Go now, Moyes ? you have lost the plot with your poor tactics and substitutions. Come back, Joe, till the end of the season and save us once again...
In Joe we trust, under Moyes we will rust!
Joe did start him against QPR the following season only because of a horrendous injury list and he played awful. In fact, when he got booked for a late challenge, we were baying for him to be sent off! Not surprisingly, he never got near the first team again and was subsequently sold to Sunderland in the March of '95.
By the way, Dominic and Aiden, you thought Johnson did a good job? Kenwright is the equivalent to Moores in comparison, the man was a lying, conniving piece of filth who undermined two legends and nearly took us down three times!
As for insulting Royle, have either of you any idea how bad it was at City? City were close to liquidation, Royle managed more points in the final third of the season than Clark had managed in the previous two. The fact he took them up two divisions in succession with only £5 million to spend and then was only given a further £8 million to try and keep them there whilst getting rid of 15 players from a playing pool of over 50 was remarkable.
As for Ipswich, the fact he took them to three play-offs against a back drop of administration and having to sell any player worth a fee during his time there speaks volumes of the man. He is a great manager, end of.
Remember the only player he bought during his first season in charge was Barrett and Ferguson who was already there was signed permanently. He used what players where already at the club including the wonderful Spurs game when all the players were either Walker's, Kendall's or Harvey's. So much for not being able to use what he has got...
As for the so-called 'Dogs of War', Royle had already well dispensed with that midfield by the start of his final season in charge. Tony Grant was established alongside Joe Parkinson before both were injured and Gary Speed and Andrei Kanchelskis were wide left and right ? hardly Dogs of War!!!!!
The only reason Barry Horne was asked back was because of the most horrendous injury list the club had known, including Andy Hicnhcliffe, Dave Watson, Craig Short, Duncan Ferguson, John Ebbrell and the above two. Add Anders Limpar and Kanchelskis buggering off and Peter Johnson not supporting his manager, nothing new there then ? that is why Royle had to ask Horne if he would be willing to return.
All the arguments are pointless anyway, Moyes will not be sacked by Kenwright because he has never given him any financial backing. With the exception of the Yak, Moyes has only ever spent what he has raised from transfers. Kenwright simply wouldn't have the audacity considering what Moyes has had to work with and the fact Kenwright has always been willing to make a point of it.
Aiden, I was not suggesting you had mentioned Moores, I was merely pointing out that Johnson was filth and that you could compare Moores with Kenwright in comparison. Again I think you are being unfair on Royle during his time at Ipswich. Their financial situation was terrible, Leedsesque you could say. Relying on youth throughout his time at the club yet consistently he had them challenging for promotion.
As for City, reading his book and our own experience of regular defeats at the hands of lower league teams in the cups, every side that played City that season they were in the old third division treated it like their cup finals. Something like 22 out of the other 23 teams had their highest gates of the season. All sold out their allocations at Maine Rd. All the sides were desperate to beat them, as Royle said they had to literally fight their way out of that league.
As for the 1st Division there was plenty of top sides in the league that season, all who had decent crowds: Blackburn, Wolves, West Brom, Birmingham to name a few. This argument is irrelevant anyway, as Dominic (#40) points out: Kenwright would never sack Moyes, they succeed or fail together.
Oh sorry but it's the strikers fault for not scoring goals, so says tactical genius and ginger tosser! Well, way to give them confidence, mate! Slate them in public! YOU bought them, you daft prat, and you've destroyed them!
Every striker he's signed he's wrecked! Look at the evidence! Beattie: 20+ at Soton ? shite at Everton; Yak: 2nd only behind Henry, great first season... then shite; Johnson: 20+ great 1st season then shite;Saha ? a 1-in-2 striker when fit... now shite
Beckford ? 20+ at lower level, so about 12-15 in th Prem? You've guessed it ? now shite!
NO, they're not ? it's Moyes and his coaching methods that are shite! And his unswerving belief that 4-5-1 is a good tactic... no, it's not ? it's shite!
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