Moyes Should Go While He Has the Chance

This is the beginning of a two-part series at the potential departure of David Moyes from Everton. This series will look at both the pros and cons of Moyes leaving from two perspectives. We will take a look at this debate from a view of how Moyes would be affected personally, as well as how the club would be affected by his departure. Today Brian talks about how both Moyes and Everton would benefit from his departure.

David Moyes’ departure from Everton would be a boon to both the club and his own ambition. Though him leaving would make his time at Everton seem unfulfilled, both the club and Moyes could do with a change of scenery.

For Moyes, the chance to manage a *bigger club is something that may not come around again. While everyone likes to joke about how Moyes is just waiting for Sir Alex to retire, the truth is that no one can guarantee Moyes the United job when it becomes available. Mr. Moyes has been passed over for many managerial openings at larger clubs, and he may well realize the time comes to jump ship.

Even if Moyes' ambition is to manage United, a move to Spurs could actually aid in that goal. Moyes has done a fantastic job at Everton, but one only needs to look at Roy Hodgon’s spell across Stanley Park after his success at Fulham to realize that hiring a manager from a smaller club is fraught with risk. If Moyes manages Spurs to some level of success, it would go a long way towards proving his abilities as a manager. At Spurs he would have to deal with some high priced talent, and the big egos that go along with it. Just look at AVB for an example of what happens if you don’t massage egos properly.

The funds available to Moyes would also be a well-earned respite from the penny-pinching years at Everton. On average Moyes has had a net of 2.4 million pounds spent in the transfer market, and without the sale of Wayne Rooney or Joleon Lescott it would have been an even more depressing number.

From Everton’s perspective, losing Moyes would be a blow initially, but one the club could recover from if they play their cards right. Finding a manager with a similar style to Moyes would help mitigate the blow. Many fans would clamor for someone like Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, but trying to change a squad’s style of play with such limited funds would be more disastrous than Chelsea’s experiment with AVB. If the club is willing to take a chance, a foray into the Championship could yield another manager like Moyes.

Another bonus for Everton would be the removal of some generally negative tactics at times. Although Everton will never be mistaken for Arsenal, there is some attacking quality in the side as we saw in several demolishing of Sunderland, as well as a fantastic draw against Manchester United. Unfortunately David Moyes can have a tendency to revert to a defensive minded game plan in larger games. Though the players played poorly at Wembley this year, Moyes decision to park the bus rather than take the match to Liverpool killed any chances of a victory once they tied the match.

An often overlooked problem with Moyes could also be solved by his departure. Excluding Fellaini, Moyes has not exactly been the best transfer market guru when it comes to high priced talent for Everton’s budget. Yakubu, Billy, and Andy Johnson were all failures who cost around the 10 million pound mark. That is about 30 million pounds that could have been spent on proper players, or even used to pay down debt instead. While a new manager will certainly need to be thrifty like Moyes was, a little more ability at the higher prices of the market could help us out a lot.

In the end, Moyes leaving would be nervous time for both manager and club. There are certainly positives to his potential departure for both manager and club, but the true story will not be written for years, and possibly even decades after the departure.