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Moyes' magnificent seven

Author: Rose Young
Date: 29/03/2009

Last weekend, David Moyes celebrated his seventh anniversary as manager of Everton.

Within his tenure the 45-year-old might not have won a trophy, but has restored plenty of pride on the blue half of Merseyside, as the Toffees look odds-on with betting pundits to secure their fourth top-six finish in the past five seasons.

That represents a remarkable achievement for a club that had previously only managed to finish in the top six once since 1990.

Many eyebrows were raised when the Scot took over from compatriot Walter Smith on March 14, 2002. His only management experience was in the lower leagues with Preston and his first task at Everton was to help the club avoid relegation.

Many wondered how a rookie could improve the fortunes of a 'sleeping giant' when the vastly experienced Smith failed to do so. However, Moyes steered the Toffees to safety with plenty of games to spare and it was only the beginning of his legacy at Goodison Park.

In his first full season in charge, Moyes might have had the luxury of having the prodigious talent of Wayne Rooney at his disposal, but it didn't stop his peers voting him LMA Manager of the Year, after finishing seventh with a team that was mainly inherited from Smith's reign.

Many believed the 2002-03 was going to be a one-off when the following season ended in a lowly seventeenth in the Premiership. It is also credit to Bill Kenwright for keeping faith with Moyes when many other club chairmen would have lost faith and replaced him.

Kenwright's trust in Moyes was repaid and saw the club finish in the top four in the 2004-05 season and another LMA Manager of the Year award for Moyes.

It was a remarkable achievement when many pundits tipped Everton to be relegated, especially with the sale of Rooney. Moyes' only summer signings were Marcus Bent and Tim Cahill for a combined total of less than £2million, showing to the rest of the Premiership that the dominance of the so-called 'Big Four' could be broken and not by over-spending, but by spending wisely on a tight budget.

Under Moyes, Everton have broken their transfer record four seasons in a row, but his annual transfer budgets pale into insignificance compared to the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and even Portsmouth in recent seasons, let alone the endless millions Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have at their disposal for signing new players.

The Toffees' might not have been able to maintain top-four finishes, but have been able to establish themselves as a regular top six side.

Would Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea have been as successful with the same budget as Moyes?

Would Alex Ferguson, Rafa Benitez or the endless supply of Chelsea managers steered a team who were a constant fixture in the bottom half of the Premiership to a regular top-six finish?

Achievements in football can't be solely based on trophies and David Moyes' legacy at Everton has proved that point with consistent league finishes that has awoken 'a sleeping giant' in English football.

Maybe after another seven years Moyes will have the trophies to show for his remarkable work at Goodison, but it will always be hard to reach the next step to success if transfer funds remain limited.

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