David Moyes - Everton boss celebrates 10 years at the helm

Recently lauded by the great Sir Alex Ferguson it is fair to say that, despite not winning any trophies the job done at Everton by David Moyes is nothing short of remarkable. He deserves the plaudits coming his way this week as he celebrates ten years in charge of the blue half of Merseyside.

Tim Cahill & David Moyes

When he joined back in the spring of 2002 his appointment was met by many of Gladys Street faithful with scepticism. The decision from Bill Kenwright to blood a young rookie manager in the place of the hugely experienced Walter Smith was a bold move and looking back now was perhaps the best decision ever made by the owner.

At the time they were a club going nowhere fast. Moyes joined a dressing room that was on its last legs and seemingly heading out of the league. He swiftly moved the likes of Paul Gascoigne and David Ginola out and focussed on bringing in youth with Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert being the first to be blooded in.

His focus from an early stage was on youth and he has given opportunities to a number of youth starts including Wayne Rooney. Today he has Jack Rodwell who is attracting interest from a number of big clubs and has Ross Barkley knocking on the door for a first team slot.

Year on year he has produced teams who play with pride and passion. Osman and Hibbert are prime examples players who technically are not the greatest who have ever worn the shirt but can be relied upon to a job and do it very well.

He has worked the transfer market very well bringing in the likes of Joleon Lescott, Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar in and selling them on for huge profit. He has done very well to keep hold of Phil Jagielka and Tim Cahill who were brought in from the Championship and have blossomed into top players and are the heartbeat of the club.

Phil Jagielka

His financial control over the years would surely make him an attractive proposition for any club, as the financial fair play rules are set to kick in over the next couple of seasons. With Sir Alex taking note of his due diligence in the market: “David has had to contend with not having a strong financial structure.”

The January transfer window saw plenty of action with Darron Gibson and the return of Pienaar bolstering the numbers. The signing of Nikica Jelavic from Rangers looks an excellent bit of business with the Croat scoring the winner on his full debut against Tottenham over the weekend.

The decision to move Louis Saha on will have perhaps raised a few eyebrows but, put simply the former Manchester United man does not fit into Moyes’ ethos he was also a big earner and his sale balanced the books.

The recent run of results see Everton go into a big week in good form. A win in the Derby on Tuesday could see them overhaul their neighbours in the league and then they face Sunderland in the cup on the weekend with a place at Wembley on offer.

Over the years it would have been easy for Moyes to walk away he has had many suitors. Many thought the sale of Arteta to Arsenal back in August would have perhaps seen him turn his back on the club. He held firm and any move from Goodison would be well thought out as he has fallen in love with the ‘People’s Club.’

Cup success this season would be truly deserved having come so close in 2009 when his side fell just short at the hands of Chelsea.

Sir Alex Ferguson & David Moyes

At the age of 48 he is relatively young and has plenty more to offer the game and will go onto achieve much more, Evertonian’s will hope it comes with their club.

Sir Alex Ferguson will have a huge say in who comes into replace him when he finally calls it a day. Following his praise of his fellow Glaswegian over the recent months, who would be surprised if Moyes moved over Old Trafford? No one will more deserving of a shot at the big time than Moyes and he would without a doubt make it work.