Marco Silva was sacked on Tuesday following Everton's loss against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Duncan Ferguson has been put in temporary charge and will manage them against Chelsea this weekend. Everton are now sitting in the relegation zone and they face Chelsea, Manchester United & Arsenal next. In between, they also face Leicester in the Carabao Cup QFs. The Toffees are in talks with several managers to take the reigns and David Moyes is among them.
Moyes managed Everton for 11 straight seasons before joining Manchester United in 2013. He was sacked after just 11 months in charge of United. He then managed Real Sociedad in the 2014/15 season. He suffered relegation with Sunderland in 2017 and has not managed since leaving West Ham United in 2018. His career went downhill since leaving Everton. Here we will talk about the reasons for his possible appointment and the pros & cons of appointing him at this stage.
Why Everton want Moyes back?
The reason Everton are considering Moyes is because of his track record of being able to succeed at Goodison Park. He spent 11 fruitful seasons as Everton manager previously (2002-13). He leads the Toffees to nine top 8 finishes in his 11-year stint. He could offer stability and experience to the Everton squad. Everton under Moyes achieved so much without spending loads of money. They played good football and had some very talented players at their disposal. But it looks like the fans don't want him back as they think he has lost his mojo since leaving Everton in 2013. There were some anti-Moyes graffiti at Goodison Park last week. This decision will be totally made under emotions. Despite being a top candidate, Everton haven't appointed him yet. The delay means the board aren't fully convinced in bringing him back. The Scotsman managed over 500 games for the Toffees and no one can deny that he's a good manager.
Pros
Moyes has experience managing Everton in the past and he knows the club inside out. Everton invested heavily last summer and brought some talented attackers. The current Everton squad has huge potential and they need an attack-minded manager who can utilize their potential. Moyes can bring stability and offer the experience to the team. At this stage, Everton's highest priority is to survive relegation this season and Moyes can ensure that given his familiarity with the club. But Moyes is not a long term answer considering Everton's European ambitions.
Everton's ex-captain Leon Osman said in an interview:
"People say David Moyes is a step back - I'd argue a step back is good for Everton at the moment," Osman said.
"The steps forward Everton have made in the last three or four years haven't got them anywhere."
Cons
Everton's glory days were under David Moyes and their nine top-8 finishes in Moyes' 11 seasons were an overachievement. Hiring the Scotsman back would be a risk as his CV after leaving Everton isn't good enough. He was sacked at his only stint with a top club, failed in La Liga with Sociedad, got relegated with Sunderland and had an average season with West Ham. The club has changed fundamentally since he left. Everton had British players by their side in those days and consistently overachieved under Moyes. Now the team has a more continental squad than ever before and Moyes hasn't been able to do well with them at other clubs. Many fans are against his arrival and have started to hate him because of him trying to low-ball Everton on Baines and Fellaini during his stint at United.
During his 11-year stint, he was good with transfers, planning for the future, bringing in young players & grooming them. But he was in charge of the transfers, and he only brought in players with a mentality he wanted and could work with. Now Everton have a Director of Football, Marcel Brands. If Everton are to bring him back, he should have total control of the club again. And that's something he's not gonna get.
