Everton FC: David Moyes Proves His Transfer Prowess as Toffees Rise Yet Again

Coming from a Liverpool supporter, I hope all you Evertonians will appreciate the kind words I am about to bestow on your beloved manager, David Moyes.

To be honest and despite how much of a travesty it may seem to say this, outside of Kenny Dalglish—whom I love because it is in my blood to as a Red—there is no manager I place more admiration in than your own Scottish mastermind.

Moyes has always proven to be a transfer genius, but this January I have to say is his finest work in several years.

The strides he has made for the Toffees this January have totally changed the expectations I believe for the Toffees, and honestly I do not feel it is out of the question for a few results to go the Blues' way and see them make a late run up the table.

However, the real place to start this piece is with last night's result over Manchester City.

Former Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson became a hero to the Red Devil faithful as well as the Everton Toffee fans on January 31, 2012, as the recently acquired player struck a second-half goal to secure his new side a well-earned victory over league leaders, Manchester City.

The first half of the fixture had been delayed just before the break, as a crazed fan jumped out of the stands, literally handcuffed himself to the post of one of the goals and was forcibly removed before the close of the half.

But the second half proved to be the tipping point as Gibson blasted an effort in the 60th minute. To the raucous uproar of the crowd, he took his first bath in the Goodison faithful’s noise barrier-breaking praise as he put the Toffees up 1-0.

During the halftime break, the Blues' newest signing, Nikica Jelavic, formerly of the Scottish Premier League’s Glasgow Rangers, was paraded to the fans.

Luis Saha was on his way to Tottenham and White Hart Lane. His sale and the departure of disappointing Russian starlet Diniyar Bilyaletdinov helped to facilitate the move for the Croatian, who joins on a four-and-a-half-year deal that saw Rangers a believed £8 million, according to ESPNsoccernet.com.

When asked how he could most help Everton, he responded with this:

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"Scoring goals. In the last couple of seasons my record has shown that and hopefully I can continue that at Everton.

"I can promise to the fans and people at the club I will do my best and score as many goals as possible.

"I only found out about the move a few days ago and it is a dream come true.

"I know Everton are an outstanding Premier League club, even thought this season they are not in as good a position.''

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Everton’s victory only adds to what has been an amazing January for Moyes, as the long-tenured Scottish tactician had one of his best transfer windows ever for the club.

The return of Landon Donovan on loan from the LA Galaxy for his second time at Goodison already has proved a great decision. Donovan already has four assists in seven games across the league and the FA Cup.

Darron Gibson has a goal in his four starts and has not lost a game since pulling on the Toffees' strip. He will be boosted by this early success and should prove to be a great asset, especially since he is rumored to have been purchased for only £500,000 outright—a number that will rise to a max of only a believed £2 million.

In the last hours of the window, while the club was finishing off Manchester City, it was also agreed with Tottenham that former Everton star Steven Pienaar would return to Goodison park for the remainder of the season.

The 30-year-old South African will most likely get a welcoming return from the fans, as he was a favorite for his work ethic.

David Moyes did an excellent job, and although he will lose Donovan back to the MLS in February, the arrivals of Gibson, Jelavic and Pienaar’s loan are sure to go a long way towards helping their goal-scoring issues.

The three could also see them make a late run at the UEFA Europa League spot.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out more on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook, or visit my Website.