David Moyes Faces Tough Decisions about His Everton Future

Who is the third longest-serving manager in the Premier League?

The answer might surprise you. It is, in fact, David Moyes—the Everton manager joined the struggling club way back in March 2002.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) and Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) have been at their respective clubs for longer than Moyes’ six years.

In that time, the Scotsman has brought a lot of stability to the blue half of Merseyside and, other than an anomalous 17th place finish in 2003-04, has taken the Toffees from perennial underachievers to UEFA Cup regulars.

Few would argue that Moyes has worked wonders, and Goodison Park regulars rightly revere their manager as a hero.

While Moyes has seen many other less talented managers in the league be given extravagant transfer budgets in an attempt to buy short-term success (often achieving quite the opposite), the Scotsman has had to work on a limited budget.

This was not a problem when turning his side from relegation battlers to top 10 stalwarts—the available funds were quite sufficient for that—but it poses a real problem now that the Scotsman wants to take the Toffees to the next level; the Champions League.

As a result, Moyes’ commitment to the cause has understandably waned. A lucrative new contract sits on his desk, but has remained unsigned for many months.

It is estimated the Toffees’ manager has lost out on over £300 000 in improved wages as a result of not signing the deal—but the former Celtic player wants assurances that the club matches his own lofty ambitions before he locks himself into another five years at the helm.

Its easy to see why, as since finishing fourth in 2004-05—and thus getting a shot at the Champions League—the club have failed to push onwards, finishing 11th, 6th, and 5th in subsequent seasons.

This season was supposed to be the year Everton really pushed on for Champions League football (when they did qualify in 2005, they then failed to make the group stages), with the club using the summer to purchase the caliber of player required to break the grip of the “Big Four.”

Instead, Moyes endured a frustrating summer, unable to clinch deals for any of his preferred signings. After very little activity, Lars Jacobsen, Segundo Castillo, and Louis Saha eventually arrived for minimal fees, and only towards the close of the transfer window did the club spend any real money—with £15m spent on Standard Liege’s Maroune Fellaini.

Yet even the signing of the Belgian may have frustrated Moyes, as it ably demonstrated the limit of the board’s spending. Earlier in the summer, Bill Kenwright and the rest of the Everton hierarchy had baulked at offering the £19.7m required to meet Joao Moutinho’s release clause—despite the Portuguese midfielder being Moyes’ preferred purchase.

The message from the board after Fellaini's signing was clear—£15m for a player is our limit. In an age where Liverpool could afford to spend £20m on Robbie Keane (and Rafa Benitez expected further big signings), it spelled out the limit of the club's aspirations.

Such an admission of the limits of Everton’s spending power will have unsettled Moyes, and no doubt played a part in his reluctance to commit his future to the club (ironically, his new contract would be worth roughly £17m over its five years).

The problem for Moyes is his age—like a middle-aged woman, he can feel his biological clock ticking. At 45-years-old, he should be entering the prime of his managerial career, yet he finds himself stuck in what appears to be a dead-end job.

For reference, Ferguson and Wenger were 44 and 46 respectively when they took their current jobs. Rafa Benitez, Moyes’ city rival, was 44.

In short, the big managerial chance of Moyes’ career should be just around the corner. But while he remains in charge of a stalling Everton side, few top clubs will give him real consideration whenever they have a vacancy.

He is already harmed by the prevailing Premiership penchant for foreign managers. The latest en vogue manager from the continent will always be a more fashionable choice than the sometimes dour Scotsman, perhaps another indictment of the persuasive power of the media.

In his column for The Times around a month ago, Gabriele Marcotti pondered the career quandary that the Everton manager found himself him. He suggested that Moyes might do well to leave Everton, and offer himself up for the then-vacant Manchester United assistant manager’s job.

Marcotti’s reasoning was simple—at the moment Moyes has little chance of getting such a job, but opt to work under Ferguson for a few years and he would likely be chosen as the heir when the great man retires.

However, such a course of action would no doubt have been anathema to the Scotsman, who would surely prefer to win recognition, respect, and the top jobs in the game through his career achievements—not his career movements.

But if he wants all of those three things, he needs to make a decision on that contract soon.

With the prospects of a new stadium in Kirkby all but dead in the water, Moyes knows that without a billionaire investor he will always be fighting an uphill battle in his attempts to take Everton into the top echelon of English and European football.

If he signs his new contract, he commits himself to that task. Regardless of his career aspirations, he will be locked into the job for the foreseeable future—few clubs will be willing to pay the extortionate compensation that releasing him from the contract would entail.

If he opts not to sign that contract, then he needs to go out on the charm offensive, and quickly. He needs to show that he is the sort of manager other clubs would love to have, and remind people about the fantastic achievements of his career.

Newcastle and Tottenham are just two jobs that look likely to become available in the upcoming months—both tasks Moyes would feel qualified to take on. More importantly, both clubs offer the potential—albeit not immediately—for Moyes to reach the heights Everton so clearly cannot.

However, at the moment Moyes is not an attractive proposition to Daniel Levy, or any foreign investor that takes over the reins at Tyneside. On his CV they will see a lot of impressive league finishes, but not the silverware (however minor) that always catches chairman’s eyes.

Rectifying that will not be easy, but overcoming Standard Liege in the UEFA Cup will be a step in the right direction. But with the tie poised at 2-2 and the second leg in Belgium, Everton are up against it. 

Few pundits would favor them to move on to the competition’s group stages, especially after witnessing Liverpool’s troubles in gaining a 0-0 draw when they visited the intimidating Stade Maurice Dufrasne.

There is a lot riding on the outcome of that match for Everton, both this season and in the future. If the club really wants to reach that elusive next level, then they simply must win. Their European record in the past has been poor, and it needs to be improved if they are to be considered amongst the continent’s elite—and thus be able to attract the sort of players that demand that stage.

But for Moyes, it is an equally important game. He must mastermind victory if he wants to look employable to ambitious chairman—who often hold success in European competition in the highest regard.

If the Merseyside club lose, the outlook is not so good. Both club and manager could find themselves stuck in an unhappy alliance, both frustrated with their inability to step up to that next level.

But more importantly, both will realize that neither could improve their prospects by looking elsewhere.

The club could sack Moyes—but could they find a better manager?

Moyes could resign—but would he then be able to find a bigger and better job?

The answer to both questions, in all likelihood, is no. But such a situation of "mutual convenience" does not breed the drive and high targets that are necessary for any successful Premiership club.

The fact that Moyes has not signed the lucrative new contract indicates he has ambitions he doesn’t honestly believe can be achieved at Everton.

Yet, on the other hand, the fact he has yet to flat-out refuse it indicates he isn’t entirely sure he will be able to find another club where he can better achieve those ambitions.

Desperate for clues as what to do, Thursday’s match against Standard Liege might be the best one the 46-year-old will get.

Already determining the Blues' European fate this season, the game in Liege might also play a significant role in determining the long-term future of Everton—with Moyes, or without.