Does Moyes' reign look better with hindsight given the dismal performances of his successors?

[Barnfred 55]

All our permanent managers after Moyes have effectively stunk the place out. When Martinez, Koeman and Allardyce departed, they had all long outstayed their welcomes. I appreciate that a lot of people still feel animosity toward Moyes, but based on his performance as Everton manager, he was leagues better than any of his successors have been. He got us into the top 4 (which he still doesn't get enough credit for), led us to an FA Cup Final, and got us further in Europe than any manager since Kendall. He did this on a comparatively small budget. If Moyes had the money that Martinez and Koeman had, I reckon he would have spent it much more wisely. He also wouldn't have stood for transfer targets being dictated to him by a DOF, which has been a disaster for us thus far.

You make it sound as though most fans thought his reign was a disaster, and I'm sure the general feeling is far from it.

He brought us away from the perennial relegation battles and had us in and around 5/8th consistently. I don't think the club were actually as spend thrift as you suggest, but he did well compared to teams with higher wage bills and transfer budgets than we had. He also put together a couple of decent teams during his term playing very decent football at times.

But the fact is he took us probably as far as we could go under him, and probably should have left a couple of years earlier. The fact that we have made several poor, or at best average, managerial appointments since he left is no reflection on Moyes; they were just wrong decisions made by the board/owners. Moyes own managerial record since he left us just confirms this.

 

[Saint Domingo]

A lovely list of 8 players that Moyes brought in over ten years and then using garbage players to make your point. Don’t forget about the dross Moyes also brought in. Every manager can make a decent signing. Even Allardyce got us Walcott and tosun who regardless of people’s thoughts towards tosun, were two of our best players since January.

Ridiculous myopism. The fact 3/4 of our first choice back 4 are still Moyes players shows how good his recruitment was. One of his signings has stayed in the United squad under Van Gaal and Mourinho, one is now first choice CB for both England and the current champions. Over his tenure he had very few key buys because he almost always got them right.

Our recruitment under Moyes was indisputably better than what has followed.

 

[chippy1722]

It doesn’t matter what his successors have or have not achieved, they could never have done the job he did with the squad he started with and the funds he had.

Even more impressive is putting up with Billy Bull for so long.

 

[Nymzee]

Yeah because we’ve regressed! The top 6 aren’t better quality wise than the ones Moyes faced over his tenure. They may be relative to the rest of the league but the achievement in 05 by Moyes can’t just be written of as ‘the top 4 wasn’t as strong’. That season alone Moyes was up against a Chelsea side that until City held the prem record, the Arsenal Invincibles we’re defending champions, and a Liverpool side who would win the CL. Only City out of the top 6 now could compete with the top 4 in that period from 05-10.

The 2004-05 season City and Spurs were bang average teams so we were best of the rest for many years. Now we're still best of the rest but that puts us 7th not 5th.

 

[Death]

Some people been sniffing Dave's k. How much is he charging a gram?

 

[SerenityNigh]

No

 

[bicycleheader]

Id like to forget to last 23 years really. Please let me


Win a trophy you blerts

 

[ijjysmith]

No. Not really.

We can all agree the recent years bar one have been woeful, but we were so so so stagnant under Moyes that nothing would have got better than where it was.

A change was needed and Man United went mental and helped us out. We’ve just ballsed up everything since.

 

[Rudolf Hucker]

Who cares?

Dithering, Dull & very forgettable. Man U did us a massive favour.

 

[barneygumble]

Success is based on trophies and it's a crying shame that a club with our fine history still has still got the dodgy dregs of a mainly grey, least successful period in our history, which is Bill Kenwright.

I'd argue that Bill Kenwright ruined David Moyes by persistently saying "David, I love David, he bleeds blue. He has a job for life" etc... Moyes lost his hunger, lost his spirit and for me gave up by the end, well, saw United come knocking and had our best ever start under him like!

But let me stop defending the fella, because he's a parody of a decent human. The fella was a serial bottler. Excuse after excuse after excuse and yet we've won as many major trophies as Southend United in the last 20 years. Since 1995 we've reached less finals than Portsmouth, Wigan, Blackburn, Cardiff City and won less than Swansea, Blackburn, Wigan, Middlesbrough... I could go on.

David Moyes done a grand job at assembling some real good players. Arteta, Pienaar, Baines, Lescott, Martyn to name a few. But he didn't do anything with it. If you ask any blue what their David Moyes highlights were, they'll say an FA Cup Semi Final (against United reserves, Federico Macheda ffs!), then Final (Which we lost) and Fiorentina (which we also lost)... some may say Metallist Kharkiv. We had some great times under Moyes, and i owe him a great deal of gratitude for dragging us from perennial under performers, and transforming us from a slow old team filled with Clelland, Mark Hughes and Gazza to Cahill, Arteta and co, but when you reach your ceiling you step aside.

Moyes, Moyes was too much of an ego, believed his own hype. PFA Manager of the year doesn't equal trophies and that was his job.

When things went wrong, he wouldn't turn round and look at himself. Infact, the dregs of Moyes tenure still reek of fear, Jagielka, Baines... they're cowering in the corner whenever you face an Arsenal, United or Liverpool away. He instilled a belief of "snatch and grab... of a point", and when you look back on David Moyes tenure, you'll think 12 years and no wins at the Big 4. No Trophies. No Legacy.

Oh and a disrespectful [Poor language removed] who promised not to raid the club, then unsettled Baines and Fellaini.

Love that he's flopped since.

 

[EFC78]

I'm not really understanding this argument that the league's been so much better since the TV money came in/Moyes left...In 2015/16 Leicester won the league with Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton. Southampton came 6th.

In 2014/15, Liverpool got beaten 6-1 by Stoke.

 

[cooperman]

He absolutely transformed us in his first 5 years. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial.

We played decent football at times in the 2nd half of his time here. Always felt like we were only a couple of signings away from breaking into the top 4 imo

 

[EFC78]

Funny how some dismiss Moyes' progression by saying he never won anything here and that 4th etc is nothing. Then eulogise Martinez for coming 5th, despite only managing it in one single season he was here, and inherited a side that had finished 6th the season before.

People also placed very unfair expectations on Moyes by expecting him to have won the League with us, insisting that's the measure of success. Kendall came in in May 1981 after we'd finished in the top 4 in 1978 and 79. Catterick took over with us 5th in 1961. Martinez took over after we finished 6th in 2012/13...

Moyes came in after we'd just finished 17th, 14th, 13th, 16th.

In the end it was right for him and us that he moved on, but he was always restricted here by having Bill Kenwright as Chairman, in terms of the financing aspect, although was also afforded more time in tough periods due to the relationship he had with Kenwright.

 

[Prevenger17]

I've always felt Moyes' reign stacked up very well tbh, considering how short on money and resources we were. Instilled a lot of character into the club, not to mention signing some excellent players on a shoestring. Played lovely football in his last season with us, though even he was surprised at that. A great manager for the job that was required, which is why I thought West Ham were mad to fire him

 

[COYBL25]

Bitter Sweet.

Brought in some truly great players for very little money.

Played some great footy at times - Fiorentina at home will always stick in my mind, I just didn`t want the match to end.

However, he was always subservient to the so called bigger clubs and I`ll never forgive him for bottling the FA Cup Final against Chelsea.

Proved that he`d found his level at Everton, when he failed big time at Man U.

Probably over stayed by a few years tbh.