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David Moyes

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Everton must think bigger than retread replacement for Silva

By Nicholas MendolaDec 5, 2019, 3:51 PM EST
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Marco Silva is out as Everton manager, the Toffees turning the page on a disappointing execution of their ambitious vision.

Despite plenty of investment, Silva’s Everton wasn’t able to do much of anything good and now sits in the Premier League’s Bottom Three after 15 match days.

[ MORE: Everton sacks Silva ]

Silva’s men finished eighth in the league during his first season, but the best he can say about his truncated sophomore campaign is that the club are into the League Cup quarterfinals.

So what will Everton do now? Well, Duncan Ferguson is in charge for the Toffees’ Saturday visit from Chelsea, though the club has vowed to “swiftly” find their next full-time boss.

Frankly, the club could do its next man a favor by taking its time, as the post-Chelsea fixtures are Manchester United, Leicester City in the aforementioned cup fixture, and Arsenal.

Back on topic, what the Toffees should do is appoint a man with vision. While it would be tempting to slide into the comfortable slippers that are David Moyes, appointing him or some Sam Allardyce or Mark Hughes type would be another step in the wrong direction.

That’s because this is truly an opportunity for the right coach to take the club in a tremendous direction. Everton might be in the drop zone, but its talent is a mile ahead of true relegation candidacy.

Whoever is hired — and this is why Big Sam is probably holding aloft a boombox outside Goodison Park — is going to “save the Toffees” and earn another season at the helm. Allowing that to be some retread would be a mistake.

Rafa Benitez isn’t going to come to Goodison Park because of his relationship with Liverpool, but a a manager of his ilk should very much be in play. The Toffees boast a still-improving star forward in Richarlison and two proper fullbacks in Lucas Digne and Djibril Sidibe.

Richarlison is 22, Alex Iwobi is 23, and Moise Kean just 19 and adapting to a new country. Defenders Yerry Mina, Mason Holgate, and Michael Keane are all under 26. A manager who can develop and fine tune talent will have a field day with this roster. Imagine Dominic Calvert-Lewin reaching his potential.

Their 9.1 shots allowed per game is a figure bettered by only Man City and Chelsea. The side has been prone to allowing those shots to be dangerous ones, but there’s every reason to believe that fixing their fourth-worst goals conceded total should happen soon given some adequate goalkeeping performances.

Jordan Pickford is England’s No. 1, but hasn’t been right for the Toffees. Logically, he’ll get back to at least average and start stealing some points. The goals are going to keep coming, and likely increase with the wins; Everton is eighth in the xG table.

The Premier League is better when Everton is a good side. The Toffees are not going to be relegated this season, and need to approach that hiring with that mindset. Get someone worth believing in, not just blind hope and a nod to the past.

Report: Moyes “first choice” if Martino leaves Atlanta United

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By Nicholas MendolaAug 31, 2018, 6:03 PM EDT
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David Moyes‘ next managerial challenge could be on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, and we’re not talking about the USMNT gig.

And while there are plenty of reasons to debate Moyes’ ability to run a national team, there’s plenty of reason to believe his style could thrive at the Major League Soccer level.

[ MORE: Dembele sold to Lyon ]

The Independent says Moyes is first choice for the Atlanta United job in case Gerardo “Tata” Martino decides to leave Georgia at the end of his contract, which runs through the 2018 season.

From The Independent:

Atlanta’s technical director and vice-president Carlos Bocanegra is a huge admirer of the Scot, and has received glowing endorsements of his methods from his former US national team-mates Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, who both had successful periods under Moyes at Everton.

Whether or not Martino leaves, the idea of Moyes rejuvenating his career in the United States is an interesting one. His organizational skills could thrive in a parity-driven league, and he’d get a second chance at guiding a big-spending club (relative to league standards).

Let’s get conspiratorial for a second. Bocanegra is well-connected in U.S. Soccer, and the federation extended Dave Sarachan through the end of 2018. Once Atlanta United’s season ends, Martino may be hired by the USMNT and Moyes could slide comfortably into his chair.

Plus, someone’s throwing this info out there, and it could be a way to chum the waters. It’s not a crazy assertion.

Wanna go further down the rabbit hole? Atlanta then sells Miguel Almiron and uses the resources to splash on some of Moyes favorite former players: Welcome to MLS, Marouane Fellaini.

Report: David Moyes could become new USMNT boss

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By Joe Prince-WrightAug 19, 2018, 8:22 AM EDT
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David Moyes is reportedly a frontrunner to be named as the new head coach of the U.S. men’s national team.

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The Times is one of a few outlets in the UK who claim that Moyes is interesting U.S. Soccer officials, with Dave Sarachan still in charge on an interim basis after he took up that role last November following Bruce Arena stepping down.

Here’s more from The Times on Moyes potentially heading to the U.S.

“It is understood that United States Soccer Federation officials have been alerted that the former Everton, Manchester United and West Ham manager would be interested in becoming the permanent replacement for Bruce Arena. Former Chicago Fire coach David Sarachan was put in interim charge after Arena was fired last October for failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Moyes, 55, increased his stock last season in a short-term deal with West Ham when he led them to safety, finishing in 13th place in the Premier League.”

Pro Soccer Talk contacted U.S. Soccer about this report and they said they “will not be commenting on any candidates during the process.”

Moyes, 55, has restored his reputation somewhat after keeping West Ham in the Premier League last season after inheriting a precarious situation mid-season. But is he really the right man to turn the USMNT’s fortunes around?

The former Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland boss has endured mixed fortunes since taking charge of United in 2013. He was fired by United less than a year into the job after being hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson and he was then fired by Sociedad and left Sunderland after they were relegated from the Premier League in 2016-17.

From his time at Everton, we know that Moyes can organize teams and make them better defensively and that’s something the USMNT need moving forward. However, with no experience of Major League Soccer or the CONCACAF environment it is tough to see the new hierarchy in charge of U.S. Soccer appointing someone like Moyes.

Would new USMNT General Manager Earnie Stewart look to someone like Moyes to revive the fortune of the U.S. national team? It seems like a coach with experience of MLS or someone with a better track record of developing youngsters would suit the current needs of U.S. Soccer better.

Moyes is currently out of a job and cynics amongst us would suggest these reports could be about getting his name back out there and in the frame for another position. There is a lot of negativity around Moyes after he struggled at United five years ago, but we must not forget his penchant for setting up teams with a solid foundation. That’s not the most desirable skill for a manager to have these days but it would be a valuable asset as the USMNT aim to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after the debacle of not reaching the tournament in 2018.

With a young squad set for a gruelling schedule of friendlies over the next few months, Sarachan could still be handed the reins for the U.S. on a permanent basis. It’s more likely that the USMNT will appoint a new permanent boss after the friendlies against Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, England and Italy over the next few months.

Until then the likes of Juan Carlos Osorio, Gregg Berhalter, Tata Martino, Caleb Porter and Peter Vermes will continue to be linked with the role. You can add Moyes to that list too.

Moyes, Allardyce out at West Ham, Everton

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By Joe Prince-WrightMay 16, 2018, 8:26 AM EDT
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Two managerial departures took place on Wednesday in the Premier League as David Moyes wasn’t handed a new deal at West Ham and Sam Allardyce was shown the door at Everton.

Fans of both clubs will be feeling slightly optimistic but there’s no hiding behind the fact that both West Ham and Everton have become anything but models of stability of recent years.

Moyes was only on a short-term deal at the Hammers after arriving in November and guiding them to safety after an intense relegation scrap. West Ham beat Everton 3-1 on the final day of the season to finish in 13th place on 42 points. But with plenty of unrest behind-the-scenes amid fan protests against the owners which sparked pitch invasions during the season, there are a lot of issues for West Ham’s hierarchy to sort out. Moyes’ reputation has been rebuilt somewhat after his debacle at Manchester United and Sunderland, so he may well be happy to move on.

West Ham’s joint-chairman David Sullivan explained the decision for West Ham and Moyes going their separate ways.

“When David and his team arrived, it was the wish of both parties that the focus be only on the six months until the end of the season, at which point a decision would be made with regards to the future,” Sullivan said. “We feel that it is right to move in a different direction. We aim to appoint a high-calibre figure who we feel will lead the club into an exciting future for our loyal supporters within the next 10 days.”

Allardyce arrived at Everton in November and still had 12 months to run on his contract with the Toffees, with Big Sam dragging Everton out of a relegation battle (Ronald Koeman was sacked in October) and into eighth place in the table but a late charge for a Europa League spot faltered.

Despite that huge upturn in results, plus the likes of Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun arriving in January, Everton’s fans didn’t enjoy the direct style of play Allarydce preferred and often booed the manager and his tactical decisions. He was adamant until last week that he would be in charge next season but Everton’s owner Farhad Moshiri has listened to the fans as the Toffees are searching for a third manager in the space of eight months.

Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale had the following to say on Big Sam’s departure.

“Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with some stability and we are grateful to him for doing that,” Barrett-Baxendale said. “However, we have made the decision that, as part of our longer-term plan, we will be appointing a new manager this summer and will be commencing this process immediately.”

What is next for West Ham and Everton?

It has been reported that West Ham are in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonesca, while Everton are said to be interested in bringing Marco Silva to Goodison.

The latter left Watford in January after he was initially linked with taking charge of Everton before Big Sam did, but the Hornets blocked the move and then Silva’s side slumped drastically as he was fired.

The Premier League managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning…

Carroll sent home after refusing to apologize for bench blowup

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By Andy EdwardsMay 1, 2018, 10:15 AM EDT
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Andy Carroll‘s West Ham United future is in serious doubt — so much so the 29-year-old striker could be dropped for Saturday’s visit to Leicester City (10 a.m. ET) — after frustrations boiled over during Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Manchester City.

[ MORE: Salah, De Bruyne finish 1-2 (again) for Player of the Year award ]

Carroll, who began the game on the bench and wasn’t included in David Moyes‘ triple substitution after 65 minutes, made little effort to hide his dissatisfaction when he left the bench area and made his way to the locker room.

According to reports, Carroll and Moyes were then involved in a heated discussion, which was only exacerbated Carroll’s refusal to apologize, at the training ground on Monday. Carroll was duly sent home by his manager.

[ MORE: Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, Anthony Martial to Chelsea? ]

With three games still to play in the Premier League this season, West Ham (35 points) sit just three places and three points clear of the relegation zone. Saturday’s trip to Leicester will be followed by Manchester United and Everton’s seasonal visits to the London Stadium.