19Feb

Where would Moyes go if he left Everton this summer?

by Mike Calvin

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David Moyes is master of all he surveys as he looks out of the picture window of his office, across a balcony of wooden decking, and on to the pitches which flow into one another at Everton’s training ground in the Liverpool suburb of Halewood.

He is one of very few managers to be the highest paid employee at his club. His annual wage, thought to be approaching £4m, is deserved reward for rebuilding Everton in his own image. The club has solidity and substance beyond the froth and nonsense of much of life in the Premier League.

It is almost 11 years since Moyes entered legend on his first day in the job by christening Everton as the People’s Club. His reticence to sign a new contract until this season plays out is causing understandable concern. No other outfit punches above their weight more consistently, and with greater potency.

Moyes is a proper football man, and not one to cross carelessly. He has a finely-developed sense of respect and his trust, once earned, is of immeasurable worth. His staff are hugely loyal, almost awestruck by his professionalism and work ethic. And yet, without a trophy, he is unfulfilled.

Speculation is gathering pace, to the extent that Wigan’s Roberto Martinez is being portrayed as a potential candidate to succeed him at Goodison Park. Moyes has been linked to Chelsea, but a man of his convictions and culture doesn’t need the faintly demeaning chore of dealing with the closet politicians at Stamford Bridge.

More intriguingly, the Scot’s name is being mentioned as a logical choice should Arsène Wenger break the habit of a lifetime and leave Arsenal before the completion of his contract in the summer of 2014. The move would be mutually beneficial.

Arsenal would gain a manager of dignity and financial dexterity. Moyes would relish the club’s tradition, quality and reputation for foresight, and may well turn out to be the last of the dynastic managers. In an age in which many prominent peers, such as José Mourinho, have a two- to three-year life span at a club, he would be at the Emirates for the long haul.

There is, as always, an alternative scenario. There would be a pleasing symmetry to Moyes eventually succeeding his mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, at Manchester United. That is likely to be an overnight sensation, which could occur at any point over the next three years.

Yet Moyes has been speaking of broadening his horizons, and is particularly interested in the rise of the Bundesliga. He could do worse than kill two birds with one stone, and indulge in a subtle piece of networking when Arsenal meet Bayern Munich tonight. Germany calling? Don’t bet against it.

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Follow Mike Calvin on Twitter @CalvinBook

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Watch Everton live BT Vision:
Everton v Man City, midday, 16 March, Sky Sports 2
Everton v Stoke, 4.30pm, 30 March, ESPN

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