Everton Manager David Moyes' Future Remains Up In The Air

Everton restarted their Premier League campaign after the international break with a 2-2 draw away at Hull City, a game which many, myself included, felt was two points dropped rather than a point gained. 

After a turbulent few weeks in the world of Everton, it would’ve been nice to get a result to kickstart our return with a win. 

On those turbulent few weeks, the big news, of course, was that the Friedkin Group are open to investment or even a full sale of Everton Football Club, just under 2 years since their arrival.

There are a lot of things up in the air at the moment for Everton, we don’t know if there’ll be money to spend in January, or who will be the long-term custodians of our football club. 

We all believed this was going to be a period of stability, a laying of foundations before our project to build a club to challenge the top six really got going. In reality, it’s been anything but. 

For me, one of the most pressing concerns now is the contract situation around David Moyes, with his current deal up at the end of this season. 

Let’s look at the statistics around Moyes since his return, he’s won 26, drawn 21 and lost 22 of the 69 games he’s managed. It’s safe to say that’s a pretty mixed bag but indicates a steady pair of hands. 

Ultimately, I think this could be one of the most divisive articles I do. There are plenty of people that will say Moyes deserves a chance to continue, and there are plenty that will say he should’ve been dismissed after last season’s run-in. 

I’ll admit, I firmly put myself in that latter category as we headed into the summer. I felt like it was time to move on and try a new project, and with the calibre of manager that was available, I felt like it was now or never to make the change. 

Fast forward to today, my opinion on the situation has changed somewhat. 

Once again, Everton find themselves in a degree of turmoil off the pitch. There’s so much uncertainty around ownership, transfers and who is making decisions. You only need to look at the end of the summer transfer window to get a feel for the mess which is going on. 

With David Moyes, he works well under those conditions. Everton this season have been plodding along nicely, finding themselves 5th in the Premier League table. The squad looks in a good place physically and mentally, and that is testament to Moyes. 

Moyes is a safe pair of hands, we all know that. It might not be the most exciting at times, but the results are there for all to see. We can do a lot worse in the managerial department. 

The problem I alluded to earlier regarding the contract situation is where this may become a slightly divisive take amongst the fan base. 

Personally, with the current situation and how volatile of an environment it could be, I wouldn’t be surprised if Moyes was offered a one-year extension to his contract whilst the ownership situation is cleared up. I hate that word ‘stability’, but maybe that’s what we need on the pitch whilst the mess of it is taken care of. 

I know for a lot of Evertonians it’s not what we want, I think I’d include myself in that as I really want to see us kick on. But with Moyes at the helm, I feel confident that our Premier League status won't come under threat. He's put Everton back on the straight and narrow since replacing Sean Dyche, so for him to continue with that work whilst we don’t have a longer-term ownership vision, I think I’d be ok with it. 

Of course, the downside to keeping David Moyes beyond the summer is that we’d be kicking the can down the road once again on a potential long-term project. It’s also no secret that Moyes’ team selections in the last 18 months have often overlooked young players like Dibling, George and Armstrong. This could have an adverse effect on their development. I think retaining Moyes is good for the here and now, but looking further into the future it could stunt our rebuild. 

But when the ownership situation is up in the air, the last thing we want is Everton cascading down the table with a new project-type manager. That’s the worst-case scenario for me. We’d be back to square one!

Six months ago, if you’d have asked me, I would've been firmly against extending David Moyes' contract. 

But today, I'm not so sure. Ideally, Everton would be shaking hands with Moyes at the end of this season, and preparing to take the next step forward with a clear vision from top to bottom, 

But this is football, and with all the turmoil around the club at the moment, perhaps another year of Moyes is what we need.

As I say, this has the potential to be a really divisive take. I’m not expecting any agreement whatsoever! 

What are your thoughts on David Moyes? Would you keep him or look for a new philosophy in the summer?