Everton are a very good team, and never easy to beat on any given day, whoever they have playing for them.
David Moyes – fantastic job at Everton
And David Moyes is one of the unsung heroes in management, because over the last 6 years he has built the Merseyside club into a top six team on very little money, but when his team comes out on the field, they give 100% every single game, and can never be counted out.
Everton is a success story, in that the club have stuck by their manager through some difficult times, and if David had come to Newcastle six years ago, and had the same record, he would have been fired within a couple of years.
In David’s first full season, Everton finished 7th top in 2002-2003, but then in their next season they fought tooth and nail against relegation, and finished 4th bottom in 17th place.
As far as Moyes goes, that would have been it if he was Newcastle manager, because there would have been such an uproar from the fans, that David would have been fired in the summer of 2004, and somebody else would have been brought in. That’s a fact.
By the way, in 2004, Newcastle finished in a very disappointing 5th place, after being 3rd in the previous season, and that eventually cost Bobby Robson his job in late August of that year. How times have changed.
But Everton stuck with Moyes and he’s since had seasons of 4th, 11th, 6th and they were 5th last season. He’s got them into Europe almost every season and they have become a consistently good team.
That’s a very good case study for a club like Newcastle, who have had four managers in the last 21 months, and quite a few fans would now like to see Kinnear leave, because he’s just not good enough. When was the last time we heard that?
Of course patience was never going to be something that was in great supply on Tyneside, after 40 years of winning absolutely nothing, and under-performing more than any other team in England.
Everton are probably the best team out of the top four over the last 3 seasons, but they have none of the big money that Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have at their disposal.
But they have shown with a good manager in place, and some patience, and a good plan to rebuild, success is indeed possible.
We’ll see the results of 6 years of that planning and growth from Everton on Sunday afternoon, and maybe their path to success is one Newcastle should be following.
Comments welcome.
15 comments so far
Toon_Factor
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Comment #1I hate Everton, such a perfect little club, they make me sick
babelfish
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Comment #2Very good article, would be nice to see newcastle take some tips from Everton. The 5 year plan that has been mentioned by the owners needs to be followed through, and although JFK has done a sterling job this season, I still don’t see him being the manager to see us through to the end of the plan, unfortunatley this is purely down to his health issues.
The 5 year plan can only be a success with a consistent managment team, and I think this points to appointing a younger manager, and with consistency in mind JFK still around in a mentoring type capacity.
murphy
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Comment #3I had a dream last night that Lovenkrands notched the winner against everton! 2-1 with the late winner! please lets make this true!!!
stevt_0_3
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Comment #4I wouldn’t want Newcastle to be like Everton, it annoys me when Moyes is linked with the Newcastle job, any manager that plays 5 in midfield and 1 up front isn’t right for Newcastle.
mydarling
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Comment #5I have seen them live 2X and IMO they are truly boring – SJP would not tolerate their style of play. And they kick anything that moves – worst disciplinary record in the PL. You have been warned.
ginkoh
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Comment #6I admire Moyes and his team. Not much diiferent between us and them but to be honest Everton have the better team than us now. If we want to beat them, we have to give more than 100%.
Anyway It’s St jame’s park, Here is our home and we don’t want to lose anyone here. For pride, players, manager and everyone who live in Newcastle!
Tony
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Comment #7stevt_0_3
dont you think that we should play a formation that suits the occasion.if we are getting overun in midfield would it not be wise to have a five man midfield .
workyticket
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Comment #8Good article Ed. Alex Ferguson’s early days at Man U would have be another good example too, bottom end of the table with a load of kids. We definitely would have sacked him if he was at Newcastle!
Toon Graeme
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Comment #9Its a fact that we play rubbish against a 5 midfield.
stevt_0_3
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Comment #10Tony, I’m yet to see a 5 man midfield work well for Newcastle. The day that it does I’ll admit I was wrong and I might change my mind. until then I’ll stick with the old fashioned 4-4-2 with 2 pacey wingers and a big man little man combintaion.
Tony
Feb 20, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Comment #11i just think playing the same system week in week out the team becomes predictable,if the team changed formation on occasion the opposition wouldnt know what to expect
Whumpie
Feb 20, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Comment #12Good article, Ed. The other key aspect of Everton’s success is financial stability and fiscal responsibility. We’re on the right track.
They also have a good, experienced board and a proven structure with clearly defined roles.
Oops.
61663
Feb 20, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Comment #13Thanks for a very fair article. A few points to add:
1. Moyes has never really “battled” against relegation. Yes EFC came 17th in 03-04 only because they lost their last 5 games on the bounce. They were still 6 pts clear from the drop at the end of the year. A very poor start in 05-06, meant they came 11th. Otherwise, coming 7th, 4th, 6th and 5th in the other4 x full seasons is a good record by most standards as you have rightly stated above.
2. The suggestion by some posters we are boring is also spurious – we have had no real forwards available for 3 months. We are still 7th best scoring / defensive team. What formation do you expect us to play in these circumstances?
3. Mydarling – thought I’d share this with you concerning your assertion re EFC being the “dirtiest team in the PL”
Team Disciplinary Records
(from the start of the season)
Played Yellow Cards Red Cards
Stoke 25 47 4
Tottenham 25 37 4
Newcastle 25 37 4
Man City 25 29 4
Wigan 25 43 3
Arsenal 25 42 3
Chelsea 25 38 3
Portsmouth 25 35 3
Blackburn 24 49 2
Man Utd 25 44 2
West Ham 25 39 2
Middlesbrough 25 35 2
West Brom 25 45 1
Hull 25 45 1
Bolton 25 43 1
Aston Villa 25 38 1
Everton 25 34 1
Fulham 24 25 1
Sunderland 25 49 0
Liverpool 25 37 0
If you’re going to slag us off at least use some facts to back up your view. A bit of “pots and kettles” don’t you think?
Anyway let’s hope for an entertaining game on Sunday – I’ll be happy with a point to be honest.
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2009 at 5:34 PM
Comment #14–
Tom_Toon
Feb 20, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Comment #15—