Friedkin Group believes Moyes can stabilise Everton and restore lost values | Andy Hunter
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Scot has the experience new owners see as vital to avoid relegation before move to stadium at Bramley-Moore dock. The prospect of David Moyes returning as Everton manager was met with an almost snobbish disdain when mooted twice before. It illustrates the diverging fortunes of the Scot and the club that the welcome mat has been laid out third time around.
![[Farhad Moshiri]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ce540c4bcd54e98239c16e10d66d2a5444e1fc84/0_104_3000_1801/master/3000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Moyes was close to becoming Everton manager again in December 2019, after Marco Silva’s reign had come to an unceremonious end. He held talks with Farhad Moshiri in Germany and expected to sign terms the following day, only for Napoli to make Carlo Ancelotti available by sacking him that night. A genuine sliding doors moment. Moshiri went for the superstar option. Moyes joined West Ham for the second time, where his contentment and success meant he could resist Everton’s advances when they came again in June 2021. Moshiri turned to Rafael Benítez instead. Moving on swiftly ….
On both occasions there was resistance to Moyes’s return among many Evertonians. There were legitimate reasons. Everton had moved on. You should never go back. Everton had new money, fresh ambition and did not need a manager who failed to win a trophy in 11 years at Goodison Park. They could get Ancelotti, for goodness sake. Moyes had let his final Everton contract expire before joining Manchester United for no compensation. He tried to sign Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines on the cheap. At least he’s careful with a club’s money.
That was then. Everton’s ambition right now under the new ownership of The Friedkin Group (TFG) is to avoid relegation before relocating to a magnificent stadium at Bramley-Moore dock. That’s it. And they needed a manager who was available immediately, knows the Premier League intimately and is well equipped to work with a squad built by Sean Dyche. There is no grand overhaul of the team and playing style on the horizon. Premier League profitability and sustainability rules prohibit TFG from doing so.
