Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past month, you'll know that our manager is set to leave in order to take up the vacant England manager's post. Though nothing yet has been confirmed it is expected that once compensation has been agreed, Sam Allardyce will leave and be replaced by former Everton boss David Moyes. According to multiple sources, the club have already approached Moyes, briefing him on the situation so that he is ready to take over the reins as soon as possible. With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to have a look under Moyes’ wispy, ginger bonnet (now that’s an image you can’t get out of your head) and find out what makes our future manager tick. Who better to speak to about Moyes than our friends at Royal Blue Mersey? Moyes spent eleven years at Everton, guiding them to fourth in 04/05 despite working on a shoe-string budget, and most Everton fans look back on his time at the club fondly. We spoke to Tom over at Royal Blue Mersey to discover more about the soon to be Sunderland gaffer. Hi Tom - what do you think are David Moyes’ biggest strengths as a manager? Organisation, commitment and work ethic. Moyes is fastidiously detailed in his tactical preparation and scouting of players. His teams are extremely well drilled, fit and organised and so as a result are difficult to beat. He knows how to get the best out of supposedly limited players, cultivating a strong team spirit and loyalty in the process. And on the flip side to that, what do you think are Moyes’ biggest weaknesses as a manager? He is often accused of being too cautious and playing percentages rather than taking a risk. Moyes famously never won a game at Stamford Bridge, Emirates, Anfield or Old Trafford during his 11 years in charge at Goodison Park, approaching those games hoping not to lose rather than trying to win. That was fine in his early years but as the team improved in quality Moyes failed to alter his approach, with some sections of frustrated support accusing him of lacking ambition. What can Sunderland fans expect from David Moyes in terms of his match tactics, should he get the gig? Moyes favoured a 4-5-1 formation at Everton, making them very tough to break down. He would also make sure they were one of the fittest teams in the league and well organized at set pieces. He would vary his attacking approach and would encourage his teams to play good football when it suited, but he also wasn’t afraid to get the ball forward quickly into wide areas, utilising attacking full-backs to provide width. I thought Allardyce was the ideal man for Sunderland last year after a couple of lucky escapes from the drop and I feel Moyes would be a natural continuation should Allardyce take the England job. It wouldn’t be freeflowing attacking football but he would make the team solid, tough to beat and keep you well away from the relegation zone. We gave up on our failing Director of Football system last year which means our manager will have final say on transfers in and out of the club. How would you rate Moyes’ performance in the transfer market at Everton? Moyes had a superb record in the transfer market during a time where Everton where one of the poorest clubs in the division. Tim Cahill (£1.5m) Mikel Arteta (£6m), Phil Jagielka (£4m), Joleon Lescott (£5m) and Seamus Coleman (£60,000) are just some examples of the players he brought in for relatively cheap. Then there are aging players like Nigel Martyn and Louis Saha who enjoyed a renaissance in their careers under Moyes’ stewardship. We were regularly outspent by every team in the division but Moyes kept us competitive. As mentioned in my previous answer he was fastidious in his scouting of players and appears more comfortable in a set up where he has total control over transfers. Jack Rodwell has been an overwhelming disappointment at Sunderland after starting his career so promisingly in your youth teams. Do you think Moyes can help Rodwell reach his potential at Sunderland or do you think he is a lost cause? When Jack Rodwell first burst onto the scene I was convinced he would go on to become England captain. It’s a great shame to see him suffer from so many injuries and struggle to live up to his early potential. I’m not sure Moyes’ arrival would necessarily revive Rodwell’s fortunes, I don’t think it will do any harm though. Do you think Moyes’ struggles at Sociedad and Manchester United are worth taking into account ahead of his likely move to Sunderland? His reputation has certainly been damaged but looking back it is clear both clubs were the wrong ones for Moyes at this stage in his career. If anything he may be more determined to prove people wrong after his recent struggles so I don’t think it should be a concern. Why do you think Moyes struggled at United? The club was just too big for him. From day one the players did not look convinced by his methods and the lack of trophies on his CV meant they quickly downed tools, meaning he was a dead man walking for months before he was eventually put out of his misery. That says as much about the modern player as is does Moyes though. How similar do you think Moyes is to Big Sam? Should we expect a "rip it up and start again" approach or will Moyes build on the foundations Big Sam put in place? In many ways they are very similar, placing a focus on defensive solidity and organisation. They also have an innovative approach off the field when it comes to sports science and analytics (something Allardyce never gets any credit for). However, I would say Moyes plays slightly better football with less of an emphasis on set pieces to score goals. He would certainly build on the foundations Big Sam has put in place though and offer a sense of continuity. How do you rate Moyes against your previous manager, Roberto Martinez, a man also linked to the managerial position at Sunderland since the Allardyce speculation began? Martinez was a breath of fresh air when he arrived into Goodison Park given the final years of the Moyes era had become stale. The style of football we played in his first season was utterly breathtaking and the supporters were desperate for him to succeed. Sadly, things began to unravel and once sides learnt how to play against us Martinez failed to come up with a plan B. The team’s defending, so solid under Moyes, became utterly shambolic. Martinez’s endless positivity in the midst of this chaos quickly began to grate. It was a welcome relief when he was sacked. I really, really wanted it to work and Martinez is a decent, honourable man, but it just wasn’t to be. For similar reasons I don’t think Sunderland would be the right club for him at the moment. Lastly (and most importantly), do you think Moyes would be a success at Sunderland? As you can probably tell I am a big Moyes fan and remain grateful for what he did at Everton, though plenty of fans would argue against me and highlight his limitations and failings. I do feel though Sunderland would be the perfect club at the perfect time in Moyes’ career. They should do all they can to appoint him.
Fits with my thoughts, in that he's a very similar guy to Sam and it's an appointment that would minimise disruption. Let's just get it done, wipe our mouths and move on. We've a month to get it right. Interesting on the fitness thing, some of the players looked in magnificent condition for a first pre-season game the other night.
His assessment of his time at United is utter guff, 'downed tools' ffs, I wonder if Moyes puts that on his CV.
Yep, get him in and lets get on with it, sounds like a good bet to get us up and running, we need at few first team players in before the season starts, and this will take some doing, even if he is up to date on our strengths and weaknesses.
There were key players in that dressing room who helped unseat him, aided and abetted by that snide twat Giggs. Same happened to Maureen last season at the Bridge.
I'm with Tobes on this Tel. Unquestionably the players didn't respond to Moyes and played within themselves. Whether he was worthy of the role or otherwise there were some unprofessional goings on. The club was too big for him and the players weren't having it.
Why is it unquestionable if you have absolutely no evidence? We're talking about a squad of players who had just won the league, the chorus ringing up and down the country was 'Fergie's left him a **** team'... 'It's the worst team United have had in 30 years'... now it's top players chasing Moyes out because his face didn't fit? I'll go and drag up all the comments if you like, 'The squad is ruined' 'It needs an overhaul'... 'Fergie's left him an impossible job'. He was telling Vidic to watch video's of Jagielka for **** sake, there's coaching and then there's patronising. He was prepping his excuses before matches had kicked off. He took a team of players who had attacking pedigree and told them to defend for their lives, do you take an F1 car and go out on a Rally Cross track with it? Do you ****. It was him that turned up and couldn't adapt his own style, eventually players will lose confidence in somebody who shows no ability to learn from their mistakes. He absolutely hung himself and has nobody else to blame.
Divhead is more suited to smaller clubs where the expectation is less..... Oh wait, Sociedad went well didn't it!!??
For me, he lost it when he got rid of Phelan and Meulensteen. All he did was alienate the squad by doing that and rid it of the 2 guys who lets face it, we're doing the majority of the actual work and made them tick.
QUOTE="Notorious T.E.L, post: 9489844, member: 1008347"]His assessment of his time at United is utter guff, 'downed tools' ffs, I wonder if Moyes puts that on his CV.[/QUOTE] I am looking forward to seeing just how Man U fare this season, Mourinho does not seem like a perfect fit somehow, its a gamble imo but it could go either way, certainly an interesting one, for the outsider.
I've said it 100 times mate, look at the coaches he brought in, absolute ****, I'd be surprised if any of them are employed in a top job now. Anyways, this is the last I'm saying on it, Moyes was a good manager for Everton, that's enough for him to get the Sunderland job, there's no need to lie any more about his other positions to make him look like he didn't fail miserably.
Me too mate, I'm not 100% convinced it'll be a match made in heaven like the press are bigging it up to be, I just hope for the best. One good thing is players seem to want to play for him, which is good for us signings-wise as we don't have CL football to entice them.
It'll go well until the end. He has a habit of burning players out with his management style. He will deliver a league title. No doubt about that. I just think he might leave you in a similar position to where you are now. Perhaps worse. Hope I'm wrong. The PL needs a strong Man Utd. You're it's biggest brand by a country mile.
Your squad looks very impressive from here, and the young players introduced last season up front and at full back did not let anybody down, but this league is getting tougher at both ends, and standing still is not an option, its what makes the league what it is, and keeps us all hooked, best of luck to both of us.
I wish Moyes all the luck if he's your manager mate, we don't hate him, he tried and just wasn't up to the job. Many have said he's a way better fit for your club, the way Sam has set you up, I agree with that completely. He did a cracking job at Everton and I think he'll do similar with you lot if you can fund his project and stay away from that trapdoor enough to buy him time. He's a bloody good manager, just like Allardyce is, but not all managers fit all clubs perfectly. It's easy to say we should have given him more time, but under his tenure the value of the club plummeted, any chairman worth their salt would have binned him.
I just hope part of the deal the club are offering Moyes is that our backroom staff are staying put and he has to work with them. I'm completely against the new guy bringing his mates with him and coaches who in this instance have done nowt wrong are tossed aside.
