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With Moyes leaving, what next for Everton?

Tim Howard of Everton

By IVES GALARCEP

With David Moyes ready to leave Everton on July 1st, the Toffees are about to embark on a new era and it remains unclear just who will lead it, and which players will still be around to see it.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has been installed as the favorite to replace Moyes, but we are unlikely to know who will replace Moyes until the current season is over.

What we do know is that whoever takes over will have a tough act to follow, much like Moyes has at Manchester United. But unlike United, Everton won’t have as easy a time finding someone with a rock-solid background and more than a decade of success in the English Premier League.

U.S. Men’s National Team and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard addressed the possibility of Moyes leaving last summer, making it clear getting Moyes’ replacement pick right will be vital to the team maintaining the level of success they’ve enjoyed under Moyes.

“If David Moyes were to leave I think it would change the dynamic of the club because he’s become a figurehead,” Howard said. “When you’re talking about your Arsene Wengers, Sir Alex Ferguson, now Moyes is in that conversation, they have become the figureheads of their clubs. Everything runs through them.

“If he were to leave, the club would have to make a massive decision that the next person hired would have to be so perfect.”

And what of Howard’s future at Everton?

There seems to be a belief that Howard could join Moyes at Manchester United, but that’s just an unrealistic scenario for a variety of reasons. For one, United has David DeGea, who was recently named EPL Goalkeeper of the Year. With United having other issues to address (like the midfield), goalkeeper is highly unlikely to be a priority.

There is also the fact Tim Howard recently signed a new contract that will keep him at Everton until 2018, the kind of deal that would mean an interested team would have to pay top dollar for Howard. That isn’t to say Howard couldn’t potentially make a move somewhere, but it just seems unlikely Manchester United would be that team.

Howard has also made it clear that he would like to stay with one team, and appreciates how meaningful it is to play for one team for a long time. Right now Howard is a beloved figure at Goodison Park, and giving that up for a move back to Manchester United is probably not that appealing for a player who has already experienced life as a Manchester United player.

Everton will also want to hold onto Howard because the team is already likely to lose Marouane Fellaini and could potentially lose Leighton Baines (who seems to be the most likely Everton player to join Moyes at Manchester United).

As for Moyes’ replacement, Roberto Martinez makes sense given his ability to keep Wigan afloat in the Premier League despite the club’s lack of funds. As good a candidate as he seems to be, you can’t help but wonder if Everton won’t look for a British manager to replace Moyes instead of Martinez or Porto manager Vitor Pereira, another contender for the job.

Who would fit that description? Celtic Boss Neil Lennon has done well in Scotland, and could be tempted by the chance to coach a quality Premier League side. Former Chelsea boss Roberto DiMatteo isn’t British, but he has the strong ties to the EPL (and a Champions League trophy on his resume) to offer an intriguing option.

What do you think is next for Everton? Who would you like to see the Toffees hire? Hoping Howard stays at Goodison Park, or would you like to see him move on?

Share your thoughts below.

 

Comments

  1. DiMatteo has taken Wigan down from 11th in EPL all the way to the championship. He can only prove himself if he can get them going into the other direction. Not ready for Everton yet, no pedigree.
    Everton may as well hire Dean Saunders!!

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  2. Wouldn’t surprise me to see Everton do very well next year with a fresh manager, especially if they get someone with some offensive flair. I think Everton has the talent right now to get a Top 5 spot or win a domestic cup, but Moyes overly defensive mindset (especially in important games) led to a lot of potential wins ending up as ties. That said, I think this will hurt Everton in the long run as Moyes is probably one of the best around at picking up good talent at bargain basement prices.

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    • If you look at my above comment I agree with you completely… Moyes has overachieved with his transfers but not necessarily on the field, where the talent level is certainly top 7.

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      • First 11, maybe. But there’s no depth. With Moyes gone and a few players out the door, and nobody like Zmoyes to bring in the right people with what we can afford, … you’re f’n nuts, mate.

  3. Laudrup, Lennon and DiMatteo are the 3 I’d look at but Lennon’s out of the mix from what I’m hearing.
    Martinez is overrated. Look, his defenses are crap and he’s responsible for selecting those teams. Currently, they’ve scored 44 goals all season and have given up 67 for a -23 Goal Differential. NUTS!!!!
    Teams that perform well with little money usually are very good defensively.

    People like Martinez because he says the “right” things and IMO he is a likeable man but AGAIN his team’s in the same situation since he’s been at Wigan, trying to pull a great escape. Come on!!! Southhampton and West Ham just returned to the EPL and both have better records than Wigan, Reading has already been relegated but they were just promoted this season, so I would have given high odds on them going back down. Wigan shouldn’t be in this situation.

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    • Laudrup would be a great hire! Certainly one of the top up and coming coaches in europe. That said i believe he is kind of comitted to swansea for 1 more year and then will likely be a candidate for some champions league teams; AC, Real..I think everton would want him more that he would want everton.

      De Matto would be my second choice with Martinez and Lennon both as likely options as well. If they had to lose Moyes now is not the worst time

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  4. I think Lennon would be a terrible fit. He comes from a club that has a budget far bigger than anyone else in the league andcan buy players that no other club in Scotland can buy. I would say he is a much better fit for Man City. Yeah give him the Man City job.

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  5. Neil Lennon to Everton? Actually that wouldn’t be bad. And with his first signing it would be Agudelo. Lennon is a huge Agudelo fan.

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  6. As big as Fergie’s shoes are to fill for Moyes, at least he has on of the world’s best set-ups to support him, Fergie staying on and pretty penny for the transfer market. The coach who takes over Everton will have a much harder task in my mind. Moyes got more out of players that had no business delivering the way some of them did. He worked the transfer market like no one else. I’m really excited to see what he’ll do at United with all the resources he’ll have. DiMateo did get a raw deal at Chelsea in my book. You win the Champions League and get fired? But can he do the same with a hell of a lot less money? Remains to be seen.

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  7. O/T: jozy’s playing right now in the dutch cup final (for a europa league spot). he’s got a goal, with az 2-1 over psv early in the second half.

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  8. Given his own history with the club, I’ m not sure ManU fans would welcome Howard back. However great a keeper he is now, a large section of fans might cast such a move as American favoritism. Not that I agree… but it’s a big, rabid fan base. Add in DeGea’s form this season, and it just isn’t happening. Would be cool though.

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    • Don’t worry, it would never happen. Howard has gone on record saying Man Utd wanted him to say but as a backup to Van Der Sar but he wanted to play. He’s rather retire then backup De Gea. Maybe he’ll come back – but to the NYRB!

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    • Tim Howard is my favorite player but you are all delusional if you think it is even a consideration that Howard would go to Man United. David De Gea is nearly world class, presently Howard is second tier. Howard was woeful for the first half of everton’s season this year, making mistake after mistake, and most of the second half of the previous year, with all most the entire fan base calling for him to get dropped, including myself. It is only since he got injured and the backup keeper played brilliantly that Howard has started to regain his form of 2-4 years ago, when he was coming close to playing at a level where he could be considered world class…

      Overall Tim Howard has some weaknesses that United States fans fail to grasp (not seeing him play as regularly as us Everton fans). He is not terrific in the air, has a tendency to get beaten on long shots, and has sub par distribution.

      I love tim howard, have met him at everton games a few times, but he is not a top 25 goalkeeper any longer.

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      • Based on the form that both have displayedthis past season, I feel it’s only a matter of time before Guzan is between the stick for the stars and stripes instead of Howard.

      • Colin,

        “It is only since he got injured and the backup keeper played brilliantly that Howard has started to regain his form of 2-4 years ago, when he was coming close to playing at a level where he could be considered world class…”

        You touch on something I have long maintained , that Howard can get complacent unless he has serious competition.

        He has had no competition for the US spot since Keller left, much to his detriment as the 2010 WC showed.

        Guzan’s emergence may finally either dethrone him or force him to play to his best level. Either way it’s a good thing for the USMNT.

  9. Can’t help wondering if Everton will be fighting to stay in the EPL next year. As much as they have overachieved with Moyes hopefully things wont unravel due the pending changes.

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    • With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about. Moyes has potentially overachieved in the transfer market, but his players have not overachieved on the field. Everton has the 5 or 6th most talented squad in England (arguably more talented than Totenham if you exclude gareth bale, and I think he will be gone next year) regardless of whether or not Moyes is gone. There is no way in Hell Everton will be fighting relegation next year, take it from someone who watches every single Everton game.

      Hypothetically if we lose both Felliani and Baines and the new manager fails to reinvest that money intelligently we could be looking at a top 10 finish rather than a top 7, but I would bet all the money in the world we will not drop below 12th. Way to talented. Period.

      In fact, some of us are hopeful that we may actually do better without Moyes. His tactics against lesser teams, his inability to use subs, failure to win one trophy when a plethora of less talented teams have during his tenure, and the tendency of his teams to choke in the big and meaningful games, particularly when playing away to the big four, have all counted against him.

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  10. DiMatteo has a certain pragmatism that may be a very good fit at Everton. He demonstrated with Chelsea that he will coach the players he has, not try to force them into a system. This may be a useful skill if the team undergoes a lot of personnel changes that may be inevitable with the first couple years of an iconic coach leaving. It’s all speculation but interesting nonetheless.

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  11. I fully agree that if anyone follows Moyes to Man Utd it will be Baines. Fellaini might be a close second to follow Moyes, but apart from those two I don’t see any other Toffees becoming Red Devils.

    I think many are pulling for Roberto Martinez (myself included) because he is so likeable and is stuck in such an untenable situation at Wigan. However, DiMatteo and/or Lennon look to be stronger candidates.

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