Ready to rededicate himself to the cause

Everton supporters believe David Moyes has done more than enough to warrant a new deal

ONE MEANS of measuring the impact of David Moyes at Goodison Park is to make the simple demand: name the man who preceded him? All Evertonians will chorus the reply instantly and in unison but the rest of us, even the most interested, may take a few seconds to settle confidently on the name of Walter Smith.

It is six years and seven months since Moyes replaced Smith and time plays its part, but the obscuring of Smith and Everton's past is down to more than the passing of days. It is down to the work of David William Moyes.

A new five-year contract signed this week, which takes Moyes's salary into the hedge fund-manager bracket, means that if completed, Moyes would move into the territory of longevity at Everton of Harry Catterick. That means Moyes would also be moving into the territory of a legend.

At 45, Moyes is too young for that accolade. Critics might point out that Everton are yet to win a trophy under the Glaswegian and this season they are already out of the Uefa Cup and the League Cup. They might also point out that Everton are yet to win at home in the Premier League, which in part explains why they sit 15th in the division, three points above the relegation zone.

Doubtless a sceptic would then add that Everton's next two fixtures are Arsenal away today followed by Manchester United at Goodison next Saturday. You blow up a balloon only to see the wind rush out of it.

But. It is the arrival of those two opponents, Arsenal and United, that helps define Moyes's achievement on Merseyside. After Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, Moyes is the longest-serving manager in the Premier League and that is proof in itself of talent and success. In two of his six full seasons, Moyes's peer group have voted him manager of the season.

Because these men understand that at Everton, as at other middle-class Premier League clubs, success cannot be viewed purely in terms of silverware won. At Everton, as at Aston Villa or Newcastle, achievement or the lack of it must be seen through a prism. That prism was moulded in Geneva by Uefa.

It is nine years since Uefa made the short-sighted decision to scrap the Cup Winners' Cup. In doing so Uefa enlarged the Champions League and Uefa Cup and we all know that that has served to channel money into the Champions League clubs who are then able to maintain their participation due to lucrative payments.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been in the European Cup final in the past three years. Paris, Athens, Moscow, it is not coincidence. Gold spins more gold.

Under Moyes, Everton have been one of the three outsiders to threaten or even break into the gang of four's den.

Four seasons ago Everton finished fourth, at the expense of their neighbours, Liverpool (though they still qualified for the Champions League qualifiers as holders of the trophy). In the third round of qualifiers for the group stage Everton drew the excellent Villarreal and went out, Liverpool drew the average CSKA Sofia and progressed. How's your luck? That was one of the more gentle questions asked on Merseyside.

But Moyes can deal with a smack in the mouth. It took a season admittedly for Everton fully to recover from that Villarreal disappointment but that's because it was so deep.

Two years ago they finished sixth in the Premier League and last year fifth. He has built up a cushion of patience and both he and the supporters have been rewarded. As many fans pointed out, prior to Moyes Everton had one top-10 finish in a decade.

In all of this time, as has been remarked upon and appreciated, Moyes has operated on a budget. Whereas Liverpool under Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez have spent lavishly, Moyes has cut cloth, balanced incomings with outgoings, aided by the €38 million from Old Trafford for Wayne Rooney along the way.

In the last 12 months he has broken the club's transfer record twice, for Yakubu from Middlesbrough last year and in August for Maourane Fellaini of Standard Liege. For a long while Everton have felt prosperous and coming.

But all moods pass, perceptions shift. Elimination from Uefa by Fellaini's former club, added to subdued domestic form and an overriding concern about the club's ownership and the future of Goodison, altered feelings. Perhaps, people speculated, and it is the people's club after all, Moyes's delay in signing his contract was a contributory factor to this. A dressingroom leak suggested some players thought so.

After so much coherent arranging, the odd discordant note was being struck. For the first time really, Moyes started to generate the wrong noise.

Not that this was deafening. To be at Goodison for their last match was to be struck by both the silence and restraint of fans. Moyes stood on the touchline in his true blue tracksuit and unfeasibly large white trainers and urged his players on with a greater intensity than those individuals were showing on the pitch. A 2-0 lead to depressed Newcastle was lost in the second half, though part of the wonder was how Everton scored two in the first place. Their most striking collective characteristic was mediocrity. It made you ponder the team's relationship with the manager. But the fans did not turn on him.

Subsequently a wistful Moyes has revealed it took a speech from Bobby Robson to remind him of what he has helped to create at Everton and few remarks have been made. Then this week came the new deal.

One hopes for the club's sake that it brings a sense of renewal. Everton are too important a club in English football to start listing again. Which is where Moyes came in.


Glentoran facing a long trek

SO GLENTORAN are displeased with the arrangements for the Setanta Cup final against Cork City. It could be said the Glens knew the rules when they got involved but those rules need to be looked at afresh. The final should be a two-legged affair if it is not to be played on neutral turf. In the current economic climate, asking Glentoran fans to trek to Cork and stay over on a Saturday night is not so realistic.

At least those who do go should see a Glentoran win. Belfast beats Cork every time. And Dublin, and Derry and . . .

Stokes aiming to prove a point

ANTHONY STOKES scored twice in training yesterday morning apparently. It was at a club who play in red and white but this was Sheffield United, not Sunderland. Stokes, Roy Keane revealed, has gone out on loan until January and it is to be hoped the football Stokes gets at Bramall Lane will be regular and plentiful. That is what he needs.

"Stokesy has to go down there with the attitude that he has to work his socks off," Keane said. "It would be nice for him to get a run of games. I keep saying that he's a talented boy, but he's only had cameo roles for me and a lot of those came on the left or right wing. His best position is definitely down the middle, but he's not been able to cement a place there yet."

Keane's attitude towards Stokes might be called tough love. There is obvious affection but Keane needs Stokes to prove Keane right. Stokes began well, impressing his new team-mates. He will be on United's bench for tomorrow's thunderous Sheffield derby at Hillsborough.