Moyes leaving Goodison: The aftermath

It would be safe to conclude that there aren’t many managers around in England who can function as highly as Moyes with such minimal funds. Under him, Everton found themselves consistently finishing in the upper reaches of the table for the first time since the inception of the Premier League. And given the funding, or lack of it, that Moyes had to work with at Everton, to restore them in to a side regularly contesting for a European competition berth reflects the great work he has done.

The Telegraph conducted a survey recently based on the annual financial reports of every Premier League club from 2010-11 and onwards. According to the survey, Everton have spent a net worth of £6.6m on transfers; approximately £20m lesser than Tottenham, and £34m lesser than Merseyside rivals Liverpool. The only club to have finished higher in the table than Everton last season despite having spent less on net transfers are Arsenal(no surprises there).

Everton have also spent a net worth of £58m on salaries towards players, which is £33m less than what Tottenham pay. No other Premier League team who have managed to finish above Everton last season in the league have spent less than what the Toffees have; Fulham are the only club to have finished in the top half (eighth), and have spent lesser than Everton.

In the age of chequebook-driven football, the only way to measure a club’s success is the amount of silverware they have won. And with Moyes not having succeeded to deliver any to the club, calling him a ‘success’ would evidently mean that Joe Royle wasn’t one. But you cannot call him a ‘failure’ either; after all, he successfully took the club in the top half of the league especially considering the tumultuous phase the club was going through when he first took charge.

Moyes’s contribution towards Everton has not been limited to improving the competitiveness of the squad; he planned the shifting of training grounds from Bellefield to the much-improved facilities at Farm Finch. The Scot’s pragmatic approach towards improving the scouting and training facilities have gone a long way in improving the overall performance of the club.

Moyes brought with him the highly experienced Jimmy Lumsden and later appointed Steve Round as first-team coach at Goodison; decisions that have gone a long way in improving the standards of the backroom staff at the club. And the fact that Everton FC are in a better state (purely in terms of football) as compared to what they were back in 2002 exemplifies the splendid work Moyes has done.

But now with Moyes gone and the club’s debts worse than ever before, Everton are now faced with the possibility of bankruptcy. However strange it may sound, a large section of Evertonians do not hold Moyes in the highest regard for failing to deliver any trophy, and for not choosing to revolt against Billy Kenwright’s suspicious running of the club.

The club’s group balance sheet in the annual report of 2002-03 stated the equity shareholders’ deficit to be at £7.699m. Despite having a strict transfer and wage budget, the deficit has spiralled upwards to £44.9m by the end of 2011-12. The Chairman and the fans alike realize the urgent need to find investors for the club or the new manager would be forced into selling their top players to balance the charts.

“We haven’t spent money because we haven’t got it, we haven’t traded. So I look at the huge leaps forward this Football Club has had. And the next question, still I can’t sell it – that’s where I have failed.”

‘The banks are tightening in now. We just can’t borrow any more money. A, to protect the football club and B, to protect the fans. I know the progress over the past decade has been phenomenal on and off the pitch.” – Kenwright back in 2011.

New Everton manager Roberto Martinez (R) and Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright

Roberto Martinez’s appointment has been received well by the fans given the Spaniard’s recent FA Cup triumph with Wigan. With Everton’s performance in the domestic cup tournaments being dismal, Martinez is being looked upon as an immediate answer to the club’s trophy drought. The 39-year-old has worked with a low budget at Wigan and has been doing pretty well to stave off relegation until this season. But the expectations at Goodison will be much higher, whereas the transfer budget wouldn’t be much of an improvement from what it was at Wigan.

Only time will tell if Martinez can guide Everton to the Promised Land or Moyes takes the stability away with him to Old Trafford.