By Aaron Lynch

After sacking Sean Dyche, Everton looked to former boss David Moyes, appointing the Scotsman on a two and a half year deal. The appointment comes as the club are currently struggling and have been for some time.

In his previous stay at the Toffees, Moyes was in charge for a whopping 11 seasons, achieving Champions League qualification and taking Everton to an FA Cup final during that time.

Whilst away from Merseyside, Moyes saw success and failure at multiple different clubs.

Manchester United were the first to offer him the job, however, with the shoes of Sir Alex Ferguson to fill, Moyes failed to impress and was relieved of his duties after a single season.

David Moyes with Tim Cahill at Everton press conference in 2010 (Matt King via Gettyimages)

This was followed by short spells at Real Sociedad and Sunderland before joining West Ham.

Having achieved qualification the previous season, Moyes took his West Ham side to European glory, winning the Conference League in the 2022/23 season.

It’s easy to pinpoint what went wrong for Sean Dyche at Everton. An overly defensive style of play led to a lack of goals and points, leaving Everton in 16th place just outside the relegation zone.

David Moyes lifting the Conference League trophy with West Ham (Richard Heathcote via Gettyimages)

David Moyes will pick up an Everton team with promise. Players like Dwight McNeil, Jack Harrison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all shown their talent and under the right manager could shine in the Premier League.

It’s clear that the new Everton manager will need to revamp their style of play. Moyes will most likely look to instil a low block, counter attacking style which worked well in his time with West Ham.

The key to success in a David Moyes team comes from being defensively solid to begin with then being lethal with the ball in transition. The pace of McNeil, Harrison, and Ndiaye should suit Everton on the counter attack.

With the first game of Moyes’ second spell in the books, there were a few takeaways from their 0-1 loss to Aston Villa.

Firstly Everton looked poor on the ball and were giving possession away regularly, which in a Moyes team cannot happen. As for the chances they did create, Calvert-Lewin’s lackluster finishing led to yet another goalless game. Overall there wasn’t a whole lot in the game, Villa just had the quality on the ball and in the penalty area that Everton lacked.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin frustrated after miss against Aston Villa (Carl Recine via Gettyimages)

Another huge match against an underperforming Spurs side at the weekend poses an opportunity for Moyes’s team to get back on track in their pursuit of moving up the league table.

David Moyes looks to replicate prior success as he begins second spell at Everton