Sad to say but Everton are too small a club for Moyes

AT FULL-TIME, David Moyes stood with his feet planted on the touchline, seemingly unable to move. His season had just ended in front of his eyes. Another year — his 10th — without a trophy. The Everton manager is not to be blamed for this. His achievements are far greater than those measured by cups in cabinets. Nevertheless, Moyes feels it dreadfully. This was this chance, he felt, to have another tilt at glory and at full time he looked a little dazed. Maybe he just feels what many onlookers feel. That it is, in all honesty, time for Moyes to move on. The Scot will be 49 this month. He is at the peak of his powers and it is hard to escape the fact that he works for a club without the financial muscle to take him where he wants and deserves to go. A loyal, driven man, Moyes will not leave easily. But in a summer when managerial change looks likely at clubs such as Tottenham, Chelsea and maybe even Aston Villa, Moyes’s name will surely figure highly on any shortlists. His captain Phil Neville was asked the inevitable question. ‘The way he has managed us in the last month or two suggests that he is in it for the long term,’ said Neville. ‘He is ambitious and wants to get to the top. He wants to do that with Everton.’ They have been at the top end of the League before, of course. In 2004, Moyes guided the club to the Champions League qualifying rounds. Five years later they lost the FA Cup final against Chelsea. These achievements, though, have come against a background of uncertainty over Everton’s future and their inability to compete in the transfer market. And it is this that frustrates him the most. On Saturday he saw his team beaten by a group of players from Liverpool assembled relatively expensively. Given £20million to spend, it is unlikely he would waste it on Stewart Downing. Despite their victory, Liverpool were typically modest in their performance and were there to be beaten once the excellent Nikica Jelavic put Everton ahead. Curiously, Moyes’s players seemed to lack belief. Curious because man-management and motivation are particular skills of the Scot. Everton retreated into themselves in the second half and once Liverpool equalised there only looked like being one winner. Moyes will certainly ask himself why that was as he reflects on a golden opportunity lost. He said: ‘The way we have been playing, I thought this was our chance. I am just really disappointed I couldn’t give those fans a final.’ Everton’s supporters will forgive him, but they must understand if Moyes decides to try his luck somewhere else. It seems odd to say it, given Everton’s rich heritage, but Moyes’s talents are deserving of a bigger stage.