“By the way, over recent years, everybody has brought Everton back down to earth. So why don’t we just try and keep Everton high for a while? Isn’t it good that there is positive talk about Everton for a change?”
It is almost impossible to properly sum up the impact of David Moyes since his return to Everton but, in fairness, the 61-year-old does a pretty good job himself. Positivity is surging through a club that has been engulfed in crises for too long.
You can feel that everywhere you go – from the streets around Goodison Park before kick-off on Wednesday to the corridors of Finch Farm on a sunny Valentine’s Day morning. All of a sudden the romance is returning to Everton – maybe football is about more than struggle?
Had you sat every Blue down at 5pm on New Year’s Eve and asked them what they would want for their beloved club in 2025, few would have dared to ask for the progress that has been made.
In just six weeks they have moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone, scored goals for fun, restored the pride at Goodison Park and bloodied the nose of their fiercest rival in a dramatic, emphatic, lung-busting, heart-bursting way that was befitting of the Grand Old Lady.
Everton’s last years at Goodison have been some of their most miserable and yet they have still turned it into a horrible place for a Liverpool side that has regularly made a mockery of rival territory elsewhere, including Old Trafford.
Above all, Everton now have a manager who can effectively channel the hunger, desire and passion of a restless fanbase. None of the above is a criticism of Sean Dyche, who worked miracles to keep Everton in the Premier League against some of the most significant challenges ever faced by a manager.
But all of a sudden this is a club that is on the front foot, not the back foot. It can only do that because of Moyes’ ability to harness the good will available to him and the club right now.
