Source: Daily_Mail
Everton boss Moyes: I’m choking because this club just isn’t progressing
It says everything about the deeply sombre mood pervading England's greatest football city that Rafa Benitez, despite overseeing the club's worst run in modern history, is actually the happier of the two managers meeting for a Merseyside derby that will definitely not be for the faint-hearted.[LNB]Benitez may be wobbling under the pressure of coping with a club in turmoil on and off the pitch - and 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea - but he is a picture of positivity compared to David Moyes, a deeply troubled figure as he contemplates whether he has taken crisis-ridden Everton as far as he can following the hammer blow last week of not being able to move to a new stadium in Kirkby.[LNB]Everton have no money, a crippling injury list, no immediate prospect of a new stadium and no sugar daddy waiting in the wings to take over from Bill Kenwright. [LNB] Feeling the heat: Everton boss David Moyes[LNB]Moyes is clearly a manager who feels he may have reached a dead end after leading Everton to three top-six finishes in recent seasons.[LNB]'I want to be involved in a football club that makes progress,' he admitted as he prepared for the 212th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park with his side having slumped to fifth from bottom in the table and dark mutterings of a relegation battle ahead.[LNB]'I have a lump in the back of my throat - I am choking - because I'm finding it hard to say to anyone that we're making progress. I'm not sure that's the case this year.'[LNB]Moyes will leave Goodison Park at the end of the season unless new investors are found to help the club match his own ambitions. Even a sudden Kenny Dalglish-style walk-out cannot be discounted, although a £1.5milliona- year salary is clearly a good reason not to do so.[LNB]It all leaves a bizarre situation where Benitez's reign at Anfield looks relatively stable, despite the team losing four games in a row for the first time since 1987 and being dumped out of the Champions League at the group stages, beckoning Europa League football to Anfield.[LNB]Benitez has also had to face questions about his dealings in the transfer market, which have left him without a replacement for the injured Fernando Torres, while off the pitch Liverpool also have long term issues over ownership and a new stadium.[LNB]How did it come to this? Whatever fans in Manchester and London may think, Liverpool is indisputably England's most successful footballing city.[LNB] Fallen through: Everton's plans to build a new ground in Kirkby have collapsed[LNB]Everton and Liverpool have won 27 league championships between them and in the Eighties, the title went to Merseyside seven seasons in a row, both teams also winning the FA Cup and European trophies during that period.[LNB]Investment in new stadia should have happened then - but it did not. Now, in the middle of the credit crunch, Liverpool cannot find £400m to build at Stanley Park.[LNB]Everton are back at square one after Kirkby, and a groundshare is out of the question as Anfield co-owner Tom Hicks wants to utilise his contacts in the construction industry for his club alone.[LNB]The problems have heaped unprecedented pressure on Benitez and Moyes, but right now it seems Moyes is feeling the heat most.[LNB]He can see seven years of transforming Everton from relegation candidates to European contenders and FA Cup finalists going up in smoke because of a lack of investment.[LNB]Long-term injuries to key players Phil Neville, Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka have left the Scot resembling a heavyweight who has taken one blow too many.[LNB]In a powerful unleashing of frustration, Moyes declared: 'The one thing I always wanted at Everton was to make progress. We've done that by climbing the league, getting the training ground, qualifying for Europe, reaching a cup final and talking about getting a new stadium.[LNB]'It was all great progress. Now that is finished. The stadium idea has come to an end and we're not doing so well in the league. It is the ability to progress from here that worries me more than anything.[LNB]Frustration: Rafa Benitez will be desperate for Liverpool's fortunes to improve this season[LNB]'I'm ambitious. I want to be challenging near the top of the league and playing Manchester United and Liverpool feeling we can win. There were periods last year when I thought we were a match for anyone. At this moment, I don't.'[LNB]Moyes, hugely popular among the devoted Everton faithful and regarded as one of the best managers in the club's history, is acutely aware of not overstaying his welcome but is struggling for solutions to halt the club's decline.[LNB]'I don't think we will be buying players in January, no. We don't have those finances. If anything, we will have to use the loan market.[LNB]'I have a great relationship with the chairman - it is not as if he is hoarding money or hiding it from me. But I say to him, "Come on, Chairman, we've got to find more investment".[LNB]'People see us as finding it hard to keep spending to keep up with the Joneses. We have a chairman from Liverpool trying to do the best for his team. But the business side at other clubs involves having someone from Abu Dhabi or someone from Mars putting money in.[LNB]'I want to come back to watch Everton in my old age. If the fans say, "We want rid of David Moyes", I would say give it to somebody else.'[LNB]Everton's owners will take a close interest in Moyes's comments. Despite his theatrical background, Kenwright is no soft touch and will point out the club's wage bill is £3m higher than 12 months ago and that the Everton squad are full of expensive imports like Yakubu (£15m) and Marouane Fellaini (£15m), who are both underperforming at present.[LNB]In contrast, Benitez is signing from the same hymnsheet as chief executive Christian Purslow, even though only a top-four finish can guarantee the Spaniard will be in charge next season.[LNB]While Moyes wrestles with his future, self-doubt is not something that appears to worry Benitez.[LNB]'I have never questioned myself. I knew I would be a manager at 16 and have always had confidence in my ability because I think deeply about the game and have had success everywhere I have been.[LNB]'Even when I was sacked early in my career, I never lost confidence. I told my friend, "it doesn't matter, I will be a top manager".'[LNB]Benitez has control of the Academy he craved, and promises the ownershe can save them millions of pounds in transfer fees by developingyoung players.[LNB] Case for the defence: Liverpool star Javier Mascherano has backed manager Rafa Benitez[LNB]Dalglish has been given a senior role to ensure future local talent like Jack Rodwell ends up at Liverpool, not Everton.[LNB]The players are backing their manager in his hour of need. Even Javier Mascherano, who fell out with Benitez in the summer when the manager blocked a move to Barcelona, dismisses the idea of regime change.[LNB]'You can't just take recent results into account. Liverpool have improved over the past five years and that is due to Rafa,' said Mascherano.[LNB]'The club weren't always in the Champions League until Rafa came. Now people expect it every season. Rafa is responsible for that.[LNB]'The fans are behind him and we shouldn't talk about changing the manager. He signed a contract a few months ago. I think all the supporters and the owners believe in Rafa and the project.' [LNB] Everton chief Kenwright calls for new investors after stadium plan collapseEverton kids rule! Area where Toffees are undisputed kings of MerseysideEVERTON FC
