Everton's David Moyes can show he is true successor to Alex Ferguson

18 April 2009 20:28
Moyes' consistently shrewd stewardship of Everton has earned him universal admiration and a place on the common-consent shortlist of candidates to be next in line at Old Trafford. One man convinced Moyes has the ability and strength of character to take on that challenge is Howard Kendall, lauded at Goodison Park as Everton's most successful manager. 'I think David could step up to the plate at United, without a shadow of a doubt,' said Kendall, who led Everton to victory in the FA Cup, European Cup-Winners' Cup and two League Championships during the eighties. ''I wouldn't like to talk about Fergie leaving and how can you achieve a higher success rate than Alex? It's going to be very difficult. What you've got to do there is gain the players' respect as soon as you walk in and I'm sure David would do that because of what he's done at Everton.'' Moyes, seven years in charge at Everton, acknowledges he needs a trophy to affirm his legacy. But Kendall, who prevailed in a more egalitarian age, commends his old club for recognising when they are on to a good thing. ''We wouldn't have had so much time in my day, but things have changed because of the financial situation,'' Kendall said. ''Everton will say, who can they get that's better? Full credit to them for standing by him. They've got the one they want and rightly so. ''But as a manager you can become impatient when you can't compete with others. If he was on the open market he would be sought after because he's got so much respect in the game.' Kendall's team were relieved of the FA Cup in the 1985 final by United, a defeat that deprived them of a European and domestic treble. Retribution came for Everton when the two clubs met again at Wembley in 1995, yet since that day they have beaten Ferguson's charges only once in 29 matches. Moyes can at least take credit for that sole win, in 2005, and he is buoyed by the closeness of recent encounters with the man who has shaped United's fortunes for more than 22 years. There was a time, during his stint at Preston, when Moyes contemplated becoming closer still to his fellow Scot, as United's No2. Even if he privately craves the No1 role at Old Trafford, he prefers, publicly, to hail Ferguson as a national treasure and talk up his own prospects of longevity with Everton. ''I spoke to Sir Alex about the No2 job but wasn't offered it and I've gone on to do what I had to do,'' Moyes said. ''I would have liked the chance to see The Man working and be around him. I always try to get as much information as I can to regurgitate and see what I can do with it. ''Will it be a poisoned chalice at United? I don't know, but that's why you should be talking about the greatness of Fergie. You should be embracing the manager. ''He's done a brilliant job and hopefully he'll be there for 26 or 27 years because he's the best of his generation. I don't want him to go, I just want him to share the trophies around a bit more! ''I can see myself staying at Everton for 10, 12, 15 years if they want me. Sometimes supporters get fed up with you and want a change, but people realise you're better off with stability. ''They will tell you there was a day when Fergie was nearly gone and they tell you here there was a time when David Moyes was struggling. I bet Fergie didn't feel that way and honestly I never did. If you're doing the job right, you know in the end you'll get there.'' Mind-games analysts may identify a trait of the old master in Moyes' expressed concern, through the press, about the impartiality of this afternoon's referee, Mike Riley, said by some to be a United fan. Fergie will doubtless be nodding knowingly. Kendall suggests the mutual respect evident in Moyes' relationship with Ferguson may have helped facilitate the deals that took Tim Howard, Phil Neville and Louis Saha from United to Everton, although he contends at least one of those transfers betrays a rare error of judgment by The Man. The United boss hired and fired more regularly than Alan Sugar in his quest to replace goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and Howard was one of the casualties. The American has since established himself as integral to Everton's development. ''The signing of Tim Howard by David was absolutely brilliant,'' Kendall said. ''I think Alex might have jumped in a bit early to get rid of him. Tim Howard has proved him wrong.'' Howard maintains he bears no grudge. He agitated for a move after Ferguson brought in Edwin van der Sar and feels vindicated by subsequent events. ''I don't get bitter about these things,'' Howard said. ''Life goes on and I think they're better off and I'm certainly better off. My ambition was to play and I've definitely become a better goalkeeper.'' Howard dismisses the notion that United will be distracted by greater objectives, but admits an FA Cup triumph with Everton would represent a more significant achievement than the one he accomplished in 2004. ''Having been there and knowing the mindset of that club, I don't think anything will interfere with their psyche. They'll be right up for it. I won the FA Cup in my first season at United, the first American to win it, and I thought wow, this is amazing'. But to get to a final with Everton would be more monumental and the fact that our recent games against United have been tight gives us motivation. In semi-finals and on big occasions, crazy things happen.''  

Source: Telegraph