EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB - News Archive

Stubbs: Moyes Deserves Award.

Alan Stubbs singled out David Moyes for praise ahead of the 168th Merseyside derby and insists that Moyes deserves the Manager Of The Year Award.

Many neutral supporters worldwide will agree that David Moyes' achivements over the past year, deserves the award.

When the former Preston boss arrived at Goodison in March 2002, Everton were languishing in 15th place in the Premiership table, just several points above the drop zone.

After winning 22 of his 42 games! in charge since taking over, the Blues now find themselves vying for a Champions League spot and ahead of archrivals Liverpool.

The Toffees’ transformation is made all the more remarkable considering the Glaswegian spent just over £5.5 million in the close season.

With these facts, Alan Stubbs believes David deserves the famous Manager Of The Year Award.

Alan Stubbs: "The gaffer has got to be up there when the votes come in, With what he has got and with what he has had to deal with, he's got to be one of the leading contenders. There is the other side of the coin where the managers who have spent a lot will say buying good players with that money is another important aspect of the job. Our manager has had very little to spend compared to others. The usual candidates like Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are up there again, but you can judge how well he's done and how much he's appreciated by the response of the fans. That says it all. He would be a popular choice if he won it instead of the manager who wins the league. There was a similar case the other year when George Burley won it and I think if he didn't get it many people would be very surprised."

With just five games to go of an eventful season, Everton still have targets to aim for.

Staying above Liverpool until the end of the campaign is one, qualifying for Europe is another, and even a Champions League slot is not out of the question.

Alan is delighted that the team, having already comfortably exceeded expectations, still have so much to play for.

"Let's be honest our main aim is to get into Europe, not to finish above Liverpool," he continued.

"If we qualify for Europe and finish behind Liverpool it's still been a great season for us and if we can get into Europe while staying ahead of them, then even better.