David Moyes believes Everton should now be an attractive proposition for buyers after The Friedkin Group announced the club are for sale. Less than 22 months after purchasing the Blues from Farhad Moshiri, the Texas-based company announced on Friday that they are exploring new investment options, including the potential sale of a controlling interest.
Manager backs the club's appeal
Speaking in the open section of his pre-match press conference to preview Sunday’s game at Hull City, the Glaswegian gaffer declared how they are a great club worth buying and if anyone is thinking about it, he’ll be the first one to recommend the Blues. Moyes steered Everton to nine top-eight finishes during his first spell in charge, including a highest-ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05.
Moyes elaborated on his point and said: “Well, what I’m always saying is that I think that with a new stadium, the revenue was supposed to increase, which would allow us to use that revenue. That was one of the things which we were banking on as well.
“So, the idea was for us to rebuild, and actually, the way we had left Goodison, the way we had started the season at the new stadium, filling it with the crowds.
“There was a sort of belief, which was creeping back into Everton, and we were getting away from all those dirty words and all those bad things getting said. I wasn’t here in the bad times but we’re certainly going back there, that’s not where we’re going.
“We’re going to do much better and that’s why when the Friedkins are in charge, I hope that they’ll look after the club and do the right things until the right people come in.
“I would have hoped that they thought they could have broken the glass ceiling here at Everton.
European ambitions and ownership learning curve
“There is a new stadium, a club that has just started to rise. I hoped when the owners came in, they were coming to break the glass ceiling, that’s what I believed.
“I hope whoever comes it has a vision that Everton are a club that can really join the top group. I see Europe as the first step.
“When we see Brighton and Sunderland getting into Europe, incredible achievements for both teams, I feel we can do that.
“If we can get in those competitions, the extra money that comes in makes some difference and changes the way the club is seen.
“I can talk about my experience at West Ham in that way. I saw how they went from a club that had been relegated to a club that had regular European football.”
After the turmoil of Farhad Moshiri’s tenure, TFG have put Everton on a surer financial footing, but as someone who worked very closely alongside owner Bill Kenwright during his first spell in charge at Goodison Park, Moyes acknowledges it’s been a learning curve for him.
The 63-year-old said: “Yeah, from all my time in football, I’ve always been close to the ownership, met them regularly and talked. I think when you work in a business, you always want to be able to speak with your bosses for them to understand a bit about you as well and what’s going on, so, I have found that quite difficult.
“I’m the oldest manager in the Premier League and I see we’ve got a lot of new ownership coming in mainly from America while there’s some from other countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. So, I think you have to get to learn to see how they work and how their business models work.
“A lot of the British managers and the managers in this country, we’re still getting used to the Americans a little bit. Getting used to the business models of the Americans and what they want us to do.
“But I think if you know that and you’re part of that, I think you say, okay, I’ve got to do the team and I maybe can’t do this, but I could do that. I think it’s good, but I think when you’re when you’re not getting much direction on what we’ve got, it’s not easy to work out where we’re going.”
