It has been a little over six months since Scotsman David Moyes left football management and now, he is back in the media with talks about a possible return.
Moyes is a 27-year veteran in football management but is most associated with Everton, where he spent 11 seasons between 2002 and 2013. Having also managed Real Sociedad in Spain in the course of his career – his only job outside the United Kingdom – he famously managed Manchester United for one year between 2013 and 2014 as a result of the endorsement of the greatest Premier League manager ever, Sir Alex Ferguson.
He last managed West Ham United where he was from 2017 to 2024 with a break occurring between 2018 and 2019. The club sacked him in 2018 only to rehire him in 2019 when his replacement turned out to be a wrong choice. In that time, he made them competitive again, just like he did Everton, while also leading them to two major European semifinals and one European trophy – the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Since leaving his role at the London Stadium, the 61-year-old football veteran, who played as a centre-back for Celtic, Preston North End among others during his playing days, has been with his family and away from the spotlight.
However, a similar situation to his rehiring at West Ham in 2019 has taken place again, forcing him back into the spotlight. Julen Lopetegui, who was hired as his second replacement, has been fired from the club. Unfortunately for them, his former club Everton, also fired their manager Sean Dyche, leaving Moyes with an easier choice to make.
Now back at Everton, Moyes has spoken about how the Toffees are the only club that will pull him back into management at this current stage of his career.
“It was really quick [decision to go back to Everton]. I think Tuesday or Wednesday when I first got a little bit of a call to say there was a chance there was going to be a change,” he said.
“I had several conversations with Dan and Marc and that’s where it really took off from really, but up to that point I had no idea. I actually thought Sean was doing a really good job and I didn’t see any changes materialising at the time.
“And in truth, I wasn’t necessarily out there looking to go back, but as everybody knows, this is a different beast to me than many other clubs.”
Moyes also spoke about how many other offers he turned down while on his hiatus following his departure from West Ham.
“I believe so. I’ve had other opportunities to consider other jobs, quite a few since I’ve left West Ham. And I didn’t feel ready for it anyway. But I always felt that if the job came up and I didn’t expect the job to come up I really didn’t, I didn’t see it, but when I got asked about it this week it was just too big an opportunity to turn down.
“And I want to try and show that I can go again. I think in football you always have to prove yourself and it doesn’t matter who you are you always have to do it.”
