Disappointment reveals depth of Moyes's ambition

May 15 2007 by Mark Lawrenson, Liverpool Daily Post

THE fact that David Moyes was disappointed with his side ‘only’ getting a draw at Chelsea on Sunday shows just how high Everton are now setting their sights.

It’s been a very good season at Goodison Park and Everton have again punched above their weight and there aren’t many other sides in the top 10 who can say that.

If you’re not in the ‘big four’ then you’re competing to come first from a group of 16 so sixth place (or second as it were) among the rest is a job well done.

Just think that back in February Moyes was getting some stick from a small group of Everton supporters but since then they’ve embarked on a great run and have done excellently well to hold on and secure a place in Europe.

It’s never easy when you’ve got Liverpool FC and all their wealth just across the park but Everton have got to cope with that and they’re just concentrating on doing well in their own right.

The 2006-07 season has established even more the fact that David Moyes is a good manager.

That’s an accolade I would give him on several levels too.

He’s a good manager if you’re a chairman, a good manager if you’re a player and a good manager if you’re a fan.

He doesn’t go out and spend all his funds willy-nilly and apart from James Beattie, who has obviously struggled and will probably move on in the summer, Moyes has got good value out of his signings.

Numbers have always been thin on the ground so he’s had to bring in players who can operate in more than one position like Phil Neville and even Joleon Lescott.

The crucial factor for Everton was keeping their key players fit with a squad that isn’t the biggest.

I always thought that if they could do that, they’d be absolutely fine and they were.

A couple of big pluses for Everton have been the emergence of their two young forwards James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe.

I’ve been impressed with Vaughan in particular and for someone who had suffered such a potentially serious injury so soon into his career, he certainly doesn’t seem worried about putting himself about.

He looks like a proper player to me and Anichebe could be a real handful too, if he just realises what he’s got.

But it’s not all about brute force with Everton and their playmaker Mikel Arteta has had another very good season.

With players like him in their side next season there’s no reason why Everton can’t finally have a decent crack at Europe.

Moyes was fortunate last summer that he was able to do his shopping early and all three of his buys – Andrew Johnson, Lescott and Tim Howard – paid off.

He might not be able to get things sorted so swiftly this time but they’ve now got a solid platform to build from.

If Everton can get a decent draw in Europe – and they’re certainly due one – then they can have a good go at the UEFA Cup.

You’d imagine that they’re going to have to bolster their number a bit if they’re going to compete on both the domestic and European fronts.

Pessimists might suggest that might stretch them too far but it’s unfair to complain that they’ll become victims of their own success.

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