So now Sam Allardyce, Dick Advocaat, Gus Poyet and Paolo di Canio know. They were only ever second on Sunderland’s shortlist at best. “David Moyes was my No.1 managerial target for the last five appointments,” said owner Ellis Short. Good things are supposed to come to those who wait and Moyes’ eventual arrival represents very good news for Sunderland. They have lost their manager to England, banked compensation and arguably traded up.
This is a chance to finally end their run of Groundhog seasons, with awful starts only partially redeemed by late scrambles to safety. They have been trapped in a damaging cycle of relegation battles, often provoked by poor planning and marked by excessive spending and a high turnover of players and managers alike. This is an opportunity to finally abandon the short-termism that appeared institutionalised and embrace the sort of stability that should stop them being seen as a dysfunctional club with the wrong culture.
• More: Moyes to Sunderland | Tough job ahead for Allardyce
They might have done, too, had Allardyce stayed, but he is 61 and an increasingly itinerant figure. Moyes is 53, scarred by club-hopping and in need of a project. Short said the Scot eluded Sunderland in the past because of a reluctance to break contracts. They may have landed him now because his standing has dropped.
On Moyes’ part, perhaps there is a recognition now that he is not destined for better things. Failure at Manchester United was not solely his fault – his inheritance was more difficult than was recognised at the time and the club’s inability to land his transfer targets compounded his problems – but he would not figure on the top six’s wishlists now. An underwhelming spell at Real Sociedad suggested he will get few offers from leading European clubs. He is a manager with limitations, but also with marked strengths that render him suitable for Sunderland.
Because the most pertinent part of his CV is not the shortest managerial stint at Old Trafford since the 1930s, but as Everton’s longest-serving since Harry Catterick, who left in 1973. Sunderland, now with a 10th manager in as many years, can only envy that longevity. If Everton belong in a different bracket to the Wearsiders now, it is because of Moyes. He secured eight top-eight finishes in 11 years, following 10 lower-half finishes in the previous 11, including flirtations with demotion, that bears comparison to Sunderland’s recent record.
He turned a club around with relentless dedication and astute recruitment, not merely of players but of characters who shared his granite-faced resolve. “Anybody who works tremendously hard day in, day out over the course of eight, nine, ten years is going to get your respect,” his Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard told this writer in 2014. “As senior players, there was a mutual respect between David Moyes and ourselves.”
Moyes compensated for the lack of a managerial Midas touch, revolutionary tactical ideas or an overriding philosophy with incremental improvement that stemmed from meticulous preparation and a determination to spend the club’s money as though it was his own. He scouted Tim Cahill 25 or 30 times before signing the Australian, a bargain at £1.75 million. He developed a very fine Everton squad with an annual net spend of just £2.8 million.
Financially, his Everton punched above their weight. Sunderland have punched below theirs. In 2014-15, the most recent year for which figures are available, they posted the fourth highest loss in the Premier League, had the 11th biggest wage bill and came 16th. It is little wonder the fiscally prudent Moyes has such allure.
He also has an attitude that should appeal. Like Everton, Sunderland are a working-class club in a port city. Prima donnas are not appreciated; instead Moyes’ blue-collar willingness to put a shift in, and to get his players to do likewise, should renew a bond with the fanbase. His job is to revisit and repeat his past.
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