David Moyes has agreed a deal to return to Everton as manager following the departure of Sean Dyche.
Dyche was sacked on Thursday – just three hours before the Toffees’ FA Cup third-round win over Peterborough – after winning just one of his last 11 games with Everton, leaving them just one point above the Premier League relegation zone.
Moyes, 61, is now set to make his return to management after leaving West Ham at the end of the last season, as he takes charge of Everton for a second time, 11-and-a-half years after leaving for Manchester United.
The official announcement is expected to be made by the club before Saturday evening.
Analysis: Moyes the safest choice for Everton
Sky Sports News’ Alan Myers:
“David Moyes is the safest choice. Changing managers in this position is high risk. To have someone who knows the club inside out and can hit the ground running is a big plus.
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Speaking in December, Moyes told Sky Sports News he would not consider a job at a club towards the bottom of the Premier League
“Everton need the club to get safe, I think he can do that. The initial aim and objective is to ensure Everton retain their Premier League status ahead of their move to the new stadium.
“The landscape has changed since Moyes was last at Everton. He’ll be working under what may be perceived from the outside as ruthless owners now. It’s not quite the stability he had when Bill Kenwright was the chairman.”
WATCH: Relive the best of Moyes’ first stint at Everton
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In his first press conference as Everton manager in 2002, Moyes called the Toffees ‘the people’s football club’
Is bringing Moyes back the right move for Everton?
Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds:
They say in football there is no room for sentiment.
Dyche had been on borrowed time for a while, however, and the club Moyes is in line to return to is very different to the one he left back in 2013.
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December 11, 2004 – Goodison Park erupted as Moyes led Everton to their first Merseyside derby against Liverpool win for five years
It will be viewed as an emotional return, but it cannot be a sentimental one. The sight of Seamus Coleman telling Leighton Baines, team-mates during Moyes’ first spell, to “clap” after their names were read out over the tannoy before kick-off against Peterborough pulled at the heartstrings.
Following a chaotic day, it was a moment to savour for two Everton greats who will become essential sounding boards for Moyes, especially in the early weeks back at Finch Farm.
Moyes will recognise several faces at the training ground, and among the catering staff, but very little else beyond the febrile fanbase bears a resemblance to the fabric he etched across 11 years over a decade ago.
From Angry Birds, to Bernard. From parting company with eight permanent managers to 777 Partners. From Ronald Koeman’s three No 10s in one summer to Farhad Moshiri’s litany of wasted millions, Everton fans have been through the wringer since the man who coined the ‘People’s Club’ departed as the ‘Chosen One’ to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
