At least Moyes is happy

[Lumbo]

I hope he can sort his contract soon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/...mierleague

David Moyes has indicated his long-term future may lie at Goodison rather than St James' Park having purposely praised the Everton board for sanctioning the club record transfer of Marouane Fellaini.

Despondency had shaped the Everton manager's early season mood, with the lack of new signings prompting his refusal to sign a contract extension that has sat on his desk for four months and the business relationship between Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green, the billionaire retailer who has provided financial assistance at Everton, making the 45-year-old a front-runner to replace Kevin Keegan on Tyneside.

That uncertainty will linger until Moyes extends a contract that is due to expire at the end of this season. However, having flown to Belgium to tie up the £15m deal for Fellaini on Monday night, the Everton manager suggested his loyalty to chairman Bill Kenwright had survived a troubled summer yesterday when he credited the club's hierarchy for breaking the club's transfer record for the fourth time in three years.

In what may prove the most expensive signing in Everton's history plus the most important where Moyes' immediate future is concerned, he also heralded the 20-year-old former Standard Liege midfielder as befitting his long-term vision for the club.

Moyes, who may revisit his contract now that the transfer window has closed, said: "We have been chasing Marouane for two years, we have known his agent for a long time and we knew he was a talent. We just had to decide when to do it. The two games he played against Liverpool (in the Champions League qualifiers) have shown he is ready to take the step up.

"The Uefa Cup draw (Everton v Standard Liege) made it more difficult and because his performances brought him to everyone's attention, the fee has gone up. But I am really pleased to have him here. I have to thank Bill and the board for what they have done.

"There is a path I have tried to take as Everton manager and that is buying young players who are hungry to play. It is not always easy to stay on that route. We have had a couple of disappointments during the summer, although the club has really done nothing wrong. Clubs haven't wanted to sell or wages have been too high and we have a tight wage structure here."

Felliani agreed a five-year contract worth at least £20,000-a-week with Everton, the deal being completed just minutes before Monday's deadline, to become Moyes' fifth signing in the final week of the window. The Belgium international joins Danish right back Lars Jacobsen, Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo, former Manchester United striker Louis Saha and back-up goalkeeper Carlo Nash as Everton's summer purchases, but is ineligible to play in Europe until January due to his Champions League appearances against Liverpool.

Moyes, who raised £10.5m this summer through the sale of Andy Johnson to Fulham, added: "He is only 20 and people have to remember that, but I have big hopes for him and feel he can improve a lot. There were some big European clubs in for him in the summer, but Standard Liege didn't want to sell him. The deal itself was incredibly tight, the tightest I have been involved in. We were closing in on things, but struggling to get one or two elements done so I caught a flight (to Brussels) with the secretary David Harrison and it took a real big effort from the board and the chairman to get there."

[Steve Blue]

i think he would have been happier if it happened earlier in the summer, and we seem to have missed out on a few players as well, so yes i think hes happy but could have been happier

[Moyes_Is_God]

Well nothing is going to change from now until January. He is either happy enough to sign his contract or not. I hope he is not going to wait until January before he decides. I think the players will have had a boost from the new signings, they now need the boost from Moyes signing his contract because it is time to get on with this season.

[MarinerBlue]

Some comments in that article fill be with the right thoughts then others just knock me down.

[Yalides]

No chance of Keegan being our next Manager then ?

Now wouldn,t that be scary and guarantee abject failure.

[vaughanichebe]

20 grand a week is that all,he will be off next summer when he finds out what players in the premier are earning

[Moyes_Is_God]

(09-03-2008 12:06 PM)vaughanichebe Wrote:  20 grand a week is that all,he will be off next summer when he finds out what players in the premier are earning

I think he's probably already aware of that.

[1878evertonian]

''although the club has really done nothing wrong'' i beg to differ davey boy!!

[Ste EFC]

(09-03-2008 12:19 PM)1878evertonian Wrote:  ''although the club has really done nothing wrong'' i beg to differ davey boy!!

That's total bullshit. They've all been at fault this summer