David Moyes - Nine Years!

It seems hard to believe that David Moyes is the third longest serving manager in the Premier League behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger and, in his time at Everton, he has seen the team through both good times and bad. It is a testament to the faith that the Goodison board have in Moyes that March marked his ninth anniversary in charge.
David Moyes replaced Walter Smith at Goodison Park and took charge of his first game on the 14th of March 2002. Everton fans may have seen the game as a sign of things to come as David Unsworth scored after just thirty seconds and Moyes` men went on to win the game 2-1.
Under Walter Smith, Everton had been potential relegation candidates and although there have been some bad times, Moyes` tenure has largely changed that. He led them to Champions League football in 2005 and although they didn`t make it past the qualifying stages on that occasion, the side have been contenders for UEFA Cup and subsequently Europa Cup football in many seasons since.
In 2009, David Moyes led Everton to the FA Cup final against a formidable Chelsea side. Everton took the lead in the opening minute through Louis Saha but eventually went down 2-1 the men from Stamford Bridge.
Those have been the highlights of David Moyes career but there have been some bad times as well. If Everton peaked with fourth place in the Premiership at the end of the 2004-5 season, the following campaign saw them slump back to old ways and battle relegation for long periods of time. In essence, that really sums up Moyes` career at Goodison - promising seasons mixed in with some disappointing ones.
Although Everton`s main rivals Liverpool aren`t the dominant force in English football that they once were, they have still picked up a couple of trophies in recent years - most notably the European Cup in 2005. While Moyes won`t hope to compete with that kind of success, fans tend to have long memories and will point to the golden years of the 1980`s when Everton were winning trophies, including two league titles under Howard Kendall.
In 2010-11, Everton have had another mixed season. With no European football to distract them, fans may have been forgiven for expecting a challenge for Champions League places and maybe a domestic cup. Sadly, Everton currently sit in a mid table position. Relegation threatened for a while (although that danger seems to have been averted), the season has been anything but spectacular.
To be fair to Moyes, he has lost Tim Cahill, Marouane Fellaini and most recently Mikel Arteta to injury while Steven Pienaar has left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur. Injuries and absence aside, Everton supporters would have been hoping for a much improved season.
David Moyes is a popular figure at Goodison, both with the board and with the majority of supporters. Many people both in and outside of the club will hope that he continues to drive the club forward and achieve the success that the fans crave. For the rest of this season and for the future, there will be plenty of live football free to see how Moyes and his men progress.