David Moyes has this afternoon been officially confirmed as the new manager of Manchester United. The news follows on from Everton’s statement earlier, which revealed the Scot was to leave Goodison this summer after holding talks with chairman Bill Kenwright and expressing his desire to move to Old Trafford:
Moyes has signed a six-year deal with the league champions and will take charge from July 1. Sir Alex Ferguson has already spoken out regarding the move, heaping praise on his successor on the club’s official website:
“When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes. David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I’ve admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of Assistant Manager here. He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this Club.”
Moyes will remain in charge of the Toffees for the final two Gameweeks of the season, which pits the Toffees against West Ham and Chelsea. Sunday’s Goodison clash with the Hammers will afford him a final home game in charge of the Merseyside club and with Sir Alex Ferguson also entertaining Swansea in his final match in front of the United fans, Fantasy faith in both clubs is likely to pick up ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
We’ve already assessed the potential impact on Moyes’ arrival yesterday, though while the Fantasy landscape will undoubtedly change upon his installation at Old Trafford, the effect on Everton’s fortunes will be equally intriguing. The security of starts offered by Moyes’ regulars over the years, allied with the customary strong finish to the season and solid home form which has harvested a single defeat at Goodison this term could all come into question depending on the Scot’s Merseyside successor.
Already, Michael Laudrup and Roberto Martinez are the front runners for the Toffees job, with Neil Lennon also getting a mention as the managerial merry-go-round gets underway a little earlier than usual.
