 NEARLY all new managers arrive as a breath of fresh air to the club which has hired them. There is normally a brief honeymoon period, as players fight for their futures and the fans get behind the new regime. But in all but a few exceptional cases, the succeeding weeks and months become a process of disillusionment. David Moyes is one of those exceptions. When he took over from fellow Glaswegian Walter Smith at Goodison Park in March 2002, his arrival had an immediate electrifying effect on the fans, the players, and their expectations of the club. From being the poor relations of their richer, more high-profile neighbours at Anfield, Everton are now, a little over three years later, in the position of qualifying for the most prestigious club competition of all - the Champions League. This from a side which many football pundits confidently predicted would be struggling to avoid relegation at the end of this season, following a series of protracted and highly public boardroom wrangles, and the departure of "wunderkind" Wayne Rooney to Manchester United. So who is this man who has effected such a remarkable transformation? Born in the Blythswood area of Glasgow on April 25, 1963, Moyes began his playing career as a youth for Celtic. There then followed stints with Cambridge United (1983), Bristol City (1985), Shrewsbury Town (1987), Dunfermline (1990), and Hamilton Academicals (1993). His last club, Preston North End, was also where he took his first steps on the managerial ladder, taking over in 1998. At the Lancashire club, he won the former second division championship and reached the promotion play-offs twice, having spent only £3.5m. This made him the most coveted coach in the league, helped by the fact that the ambitious young Scot never made any secret of his desire to manage at the highest level. Moyes may not have had the CV wanted by those Evertonians who could recall the heady days when the club belonged to football's so-called Big Five. But his experiences at Preston went some way to proving that the appointment of a high-profile manager is not always the key to guaranteeing high-quality football. | 
HAVE your say on our Blues Messageboard - click 
RSS News Feed