Analysis: How will Moyes fare in his second spell at Everton?

After almost 12 years away, David Moyes is back at Goodison Park, returning to the familiar stomping ground where he spent more than a decade of his early managerial career.

The Merseyside club announced Moyes’ return on Saturday, with the Scot succeeding Sean Dyche, who left the club just a point above the relegation zone.

Premier League

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
14	West Ham WHU	20	-15	23
15	Crystal Palace CRY	20	-7	21
16	Everton EVE	19	-10	17
17	Wolves WOL	20	-14	16
18	Ipswich IPS	20	-15	16
19	Leicester LEI	20	-21	14
20	Southampton SOU	20	-32	6

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A Goodison legend

Glasgow-born Moyes began a long playing career as a centre-back in his hometown for Celtic, before turning out for Cambridge United, Bristol City, Shrewsbury Town, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical and, finally, Preston North End.

It was at Preston that he worked his way up from a coach to assistant manager, before taking over as manager in 1998. He guided the club to the Division Two title in 1999/00 and the Division One playoff final the following season.

In March 2002, he replaced Walter Smith as Everton boss, winning his first game in charge – a 2-1 victory against Fulham – and going on to spend more than 11 years at the club.

Moyes' PL seasons at Everton

After narrowly missing out on UEFA Cup qualification in his first full campaign at the helm, Moyes surpassed expectations two seasons later when he guided Everton to fourth place, which remains their highest Premier League finish.

They time in the UEFA Champions League was all too brief, but the club played in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League for three successive years under Moyes from 2007/08 to 2009/10.

They also reached the FA Cup final in 2008/09, losing 2-1 to Chelsea despite taking the lead after just one minute.

“It has been emotional,” said a tearful Moyes after Everton’s final home game in May 2013. “From the moment I arrived today, it has been like that.

“This club has had difficult times. I don’t want to labour the point, but we don’t have what a lot of people have got, but we don’t half make up for it in other ways. The crowd showed what it is really like.

“They’ll never be as good as they were in the '80s when they won things but if you look at top-10 finishes in the Premier League era, it has improved.

“Everton probably don’t get the credit we deserve outside Merseyside.”

To Spain and back

Moyes’s Everton departure came about after he was hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson as his managerial successor at Manchester United.

It was to prove a short-lived tenure, with Moyes departing after less than a season at the helm. His 10-month stint was the shortest of any United manager for 82 years to that point and he left with the club seventh in the Premier League.

Later that year, Moyes headed to Spain where he took charge of a Real Sociedad team lying in 15th. They finished the season 12th but his reign ended three months into the following campaign.

He became Sunderland manager, but suffered the first relegation of his career when they finished bottom of the Premier League. He resigned the day after the season concluded.

Moyes has since had two spells at West Ham United. The first was on a six-month contract, arriving in November 2017 with the club in the Premier League relegation zone. He kept them up with two games remaining.

He then returned to West Ham in December 2019. The club were in 17th when he took charge and, after avoiding relegation in his first season, he guided them to sixth and seventh-place finishes over the following two campaigns.

He also enjoyed European success, reaching the UEFA Europa League semi-final in 2021/22 and then winning the UEFA Conference League in 2022/23. He left the club at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

What happens when PL managers return?

Moyes’ Everton return means he is the first person (excluding caretakers) to manage two different clubs on two separate occasions in the Premier League.

Including Moyes, 11 managers have returned to Premier League clubs for a second crack at the top flight, although history suggests it rarely works out.

Chelsea have had three men – Frank Lampard, Guus Hiddink and Jose Mourinho – take the helm on separate occasions. While all saw their win percentage drop during their second spells, Mourinho did guide the club to a Premier League and EFL Cup double in 2014/15.

Of the returning 11 managers, the only ones to see their average points per game increase during their second spell were Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace (1.24 to 1.22), Harry Redknapp (1.42 to 1.18) at Portsmouth and Moyes at West Ham (1.36 to 1.22).

Redknapp did guide Portsmouth to FA Cup glory on his return in 2008, while Moyes had far greater success during his second period at the London Stadium than his first, which is a promising sign for Everton.

Whether he can replicate that at Goodison Park remains to be seen. Over the course of 427 Premier League matches in charge of Everton previously, his average points per game was 1.50. So far this season, the club have averaged 0.89.

Managers' points per match (PPM) in first v second spells

Never before has a manager spent so long away before returning to their former Premier League club. Can Moyes make it a successful reunion?

Moyes' first Premier League fixtures

Everton

19:30 Wed 15 Jan AVL (H) 14:00 Sun 19 Jan TOT (H) 15:00 Sat 25 Jan BHA (A) 15:00 Sat 01 Feb LEI (H)

Everton

19:30 Wed 15 Jan AVL (H) 14:00 Sun 19 Jan TOT (H) 15:00 Sat 25 Jan BHA (A) 15:00 Sat 01 Feb LEI (H)