David Moyes was Everton manager between 2002 and 2013; the club sacked Sean Dyche on Thursday with Toffees a point above Premier League relegation zone; Dyche kept the club in the top flight last season despite an eight-point deduction.
David Moyes has held discussions with Everton’s owners The Friedkin Group and could make a return to the club as early as this weekend after Sean Dyche was sacked on Thursday.
Dyche paid the price for Everton’s run of just one win from their last 11 games, leaving them a point above the Premier League relegation zone in 16th place.
His sacking was confirmed just over three hours before Everton’s FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman placed in interim charge – and Baines revealing pre-match that Dyche selected the Toffees’ starting XI.
Moyes, who left West Ham at the end of last season, was manager of Everton between 2002 and 2013.
It is understood Everton’s owner, the Friedkin Group – who only completed their takeover of the club last month – hope to announce a new manager before next Wednesday’s Premier League match against Aston Villa.
Speaking to Sky Sports News in December, Moyes said: “I don’t want to be taking jobs where I have to scrap all the time and be round the bottom of the league.
“Most of the time I was at Everton, we were competing for European positions. The last four years at West Ham, three of them have been in Europe.
“I like to think I can do a job at a level rather than just avoiding relegation. I will wait on the right opportunity and if it doesn’t come, I’ll be happy where I am at the moment.”
Moyes famously coined the ‘People’s Club’ phrase to describe the Blues during his first press conference as Everton manager after replacing Walter Smith in 2002.
During his 11 years in charge, the 61-year-old Scot guided them to the qualifying rounds of the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup final in 2009.
Moyes was also named the League Managers Association (LMA) manager of the year on three occasions during his time at Everton before he left in 2013 to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
During his second stint as West Ham manager – following six months in charge in the 2017/18 season – he masterminded Conference League success in 2022/23, defeating Fiorentina in the final to win the club’s first-ever piece of European silverware and their first major trophy for 43 years.
Dyche took charge at Everton in January 2023, having had a near 10-year stint as Burnley boss between October 2012 and April 2022.
The Toffees survived relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season by just two points, securing a final-day victory over the Bournemouth.
The 53-year-old then kept Everton in the top flight last season, despite the team having eight points deducted from their total because of two separate breaches of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Members of Dyche’s backroom team Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the club.
The Toffees sit 16th in the Premier League and did not register a shot on target during Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Bournemouth – their eighth league defeat of the season, and they have failed to score in eight of their last 10 games.
