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| David Moyes has done an incredible job at Everton |
David Moyes will celebrate his 10th anniversary as manager of Everton, and for that he deserves all the praise he is getting.
The Scot may not have won a trophy during his decade at Goodison Park, but he's done pretty much everything but.
Before Moyes arrived, Everton looked set to languish in the lower echelons of the Premier League for the foreseeable future or perhaps even drop into the second tier.
However, Moyes has stabilised the club and turned Everton into a regular top-10 team on what has been almost a shoe-string budget. It is hard to see how he could have done any better.
When top jobs like Chelsea and Tottenham presumably become available in the summer, Moyes' name should be considered.
He has earned that because of the tremendous job he has done with Everton, who are a massive club in their own right.
However, Moyes deserves the chance to manage a club which is able to back him significantly in the transfer market to push his reputation to the next level, something which appears impossible at Goodison Park unless the club is sold.
The way he has made the most of Everton's modest resources has been sensational, though.
The signing of Tim Cahill in 2004 must go down as one of his greatest pieces of business and epitomises the job Moyes has done.
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| Cahill has been a regular provider of goals from midfield |
The Australian has been a revelation for the last eight years, with regular goals and superb contributions from midfield making a mockery of the £1.5million transfer fee it took to sign him from Millwall.
Cahill hasn't been Moyes' only success in the transfer market - in fact he is just one in a long line of superb bargains.
Others who fall into this category are Tim Howard, Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar, Seamus Coleman, John Heitinga, Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Mikel Arteta and Joleon Lescott.
Some Everton fans criticise chairman Bill Kenwright for a lack of investment and for selling key players, but it is worth noting that of the players just mentioned, all but the last two remain at Goodison Park.
Arteta and Lescott may have left, but they produced profits of £8million and £17million respectively, which is testament to Moyes' superb judgement.
His first signing, Joseph Yobo, was also a huge bargain success and it is this work in the transfer market which will go down as one of Moyes' greatest achievements.
He may not have been backed with as much money as some fans would like, but Moyes has signed players for substantial fees, like Marouane Fellaini (£15million), Yakubu (£11.25million), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (£8.9million) and Andy Johnson (£8.6million).
Kenwright has backed him when the finances have allowed him to, with the latest example of this being the £5.5million forked out for Nikica Jelavic in January.
However, most of Moyes' work in the transfer market has involved small sums and for this it is incredible he has kept Everton competitive considering the amounts spent by their contemporaries.
His work with young players has also reaped benefits, with Wayne Rooney, Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert, Jack Rodwell and Ross Barkley among those brought through under his stewardship.
Young players in Liverpool can feel confident Everton is a good choice for them as Moyes has shown he is willing to show faith in youngsters and give them a chance at an early age.
The highlight of his reign is undoubtedly Everton's 4th-placed finish in 2004/05, which was incredible given it was the season after they sold Rooney amid a furious fan backlash.
They may have lost in the qualifying round to Villarreal, but the very fact they were in that position was unbelievable.
He has also led them to two fifth-placed finishes and been voted Manager of the Year by fellow bosses three times, which shows how highly he is rated by his colleagues.
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| Managers like Sir Alex Ferguson have tremendous respect for Moyes |
The way he has turned Everton around has been incredible and his hard-working, well-organised side is a match for anybody on their day.
Traditionally, they have been much stronger in the second half of seasons, with Moyes' team always producing the goods when needed.
'Big' teams must dread visiting Goodison Park in the latter part of a season, as Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City would testify after recent defeats there.
That dread has been created by Moyes and credit must go to Kenwright, who has been heavily criticised in some quarters over the years.
He was the man who took a chance on a 38-year-old Moyes in the first place, and he has backed him with funds whenever he could.
Kenwright also stuck with Moyes during difficult times, such as the season Everton finished 17th (2003/04) and flirted with relegation in 2005/06.
He clearly knew he had someone special and kept faith with Moyes, something other clubs should take note of.
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| Moyes and Kenwright have had a superb working relationship |
Moyes' only 'failure' is the lack of a trophy win, and he came so close to that when his side reached the 2009 FA Cup final.
Everton ultimately lost to Chelsea, but their progression to Wembley was a sign of their progress and, with another quarter-final to look forward to this season, a winners' medal may not be too far away.
That is the only thing missing from Moyes' tenure, along with a win against city rivals Liverpool at Anfield, which he will be looking to register tonight.
There may be managers out there with more glittering CVs littered with trophies, but not many of them can truly claim to have been as successful, pound-for-pound, as Moyes.
The very fact he has had such longevity and remains with Everton is a sign of how well he has done and the stability and success he has brought to the club should be a clear sign to club chairmen - pick a manager and stick by them, because stability breeds success.
Moyes has laid the groundwork for a period of success at Goodison Park and Toffees fans can only hope he sees it out before a bigger club comes calling.
Clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea would be mad to ignore him if they are looking for a new manager and Everton will need some serious investment to get to where Moyes deserves to be - at least in Europe, possibly the Champions League.
Even if this season is to be his last at Everton, one thing is for sure: he will leave the club in a far better place than he found it.
Moyes is managerial gold and Everton are lucky to have him.
The Toffees may not have won any trophies in his decade at the club, but if they hold onto him for another 10 years, they certainly will win silverware, otherwise he will have moved on.
Moyes is destined for greatness whether at Goodison Park or elsewhere and will feel like this is just the beginning of his journey.
He would dearly like to deliver the huge success Evertonians crave, but if the club cannot find investment quickly enough, it may just be that he delivers that success elsewhere.
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