What sort of reception will Moyes get from Everton fans?

Manchester United boss David Moyes spent 11 years at Everton, what sort of reception will he get from their fans in tonight’s clash?

Manchester United boss David Moyes replaced legendary Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson this summer.

Prior to his move to Old Trafford the Scot had spent 11 years at Everton and was relatively successful.

The Scot comes up against his old club for the first time on Wednesday night, as the Toffee’s visit Old Trafford in a massive game for Moyes and his team. The visitors are currently above United in the Premier League table.

Moving up

Moyes has to be praised for his time in charge of the Blues. When he first arrived at the club the Toffees were flirting with relegation with an aging squad of players. He gradually dragged the team into a decent state and made Everton hard to beat.

However, Everton under David Moyes played a direct style of football, with now-United midfielder Marouane Fellaini at the heart of everything that the Toffees did in the latter stages of his reign. In Moyes’ last season at Everton the Toffees played a more expansive style of football, but Fellaini was still a key player.

The Scot did brought in a number of players who serviced the club with distinction during his time at the club and some who still are.

Negative

Moyes may have dragged Everton up the table, but his tactics were infinitively negative. He spent most of his time in the Everton dugout looking not to lose games. Everton would line-up against lesser teams in the league and not look confident, because the Scot set up the team in a negative way.

Moyes seemed to instil a mentality that being hard to beat was the be all and end all. That mentality frustrated Everton fans at times. Everton fans knew that the team could thrive if given a bit more license to go forward.

Moyes has not enjoyed the best start to his United tenure and ironically it is a former-Everton player that has dragged them through a difficult period in England striker Wayne Rooney.

Moyes has stated that ‘Everton could play without a manager’. That statement is disrespectful to Everton boss Roberto Martinez, who seems to have taken Everton to a higher level than Moyes, style-wise anyway.

I think out of the two teams it is Manchester United who could play without a manager. United have the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in their side, players that would probably get into most teams in European football.

The United squad does contain other talented players and man-for-man should have a better quality of player compared to Everton, considering the difference in resources at the respective clubs. I even read a comment from a Manchester United fan on a forum earlier today, who rather harshly claimed that United may be better-off without a manager.

Shifted

It seems that since Moyes joined United and Martinez joined Everton the moods at both clubs have shifted. At Manchester United they seem to go into every match with a sense of doubt, whereas under Ferguson they would have been extremely confident of victory in most matches.

However, at Everton there is a sense of belief within the players and fans that they can go up against any team and get a victory. That mentality has not taken long to instil, but it is a refreshing one for Toffees supporters.

Ceiling

I think most Everton fans would agree that David Moyes took the Toffees as far as he could and despite finishing sixth last season, the club needed a change in the dugout. The appointment of Roberto Martinez was not an entirely popular one, but early signs are good with the Spaniard.

Angered

I think most Evertonians would concede that David Moyes received an offer he could not refuse in the United job. United have the resources to challenge for the big trophies. I do not think that many would begrudge the Scot his big chance.

However, the thing that angered Evertonians was the way he left the club. Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Moyes knew about the job last Christmas, but with his Everton contract running down the Scot said he would see what happens in the summer with regards to staying at Goodison Park.

The other thing that annoyed Everton fans was Moyes putting in a derogatory offer for Everton pair Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines in the summer. If Moyes had been in charge of Everton when that offer came in he would have been absolutely furious and vented his fury in the media.

In the end though, Everton got the same figure of around £27.5million just for Fellaini, as United searched desperately for new signings on transfer deadline day.

Reception

David Moyes should get a decent reception from the Everton fans at Old Trafford tonight. The Scot did a lot for the club and undeniably turned around the fortunes of the Toffees. He did have his limitations, but he did the best job he could under difficult circumstances at times.

Everton now seem to have a manager capable of taking the team forward. Evertonians should now move on knowing that their club is in safe hands and Moyes should now be allowed to get on with the big job at hand at Manchester United.

Betting news

David Moyes Manchester United are favourites to win this clash at odds of 8/11. The visitors are odds of 17/4 to claim their first victory at Old Trafford in over 20 years, while the draw is 29/10. The Toffees are in confident mood, but I can see a narrow home win in this one.

What sort of reception will Moyes get from Everton fans at Old Trafford?