The difficulty with David…

The difficulty with David…(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

>David Moyes: Now 63 years of age, and with 750 Premier League games as a manager to his name. Only Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have taken charge of more matches in the competition.

>Moyes has won 290 of those matches (38.7%) losing 263, and overseeing 197 draws. Of his 750 games, 480 have come in charge of Everton, across two spells.

>All this is to say, Moyes knows a thing or two about football management.

>Moyes also has a long track record to point to — his Everton team in his first stint regularly punched above its weight. He turned West Ham into a team regularly competing to qualify in Europe, and even going on to win a European trophy.

>And one thing is clear: Moyes will not change.

>He has many qualities, but he can also be very frustrating, mainly due to his pragmatism, his overly cautious nature when it comes to the key moments. Rightly or wrongly, he is often judged as coming up short when it matters.

>That’s not often fair. You don’t succeed in qualifying for Europe on multiple instances if it is the case. But, then again, Moyes has won only one trophy in his career, and perhaps had he just been more willing to take the handbrake off every now and then, that would be different.

>That pragmatism — the kind of pragmatism that has seen Everton accumulate 47 points this season, one short of last season’s tally with four games to spare — can also be his downfall.

>On Saturday, Moyes seemed to set up not to lose against West Ham. Dwight McNeil on the right, Michael Keane in at the back to replace Jarrad Branthwaite. Neither of those things should have come as a surprise, but the flatness and lethargy to much of Everton’s display belayed a team that needed freshening up.

>And the part of Moyes that struggles to live up to the own lofty standards he demands came back to bite him, and bite Everton.

>Everton were not exactly fortunate to go into half-time at 0-0, but the lack of urgency or tempo to their display should have been the wake-up call needed for Moyes to change things.

>Instead, he stuck to his plan, despite Jake O’Brien having yet again been given the run-around by Crysencio Summerville, despite McNeil offering so little support defensively, and despite another lacklustre display from Thierno Barry. Indeed, even Iliman Ndiaye, so often Everton’s spark, failed to deliver.

>James Garner was leggy. Idrissa Gueye was not able to disrupt the play, and West Ham got on top. Once again, Everton’s deficiencies defending corners delivered into the six-yard box were exposed, as the pressure finally told.

>By the time Moyes turned to his bench — earlier this time, than usual, but it was because he needed to — Everton were chasing a game they should have gone into with full confidence and a thirst to win.

>Then again, Everton did get back into it. They did draw themselves level, so for experienced players like Vitaliy Mykolenko and Michael Keane to then lose Jarrod Bowen to a deep cross, and for Callum Wilson to be given the freedom of the penalty area to tap home — well, that responsibility can not all sit at Moyes’ feet.

>Moyes is not wrong when he says Everton deserved more out of the last two games. By all rights, the Merseyside derby should have finished level, and so should this West Ham match. Those two points would have kept Everton in prime position to push on for European qualification.

>But football doesn’t work like that. Ultimately, Everton lost, and Moyes’ pragmatic approach will be called into question.

>All of this has to be taken into perspective. This is a mid-table squad, with some talented players, but in a season in which being a mid-table team, with a bit of stability, comes with opportunity.

>Everton are only three points off sixth, but they have let chances pass them by, and while it is not time to give up hope, it does feel as though this was their big chance to keep themselves well and truly in the race.

>Moyes won’t change, but really, does he now have any other option than to be more attacking?

>Manchester City are up next, but they are just one of four opponents remaining, and there is no need for Everton to fear.

>It is time for Moyes to stop being fearful, too.

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