Former Everton manager David Moyes claims he could have contended for a Premier League title with the Toffees if he had secured a quality centre forward.
Moyes spent 11 years at Goodison Park and helped Everton to five top six finishes during his time with the club before moving on to succeed Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Everton’s best league finish during Moyes’ reign was a fourth placed finish in 2005 where Tim Cahill led the team in scoring with just 12 goals but the Scot thinks that the team he had towards the end of his tenure was actually better positioned for a title challenge.
“I was here 11-and-a-half years and when I finished we had a great team,” Moyes said on Sky Sports.
“I think our style was as good as anybody. I actually think we were a centre-forward away from being contenders for the Premier League.
“We had Mikel Arteta, [Steven] Pienaar, [Seamus] Coleman, [Sylvain] Distin and [Phil] Jagielka. I could go on and on about the players we had. We had a terrific team. We really did.”
"We were a centre-forward away from competing for the Premier League." 🏆
David Moyes discusses leaving @Everton for @ManUtd and gives his thoughts on the current squad…💭
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Moyes said that he has not been convinced about some of the signings that Everton have made in recent seasons and that crucially Premier League clubs are only as good as the signings they make.
“I think it’s changed. You live and die by your recruitment no matter how much money you spend. You can spend five million on a player, you can spend 50 million on a player but you’ve got to get it right. I think there’s a lot of players that come into Everton that I’m not sure if I’d actually put down as Everton type players.
“I’ve got to say Richarlison was a great player for Watford last season and I think he’s got a great chance at improving as well.”
Moyes left West Ham United at the end of last season after just six months in charge of the club. The Hammers were his fourth club in the last five years following previous stints at Sunderland, Real Sociedad and Manchester United.