Twenty years on from his appointment as Everton manager, David Moyes has lifted the lid on the true inspiration behind his now iconic ‘People’s Club’ declaration and revealed what kept him awake the night before his first game as Blues boss.
On March 16, 2002, Everton, without a victory in their previous seven Premier League matches, defeated Fulham 2-1 at Goodison Park in Moyes’ first match in charge. The fixture came less than 48 hours after the then 38-year-old had been unveiled as fellow Scot Walter Smith’s successor.
Recalling his whirlwind start on Merseyside, Moyes, now manager of West Ham United, told the ECHO: “It doesn’t seem like 20 years, I can still remember it all, the build-up, the day itself going to Goodison Park but in the same breath I’ve had a lot of football under my belt since then as well.
