Paul Merson has backtracks on his comments about David Moyes and Everton
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson(Image: Sky Sports)
Paul Merson has admitted he was wrong about David Moyes. The former Arsenal and England forward was sceptical about the Scot’s return to Everton after they decided to sack Sean Dyche.
Under Moyes, the Blues have surged away from relegation trouble. After a narrow 1-0 loss to Aston Villa in his first game back at the helm, Everton have won four and drawn two of their last six games.
On Saturday they were unfortunate not to make it five wins within that sequence, as they were denied a last-gasp penalty in controversial circumstances against Manchester United. The match finished 2-2 at Goodison Park.
Speaking ahead of the game on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme, Merson was asked if he wanted to reassess his earlier claims.
“It’s worked out that way, I didn’t see it at the time,” he said. “People were saying it’s his club, it’s the right fit. He left 11 years ago.
“But he’s come in and been honestly outstanding. Even in his wildest dreams when he went back could he wish for that.
“It’s a real contrast between the manager of Man United [Ruben Amorim] and Moyes. One says ‘I’ll come in and play to the strengths of my team’ the other says ‘I’ll play to the strengths of myself and not the team’.
“I got that horribly wrong. I thought they would struggle under [Moyes] and he’s done absolutely amazing.”
Merson had previously described Moyes as an “an experienced Sean Dyche” and said the former Manchester United boss “is going to set Everton up exactly like Dyche and that’s the problem.”
Everton are now 14 points clear of the relegation zone after the weekend fixtures. Moyes’ four wins from seven games is already more than Dyche managed throughout the entire
Premier League season.
