The Guardian
David Moyes has warned Everton's directors that they face a crucial test of their ambition this summer and that it would be "unforgivable" to squander the momentum behind his pursuit of the Champions League.Though fourth in the Premier League, Everton did not spend as heavily as their rivals for Europe in the transfer window. Manuel Fernandes and Anthony Gardner, brought in at the last minute from Tottenham Hotspur as a consequence of Alan Stubbs's late departure to Derby County, were the only additions to Moyes's first-team squad.
The Everton manager has few complaints about January's frugal spending, admitting he was in no panic to improve his emerging squad and had been fully aware the club-record outlay of £11m on Yakubu Ayegbeni last August would affect last month's budget. However, he believes that Everton have now reached a stage in his development programme where only signings in the Yakubu price bracket can take the club forward. The Scot believes the next transfer window will shine a light on the resources and ambition of the chairman, Bill Kenwright, and his fellow directors.
"It would be unforgivable if it fell apart now," said Moyes, whose side travel to Blackburn Rovers this afternoon. "We cannot slip away now and if we want to challenge then we have to be in there [signing top players]. I am not going to give up, I am going to keep challenging the clubs around us and above us.
"We are coming to a stage now at Everton where we need to decide what we are going to go and challenge if we can, although spending loads of cash doesn't guarantee anything. We have seen some clubs spending millions this season to try and be champions and it has not worked for them, but I think you can see that the better players tend to cost more money. Yakubu has shown that. He has come up with the goals for us.
"I have to keep forcing the issue and keep advising the club in what I think is the right way to go. When I came here I had a five-year plan for us to be better at Everton. I have now got a plan for the next five years that would see us become a regular Champions League club."
Everton have enjoyed under Moyes a period of stability many of their Premier League rivals have lacked, but the wealth of Manchester City, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Aston Villa has intensified the fight with Liverpool for Champions League qualification.
"All those clubs around us will catch up if we don't stay ahead of the game," added the Scot. "What some clubs are doing now is not necessarily putting foundations in place but spending to get a quicker result. The next stage for us is to raise our level and the standard of player and that has cost implications, but I am confident in Bill. You would have to compliment him on how he has moved this club on."
Moyes was keen yesterday to stress that his challenge to the board was not a sign that he had become disillusioned with financial limitations after almost six years at Everton. "I see myself as being here for another five years," he said. "This is a crucial time but the most crucial thing is the first team keep playing well. That's my job and the other parts are down to the board.
"I want a scouting system as good as Manchester United's and Arsenal's. The plan for me does not just include money for first-team players, it is how we make Everton bigger and better."
