The staggering financial power of Chelsea and Manchester City’s rich foreign owners has left many other top clubs struggling to compete in the transfer market and on the pitch, and Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp was recently quoted as saying he would need significant investment in his squad this summer in order to challenge for a top four place next season.
But Everton have proved an exception to this ‘rule’, maintaining a consistent top half presence in the Premier League over the past four seasons despite operating on a vastly inferior budget compared to many of their rivals, relying on shrewd purchases rather than big-name stars.
In an interview with Yahoo! in partnership with the LMA, the 48-year-old Scot unsurprisingly did not agree with Redknapp’s assessment.
“Yes, our budget isn’t as big as some of the other sides, but I actually get quite annoyed when I hear managers talking too much about it because your job is to try and win football games and you should be competitive with whoever the teams are,” he said.
“I also understand that the money does make a big difference as well. We have not had that financial level, but we have tried to compete at the top end.
“Not so much at the first part of the season where we perhaps didn’t reach the heights we wanted, but now we are doing a lot better.”
Everton’s financial constraints have necessitated a reliance on the club’s youth academy, with Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe two of the more notable graduates to have featured in the first XI this term, and Moyes feels having a strong youth academy is crucial to running a sustainable and competitive football club.
“We try to put young players in the team,” he added. “I tend to find when you give young players a chance they tend to take it.
“Over the years everyone is well aware of Wayne [Rooney], Jack Rodwell, and even Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan as they have had opportunities and been in the team. It is something we do here.
“It is really important to me that we have a really good academy and going forward that we get a lot of our own players in the side.”
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By Liam Twomey
