Tottenham Hotspur Manager Shortlist: David Moyes

As you have no doubt come to expect from the staff of Cartilage Free Captain we will spend the next few days analyzing the prospects of many of the managers linked with, or those that we think should be linked with, the vacant Tottenham Hotpsur manager's position. Today we look at the odds on favorite.

David Moyes, Everton Manager

Career Record: 311-181-215 (198-123-152 at Everton), 1 Champions League qualification (2004), 3 Europa League qualifications (2006-09)

Accomplishments: A three time LMA Manager of the Year winner while at Everton, Moyes has turned the "other Merseyside club" into Premier League mainstays. In his 10 years at Everton the club has competed in continental competitions in 4 seasons. Since 2003, his teams have finished outside of the top half only once and have thrice finished in the top six. Sir Alex Ferguson has termed what Moyes has managed to do at Everton with limited resources "miraculous". He probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for the job he's done because Everton are so consistent.

Before He Was A Football Manager: Moyes had a rather unremarkable career as a center defender. He started his professional career at Celtic, where he picked up a Scottish League Premier Division winner's medal, but as we all know when you play for Celtic, those are kind of like participation trophies. He played for a number of other English and Scottish clubs over his career making 535 appearances in total before retiring in 1998. Moyes always knew he wanted to go into management and took his coaching badges at the age of 22.

What Are His Tactics Like: When you manage a club like Everton, who despite being a big club operate on a fairly tight budget, you have to work with what you've got. In the past Moyes has prefered to operate his teams in a 4-4-1-1 formation, something that many Tottenham Hotspur fans should be familiar with. Though in previous years he has on occasion mixed in a 4-2-3-1. The main criticisms of Moyes are that he is A) too defensive and B) too reactive. I think both these criticisms are products of the situation he is in. When you manage what is basically a mid-table club you have to play defensive and be a bit reactionary in order to get results against some of the top clubs because you don't have the talent to beat them heads up.

How is He As A Talent Evaluator: Like anyone Moyes is a bit hit or miss (remember when Sir Alex signed Bebe). Moyes does have a bit of a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough, plucking Tim Cahill from Milwall for £1.5 million, signing Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar for just over 2 million each, or spotting Shane Duffy as a sixteen year old. We don't really know how he does at spotting elite talent, but you would have to say that he knows good players when he sees them. Remember, Wayne Rooney played for Moyes for a time.

Would He Get Along With Daniel Levy: Bill Kenwright already wields a pretty tight fist over Everton, so managing under a chairmen who is heavily involved is not going to be an issue for Moyes. It seems like Moyes and Kenwright get along pretty well, with the only issue being lack of funds. This is unlikely to be a problem at Spurs so I see no reason why Moyes couldn't handle Daniel Levy.

Would He Come To Tottenham: I think Moyes is very happy at Everton. However, I think that his is frustrated by the lack of support Bill Kenwright consistently gives him. Tottenham, in general, always support their managers with transfer funds and decent wage budgets. Even if Moyes only £20 million to work with that's about £15 million more than Everton would give him. I think Tottenham are as good of a job as Moyes can hope to get at this point in his career and I think he would be interested in taking the step up.

Thoughts: Moyes is, in my mind, the man Tottenham need to hire. He's a manager that proven he can win both with less resources than his competitors and with a small squad. These are two things that Tottenham definitely have and those are two huge pros in Moyes favor. He's certainly not the sexy choice, but Spurs are a club that need consistency and Moyes is a man that can provide it.