Welcome to the realm of wisdom and insight from one of football’s seasoned tacticians, David Moyes. Known for his astute observations, motivational words, and profound understanding of the beautiful game, Moyes has carved a notable legacy in the world of football management. From his time at Everton to his tenure at Manchester United and beyond, Moyes has left an indelible mark through his quotes, which resonate not only with players and fellow coaches but also with fans worldwide.
As a manager who has navigated the highs and lows of football management, Moyes’s quotes encapsulate his philosophy, vision, and unwavering passion for the sport. Whether discussing the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity, the significance of teamwork, or the relentless pursuit of excellence, Moyes’s words inspire and provoke thought. His insights offer a glimpse into the mind of a strategist who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of success on the pitch.
I have a point to prove. Sometimes you have to repair things, and maybe I have a little bit that I need to repair. David Moyes
It’s true that players can take time to settle at a new club. I remember people telling me it took Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic a while – players who became great players for United. David Moyes
I don’t think anyone ever turns down their national team opportunity, but I think it has to be at the right time. David Moyes
Chicharito is a really good player, and his finishing ability is as good as there is anywhere. David Moyes
Football has always been in my blood. It’s more than just an occupation, but as you get a little bit older and wiser, you want to be able to pick and choose and make sure you get the right club at the right time. David Moyes
I don’t think I’ve necessarily got anything to prove to anyone. I’ve worked really hard my whole career. David Moyes
We had some glorious nights at Goodison and the fans were superb. David Moyes
If you play for Manchester United, there is always someone out there getting ready to take your jersey. It is up to you to fight and make sure you keep it. David Moyes
It’s definitely better to be a good league team than a good cup team. It shows consistency. The cup could be down to a lucky draw and might not show the value of your team like the league does. David Moyes
I would never have left Everton if it hadn’t been Manchester United. David Moyes
Managers get interviewed for jobs, but I think it should be the managers who are interviewing the chairman. David Moyes
It will not get better than Sir Alex Ferguson. It just won’t. David Moyes
Real Sociedad fans are fantastic; they know that the club is trying to join the other teams who are always in the top part of the table – to get as close to them as possible. David Moyes
You can’t ring up another manager and say, ‘Who do you think I should pick this week?’ But you take the good and bad from people as you go along. David Moyes
Do I feel I should have been given more time? Of course I do. To go to a club like Manchester United and follow someone like Sir Alex after the time he had been there, to stay for ten months… It couldn’t be a revolution at Manchester United; it had to be evolution. It had to take time. David Moyes
Coaches are important, but the senior players at a club are crucial. David Moyes
Football is not always as glamourous as some might imagine, as the story of the first time I signed Marouane Fellaini perhaps illustrates. David Moyes
I hope I can fulfill all my ambitions at Everton. But you never know in this game. David Moyes
I’ve always been quite strict when it comes to the appearance of my players. I don’t want to see earrings in training, things like that. David Moyes
You don’t manage more than 900 games, mostly in the top half of the Premier League, if you haven’t got something that enables you to cope with pressure. David Moyes
I don’t think managers have the opportunity to think in terms of a long-term vision for a club. David Moyes
It took time at Everton to build a team so that when we did go to United or Arsenal or Liverpool, we went with a good chance of getting a result. David Moyes
The Merseyside derby is a terrific game full of passion, full of quality. David Moyes
At the top end I do think it’s time we have goal-line technology, I’m not mad on other technology but certainly goal-line technology. David Moyes
I love to see goals and attacking play; I want us to be entertaining. But it’s no good if you’re shipping goals. David Moyes
I worked hard at Everton. David Moyes
Clubs are much stronger than any one individual. David Moyes
With Marouane’s hair, I actually wondered if it might take a bit of the pace off the ball when he went up for a header. But I soon realised it was part of his personality. Part of who he is. David Moyes
I’m desperately ambitious, and one of the things I haven’t been able to do at Everton is win a trophy. David Moyes
Doesn’t everyone in life deserve a chance to show what they can do? David Moyes
I’ve worked for a long time to get myself in a position where maybe I’d be fortunate enough to land one of the big jobs. David Moyes
I’ve always admired great football managers, and Sir Alex Ferguson had so much success. David Moyes
I think retrospective viewing of diving is nearly more important than some of the technology they are on about bringing in. If you do that and players get banned, it wouldn’t take long before you’d cut it out. David Moyes
The job at Everton was so good. I worked for a great chairman, great people at the club. David Moyes
I’ve got huge affection for Everton. It was my life for over a decade. David Moyes
Phil Neville could be on the road to one day, maybe, becoming the England manager. I know him closely. He was a great captain, a great leader. He’s had great experience. David Moyes
I think sometimes you need a run and a bit of confidence with getting the goals. David Moyes
There is no club in Europe that wouldn’t want Van Persie at centre-forward. David Moyes
I have always been an advocate of players and coaches going abroad if that’s the right opportunity. David Moyes
I would have to consider the U.S.A. job if I was approached because it’s one of the big nations in world football, with massive growth potential. David Moyes
I hope that the future is great for West Ham. David Moyes
Manchester United isn’t about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United is about the team, the club. David Moyes
I got Everton competing at the top end of the league with a midtable budget. David Moyes
Mistakes can come at any time; the thing is to make sure you don’t make too many. David Moyes
I was very fortunate that I had a great scouting staff at Everton from the academy, because it was those people who got the likes of Ross Barkley and Wayne Rooney when they were young. David Moyes
I think, in football, you have to go through difficulties. David Moyes
I was a footballer for a long, long time. David Moyes
The last thing I’d ever want to see is another manager being sacked. I certainly don’t like the phrase ‘sacking season.’ David Moyes
I’ve had my down times, as every manager does, but I bounce back pretty quickly. David Moyes
I had a great time at Everton when I was there and came away from that with a lot of high regard. David Moyes
When I took over at Everton, the challenge for us was to try to go toe-to-toe with a club having success in Europe and sometimes competing for the Premier League. David Moyes
Danny Welbeck was great for us at Manchester United. David Moyes
I’m always very careful when I’m spending the club’s money. I treat it like it’s my own, and I always try to sign players for what I feel is the right price. David Moyes
I worked hard at Preston. David Moyes
In England, I always liked the way Terry Venables worked. David Moyes
Going back to my playing days, I was at Cambridge United for a couple of seasons, and, of course, Newmarket is just down the road. On my days off, I would go to Newmarket quite often, park up by the gallops, and watch the horses work. It was something else. David Moyes
You’re never going to go through a season with no injuries. David Moyes
Alan Shearer was tough, would be hard to play against, a difficult opponent. David Moyes
I’ll do everything I can to get West Ham as far up the table as I can. David Moyes
Messi gets kicked by everybody, and he gets up and carries on. Doesn’t scream, doesn’t fake injury. David Moyes
It’s good that we have good managers like Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger in this countr,y but I think we should be trying to send out some of our managers to other countries to help not just the development of themselves but the leagues over here. It can enhance their careers. David Moyes
I would never have left Everton for anybody but an ambitious football club. And I thought Manchester United would have given me that opportunity. David Moyes
One of the reasons why I wanted to be part of the League Managers Association was because I felt there were an awful lot of foreign coaches coming into these shores, but we were not exporting enough British talent. David Moyes
I’m a great believer in the lower leagues, the pyramid system, but there is mileage in having B-teams in England with young players playing competitively. David Moyes
I had plenty of opportunities before I went to Spain to stay in England, and I had made a decision that I would go and work in Spain. David Moyes
I agree with Arsene Wenger that finishing in the top four is the equivalent of winning a trophy – even if you don’t get to parade silverware. David Moyes
As a young Scottish footballer growing up – I always used to follow Scotland and watch the games – Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, and Joe Jordan were players I looked up to. David Moyes
People often talk about a coach’s philosophy, but generally, I think managers look at the players they have and then decide on their style. David Moyes
I think I’m capable of doing the job at any club in the world, so I’m sure I can do it at West Ham. David Moyes
I have no regrets about taking the United job. When you get offered a job like that, you take it. David Moyes
I would like it to be the rules all round the world that that is the case – you manage the country of your birth. David Moyes
I would never speak about players at other football clubs – I think it’s wrong. It’s not my style. David Moyes
I gave everything I could in trying to make Everton the best I could. David Moyes
Your reputation doesn’t stand for anything. You have to come and try to get up and show you’re capable of doing the job. David Moyes
You don’t always get what you want, but you work at it. David Moyes
I would still consider myself in the elite group of managers. If it was me against someone else, I’d trust myself. David Moyes
I would be very surprised if Phil Neville didn’t go into management and possibly Johnny Heitinga, too. David Moyes
I was a young manager at Everton and had 11 great years there. David Moyes
I’ll answer as many questions as I can, but when people have a contract at other football clubs, I think it’s wrong to talk about them. David Moyes
Bill Kenwright has taught me how to deal with people. David Moyes
We had a really good club at Everton who gave me the opportunity to do the job the way I felt it needed to be done. David Moyes
At Everton, we have always tried to do good deals and have always tried to buy at the right age and the right price. David Moyes
Supporters don’t like the idea of people going to ground too easily. Everyone who has ever played football, everyone who’s been involved, would hate that. You’d be saying, ‘Get Up!’ David Moyes
I’m going to be direct with the players. If they don’t like it, then I’m sorry. David Moyes
I don’t think I’m any worse for my bad experiences. Actually, they have made me better. David Moyes
Everyone needs an opportunity in life. I was given an opportunity as a manager, and you try and take it. David Moyes
Manchester United was a club with great traditions, traditions where they tended to pick British managers. That tradition has now gone. David Moyes
I took over from Sir Alex, and it was always going to take time, whoever was in charge. David Moyes
Bryan Gray at Preston gave me a chance, even though Joe Royle and Ian Rush were being linked with the job. He taught me an awful lot about structuring the job and encouraged me to invest in young players. David Moyes
Maybe it’s old-fashioned, but I’ve always preferred to see players with my own eyes than on a video or going on somebody else’s recommendation. If that means getting up early and taking a flight, then so be it. Our success at Everton came from having a great recruitment team who I made sure were out watching the players. David Moyes
In this game, you’re on your own. You either sink or swim. David Moyes
I turned down Premier League jobs; I didn’t think they were right. David Moyes
I think, with more experience, I’m probably wiser, calmer. You hope you’ll be able to use your knowledge a bit better. David Moyes
If you want to keep your best players, you need top European football because they want to be involved in that. David Moyes
It was too short: I’ve said many times that I would have done things differently had I known I’d only have 10 months because United are one of the few clubs in football who could have given a manager more time, like Bill Kenwright did with me at Everton. David Moyes
The manager needs to be given the opportunity to get on with his job and be given that time that he needs. David Moyes
Celtic’s a brilliant football club, and they have an unbelievable fan base – one of the biggest in the world. David Moyes
I’d been at Everton for more than 11 years. We’d qualified for the Champions League, got to an FA Cup final. I’d been voted manager of the season three times. David Moyes
I watch a lot of football. It was always my hobby. My wife just sits there with a bored face, thinking, ‘Is he really watching this?’ David Moyes
I think people know that I’ve got things in my mind that I want to do and things I wanted to change in time. I can’t do it all overnight. David Moyes