Wayne Rooney has been defending Everton manager David Moyes and his teams' style of play
David Moyes and Wayne Rooney attend Nordoff Robbins' Legends of Football at JW Marriott Grosvenor House on October 7, 2024
David Moyes and Wayne Rooney attend Nordoff Robbins' Legends of Football at JW Marriott Grosvenor House on October 7, 2024(Image: JMEnternational/Getty Images)
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Wayne Rooney believes David Moyes knows what Everton supporters wants and criticism of the manager’s style of plays “does my head in.”
Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show on the BBC, Kae Kurd brought up the disrespect that Moyes – who last week became only the third manager after multiple title winners Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal to take charge of 750 Premier League games – gets from some quarters. Co-host Kelly Somers said to Rooney: “You’re a big fan,” and he replied: “Yeah, I’ve worked with him twice. Obviously, at Everton when I was first there and [Manchester] United.
“United was difficult, coming in right after Sir Alex, that was always going to be tough for him. He went over to Spain [at Real Sociedad] and did a job there and came back.
“You saw at West Ham, the amount of times you heard people say about the style of play and stuff like that, it does my head in. West Ham were effective, they were finishing high up the table, getting in Europe and they won a trophy.
“Then what happens is you go get this young, foreign manager who they think can talk a good game. Then it doesn’t work, and you end up going back by bringing someone like Moyesy or Big Sam in.”
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After leading West Ham United to the first back-to-back top seven finishes in their entire history and ending their 43-year silverware drought by lifting the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023, Moyes returned for a second stint at Everton in January last year. Although the team was just one point above the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season when he came in, safety was secured with five matches to go.
This term, despite suffering stoppage-time defeats in their last two games, the Blues still remain in contention for a European place with Moyes having steered them to nine top-eight finishes in his first spell at Goodison Park, including their highest-ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05.
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Asked by Somers whether the Glaswegian gaffer understands the football culture within the city, Rooney said: “He knows the club. He knows the club really well.
“Everton’s a different club. We saw it with Roberto Martinez, you can’t go into Everton and start saying: ‘we want to play balls around the back and keep up having loads of touches.’
“Everton fans want you to get the ball forward, get the ball out wide, get the ball out wide with crosses into the box, be aggressive, go and win tackles. If you go to the stadium now, when a forward goes and makes a tackle on a full-back, there’s a bigger cheer then than when there’s a goal – they want to see fights.”
Actor James Nelson-Joyce, a fellow Scouser and friend of Rooney’s who was a guest on the show and is a Liverpool fan, added: “I thought it was great when they smashed Chelsea the other week. Chelsea didn’t know what to do with Everton did they?
“It’s exciting to watch rather than this passing round at the back, going back and forwards. Sometimes, it’s a bit monotonous.”