David Moyes will take charge of his 750th Premier League game on Saturday when Everton travel to West Ham United, a milestone that puts the 63-year-old in rare company before a match with real league-table weight. Everton were in 10th place before kickoff, while West Ham sat 17th and two points above the relegation zone.
Moyes has already managed 749 Premier League games, and only Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have done more. His top-flight career has stretched across spells with Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham United, but his first Premier League match came in March 2002, a 2-1 win for Everton against Fulham. David Unsworth scored after 27 seconds that day, and Moyes later steered Everton to safety with four wins and a draw in his first seven games in charge.
That first spell at Everton still frames the way many view him. Before the 2004-05 season, the club were tipped as relegation contenders after finishing 17th the previous year and even sold Wayne Rooney to stay afloat. Moyes rebuilt anyway, bringing in Marcus Bent from Ipswich Town and Tim Cahill from Millwall, then overseeing an unlikely surge to fourth place. In pre-season, Alan Stubbs printed copies of the Liverpool Echo headline taking the piss and handed them around the squad, while Lee Carsley later said the side had bonded on a trip to Houston.
Moyes sounded relaxed on Friday as he reflected on the milestone, saying he was “a bit closer” to Wenger and Ferguson than he had expected and that he had thought they were “miles away.” He also joked about his own appearance and touchline habits, saying he did not want to be “too grey” or “too far on the touchline,” only to admit he was starting to become both. For a manager who has spent more than two decades in the job, the numbers are still adding up while the job still seems to suit him.
“I am enjoying my football,” Moyes said. “I feel young, the players keep me young and as long as I keep up the energy, then I am happy to keep going.” The fixture gives him a landmark on the road and gives both clubs something more immediate to chase, with Everton looking up the table and West Ham trying not to look down. What happens next is more than ceremonial: the result will shape where each side stands when the game ends, not just where Moyes sits in the record books.
