Pat Nevin has known Moyes since they were kids in the Celtic academy and reckons he was ‘made’ for the top job at Parkhead
David Moyes was tailor-made to manage Celtic – and the only reason he’s never landed it is timing.
That’s the view of Pat Nevin who’s known the Everton boss since they were kids in the academy at Parkhead, and believes he’d take the job in a heartbeat if it ever lined up.
Moyes has undoubtedly been one of the best managers Scottish football has produced since Sir Alex Ferguson and his two spells at Everton have cemented him as a club legend.
He was the man hand-picked by Sir Alex to succeed him at Manchester United and while that never quite worked out, he’s frequently been one of the names touted whenever the Celtic job, or indeed the Scotland one, has become available.
But it’s never quite lined up with gaps in Moyes’ career. Were he available now, he’d certainly be one of the names in the frame to replace Brendan Rodgers, but instead it’s Wilfried Nancy closing in on the job, with the Scot back in at Everton and going well on Merseyside.
And Nevin believes it’s just that bad luck with timing that has prevented him from ever stepping into the dugout at Celtic.
Nevin, who came through the academy with Moyes before leaving for Clyde in 1981, told CasinoHawks: “It’s purely about timing. There are two jobs that David Moyes was made for. I think Scotland was the second one, number two in the list, but the number one was Celtic. He and I came through Celtic together as kids, so we knew each other since I was 13 or 14.
“He’s had ‘manager’ written across his forehead for his entire life. When he was 15, you could actually see it because he was captain, obviously, but coming through he was just that type.
“He just looked like somebody who should have been Celtic manager, but the timing has never been quite right. There were times when he would have taken it, I’m sure, absolutely, but Celtic had a manager in place who was doing well. And then the times when he wasn’t available to do it himself, he would have taken it in a millisecond.
“It’s just constant. There is a possibility at the end of the season Stevie Clarke will leave. He might end up at Celtic, you never know. If the timing’s right, people will look at Moyes.
“But I don’t think the timing will be right there again because Moyes is absolutely loving what he’s doing at Everton right now.
“So it’s like that in football. It’s like that for players as well. I say to people, ‘If you meet a footballer, ask them their alternative career,’ right? An alternative career in the game.
“I had this list of teams I played for, but what about the teams I turned down at the same time? It’s a completely different list. Instead of the history I’ve got, I could have been from Clyde to Dundee United to Spurs, not Chelsea then Everton.
“You go all the way through the career and there’s just loads of times like that it could have been. It’s very, very strange. And that’s the same with managers and that’s the same with Moyes. And that’s the reason why he’s not going to Scotland, he’s not Scotland manager yet.”
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