"I am delighted to have joined Sunderland," said Moyes, who had been
out of work since being sacked by Real Sociedad in November. "I am
relishing the challenge and excited by the opportunity," continued the 53-
year-old former Manchester United and Everton manager. "I have taken
over a big British club, with a great support and I'm looking forward to
working in the Premier League again. I look forward to continuing the
good work done by Sam."
Moyes has been given a four-year contract at the Stadium of Light and
the mission of keeping the club out of the relegation fights into which it
has made a draining habit of becoming embroiled in the past four
seasons. Doing so would help the Scot to restore the glowing reputation
he earned during a decade in charge of Everton but which has been dulled
by failure in his last two jobs, at United and in Spain.
Rather than dwell on the inconvenience of losing Allardyce so close to
the start of the new Premier League season, Sunderland's owner, Ellis
Short, celebrated recruiting a manager whom he said he had been trying
to attract for years.
"We are absolutely delighted to welcome David Moyes to Sunderland,
who was by far and away our first choice," said Ellis. "He is a man whose
football pedigree speaks for itself and is someone I have long admired"
The American added that Allardyce may never have been lured to the
Stadium of Light in the first place had Moyes had been available. "I have
spoken with him on many occasions and I have always been hugely
impressed. He was my No1 managerial target for the last five
appointment but his desire to honour existing contracts meant we were
not able to bring him to Sunderland previously. To be able to welcome
him as our manager is fantastic news for the club."
Sunderland will hope the rapid transition will help the Wearsiders
maintain the positive momentum that enabled them to make a late surge
for survival last season and enjoy the safety of 17th place as well as the
satisfaction of seeing their north-east rivals Newcastle United go down
instead.
Sunderland seems a more natural habitat for Moyes than Old Trafford or
Spain and he inherits a team that gradually found a method and spirit
under Allardyce that was comparable to the efficiency of Moyes'
Everton. Sunderland's late escape owed much to the purchases of Lamine
Koné, Jan Kirchhoff and Wahbi Khazri in January, but the club has not
yet reinforced the playing staff this summer and it remains to be seen
what transfer funds will be made available to Moyes by Short, who let it
be known in March that he is open to offers to buy the club he took over
in 2008.
At Goodison Park Moyes was accustomed to making the most of limited
resources and proved adept at sourcing bargains in the transfer market,
especially in the lower leagues, which is where he found such gems as
Tim Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott. He may have to perform
similar feats at Sunderland.
Moyes and his team will have to get up to speed fast for his first match
back in the Premier League since presiding over Manchester United's 2-0
defeat to Everton in April 2014, as they start their campaign as the first
visitors to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on 13 August. Their first
home game is a local derby against Middlesbrough.
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