David Mersey mockery was unfair, says Tim Howard

Tim Howard thinks Everton fans were wrong to mock David Moyes on his return to Goodison Park on Sunday.

Tim Howard: Signed by Moyes. Picture: Getty

Moyes endured an unhappy return to his former club as Everton coasted to an easy 2-0 win over his current employers Manchester United and his future as manager was in grave doubt last night.

The Scot enjoyed 11 successful years as Everton boss, but he angered fans of the Merseyside club with his botched attempt to sign Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini together on the cheap last summer.

The Everton faithful barracked Moyes when the they won 1-0 at Old Trafford in December, and it was the same story on Sunday as they chanted “sacked in the morning” at their former manager, who was also booed when he emerged from the tunnel. One fan even dressed up as the Grim Reaper to poke fun at the United boss from just behind the dugout.

Howard, signed by Moyes in 2007, has not forgotten what the former Preston manager achieved at Goodison Park and he feels the verbal abuse that came from the stands this weekend was wrong. “We have brilliant fans, but that was unfair on him,” said the Everton goalkeeper. “He was the second coming, the messiah 12 months ago, and I don’t think as Evertonians we should forget that.”

When Moyes replaced Walter Smith as Everton manager 12 years ago the Toffees were one point above the relegation zone. By the time he left, Moyes had given the club its first taste of Champions League football and he also made it to the FA Cup final in 2009. Yet the three-time manager of the year is now in danger of seeing his reputation tarnished thanks to a dreadful first campaign at Old Trafford.

United, seventh in the league, have not qualified for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades, but Howard thinks it would be wrong to brand the United boss a failure. “I love David Moyes. I think he is a brilliant manager,” said the American, who spent four years at United. “He was [a brilliant manager] here for us and I will be forever grateful to him. Football has highs and lows. You take the good with the bad and you keep rolling.”