Everton seal biggest signing of the year

In a similar vein to the recruitment of playing staff, the ideal scenario would have seen this deal being rubber-stamped before pre-season training began but for whatever reason it has dragged on the fact that the matter has now been put to bed will finally allow everyone associated with the club to look forward.

Only Moyes himself might ever know how close he ever came to quitting Everton before Sir Bobby Robson supposedly talked him round but despite being six-and-a-half years into his Goodison Park tenure, his job remains far from complete.

Even if he had lost his job following the dismal end to the 2003-04 season which saw his side finish 17th with a meagre 39-point total, from the moment Moyes first set foot in Goodison Park as Everton manager, his 'People's Club' comments ensured he would always have a certain cult status with fans of the blue persuasion on Merseyside.

Chairman Bill Kenwright admitted that such tub-thumping words were just what Evertonians needed at the time as the former Preston North End manager joined them at a low ebb.

So far stability has been the biggest factor Moyes has brought to Everton and his new deal should allow such an environment to continue for the team carry on progressing.

There have been plenty of ups and downs at Goodison since Moyes's arrival but unlike the previous decade, the pluses have certainly outnumbered the minuses.

His predecessor Walter Smith - who in typically gentlemanly fashion recommended his fellow Glaswegian for his former position - was forced to rebuild his side three times over in less than four seasons and his generally ageing Everton teams were unable to climb out of the bottom half of the table.

Indeed, Joe Royle's Andrei Kanchelskis-inspired class of 1996 who finished sixth were the only Everton side to finish above the halfway mark in the 10 years of Premier League football before Moyes's first full season in 2002-03 when a seventh place spot was enough to earn him the first of two LMA Manager of the Year awards.

Such a finish this season wouldn't even have Moyes anywhere near to being considered for such a prize but that is testament to the Scot's raising of expectations at Goodison Park brought by three European qualifications in the last four seasons thanks to fourth, sixth and fifth-place finishes.

Gifted young players are now signing for Everton rather than leaving because of Moyes's record of developing their talents.

But while a good manager with a patient board can take a team from being Premier League's also-rans to contenders for a European place, the hard work starts now for Moyes as he attempts to take the final but hardest step of all.

Against all the odds, Everton have already secured one top-four finish under Moyes but proving that it wasn't a fluke will be a mean feat for him.

Players who would have improved the squad a couple of years ago will no longer increase the quality. This summer has shown Moyes just how hard it is to recruit for those kind of performers as he attempts to break through what seems to be a glass ceiling between the quartet of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool and the rest of the top flight.

Despite the current financial uncertainties in the world at large, overseas billionaire sugar daddies are the latest must-have for Premier League outfits and Everton are supposed to be one of the clubs hoping such a benefactor will come to their aid. But there are only so many top-class players to go around and they generally want to join clubs in the top four so they can play Champions League football. So if you're outside that group you find it's the most exclusive of elite clubs to try and break into - even if you've got the kind of funds Manchester City are currently benefiting from.

If Everton were ever to make it through to the Champions League proper under Moyes then it would be a massive bonus for them but given that the 45-year-old has just been handed a deal believed to have made him the highest earner in the club's history, Evertonians will just be hoping he repays them with a piece of silverware of any kind as their wait for a trophy heads towards a 14th year.