How did a club drifting towards another relegation battle become one of the Premier League’s most consistent challengers — and just how great was David Moyes’ Everton?

By Far The Greatest Team continues with the story of Everton between 2002 and 2013 — an 11-year period of stability, intelligent recruitment, European adventures, near misses and some wonderfully unpredictable footballers.

Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest and Everton supporter Declan Clark to revisit the first Goodison Park reign of David Moyes.

When Moyes arrived from Preston North End in March 2002, Everton were level on points with the relegation places and seemingly trapped in a cycle of decline. He immediately described Everton as “The People’s Club” and began rebuilding its confidence, culture and connection with the supporters.

His first full season brought a seventh-place finish and the emergence of Wayne Rooney. A 16-year-old Rooney announced himself with that unforgettable goal against Arsenal before becoming England’s most exciting young footballer at Euro 2004. His tournament-ending injury and subsequent move to Manchester United left Everton without their greatest home-grown talent in a generation — but also helped finance the next stage of Moyes’ rebuild.

After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2003–04, Everton produced one of the great Premier League surprises by finishing fourth in 2004–05, above Liverpool and inside the Champions League places. Their European dream ended against Villarreal amid the controversy of Duncan Ferguson’s disallowed goal, but Everton had re-established themselves as a serious force.

Operating under the financial restrictions of the Bill Kenwright era, Moyes repeatedly found value where richer clubs were not looking. Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar and Seamus Coleman became the foundation of a team that finished in the top eight nine times during his tenure.

Not every signing worked quite so successfully.

Jamie, Graham and Dec revisit the chaotic, curious and occasionally loveable collection of players who passed through Goodison — including Per Krøldrup, Andy van der Meyde, Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi. Some disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived; others became cult heroes through commitment, personality and the willingness to run through a brick wall.

The high point came in 2009, when Everton reached the FA Cup final after defeating Manchester United on penalties in the semi-final. Louis Saha gave them a dream start against Chelsea by scoring after only 25 seconds, but Moyes’ best opportunity to win a major trophy ended in a 2–1 defeat.

The episode considers both sides of the Moyes legacy. He transformed Everton into a respected, competitive and remarkably consistent Premier League club, developed outstanding players and was voted LMA Manager of the Year three times. Yet there was no trophy, Champions League qualification ended before the group stage, and the biggest matches too often remained just beyond their reach.

Was Moyes the manager who restored Everton — or the man who eventually reached the limits of what that Everton could become?

🔑 Takeaways

• How David Moyes restored stability and belief after arriving in 2002
• The emergence, impact and eventual departure of Wayne Rooney
• How Everton finished fourth immediately after one of Moyes’ worst seasons
• The controversial Champions League defeat against Villarreal
• Why Moyes became one of the Premier League’s smartest recruiters
• The successes, misfits and cult heroes who defined the era
• Everton’s journey to the 2009 FA Cup final
• Whether consistency without a trophy should still be considered greatness
• The final ranking of one of Everton’s most important modern teams

Join Us

Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel, where you can watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes.

Visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:

How great were they?

If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and tell everyone about it!

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!

How did a largely home-grown, part-time team from southern Sweden come within one goal of conquering Europe — and help change the way an entire country played football?

Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team continues with the remarkable story of Malmö FF between 1978 and 1980.

Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn are joined by regular guest Phil Craig to revisit a period when ABBA were conquering the charts, Björn Borg ruled Wimbledon and an unfashionable Swedish football club was quietly preparing to take on Europe.

At the centre of the story was young English coach Bob Houghton.

Appointed in 1974, Houghton introduced a clearly defined 4-4-2 system built around zonal marking, collective movement, pressing, physical preparation and an organised defensive line. His methods challenged Swedish football’s traditional reliance on sweepers and man-marking.

Rather than importing expensive stars, Houghton transformed a predominantly local squad. Many of Malmö’s players combined football with other employment, yet together they developed an understanding and tactical discipline capable of troubling Europe’s biggest clubs.

Their extraordinary 1978–79 European Cup campaign took them past Monaco, Dynamo Kyiv, Wisła Kraków and Austria Wien. The semi-final was settled by Tommy Hansson, a player who had already agreed to drop into lower-league football because he needed a secure job.

Malmö became the first — and remain the only — Swedish club to reach the European Cup final.

In Munich they faced Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Weakened by injuries but characteristically organised and resilient, Malmö were defeated 1–0 by Trevor Francis’s famous diving header.

Their European adventure was not quite finished. When Forest declined to contest the Intercontinental Cup, Malmö faced South American champions Club Olimpia, losing 3–1 across two legs staged in Sweden and Paraguay.

Jamie, Graham and Phil explore the personalities, tactical innovations and cultural circumstances behind the achievement. They also examine the wider influence of Houghton and fellow English coach Roy Hodgson, whose ideas helped reshape Swedish football and provided foundations later built upon by Sven-Göran Eriksson and IFK Göteborg.

Finally, Malmö FF face the question asked of every team on By Far The Greatest Team.

How great were they?

🔑 Takeaways

• How Bob Houghton transformed Malmö through unconventional British coaching methods
• Why zonal marking and 4-4-2 represented a tactical revolution in Sweden
• The remarkable European Cup victories over Monaco, Dynamo Kyiv, Wisła Kraków and Austria Wien
• How a largely local, partly professional squad reached the 1979 European Cup final
• Malmö’s subsequent Intercontinental Cup matches against Club Olimpia
• The influence of Houghton and Hodgson on the future of Swedish football
• Whether reaching one European final was enough to make Malmö genuinely great

Join Us

Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and visit our YouTube channel for full episodes and additional football-history rabbit holes.

Head to the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index as we continue asking:

How great were they?

If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a rating and tell everyone about it!

If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!