Everton revel in Moyes revival: The perfect blend always takes some finding but David appears to have hit on one

The Everton manager could easily have taken his Zenit St Petersburg counterpart to task and ridiculed his views as outdated but he did not need to. His players did it for him by outsmarting the newly crowned Russian champions for a victory that took them into the UEFA Cup knockout stages as Group A winners.

Former manager Joe Royle may have hated the way his Everton team of the mid-90s were labelled Dogs of War, but at least Moyes can claim to have muzzled them once and for all. These days, Everton may remain hard to beat but they are far easier on the eye.

The perfect blend always takes some finding but Moyes appears to have hit on one after making it 11 games without defeat at West Ham on Wednesday and landing Everton a place in the last four of the Carling Cup — their first cup semifinal in more than 12 years.

The run dates back to a contentious derby defeat to Liverpool in October and Moyes is adamant a sense of injustice has fuelled a resurgence that has yielded nine wins and two draws.

There is far more to it than that, though. When Walter Smith was sacked in 2002, an apparent obsession with hard graft, discipline and organisation seemed to make Moyes the ideal choice for safeguarding Everton's Premier League status.

But the days of grinding out results to stay afloat look to be a thing of the past, banished and replaced by a vibrancy that makes Advocaat's outburst seem distinctly ill-judged.

It has been a classic case of evolution rather than revolution, with Moyes devising a long-term plan based on bringing young talent through the ranks, recruiting flair from abroad and proving that good players can be unearthed in the lower divisions.

Mikel Arteta remains the star attraction but he is by no means a lone entertainer amid a cast of willing workers.

Steven Pienaar, signed on loan from Borussia Dortmund, and Leon Osman, a product of Goodison's youth system, are just as comfortable on the ball, while Yakubu's record £11million arrival from Middlesbrough has provided a cutting edge that was evident again when he poached the late winner in the 2-1 win at West Ham.

It was the Nigeria striker's 10th goal of the season. Another clinical Everton finisher, Tim Cahill, underlined the extra dimension Yakubu has brought to the push for honours.

Cahill said: 'He is very important for us. He holds the ball up and brings people into play and causes trouble. In the end he just got in West Ham's faces and, like an opportunist, got his goal. Yak's form is priceless.'

Cahill may be the most shining example of Moyes' eye for a bargain — signed from Millwall for £1.5m — but defender Joleon Lescott cannot be far behind after joining from Wolves and forcing his way into the England team.

Moyes is first to acknowledge the financial backing of chairman Bill Kenwright, after years of scrimping over transfer funds, but the revival owes as much to an academy setup that has more than paid its way.

It was probably in profit after Everton banked £30m from Manchester United for Wayne Rooney, but there has been no resting on laurels. As well as Osman, the path from juniors to seniors has been trodden by Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan, who are providing options up front alongside Yakubu and Andy Johnson.

There are those inside Goodison who believe England Under 21 striker Vaughan could emerge as the best of the lot.

Moyes has faced charges of exerting too much control, but his former assistant Alan Irvine, now manager of Preston, refuted them.

Irvine said: 'He involves others in decision making all the time. After training, I would sit in his office with the rest of the coaching staff and we would bounce ideas off each other for hours. The final decision would be his but we all felt we had an input.

'He is so committed and dedicated and he knows how to get the best out of players. But he always listens to others as well. That's how he makes it work.'