David Moyes does not help himself at times. And this week has probably been an example of that.
Thankfully, for Everton and Moyes, results have been good. Two games, two wins, six goals scored, a striker getting four of those, two clean sheets. It all looks rosy. But then, when Moyes comes to speaking to the press, he simply can’t seem to help himself. He can’t seem to not cause some controversy.
Now, some of it feels a bit much from certain sections of the fanbase, who are happy to get any opportunity to stick the boot in. However, there is no real excuse for what Moyes said, or how he said it, in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Preston North End match.
That took place on Saturday, after the win over Crystal Palace, and Moyes bit back at Joe Thomas’s question about whether he wanted to win a trophy, and for some strange reason, brought up Premier League relegation.
Even if there was some sense in what Moyes was trying to say, it came across as twisted and negative.
But Moyes let his team selection do the talking on Wednesday at Deepdale. He went strong, and Everton won comfortably. Even then, though, there were some contentious choices.
Jake O’Brien was left on the bench, amid speculation — fuelled by no-doubt reliable reports in The Athletic — that the defender is open to leaving Everton, and the club are open to cashing in.
Then, in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Moyes was in a dour mood despite the dominant manner of Everton’s victory.
Asked if fans could get carried away after the win, Moyes rightly said, “No, they can’t.”
He then went on to say: “I think we’ve got a lot of work to do and I still feel that, for us to be a side which is competitive, I still feel that we’ve got a lot of work to do. Hopefully we’re able to try and do some of it.
“More players. Our squad’s not big enough. We need to get more quality in some areas if we can do.”
Asked whether Everton would get those deals done, Moyes added: “I’m not sure we will but it’s not for the want of trying.”
The last bit is typical Moyes. He will never insist something will definitely happen, especially when it comes to transfers, but perhaps plenty of people are just too tired of that pessimism.
The rest of what Moyes said is correct, though it does once again suggest that those at the top of the club are not quite aligned.
We are only just over a week on from CEO Angus Kinnear telling multiple outlets that Everton are on track in their recruitment and that the target this season is European qualification.
That’s all well and good, but this squad, on paper, is not ready for a European push. In that sense, Moyes is correct — they are far away from where they need to be and lacking in quality.
Now, who knows. This season could end up like last term, when multiple teams expected to compete for the top 7-8 places underperformed, opening up a seven-team race for the final European places, which included Everton.
That’s a distinct possibility, especially with some of the upheaval at other clubs this summer, but that does not then automatically mean Everton’s squad is one ready to be qualifying for Europe.
However, it all goes back to the messaging and communication. It does not seem that Moyes and Kinnear are on the same page.
When Kinnear is positive (and some of his positivity does seem a little unfounded even if you would rather that than the alternative), Moyes wants to play everything down.
Moyes has made mistakes. His communication style, at times, is outdated. He should not be looking to belittle journalists or turn their questions back on them, when the questions asked are totally fair.
But the key element here is that he and the leadership should be on the same page. Even if he does have less than a year left to run on his deal, that messaging must be clear and consistent.