Everton not ready for the the Premier League season, warns David Moyes

Moyes might not have the quality or numbers he would like to have as yet, but surely the players he does have should be getting close to being fully prepared?

We lost Calvert-Lewin, Harrison and Doucoure, which is 3 pluses as far as I'm concerned. And we're never any good in pre-season.

I wish we'd sort out a couple more transfers though.

If we don't get a central midfielder, then Harrison & Tim should be given their head.

It was as sure as a dump in the morning that it was gonna be a farce.

No way were TFG replacing the exodus and adding more which we so desperately needed. As I stated to much derision.

However, it is Moyes's job to rally the few into a winning position.

Crying weakens his authority in the dressing room, training pitch, boardroom and everywhere. Agents add another 50% minimum because he has weakened his hand.

I moan about lack of players Davie, not you. Your job was to get the leavers replaced, but you failed. You should have stayed at home to secure more numbers rather than a pointless US trip. Tell TFG to eat grit coz you need players and that won't happen in TrumpLand.

Your job is now to get them to be ready for the start of the season with a smile and words of valour and encouragement. Well done for fucking that up too!

Moyes worked with small budgets for years under Kenwright. He knows how to get the players to work hard and to cover various positions. When the windows shuts, that's when you have to work with what you've got. For now, be ambitious and sign the players required.

I get what Moyes is saying though. It is a bit Catch-22. We want to improve, not sign like-for-like replacements for the players who have left, because the ones who have left weren't good enough.

But getting that profile of player to sign for us is nigh-on impossible. It's going to take time. It feels like if we could get one big name in, everything becomes easier. Grealish or Luiz maybe. But it's easier said than done.

Do you think we won't sign any more players in the next 4 weeks or so after the Sky money turns up?

Apparently Forest want 5 players; the Palace manager has been complaining about their lack of signings; West Ham want players; Newcastle fans and manager are complaining; Spurs need to off load players before they buy.

Should all of their managers be criticised too, Martin?

To be fair, you have been consistent in your head falling off since June.

Sadly, he has a point: 5 or 6 new players before the season starts, pretty unlikely. If it does happen, they will probably be loans, a couple of pros who can do a job as the rebuild is pushed out further.

I'm not blaming Moyes for the situation we are in, nor the way we are playing, or even selection choices. No, what we are seeing is the legacy cost of the past God knows how many years of sheer incompetence of ownership, management and business failure.

No player of quality, faced with a choice of Premier League clubs, is picking Everton. I don't blame them. If I was on the outside looking in, I wouldn't.

TFG have to prove themselves every bit as much as Moyes does. They are right to fix the business first but they may well have to pay over the odds to get quality of playing staff to look seriously at joining us.

If I was Desperate Dan, I would land my Spitfire on Formby Beach and walk along the shore to Bramley-Moore Dock and tell Moyes to shut up and do his job. Public, albeit it veiled, criticism of others or sheer disappointment in not bringing in better players, is not helping the cause, sends a wrong message to possible acquisitions who know how desperate we are, agents aren't stupid.

People talk of "Hollywood Managers" but they can draw players who would not look twice at the club otherwise. Perhaps such an appointment would have been made as a statement of intent by the new owners, but we have persisted with David Moyes.

Of course, it also depends on the owner's expectations and objectives on and off the pitch. How much there is available, and what the measure of success is to them in what time frame.

We knew beforehand that communication was almost non-existent from TFG, as experienced elsewhere, but expectations with the new stadium amongst the fans were high, mine included, and by the sound of it Moyes too.

What we are seeing is the gap between legacy cost and expectation, reality bites. Our esteemed manager now has to earn his coin over a season with whatever we can get. We don't need reminding what we are short of, we need to stop the bleed, plug the gaps, and find players who will make a difference.

I'm made up he's said that the majority of this squad just is not good enough.

We know it, they know it, but more importantly, the manager knows it.

We know we want 5+ good players; when we get them and settled in, we will be fine.

We played well and got some very good results when Moyes took over last season. we still have most of the players from those games.

I have said previously that we will miss Doucoure though, its a pity he wanted too much money.

What I don't like is Moyes publically talking down the ability of our existing players — it might make them more keen to do well but it can't do their confidence any good.

And after the bleedin' obvious comes your starter for 6 more from the left.....haven't Roma got any we could borrow,well, we know they should have a spare right back, compliments of errmm.....

At least the last person who said he could not keep us in the premiership or do better had the grace to quietly hand in his notice before it was too late. The is how you got your job and very high salary Mr Moyes.

Has Thomas Frank (Spurs 17th position) stated a lack of confidence in their team to do better in the next season?
Can anyone think of any other player or team that been told they are not good enough especially when we might not actually get any stars of Ekitike or Isak standard.
You publicly criticised Patterson last year diminishing his confidence to my knowledge no other manager has done that.

If you publicly feel that way you know the honourable thing to do BEFORE you spend all the money buying players that your replacement, who hopefully believes that we will do really well next season, inherits from you.

Warren Buffett springs to mind when choosing Managers. He does not look at last year results he looks at results over a period of years with the same management and then chooses the company to buy. Klopp, Slot, Thomas Frank and even Howe have all performed very well with very limited resources before getting their premiership manager positions.
It would not surprise me if Spurs has a top 7 finish.

The corrupt F.A. caused a lot of the present problems by allowing New Ownership at Chelsea to buy all the titles and trophies available by bringing in all the top players world wide.This was followed at Man City and it inflated the prices of the average player. When the new ownership at Newcastle who are able to buy every club in the league they panicked and brought the new financial rules into play.

Everton are now in the crosshairs of the F.A, and all though they have the backing of the new ownership who have the finances to purchase the type and quality of players we need they are restricted in what they can spend.

There is the problem, we need players, the ownership has the finances but we are restricted in how much we pay for a player, plus we need more than one, from a market that wants top money for average players.

Have you been watching the transfer window? Have you seen how the top 4 have strengthened?

I don’t think it is now possible for a manager to transform a club without a competitive budget and the effective behind the scenes team / capability. Often the two things go hand in hand.

They are right to fix the business first

Yes. They are. They bought a club that was in serious financial trouble facing insolvency, and now we're expecting them to break the bank to climb the table? Nah.

This is preseason. I don't care at all about it. It doesn't matter what the result is.

This team is more than capable of finishing top half, and I personally think we will.

Moyes is going to say things publicly to motivate players and try to draw blood from a stone to get new players from ownership.

There's nothing to see here. Wait until we're 4-5 games in and then make an assessment.

We're fine. The squad is a good one, Moyes knows what he's doing, we'll finish top half and when comparing that to relegation flirting the last 3 of 4 years, I'll take a slow ascent up the table. And I will bet that's exactly what will happen the next 2-3 years.

I will take any friendly bets on us finishing 10th or better. Let me know if you're up for it.

"If Sunderland fans were looking for an upbeat message when Moyes arrived, they were to be sadly mistaken when he flagged up a season-long relegation fight after only his second game in charge, a 2-1 home loss to Middlesbrough.

Asked about supporters fearing a season-long struggle, he said: "Well, they would probably be right."

Realism is one thing - negativity and defeatism is another. This was a message that was badly received by Sunderland's fans and set the tone for a season that turned into a long, slow, painful, joyless march into the Championship.

It was also a message delivered with 10 days of the August transfer window remaining, hardly enticing words to potential new signings.

And, damningly, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy as Moyes was unable to do anything to defy his own ominous predictions for Sunderland's season."

And without his best mate behind him, these Yanks will pull the trigger on him the first sniff they get of defeatism and a potential loss of revenue.

We've learnt enough over the last decade to know that all those 6th-place finishes were just lipstick on a pig.

He's drinking in the last chance saloon is our Davey.

📊 Here's a breakdown of Everton's average league finishes before and after David Moyes's first managerial stint:

⚽ Pre-Moyes Era (Premier League: 1992–2002)

From the formation of the Premier League in 1992 up to Moyes's appointment in March 2002, Everton's average finishing position was:

• Average finish: 13.6th
• Best finish: 6th (1995–96)
• Worst finish: 17th (1997–98 and
🧠 Moyes Era (2002–2013)

During Moyes' 11 full seasons in charge:

• Average finish: 7.5th
• Best finish: 4th (2004–05)
• Worst finish: 17th (2003–04)

He consistently kept Everton in the top half, often challenging for European spots despite limited resources.

📉 Post-Moyes Era (2013–2024)

From Moyes' departure to the end of the 2023–24 season:

• Average finish: 11.5th

Give him some bloody players, Friedkins!!!

With regard to mentality, when he joined Everton, he was a failed former footballer who no one knew, who had briefly managed Preston North End. He was grateful for the job.

As years went by, he became more miserable, moaning about "knives to gunfights" etc, then acted like he was the Lord Mayor going off to better things at Man Utd.

Then he arrived at dysfunctional Sunderland with an entitled attitude and immediately said the team was crap and would get relegated – which they did.

He failed in Spain, no one would give him a job, so he had to pipe down until West Ham tossed him a bone out of desperation.

He went in there, quietly did a good job, was unfairly replaced. Then, once he went back and had a bit of success, he started his public moaning and negativity again until they sacked him.

He comes into Everton feeling like he is hot stuff on the back of the Euro trophy at West Ham and the manner in which we begged him to come back. So he's back to moaning and being miserable again because he feels like he is doing us a favor.

Moyes has only two mindsets. The beggar grateful for scraps or the big knob about town who thinks he is hot stuff. In the former mindset, he does well… but in the latter, he tends to burn bridges, alienate players and fans, and fail.

From there, Moyes will be expected to finish between about 8th and 14th – not because Moyes has a glass ceiling but because the squad does.

Expectations would only go up if, say, we were to land all of Gallagher, Grealish, Luiz and Kubo and a few other quality players too for squad depth. This seems unlikely.

If that causes some despair, check back in for the 2027-28 season when we should be more competitive.

Moyes may have been unknown to you but he won the League Two title in his second or third year as manager of Preston and then took them to the play-offs in their first year in League One.

Additionally, he made footballing headlines when he turned down the opportunity to become Alex Ferguson's No 2,

He was generally regarded as a manager who would very soon be plying his trade in the Premier League.

No didn't turn down anything. In Moyes's own words

"‘I met Fergie in the year they won the Champions League,' he said. ‘He asked me to have a cup of tea with him. He was looking for an assistant. I met him but he gave the job to McClaren.

‘I was fine with that because I was enjoying what I was doing at Preston, but if that opportunity had come I wouldn't have turned it down."

As for the League Two title, well lots of people have won that and we have never heard of most of them.

I agree. I would guess TFG are not concerned and have a longer-term plan. That plan is not necessarily for Moyes's short tenure but beyond that.

If we finish 10th this season, TFG will see it as a move in the right direction. They may well be the cog in the machine insisting on Transfer Deadline Day signings when they know values are lower and back in our price range.

All a guess, but it does look like it is panning out this way.

Fair enough but that's certainly how it was reported at the time.

And because of that and his achievements with Preston, Moyes was far from an unknown.

I can still visualise Moyes making that Sunderland statement. He was not only lambasted by Sunderland fans, he got it hot and heavy on ToffeeWeb as well.

It was a disastrous statement. He did the same at West Ham, but not to the same extent. He again gave the fans and ToffeeWeb the ilk.

But this repetative statements in the USA, with more press conferences to come in the land of 'Remember the Alamo' is a whole new ballgame.

I would advise him to shut the fuck up (it was part of my selling process to say this to myself) because American Professional Business Managers especially would see this as a real red flag.

David Moyes is making all the wrong noises about Everton's new era — Kevin Garside in The i Paper, 31 July 2025

David Moyes is missing the boat because he lacks the fantasy factor — Kevin Garside in The Independent, Monday 18 June 2012.

When you look at the midfield and the forwards, though, it hardly sends the pulse racing.

You don't rate him, Kieran. That's fine. I back up my statements with his record which I have produced above.

I presume you didn't like any of the managers who have come and gone since he left first time?

Why was he a ‘failed former footballer'? He played football at decent level, didn't he? Tell me the level you played at?

Anyway, I can't be bothered arguing. This summer is draining me after what we were all told would be an unprecedented summer.

Let's chase another manager out and we can blame the next manager and then the next and then the next when they don't have Everton in the Champions League.

We've a new stadium that isn't home that could quickly become a millstone if we don't win games early in our occupation.

The squad's weaker, apart from the late flourish to last season after the early uptick, the squad slumped. No one joining in the next 3 weeks is likely to make a significant impact in our early games.

When does the squad land back in the UK? Next week is a write-off in terms of preparation. That's 2 weeks to a full, raucous Elland Rd.

Let's hope Beto gets a breakaway goal about the 20-minute mark to dampen them down. Hope springs eternal?

Aye okay mate…. Oh yeah, a mauling from Man Utd still to come? I don't find these friendlies very friendly – we keep getting pumped. Still, Roma will have orders not to roast us… won't they?

Depending on an individual's stance, that article sums it up quite well.

He turned this club around in weeks and got us safe quicker than anybody expected. Not only did he get us safe but his record managing these misfits since he arrived was a Top 6 performance.

Despite him saying, even when getting the unexpected results, that we needed more quality, and now he is being criticized for us not adding quality to the team.

The Friedkins have supposedly put together, we are being told, a great new backroom structure to improve all areas of the club.

We have lost 3 regulars from last season: Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin and Young, so wouldn't any manager worth his salt be demanding that we replace these players with better quality?

So far, we have signed a backup keeper, a young full-back who will need time, a young striker who again will need time, and made the Alcaraz loan permanent.

Now I don't see how in the near future they improve on what we had and, listening to some, Moyes should not voice his concern.

What he did last season has earned him the right to speak out as, after all, if we struggle because we didn't sign enough quality players, it's Moyes who will be sacked – not the backroom staff that the Friedkins have put together.

The argument from some is he shouldn't have made this public and kept his concerns in house. Well, I am sure he has had conversations with the powers that be, and maybe he feels they aren't doing enough, so had to go public to let us fans know his thoughts.

Also the line about knocking the confidence out of his players by making these comments, both Pickford and Tarkowski have said we need signings, so are they wrong too?

I don't think many have issue with what he is saying. It's how and where he is saying it. As I said previously, he doesn't need to tell us what we already know and agree with.

But doing it in public is likely going to rile the board and owners in my opinion.

You say most people agree with his sentiments — it's just where he is voicing those opinions and how he has voiced his concerns over the lack of quality players being brought to the club.

So Danny, where and how does he voice his concerns, as the Friedkins don't seem to be addressing the problems and things need sorting — and quick.

It's perfectly plausible that the new owners are on board with Moyes telling the fans that we are trying to bring in our top targets but – because of the mess the Moshiri years left Everton in... it's not that easy.

Moyes has made a few statements to this effect in the last week with no push back from the new owners.

They won't be back till Monday at the earliest, so another 4 crucial days of the window and the ever-shrinking time till the first game are lost.

Even if we sign the right-winger and central midfielder we so desperately need before the Leeds game, they have at best one fixture, if we can get it done in time for Roma, to bed in; otherwise, it's mould whoever they are into a team on the job in mid-season.

God, I hate the bloody transfer window – bring back the days when you could just sign the players in positions you needed when you needed them, not in this arbitrary, maddening period.

"Clearly we aren't going to sign anybody meaningful whilst Moyes is out of the country"

Clearly... why?

Sol Sidibe, U18 England international to PSV for £2.5M. Possibly missed a trick in not signing him and loaning out.

Simpson Pussey to Celtic on loan.

Marc Guiu to Sunderland on loan.

All good bits of business.

Do we not have email, video calls, Zoom?

Most neogiations are done on WhatsApp anyway.

Plus Moyes will not be negotiating transfer fees, wages etc.

If we don't agree deals, it's not because the manager is in America!

1. Statements about Club Operations:

If Moyes made public comments criticizing Everton's transfer activity or readiness for the season, it would usually breach internal communications protocols, even if not explicitly violating confidentiality clauses.

Clubs often require media comments to be cleared through the PR department or Chief Executive's office, especially those that could damage the club's public image or relations with fans and owners.

2. Confidentiality Clauses:

His contract (reportedly £12.5M per year) would almost certainly contain clauses around non-disclosure of sensitive operational, financial, or strategic information.

Restrictions on speaking publicly about club policies, especially regarding transfer targets, budgets, or internal disagreements.

Breaking such clauses could lead to disciplinary action, fines, or even contract termination in extreme cases.

3. Reputational Clauses and Conduct:

High-level football contracts usually include "conduct" clauses covering behavior that may bring the club into disrepute. Managers are expected to be ambassadors of the club, so negative public comments — especially unauthorized ones — could violate those standards.

Davy Boy, with American owners, you are on dangerous ground and there will be an army of lawyers (especially with such comments made in their own backyard). So expect to get a talking to in no uncertain terms. Think about it, Davy: breach of contract with no compensation and a costly legal process.

The more things change, etc.

Had we said No and stayed here, we would still be in the same situation regarding lack of transfers. There is always someone here who can oversee any transfers. We even have wonderful technology whereby you can speak to others……it's called a phone, or even Zoom via a laptop.

Plenty of clubs have completed transfers whilst they have been in far-flung places, and we should be no different. It doesn't matter whether Moyes or whoever is in this country or not, the simple fact is players are saying No to us, probably for footballing reasons, not because they haven't been able to speak to Moyes face to face.

So, whether we sign anyone tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday or the middle of next week, it won't be because those players spoke to Moyes face to face; it will be because they want to join us.

Who would play David Moyes though?

He will also put pressure on owners.

I don't like the first thing. I like the second thing.

Premier League ‘could face pressure’ to scrap Summer Series

I remember thinking that Moyes was just being a defeatist once again when he made that statement… but, now I'm a lot older (which doesn't necessarily mean I'm wiser), I think he was just stating the obvious, just like he his doing now.

Sunderland were very poor, although they were not helped by some very poor signings, and although Everton, are nowhere near as poor, David Moyes knows that, if we are to progress and not be down amongst the dead men once again, that we definitely need a lot more.

Moyes is not doing anything more than just stating the obvious to anyone who has watched our last few games, even if it is only pre-season.

I see the current comments mainly for the awareness of the targeted players, their agents and their current clubs.

If they are faking their reticence as a negotiating tactic, then they may miss out on a move that suits everyone.

I think that is what is behind the casting of a wide net in terms of targets, and rapidly moving on and testing the water somewhere else at the first sign of reluctance to deal.

Time will tell if it's the wrong way to do things but it seems better than wasting too much of it doggedly pursuing players who genuinely aren't interested. If they're just playing hard to get they may ditch that approach to avoid ending up with Hobson's Choice.

Is Moyes on more than £200k a week — £12.5M a year? Very hard to believe that… for fuck's sake, how does his talent get him that?

"I was so much older then... I'm younger than that now"

That's a tune...

It's been the case for decades – obviously. We're still up shit creek financially, big-time, courtesy of shithouse luvvy and those he chose to serve, chiefly himself, to the massive cost of us lot.

Friedkin, if he hadn't realised previously, may well be looking for a get-out already. It wouldn't surprise me because to even achieve top half is going to take megabucks and talent in the club.

Right now, there's scant evidence of it.

Today, when players are put up for transfer, players can pick and choose the club they want to go to when more than one club is involved, and unfortunately Everton no longer have the reputation they had years ago as the club to play for.

We are now being compared as a club that has been around the bottom or fighting relegation for a number of years, plus no European competitions.

We can only spend on what we can afford and, regardless of how rich your owners are, what we have for transfers is not a lot considering the type and number of players we need.

"I was so much older then... I'm younger than that now"

Bob Dylan, My Back Pages, another side of Dylan.

Sure I can't prove it; yes, of course video tech exists, but I'll give you a friendly bet we sign nobody before Everton return to the UK, then suddenly at least one deal materialises next week...

At his present time of life, and it must be said, bank balance, is he right to speak out, or does he keep the internal dirty washing in the cupboard?

But if it needs saying out loud, then maybe it has to be said.

Also, am I right in thinking that the 'Big 3' new appointments don't even start until September?

If, as has happened before under Moyes, we're on 3 points deep into October… well, there's only one person getting the sack.

Though the nagging 'minority report' in my head is saying...

Not ready? Not fuckin ready! It's your very well-paid task to get them fuckin ready. Start dealing with the 'what is' not the 'what it ought to be'! Start kicking the hair-dryers and tea cups about!! You're the manager, start managing the well-paid strollers!!!

I didn't want him back.

What you say there is very worrying. If we have to wait for the Sky money to buy, it suggests our owners are not even willing to cashflow us in the very short term, so we can prep properly.

I think that is probably not the reason we haven't bought… but, if you're right, it does not augur well.

I couldn't have said it any better.

£12.5M is his contract value over 2½ years, so £5M a year.

Bill #63, agreed. Moyes turned last season around, but the glass ceiling we're up against now is the team itself, not Moyes. And that takes time to resolve. Not just one or two transfer windows for sure.

I didn't want Moyes back, but he's doing his job and doing it well. However, like all managers, he will reach the end of the line. I feel certain that, by the time this club is ready to step back on the big stage, somebody else will be leading us there.

Your statement that Moyes is picking up £12.5M each year (or £1,041,666.67 each month) is the figure that is quoted across multiple locations — with, to be sure, varying measures of credibility.

But I wonder if that £12.5M is actually his agreed salary (plus top-up bonuses) over the length of his contract? It divides neatly, Jerome: £5M each year over 30 months.

The summer is not going to plan for TFG, Kinnear or Hammond, and Moyes is stating the obvious by pointing that out. I have no problem with it, as it is his job as a senior leader to point out issues and put healthy tension into the club to resolve them.

Kinnear and Hammond are not doing their jobs well in relation to recruitment this summer. It was Kinnear who introduced the new structure, removing the DoF; therefore, he is accountable.

He has already lost a lot of credibility with his “judge me on 2 September" comment. If he has only brought the players in for Moyes on 1 September, then he has done badly. It will be an interesting test of the new culture in the club whether they appreciate Moyes's candour.

Complacency, poor results, low accountability, toeing the corporate line, low standards, poor individual performance with nil consequences. We tried that for 30 years and it didn't go well.

Speak up, Moyesy!

I'll repeat myself on this thread one last time in case it's not clear. The same debate may well kick off again after the Manchester United match.

I, and most I've read on here don't disagree with what he's said.

For him to use the supporters as his tool for being honest, I find odd. He's telling us what we already know and have done for several seasons, so I don't know who his message is directed at. He doesn't need to tell me what I already know and have done for years. So don't use the supporters as justification for being direct.

He could, should and probably is, having this conversation with the CEO and TFG behind the scenes, so (Brendan), he may well have them on board.

Announcing it in public in that manner conveys a negative message to would-be signings. If, for example, Fofana is watching, what impression does that give?

Moyes has a history of this type of thing. People have already mentioned Sunderland. No matter how honest, is that what players and supporters wanted to hear going into a season? Hardly motivational.

Likewise, although maybe realistic, his comments about the then reigning champions, Manchester United "aspiring" to be like Manchester City. That did not help his cause against an already disgruntled Old Trafford support base.

It is clear that some agree with him coming out by stating the obvious, others don't think it was the appropriate thing to do.

Maybe it's his choice of language. He can go head-to-head and say all this behind closed doors.

In public, maybe something along the lines of "we know we have a thin squad and have identified players that will improve the squad. Everyone at the club is working hard to bring them in".

A play with words, but it comes across differently.

Fact checked. But I can't understand why, with Moyes's experience, he would be so stupid. But he has been, again and again.

Danny #78,

I was thinking about checking Moyes's time at Man Utd. Thanks, I remember now that almighty blunder. He didn't last long after that.

Didn't

Apologies.

"If they ever make a Netflix series about Everton... I want Jerome to write and direct it. Who would play David Moyes though?

Ted Lasso...

You know your tunes.

Christine #81

I was thinking Tom Cruise given his Mission Impossible background.

Southampton think they have a young whiz kid and feel they must extract maximum value, plus there are several interested parties.

Juventus want their money back on Luiz, there are several clubs interested.

Man City will loan Grealish but want a lot of his wages paid, several interested parties.

We got good value deals on Alcaraz; Travers (I think he will come good); Aznou, sometimes, when in competition, you have to pay a little more (not lots more) than you wanted.
This is where good negotiators come in, finding a way through this.

Some you ride out to the end of window; Grealish maybe. Some you have to do now before somebody else does; Luiz maybe.

Moyes of course knows all this, he is frustrated at targets missed and fearful of other targets missed. He's on a short term contract and wants to see progress now. He and Kinnear are at odds on transfer dealings.

Whilst not returning to the Sigurdsson or Klaassen days, we will have to marginally overpay on a couple, I think, until we have a better scouting network unearthing gems that nobody else has on their radar.

Wouldn't have the time.

Christine never heard of Ted Lasso. Looked him up. That is not Moyes.

One month after his Man United faux pas, Moyes was gone.(A faux pas is a social blunder or indiscretion.)

Got the title for you, Brendan:

Dave "Faux Pas" Moyes.

I thought that £12.5M per year was far too much for Moyes's talent — in fact, £5M is well more than enough.

Mike (74),

I find Jerome's posts very interesting but thought that £12.5M a year for Moyes's input was ridiculous.

How about Ricky Tomlinson? He did a good job as Mike Bassett.

Although in fairness, that was probably more based on Allardyce than Moyes.

Took the wages as reported:

David Moyes formally rejoined Everton on 11 January 2025, signing a contract that runs until 30 June 2027— a 2½‑year deal under the club's new ownership.

Salary & Financial Terms

Base salary: Approximately £12.5M per year, making Moyes one of the highest-paid managers in the Premier League in 2025.

Additional bonuses: Likely tied to performance (league survival, perhaps cup runs), as reported in multiple sources.

Reported as everywhere, no mention of £5M per year. Stand corrected if anyone can produce a report. I do agree that £5 million is more realistic.

Moyes was reportedly offered a shorter, emergency-style 18-month deal but negotiated for the longer term to oversee Everton's transition into its new stadium.

“We have multiple players we are looking at across multiple positions. But it's a challenge because prices are going up.

“We need to bring players in — we need to do business. We need the options and the depth (in the squad) as we found out two years ago with Champions League football.

“I hope we can bring in players, and players that make a difference before the window shuts. We will not stop until the window shuts.

“It's not about numbers, it's about quality. We have identified the positions, now can we find the quality that make our team better?”

Who said this?

And...

"Even though all the players are still here, we haven't made the most of the transfer window so far. I was promised that we would be more active and bring in the new players earlier this year.

"As of now, I have 17 outfield players! I hope we don't lose any more. If that happens and we get 4 new ones on deadline day like last year, another false start is possible."

Who said this?

He played nearly 550 games of professional football — I wish I'd failed that badly!

The late, great Harry Catterick worked to the mantra, 'Tell the buggers nothing!' He got great results but it didn't make him personally very popular – but who really cared?

Moyes has tried the same tactics in the past and is now well enough off to try the opposite approach. Again, who really cares? Apart from today's keyboard warriors, that is!

Given that we seem to be definitely in for Tyler Dibling, and loans will naturally take longer anyway, then we're not actually in a panic position.

I worry that Moyes's comments will make it harder for us to negotiate with other clubs and harder to convince players to come, so I'm not too sure what the motivations are. Perhaps he is sending a message to the club hierarchy that he will need to be cut some slack at the start of the season because he hasn't had the preparation he wants. Perhaps he wants the fans to know that he feels the same as them so that they don't blame him.

There's no doubt that we'd be much, much better off if we'd sorted it by now, but two things have happened: 1) The club hierarchy wasn't in place in February when this process should have started; and 2) we've tried to sign good players but they didn't want to come.

There's no doubt I'd have done things differently, but we very much need to judge the window on 2 September. In the meantime, Moyes needs to tell the players we have got that they are good enough, we can win Premier League matches and that they've all got the chance to prove themselves before more competition for places arrives.

In fairness to Moyes, he is dealing with media he is not used to dealing with, who have local interest with the American owners and a client base who may know a lot, but have not got the local knowledge surrounding Everton.

I expect him to bring in a key midfielder and useful loans. I don't think he will be as badly prepared as the media reports. But he does have to be more careful in what he says, and I expect he will.

As for his contract, the only way I can make sense of it is that initial reports where regarding a £12.5M emergency 18-month contract. When it was reported that a 2.5 year contract had been agreed, the £12.5M morphed over to the agreed contract and became yearly.

I think that the amount of the new contract is not known, but I would expect it is higher than £5M per year, but nowhere near the £12.5M widely reported.

You say ‘I expect him to bring in a key midfielder and useful loans'

Just a quick question. Do you think he's in charge of transfers?

I think we can both agree he's not getting paid £12½M a year.

Probably around £6M! *gulp*

We have certainly lost momentum after our great end of season but it is up to Moyes and his coaches to have the team ready.

The defence and midfield are nearly identical to last season. So what do we really need?

1) Players who do not give in;
2) Players who can read the game; and
3) Players who can remain calm and shoot accurately.

We created a lot of chances last season but Calvert-Lewin, Doucouré, Harrison and Lindstrøm missed far more chances than reasonably expected for professionals. Their combined score of 8 goals gave a conversion rate of less than 5%.

Moyes got rid of all the right-wingers so we really need a right-winger and a good midfielder. However, this season, we have Armstrong who continues to improve.

As a club, we have to be more tactical on and off the pitch. The teams in the Champions League, such as Man City, have to be aware of the salary to turnover ratio. So Man City have Grealish (£300k p/w) and McAtee (£150k p/w ?) that they need to move out. If nobody buys them, it will lead to desperate measures.

Meanwhile, who meets the criteria? There are a lot of show videos on YouTube on all these players but I have one criterion when viewing: Would they have scored that goal in the Premier League? Sadly Barry would have scored only half of his goals…

Kubo meets all three criteria;
Fofana meets all three;
Douglas Luiz meets all three;
Dibbling meets 1 and 3;
Mcatee meets 1 and 3;
Florentino Luis meets 1 and 3 (look at videos — How many fouls would be given against us, never mind any other team?

For the 4 top players above, offer £35M now plus £10M conditionally next year or a sell-on percentage.

We have to stop trying to undercut everyone. Did we accept Man Utd's £45M bid for Branthwaite when we wanted £85M?

"What exactly did Moyes do last season to gain so much praise?"

8 wins, 7 draws, 4 losses. That's exactly what he did.

When Slot took over from Klopp, winning the league with exactly the same players, did that make him a better manager or lucky with fixtures and injuries to other teams? Fortune plays a large part in any season.

I have said it before: we have got a good squad but we have in the past been missing 4 or 5 key players to be able to win the league with any reasonably good manager and fortune. We currently have 3 or 4 key players but we are still missing a key striker.

We will be bottom after 5 games.

We will then pull ourselves up to 14th by season's end.

The defense and midfield are not virtually the same as last season. We had Young, Coleman, Mangala, Doucoure and have been without Tarkowski, Branthwaite and Pickford so far in preseason.

Also losing Harrison and Lindstrom puts extra pressure on the team.

Anybody that knows anything about football will say that we over-performed under Moyes and I don't know an Evertonian that wasn't appreciative of Moyes's management, let alone the players who were all singing his praises.

In getting rid of Doucoure, Young and a load of others, we have weakened an already depleted squad.

Now everyone you call about a player will add £10M to the bid.

Really well done!

He is part of the transfer team, but I am surprised an experienced playmaking midfielder is not in the pipeline yet. Really, is a crucial position for Moyes. I do think that TFG in their strategic plan want to build from youth, which is not Moyes's comfort zone.

I agree with your figure of £6M which is substantial. Though my point was side-tracked with Moyes's wages. I do think he has to be careful regarding his contractual obligations, especially with American owners.

I do want Moyes to get down to work, rather than mouth off at press Conferences. It is best he applies himself with whatever he has got. I want him to do well.

"rather than mouth off at Press Conferences."

I think even those who feel Moyes comments were ill-advised or perhaps even self-serving would accept he was far from mouthing off.

The rest are miles off.

Pickford
O'Brien Tarkowsli Branthwaite Mykolenko
Garner Gueye
XXXXX(Lindstrom) XXXXX(Dac) Ndiaye
Beto

Yes, I know O'Brien wants to be in the centre-back position but, for the team's sake, I am sure he would continue playing in the right-back position.

So this was the point I brought out in post 96. A right winger, and just as important, midfield players need to be replaced. There is no one in our squad to match Lindstorm's pace, effort and skill.

To my mind, we have nearly the same 7 players in defence or am I missing something?

Kubo would suit either role. How many of these goals / assists would be scored in the Premier League?

Link

And yet the DON's will expect us to qualify for Europe.

Moyes's alternative squad substitutions

Pickford / Travers
xxxxx / Paterson Tarkowski / O'Brien Branthwaite / Keane Mykolenko / Aznou
Garner / Armstrong. Gueye / Diaz
Kubo / Dibling Ndiaye / Alcaraz Fofana / McNeil
Beto / Barry

Bold — players we have not bought

I consider it mouthing off, because nothing any good will come if it.

But it still isn't "mouthing off" or anything close.

He is on substantial wage, he should know better and think before he speaks on a promotional tour.
He should be concentrating on the job in hand.

The squad is threadbare and youth seems to be being brought in for depth. Of course more players would be ideal, but major changes were not going to happen with Moyes and a Board setting a structure in place, which they have made very significant strides in, against a PSR backdrop.

I am a bit anxious they are leaving it so late, but that is the way of an over-inflated (in the main) transfer market now.

We just keep saying the same things every day and drawing up wish lists. Good reading that educates me about players I hadn't really taken much notice of, but only the manager and board will know what's going on.

However, I'll be glad when the window closes. Then we'll know what we've got and can get on with the season.

I hope Moyes is a bit more upbeat today when he delivers his press conference later today (I think). Come on, David, motivate the team you have available for the match ahead.

Good luck to Neil and those who have travelled from the UK, across the US and in some cases, other parts of the globe. Enjoy Stone Mountain Park if you get the chance. Catch up soon at the new stadium.

The "job in hand" was responding to an obvious question posed on a PR American tour which was probably the brainchild of TFG.

He answered as honestly as any Premier League manager would or could.

The clue is in "promotional"...as you accurately described it.