Everton’s great start to the season in numbers

I think the football we're playing now is light-years ahead of this time last year. I went to the home game v Fulham last season and we barely crossed the half-way line. Now we're attacking and fluid.

Moyes has got us playing better and not just because he's now got some better footballers -- the team also picked up when he came in last season.

He gets a lot of credit (nothing wrong with this) but one thing that is rarely mentioned is that, after a calamitous start, when we were letting in goals for fun, Dyche had really tightened us up by the time he departed and Everton were actually getting a lot of praise from people within the game or their defensive discipline.

I thought that Brentford game really exposed Dyche and highlighted how much it looked like he was only concentrating on the defensive side of the game; something Moyes has slowly begun to rectify since his appointment.

However, we have had a good defensive record generally over the last few years and we have to be careful not to make widespread generalisations about a particular point in time especially after a couple of clean sheets.

Last season, when Dyche was at his lowest ebb, we had only conceded 5 more goals and we only conceded 2 more goals the season before at this juncture. In both campaigns, we had conceded most of the goals in August and actually conceded less for the next 3 months than this time around. Also. in both seasons. we had a very frugal December after this point in time.

I know I infuriate some readers but it is important to give a dose of reality that we aren't as good as many of these articles suggest. Of course we are all delighted to see us sitting comfortably in 7th position and it's great to be able to look at Everton in the top half again but everything is fluid and only a couple of weeks ago we were sitting 14th.

There are also a lot of stats to back up my claim that all isn't as rosy as we think. In terms of this season, we are 18th in the league for Shots On Target, 15th for Goals Scored, and equally poor on Chances Created.

Expected Goals (which I don't believe in) we are 12th but interestingly we are only 13th in Big Chances Created.

What this tells us is that the problem is not just our strikers and overall our goal return is reflective of our chances creation. No striker would thrive playing for us this season and hopefully the signs against Fulham and Forest suggest that we are turning a corner in this regard.

Interestingly we are 8th in terms of Touches In The Opposition Box which means we are progressing to a point but Grealish's slide passes probably explain why we aren't creating many opportunities as we aren't getting in behind teams enough. Against Fulham, when we had Garner and Mykolenko attacking from both sides, we were a lot more dangerous than we had been.

The fact we are 15th in the league for Crosses and 15th for Possession further underlines this theory.

Certainly we can be hopeful that things are clearly on the turn but I don't think we are in Dreamland just yet. Bah humbug.!!

But ours seems to have found a good balance between defence and attack. That Fulham game I mentioned, I was in the Park End, the goal that Everton were “attacking” first half.

From the kick-off we played backwards and sideways and even when a goal down we seemed to be playing for a 0-1. I asked the guy next to me what he thought the game plan was and he said he hadn't a clue. It was like we were set up for a narrow defeat.

The nearest I've seen since, under Moyes, was the second half at Sunderland (I won't cite the Man Utd game as that was needed), but even then Sunderland pushed us back rather than us sitting back.

We look a much better footballing team all round these days and I'm looking forward to games again, rather than just the ale house before and after.

This is something that I don't think many, if any, Evertonians were doing by the end of Sean Dyche's reign.

So basically since Moyes was last here.

These people were here before Moyes and they will still be here when he's gone. They won't be fooled by articles such as this because they saw the dreadful draws against Villa and West Ham. They were very happy that we beat Palace, even if it was totally against the run of play, but some still have sleepless nights thinking about the fearful hidings we took from Spurs and Newcastle.

I'm sick of listening to triumphant foolishness about Moyes having a better record than Sean Dyche. Why can't somebody put up a sensible article???

"Evertons great start to the season in numbers"??? Fuck me. Which numbers?

Davey Moyes did not take over a team in the Bottom 3. He did not have to contend with massive points deductions. He isn't having to coax performances out of players fearing for their future. His bosses have not abandoned him...

He is not managing a club with financial ruin, possible extinction hanging over its head. The fact is (and it is a fact), compared to Sean Dyche, he is living a very well paid life of Riley.

Raise the bar, for fuck's sake. We should be demanding a little more than an improvement on a predecessor who had his spirit ground into the dust trying to keep the worst-run football club in the world afloat.

FFS Darren - give it a rest won’t you?

Why would you interpret that as “boasting”

We all come at Everton with our own expectations. I reckon we should all undergo a test, and confirm the month they finally accepted that Gary Lineker was a good signing, I reckon Darren you were late March? That way, we can understand the tests we are applying to the team.

I do appreciate the job Dyche did as manager, yes. I reckon he just about saved the club from oblivion, more than anyone else. And probably his finest act was also recognising when he'd come to the end of the road.

As manager, there have also been some pretty hair-raising moments, Frank Lampard's beanie hat, Koeman, Allardyce ...

I am though feeling very optimistic these days, notwithstanding the defeats, just watching Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye with Garner behind them. We suddenly, out of nowhere, are a good side. I'll happily clap that.

I don't think managers are paid the big bucks for that.

If the team are climbing the table, they won't give a fuck about what the "Darren's" think (no offence, Darren) but Mark... more motivated to travel a distance to watch Everton and then boast about it on ToffeeWeb... now there is potential.

I should have put "boast"

Could Moyes have crafted something more aesthetically pleasing with the squad Dyche had? I'm not so sure... but that really isn't the point. Moyes has improved enough of Dyche's players to get credit from me.

Nah, fairplay to him, for a cautious, dour, dithering, KITAP1 merchant he's doing okay... up to now.

Compared to this time last season, when we would've given an arm and a leg to be worrying if 7th was sustainable and God forbid we lose the odd game and drop down to 12th.

Next step is to prove the Thursday Cup win... somewhat on the back of Rice's excellent form?... was not a fluke.
Can Moyes, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Grealish and others win the FA Cup?

Let's see how we manage during AFCON.

I'm not expecting a January transfer splurge (singular or pural) but might not Armstrong be just like a new signing?

Can Barry start knocking them in,1, 2, 3. like his name sake Len - will he be able to 'shoulder' the burden?

For the answers to these and other exciting questions tune in to the next thrilling episode of 'The Regents Road Ramblers' - an every day story of Dockside folk.
*Cue theme tune 'Barwick Green'...
Plays 4 bars...
Oops...
Scratching needle on record sound
*Fades in correct Z Cars theme.

Don't you think people should be able respond to your query about number of games attended without being derided as boastful, or compliment the manager's record without being falsely characterized as triumphant?

Isn't it okay for us to enjoy the fact that we're not in a relegation battle for the first time in five years? Must we be irate that there's no title challenge yet?

The sneering simply isn't fair.

Anything can happen and, while such articles are statistically interesting to the nerdish, the end is still 6 months away.

Let's see where we are then before handing out flowers.

Exaggerative??? Read the article, for fuck's sake... Are you really suggesting it's not triumphant???

Sorry, but it is crystal clear that Paul Hewitt (fuelled by this embarrassing cheerleading) came on to goad anybody not prepared to kneel at the feet of Davey Moyes.

I asked him a question because he recently posted on this, an Everton website, that he was going to purchase a ticket when the egg chasers come to Bramley-Moore Dock. A valid question to somebody who was telling the rest of us how we should view Davey Moyes.

He was prepared to pay to see mindless egg chasing, but not to see a team managed by the guy he was championing as some sort of saviour. It was not an open question to "people" as you claim. Nobody else had posted.

When Mark Murphy came along to not just tell us that he had been to four games, but that he had paid a fortune for his tickets, I took this to be a boast. I still do. Especially when he was intimating that he now goes because of the football we are playing under Moyes is so good. He was basically trying to back PH.

I'm not calling for Moyes to raise the bar. I fully expect him to be striving to do that under his own steam. I'm asking for Anjishnu and his band of cheerleaders to raise theirs.

Listening to people triumphantly rejoice that Moyes is doing a better job than Dyche is a bit like listening to a group of boxing fans proclaiming their man is a genuine contender because he has beaten a guy who had done 12 rounds with another opponent 20 minutes earlier.

I don't buy Kevin's claim that we have a good team. We have a goalkeeper who comes for corners with all the authority (and the arms) of a fucken penguin. Our left-back is poor. Our right-back is non-existent. We have a centre-back captain who spends half his time in a coma, the other half on his own goal line, and we have two forwards who specialise in falling over their own feet.

There is a very clear difference between a good side and an average side with 3-4 good players. The latter can and will always be inconsistent. Those who don't get that will ask daft arsed questions about Gary Lineker and bang on about 5-0 strolls in the park which didn't actually happen.

Meanwhile, the Brendans of this world (no offence, Brendan) will claim that the Davey Moyes revolution is the reason why people are travelling long distances to watch Everton -- Seems the widely held belief that they had been doing that since Judith Chalmers invented travel is a complete myth...

Am I sneering? I don't intend to be. I just get mighty frustrated listening to people who won't buy a ticket telling me I am eating chateaubriand when I come out of half our games with the taste of cheap over-seasoned burger repeating itself in my mouth.

I'm quietly pleased that the club has finally signed 2-3 footballers. Fuck knows it was about time... but if you saw a fella dancing out of the ground after the twattings we've had, singing "The School of science is on its way back" Rest assured it wouldn't be me.

I won't be sending a message to our non-footballing owners that they already have another satisfied customer. I want more... I want so very much more before I start putting my hands together.

I only care about this season which has been a mix and match of good and bad so far where any result can move you three or. four or more places in the table.

We could be 4th or 11th on Monday.

Meanwhile, lovely people like Mark, to be fair DH, and the south-west coach, travel long distances to go the match -- not because of Moyes, for fuck's sake, but because they are Evertonians.

I countered that I had been to four matches already (more than the whole of last season, which was the point) partly due to the better football that, yes, Moyes is delivering... But, to be totally honest, because I love the new ground experience. To those blues that go every game I would've said "only" four games, I wish I could go more.

I mentioned the prices as it's the only way I could get a ticket for those games. I won't be able to do that much longer (I'm semi-retired, not earning much) but I'm enjoying the experience this season so much I'm paying money I can't really afford and the missus has the right hump with me. After the Brentford game I doubt I'll go another home game this season.

But I shouldn't need to explain myself because I've not "impressed" someone I don't know and who has, for some reason, taken an aggressive stance towards me. I'm pretty sure I don't know you, Darren, and that you don't know me, so why the ire?

By the way, people who do know me also know that I'm not a Moyes fan. I wanted Iraola in asap, still do, but I can acknowledge he's doing a good job and that we have improved.

I've read some of your stuff on Lyndon's site, Darren, and you're reasonable and even respectful on there. Why are you so nasty on here?

For fuck's sake, it's not the gambling ads that piss me off on here - it's the narks and sneerers. Over and out!

My view of Howard was he was struggling till he appointed Colin Harvey as head coach; within weeks everything changed. I think Howard was a good manager but not a great coach, and the opposite with Colin -- a great coach but not a great manager.

I think that all managers divide fan bases to some extent and Moyes is no different.

I have read Mark's comment again and feel if a smart guy like Mike could interpret my question as an open one, so could anybody else. I apologise to Mark for foolishly accusing him of boasting.

My impatience. Frustration and despair at my club kinda renders me unsuitable for this website. Points don't come across like they do in the alehouse... so I guess its time to take another sabbatical.

I love you all really

Mark Murphy, I'm not sure how anyone could interpret what you said as boasting "Yes -- I've been to four". That's written about as simply as you could.

I wasn't emphasising it... I was agreeing it wasn't "boasting".

I had a season ticket for 15 years. Unfortunately family came into my life and money needed to be spent elsewhere.

Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 22 home games in all competitions (W15 D7) after a dreadful start to the season. Does that not count as most improved? And that is just me giving 10 seconds thought to it.

This type of hyperbole is not helping in convincing supporters that the manager is the right person for the next 2-3 years.

Nobody is perfect, don't let imperfection stop you from posting on here. We all fuckin' have that complaint, same as managers, players and last but not least us bleedin' fans.

Keep your finger working, mate!

Mark, you're a great blue.

PH, I get it mate, I still owe you a pint.

Dodgy

All you can say is, we are trying to play football and the form has improved.

For the here amd now, Moyes is the right person to get us back into the top 10.

There will always been an up-and-coming manager who might offer better. But be warned, their success is rarely guaranteed.

Don't you bleedin' start you "did one“ to the States and left us to face the music, came back for two bleedin' days without a kiss me arse or anything and fuckin' “did one“ again.

I bet you went to see that bird in Stoke, the one who swerved you and I took care of! lol -- just in case you take huff.

For my part I'm probably the least controversial bloke you could meet - I just want a "nice easy life" and try to get along with everyone. As I said, I'm not a Moyes acolyte anyway - I just like watching the blues.

Fuck me, I even went some games when Benitez was in charge. It's the team, not the manager.

Steve @29, I think the gist of the thread is how Everton have improved since Moyes took over from Dyche. The factual statistic that backs that up is that Everton have won 12 more points than they had at the same stage last season. They are factually top of that particular table with a swing of plus 12 points.

For comparison, the Red Shite are -10. Villa are on exactly the same points as this time last season -- but obviously have improved since the start of this, when they couldn't buy a win.

Don't bail, don't change your posting name, just keep it going. We all know there will be some stray bullets and collateral damage.

In the sixties, home programmes kept a like-for-like account of points and home gate, decrease or progress, against the same opposition. The promoted teams were compared with the relegated teams of the previous season.

By the same calculations, the Blues have these comparisons after 13 games:

Pl W D L GF GA GD Pts

Season 2024-25 14 2 6 6 10 19 -9 12

Season 2025-26 14 6 3 5 15 17 +1 24

Represents an improvement of 75%. Just imagine if we had a goal-scoring goal scorer!

I'm made up!

The points deduction made Dyche's first full season a lot harder and then it looked like his head had completely gone before Moyes came in and got us to a similar position to where we would have finished the season before if those points hadn't been taken away from us.

Mark wasn't boasting, he just loves going to watch the blues, and it sounds like the new stadium has simply given him a new lease of life, which is something I can vouch for myself.

But Darren is an old school Evertonian and comes from the era when Nil Satis Nisi Optimum actually meant something. He comes across to me exactly like the type of Everton supporter the late Sir John Moores talked about in the History of Everton video that was narrated by John Motson.

Are we to spell it 'fucken' or 'fuckin'? Asking for a Yank friend.

So 'fucking' it is. nNow stop messin abah wiv diz will yuz.

I thought better of trying to match your fuckin rant. I haven't started drinking yet, I might be back.

Luv ya PK!

Darren -- I'm guessing that put a smile on your dial also.

As for our current status, I compare everything with our 1963 team but my feelgoodometer has just swung past the halfway mark and I like it.

As someone keeps saying "long may it continue".

I suppose assessing the most improved team in the Premier League depends on your starting point and the state of a club at that point.

Not sure that being 7th is the basis for being that excited tbh.

Well, we'd all need to start getting excited at that point.

I'll be even more excited if we get six but I suppose I could settle for a draw away to Chelsea.

I was thinking beat Chelsea and get a draw at home to Arsenal. Think we can do it as well.

If I had seen your post 22. You would never have received an apology.

Your claim that I have taken an aggressive stance on this site against you is simply false. You know it and I know it.

The fact is. I have never addressed you before. I didn't even know of you until your allegation compelled me to track back. Nearly every comment I have posted in the recent past gets a response from you and you're disagreeing on everything.

I have expressed my intense dislike of happy clapping and what I believe to be crap articles but they have mainly been directed at the people who posted the articles.

Good luck finding any post where I have addressed you personally let alone in an aggressive way.

My wife would disagree but I’m a lover not a fighter.

Or was that Michael Jackson?

Anyway, “terrah”!

Paul (52);Ta mate!.

Stop this nonsense about walking away. This site is on its knees at the mo and it needs posters with the strength of their convictions to liven it up.

Both posters I enjoy their views. They are badly needed at this time as it's not just the articles etc that's the problem it's posters who challenge the norm and don't just tell us that Beto is shit every time he walks onto the pitch.

Mark: measured, balanced, one of the fairest posters on here who never goes on hyperbole. A visionary who has a clear view of what he wants his Everton to be.

Darren: the Eric Cantona of ToffeeWeb. Likely to go two-footed into the crowd at any moment, but on his day he's a world beater and if you treat him with respect and a bit of latitude, you will never have one problem with -- a joy to be around.

So fellas, get your heads out of your arses, keep posting and stop this terrah, sabbatical and I don't belong here guff. This is your home ground where all blues stink the place out from time to time.

Why don't the other managers that don't have this defect do better than Moyes when they come here?

Give him the players and he will get results, this season is testament to that. That appies to all the 'top' managers, they are all at the mercy of how good the players are that they manage.

Moyes has been helped greatly by having 3 or 4 top class players in the squad this season, the more we can sign the better he will appear to be.

As far as bringing in another manager is concerned, I think the club has illustrated how difficult that can be over the last 15 years or more, but then again how good were the squads they had to work with.

I just want us to quietly improve the squad. A Brazilian right back linked this morning.

Hopefully we can get someone in that position, and they can improve our play.

Moyes got time Grant, Moyes got left alone to do his job, and looking at things logically if you was manager of Everton, what do you think would be more important, having more money and a shite director of football, or less money, but no real interference from anyone inside the club?

To some posters, writing down these views will automatically make me Anti-Moyes, so hopefully these people are all laughing at me tonight, even though I will be as happy as anyone else, if Everton can finally break our Stamford Bridge hoodoo, today.

I remember being there when his Everton team knocked Chelsea out the cup at Stamford Bridge on penalties though, and I can still remember a Chelsea fan telling us on the tube, that her child hadn’t really watched the match because he was completely mesmerised by the support that the Evertonians, gave our team that day.

Good luck today Everton, and whilst David Moyes is our manager, then I won’t be wishing many people more good luck than the Everton manager. You have got enough money David, so I’m wishing you luck in winning some silverware!

There's nothing wrong in sticking up for Moyes, he has done a very good job since he came back. I'm not interested in agreeing with the in-fashion opinion just for the sake of it.

Good for you, Raymond, the last sentence in particular.