Why the rush to move on from David Moyes?

Look at Nuno Espírito Santo, Graham Potter, Vítor Pereira, Enzo Maresca, Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank. Look how they have fared in the Premier League... and most of them had money to spend.

Everton need stability for a couple of years to gain respect again in the transfer window, David Moyes gives you that. People can say what they want about tactics, but we have lost games through individual mistakes and poor decisions with the final ball.

To me, we should be more interested in signing the best technical coaches who can improve the technique of the players we have got.

When all Evertonians have been asking for, for what's felt like 5 years now, has been the kind of safe, boring, middling season we have seen plenty of other less illustrious clubs manage to have in the past few campaigns.

Bollox. A lot of us have been calling for fun, innovation and positivity.

A lot of us were fed up with this bellend first time around -- and now, history is repeating itself.

A lot of us remember when football was about competing and trying to win something.

This is anti-football, where mediocrity is winning, and Moyes is the ringmaster.

His track record proves that, his tactical inability proves that, his refusal to nurture young talent proves that.

We honestly -- after all these years and with new owners and a new ground -- deserve better than what he has to offer us.

People are saying he's "steadied the ship"... I beg to differ, we are dreadful to watch and chock full of bang average players.

Before anyone says it...no I wouldn't go back to Dyche etc but I don't want to stay where we are either.

I've got some news for you... the season isn't over yet!

Looking at our remaining fixtures, the way we are playing, I cannot see any more than 7 points coming from what's left -- and that was a struggle.

Rohl and Aznou had great games against Aston Villa and Sunderland. Reward: not seen again.

O'Brien is not a right-back, for fuck's sake! And he plays Armstrong wide. Alcaraz has not been seen...

The sooner Moyes is gone, the better.

I want to see entertaining football, not this slow, methodical, predictable dross he serves up. And when he actually stumbles on something near entertaining, you can bet it will revert to type the following game.

He's done his job, steadied the ship and all that. It's time for us to get someone in who actually pays football the way we want it played.

I don't think Moyes will take us to where we all want to be, but the improvement is obvious compared to the years before his return.

If a manager is making improvements season on season, then he should be considered to be doing a decent job and likely inline with the club's owners' initial targets (however frustrating we can be at times). I'm a season ticket holder so I really relate to the home form especially!

I'd give him the summer transfer window and another season and then see how the land lies.

I'll go and hide now!

"Aye, we finished 8th there, what's your problem? That's 10 years in a row we didn't get relegated. Alright, knocked out of both cups first go, fair enough, only scored 44 goals in a 38 game season... but it's staying in the Premier League that counts!"

How long before the penny drops?

The seasons before had been awful, stories of too many people involved in the signing of players, and things slowly and slowly getting worse until it finally unravelled after Covid, and it was clear that Everton had been slowly getting mismanaged for years.

The directors left, the fraud of a chairman remained and, just as the team were slowly beginning to improve despite having no money to spend (except a couple of loans, and Beto, on a "buy now, pay later" deal), the severity of the club's mismanagement was suddenly there for everyone to see when Everton, were deducted 10 points.

This felt draconian because the club hadn't really been able to spend that much money during the previous few seasons (think about the most divisive manager in the club's entire history, and the transfer pot he was given?) but everyone rallied round together and the club came out the other side still in the Premier League, although I think we were very lucky because the standard of the bottom three clubs was probably as bad as it's ever been.

We then had the worry of selling the club, with those charlatans from 777 Partners constantly being in the news, turning up at Goodison regularly, but it was clear that they were never going to get the go ahead to purchase Everton unless they could prove certain things to the Premier League... and it was clear they were never going to be able to do this.

The pressure inside the changing room, must have been enormous and, when the club was finally bought by proper businesspeople, it had taken its toll on the manager, who felt he couldn't take a team that was already struggling (looking at things logically, you can probably see why they were struggling) any further.

Moyes, who already knew the club, came in, and quickly took the squad away from the danger of relegation, but he was helped by already having a very well drilled defence. He was also helped because the mood around the whole club had also began to change because everyone could stop worrying and start looking forward to the final few games at Goodison Park without the worry of a relegation fight.

The fans could also start looking forward to the pipe-dream of a new stadium that had now become reality.

This season has been a relief for many but it's also felt like an anti-climax for many more. The ground isn't everyone's cup of tea, it lacks atmosphere, even though it's allegedly broken the noise barrier, and this is the biggest question imo.

Why does it lack atmosphere? Is it because of the logistics? Is it because people are missing Goodison? Or is it because of the standard of the football that we are watching? Or is it a little bit of all three?

My own view is that Evertonians have lost so much of the spirit that has always made the club so special, although you could counter that by asking "How?" How can I say this after the awe-inspiring incredible coach welcomes, when it was clear that the fans played a massive part in helping Everton survive relegation twice?

I say it because I believe we have lost the belief that's needed to turn us into winners again. We shouldn't be satisfied with not having to worry about relegation, we should always want things that have defined our great football club over the years that made Everton such an illustrious and special football club.

We need to win, not survive. We need to win, not worry about stability... and for this to happen, we need to stop being careful with our wishes collectively.

Let us strive for Everton to once again become a team that plays beautiful football.

I couldn't agree more. Moyes has steaddied the ship and got us well away from our annual relegation worries. It's way too early in the project to start this "sack the manager" nonsense.

Of course I'd like to see a more attacking side but, with the back line being so solid when all fit, it gives us an excellent base to start from.

He definitely deserves a chance to show he's capable of building a more exciting team, but this also falls on recruitment. I genuinely don't think many could have done better with the obvious problem positions of this squad.

If the summer's recruitment is half-decent and these problems are rectified, I would fully expect a big improvement on the eye while still remaining solid defensively.

By the middle to the end of next season, if there's no improvement, I could fully understand questions being asked of Moyes or the board.

Personally, I'm not one for a rapid change of managers unless desperately needed (eg, Benitez).

Alluding to what he might be able to accomplish is simply drowned out by his unnecessary reversion to conservative approaches throughout this season.

The home points problem should have been a key problem to solve. Instead, we get lofty promises of possibly being in the hunt for Europe. Winning home matches is essential for building the winning culture that Tony mentions, as well as advancing in European competitions.

And how will we up our transfer activity while Moyes lets many prospects get dejected for lack of chances? And even if we put in a decent bid, how many players will come here when they see a tendency to play a first eleven into exhaustion?

The signing of Jack Grealish was good for our prospects but he had special circumstances that will not be often encountered.

It isn't that we are in a hurry to get rid of Moyes. We simply have some options that warrant consideration after giving Moyes a full season to show his value.

“ Let us strive for Everton, to once again become a team that plays beautiful football”. That Tony is my footballing heart's desire and I don't think we will ever see it with David Moyes as our manager.

We need a manager with a “beautiful football” mindset. I will get my tin hat now because I would have Roberto back tomorrow.

Then we would play beautiful football in the Championship.

I've just read his name being mentioned with Celtic, but I thought he was getting ready to go to the World Cup with Portugal?

All singing We Shall Not Be Moved.

Great post, mate.

He's had sooooo much time with us, lowered expectations sooooo far, and made a lot of us simply switch off.

Also, I hate the "careful what you wish for" brigade... "If not Moyes, then who?" etc. I wish to win something, anything, be entertained. That cannot happen under Moyes.

Under Joe Royle we didn't have anywhere near the investment (comparatively) that Moyes has had over the years but won the FA Cup and then the Charity Shield.

I struggle to see why people still want Moyes in pure footballing terms and in pure sporting terms. As a club under him, we exist to make up the numbers; I cannot get my head around that.

What happened to "never going back"? Martinez's success was built on Moyes's rigid defencivee mentality. He encouraged attacking football which worked well in his first year but he failed to understand that to win games you must not concede goals. Hence a disastrous 2nd season. He also failed to win a trophy with a golden generation of Belgian footballers.

Moyes has done the job he was expected to do but a lot of the candidates being proposed by TW posters over the years, as Philip #4 pointed out, have failed at their next club and most of their teams are below us in the Premier League table.

Taking that into account, let's be brave and go for Kjetil Knutsen. He had another huge scalp tonight. We could also consider Keith Andrews (maybe not sexy enough) or a really up-and-coming manager like Brian Barry-Murphy at Cardiff City.

Mate, he's shown his value -- 8th is as good as it's going to get.

I see us ending up 11th or 12th with a zero or thereabouts Goal Difference...and Mr Steady Eddy Moyes is given an extension while TFG gets the monetisation of BMD up to speed for a sell on.

At the present time, we are a good mid-table club. We aren't the worst, but, we're a ways away from being the best. And it has nothing to do with the manager.

Paul (15), I have never once felt like we are 'fighting for Europe'. I feel like we are bobbing up and down between 8th and 14th. We win at Fulham and then lose at home to Bournemouth 3 days later. That is this season in a nutshell.

Sadly, we'll just be playing in England with an outside possibility of Wales next season.

My answer was that I rarely watch any team other than Everton as something happening in an Everton game got me off my seat because it was Everton and not for anything particularly spectacular.

Indeed, watching other games than Everton's all seemed almost the same: pass it around the back four and goalkeeper 10 or 15 times then, the better teams, give it to someone standing on the wing and, if that got nowhere, pass it back again and all rave about how much possession they'd had.

At Everton these days, we don't seem to even do that.

Then I said that there were no George Bests anymore and he added Maradonna to that. The conversation was halted when he said, "You don't watch much winning football then."

We've appointed some pretty poor managers for almost the last 25 years and all I seem to hear is that nobody could do better with the players we had or have; unless we start raiding South America for young skillful talent, it isn't likely to change.

As Football Associations introduce financial rules that are turning most domestic competitions into 2- or 3-horse races, the prize these days seems to be qualifying for European competitions in order to make more money.

That might give you the chance to improve and qualify more often. If that fails, then Uefa had better start more competitions or are TV companies at saturation in terms of value for money already?

It appears the only way to break this cycle is to get a manager with altogether new ideas and an Academy that produces ball players. Or are clubs like Chelsea already an example of this on a "stockpiling" basis?

Our current manager doesn't seem to be the now less used "Moyessiah" nor have a winning resume unless you are satisfied with the lacklustre "steady as she goes"...

Moyes doesn't play in attack, that's Barry and Beto who need to improve -- and stop missing sitters.

Which is exactly why I don't want him around beyond the end of this season. It's not enjoyable watching Everton at the moment, it's a bloody chore.

The Moyes backers are quick to mention other managers who have been touted as suitable, but rarely mention Emery at Villa. The Brentford lad gets mentioned occasionally.

But it would be nice to see our Dour Davie shake off the shackles and be more on the front foot. Sadly, that will never happen; he is set in his ways -- and his ways are archaic.

I do not think he will change. That is what we have to expect in the trade-off for stability.

I rarely watch games that don't involve Everton and when I do, I don't usually see a massive upgrade on the football we play. In fact, I sometimes see us playing some nice touches “where it doesn't count”.

The difference is the other teams, the good ones, score goals. KITANO won't produce those goals we need, even if the centre-forward was actually good enough for the Premier League (which ours currently are not).

We won't get relegated with Moyes... We won't win anything either.

It may encourage him to play a brand of football that creates chances for the forward.

I think Roberto has learnt a lot during his time with Belgium and Portugal.

Here are his Portugal stats:-

As of mid-2025, Roberto Martínez has managed approximately 30 matches for Portugal, securing 22 wins, 5 losses, and 3 draws. Since taking over in January 2023, he led the team to a perfect Euro 2024 qualification record and continued a strong winning streak in the 2024-25 Uefa Nations League.

Key details regarding Martínez's tenure with Portugal:

Total Record (Approx): 30 matches, 22 wins, 5 losses, 3 draws.
Goal Record: 76 goals scored and 24 goals conceded.
Highlights: Achieved 9 wins in his first 9 matches (a national record).

Belgium:-

56 wins in 80 matches, yielding a 70% win rate — the highest in the team's history. His tenure included 13 losses and 11 draws, leading the team to a 3rd-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

I admit I have been a “never go back” advocate but I wouldn't mind going back for another season of this:-

Everton 3-1 Chelsea: 12 September 2015

I despair at the lack of thanks and respect we get from the ungrateful moaners with regards to the manager. Some of you would be better suited attending an undertakers' convention, it suits your persona.

12 months ago, we were one point off relegation, we now sit 8th... yet you're still not happy. Has it been a frustrating watch -- especially at home? Yes, of course... but he will learn a lot of his players and put it right.

He knows the deficiencies in the squad and knows what needs to be put right. He is building something, as is TFG, and we need another transfer window to bolster the squad, then hopefully we kick on.

I look forward to the summer window, we have already a brilliant nucleus of players; with the addition of full-backs, possibly another winger and better striker options, Europe will be on the cards.

I would suggest you look around and decide exactly who you would bring in to replace Moyes, looking at other clubs' shambolic messes.

The future is bright and Blue!

Would most Evertonians want him replaced with the likes of Iraola or even Andrews in the summer? Yes.

Would TFG pay Moyes and his staff off and then risk throwing a big transfer behind a whole new management team? Not going to happen.

Instead, we'll get to see what a better-equipped, better-balanced Moyes squad looks like next season. No excuses then.

For those lamenting that finishing 8th isn't good enough this season, apart from perhaps Brentford, who out of Arsenal, Man City, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Man Utd, and Liverpool, should we be replacing?

Then.

We just need half a team of outfield players and Europe will be on the cards.

Do you think we will finish 8th?

Because that's what will happen if he stays. I've continually repeated that his track record throughout his career bears this out.

I would like the chance of actually winning a trophy instead of celebrating survival in March. He doesn't have what it takes, he's proved that throughout his domestic career.

Who will replace him if he goes? I haven't a clue because it's not my choice. If it was, I'd take the Brentford lad all day.

Over his first managerial tenure of around 11 years, he averaged 44 goals scored per 38-game season.

His obsession with defensive tactics saw the goals against kept at negative, or near enough, goal difference to get him the points to finish around 8th.

I would be surprised if he achieves even the average 44 goals scored this season.

He is a great motivator, he works hard, he gets the players working hard. But he just lacks that final 5% that distinguishes the winners from the losers.

He lacks that killer mentality that the top coaches have. And that is why he has just one trophy of note in his 2+ decades in football management.

Mark (25) sums it up perfectly for me: "We won't get relegated with Moyes... We won't win anything either.".

Personally, I think we (TFG) have to think bold and find the next manager. There is a 50% chance that it will misfire and we end up like West Ham, but "nothing ventured, nothing gained", right?

Moyes has certainly got our pride back, and I for one am grateful to him for that. But, time now to mix it up with the big boys.

I would take the chance on Iraola, who I think has done a great job at Bournemouth. Thomas Frank and Oliver Glasner are also decent options. Although they have had a tough season, doesn't mean that they are bad managers.

He's a Groundhog Day manager.

But John summed it up in post 11. In 10 years time, we'd still be making up the numbers @ 8th and winning nothing as Moyes doesn't go for it, he doesn't dare to dream.

If the whole aim of Everton FC is to just concentrate on staying in the Premier League, then what's the point? We're just stepping stones for the winning clubs to accumulate points in their challenge for glory.

I want more for Everton than to be a stable money-making business.

Dare to Dream!

Is it Moyes's fault that Barry and Beto keep missing chances? Yes, we would all like to win a trophy but can you tell me, since Joe Royle, which other manager has won us a trophy?

And yes, I am one of them who will say "Be careful what you wish for" -- we should wait for the summer to see who we bring in before we judge, because this squad needs updating with at least five quality players.

8th-10th more likely.

Given some posters don't care about the performances, simply the results, that should suit them and Moyes just fine.

Let's see how we are placed after the next 5 home games -- Man Utd, Burnley, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City. Our terrible home form has made these games really high stakes.

I would have said Burnley is a certain 3 points... but then I remembered our performances against Wolves, Leeds, West Ham, Newcastle, Spurs, Brentford and Bournemouth.

Both missed simple chances to be two up before we scored.

No way will we finish 8th or above, the way we're playing and the fixtures remaining suggest to me a 12th to 15th position.

Throughout all, I can recall how important every game was, how nervous and excited and passionate I was. That has gone.

Perhaps my age plays its part but I want to watch a team that plays in a way that gets me out of my seat. That stirs the passion, and when the result truly affects my mood.

Currently, I sit quietly. I am nervous but rarely excited. A poor or bad result is accepted with resignation. A good result lifts my spirits but I'm not running around the house in joy.

Now how much of that is down to me or modern football or Moyes and his somewhat dour and tedious tactics is open to debate... but I would love to witness more open progressive footie with the excitement it can bring. Mediocrity merely maintains my malaise.

12th-15th.

Will that be enough for the "careful what you wish" for Moyes fans?

I hate to mention them as I detest that lot formerly of across the park with every fibre of my being, but could you imagine that lot accepting what we have to endure?

I hold them in the same esteem as you but no way would they accept the shite we have watched.

It Means More.

Personally, I am of the opinion that he has underachieved this season; however, the current Premier League table is not yet reflective of that.

If the argument is that Moyes finishes 8th, I don't think his job should be up for discussion. He didn't come here to play football -- even though he said we would be an exciting team this season.

A manager's job is to overachieve; he has done that and with Europe the club can attract a better quality of player. His approach, while infuriating, will have borne fruit.

If Patric is correct and we finish 10th, then that would be an average return for this squad. Considering the standard of football -- his alienation of squad players, he ditched 2 cups, he ostracised our youth for the sole objective of results -- then there would be no worthwhile or logical reason to keep him.

He has put all his eggs into one basket and didn't achieve anything but mediocrity. No evolution -- just same old same old.

Should we finish 12th or 13th, considering we effectively have finished in those positions for the last 2 campaigns, it would be insanity to keep the man next season.

Only those traumatized supporters who unbelievably don't seem to understand the luxury Moyes has had over his predecessors would argue the case.

Incidentally, Patric, in your homage to Moyes, we had an xG against of 49 against an expected xG of 58. You haven't been on the Kevin Molloy sauce, have you?

Nobody is going to change their opinions on Moyes, so come up with something original, Patric.

Can you come up with something original, giving reasons you would like Moyes to continue as our manager next season?

However, I would really like a change for next season. It has been great not worrying about relegation. However, it is really boring at the game. I would, like everyone else, love to win something but first let me enjoy the game. Be entertained and be excited.

If we have to wait for world class players to achieve this, then it is never going to happen.

Yes, this is a bit sad that I might look at that match as a cup-level event. Conversely, we needed a purpose after exiting the cups so early and our belief would have exponentially expanded had we placed above Liverpool, even for a day.

Moyes had to know this. He had to appreciate the meaning of it after talking up Europe. I mean, he really gets us so he had to know.

Then upon getting a fantastic gift, he let the match slip away. Only after going behind was there a sense of urgency in the play.

He could have made it difficult for Iraola but instead played out his hand. This allowed Bournemouth to dominate when their adjustments found space in our defence. Moyes was exposed for lacking ideas in that second half.

This is Moyes for me. Always coming up short in the chances that make good teams formidable. No one fears us with Moyes at the helm.

If the forwards are in front of goal and missing opportunities, that means chances are being created.

Some of Moyes's team selections, and changing winning teams, and late subs, for me are too conservative... but not bringing in full-backs and a striker -- are they down to the owners?

Hopefully we'll finish well up the table. The next 4 or 5 games against tough opposition will tell if Moyes is here next season. In my opinion, I'd bring in a younger more challenging manager in the summer.

Watching my team under Moyes is always the same. One step forwards and two steps back. He has no real will to win a cup. He is too concerned with safety in the Premier League.

His football is predictable. We are predictable. He is giving us no hope at home. He gives no hope to Aznou, no hope to Tyler Dibling, no hope to anyone who isn't a favourite.

He tries nothing new, he is boring. His football is boring. I hate going to the Hill Dickinson Stadium because I know what I'm going to get.

We will lose to Man Utd and that's on Moyes. We won't get relegated. If he's here next season, we won't get relegated. We won't get to a quarter final of either cup and he'll ruin whatever striker we have; we'll win some and lose some. Wup dee fuckin do!

We cannot dare to dream under Moyes. He is a grey man. Our football is drab. The colour of our football is beige. He pisses about in his pre-match pressers, supping his hot coffee and giggling to his favourites, and offers nowt.

He clams up in his post-match pressers and denies responsibility for our tactics. Get rid or we'll continue to stagnate. His football is marginally better than getting relegated. Over and out.

His average goals scored per season for Everton over 11 years was 44 per 38-game season. Is that all down to the forwards over them 11 years?

They just don't put them away.

And give us the goals conceded while you're at it as well, please... just so's we can compare apples with apples.

Yes, Moyes is over-reliant on the defensive side of the game and I do not think he will change; he believes more in experience than youth. You can't improve without stability, and that is what he is providing, like him or hate him.

It is easy to replace a manager but, when you replace him, the next manager may want to build his own team with his own style of play that may need different players, and that could take a couple of seasons to achieve... or he may improve the team he takes over.

Like him or hate his style of play, as an owner, you will need stability to achieve success, and this is what you will get from David Moyes.

I am not a fan of David Moyes -- I am a fan of Everton Football Club, and I have been since 1952. I've seen the good and the bad over the years, but success does not come overnight -- it takes stability and time -- plus in this day and age, financial backing.

Bringing in a new manager, and I would like to see that, is no guarantee of success.

Even not liking David Moyes's style of play, I believe he will be given another season to show improvements before there is a managerial change and the best we can hope for will be games in Europe with maybe a good cup run or win.

Some horrible misses, I agree, but not the amount it's made out to be.

I've just had a look: Barry has missed 7 "good chances" to date. As I said, really bad misses... but not what is portrayed.

Moyes's best in 11 seasons was 64, I believe.

Never mind the "failing to control", "falling over the ball", or "making no effort" chances that went begging.

Do your own research.

We would be currently 15th if the Premier League table if it was based on expected goals. So we have not created “loads of chances”.

Some people are never satisfied...

Would you have him over Moyes? Asking for a friend...

Tell your friend: "In a fucking heartbeat!"

I've never seen a Moyes team being as snide as any Arteta team but one thing that I think that runs through the veins of both these managers is a very over-cautious nature.

Arteta has had some great players and, whilst Moyes has had a few, I don't believe he has been as fortunate with the standard of players afforded to his former player.

So, if he does get run out of London, my own view is that it won't be because the Arsenal fans are spoiled.

He will never have a better chance at a title than this season. He's tried to win it too carefully this season imo.

I was thinking of him as an advance on Moyes's methods. Also, thinking he would be a good fit for our present state, with a motivating grudge. Perhaps unjustified given Tony's final sentence.

One trophy in 6 years, I believe. A fortune spent on transfers, mate.

Probably pretty expensive...

However, if the summer transfer window brings him the resources he wants and he doesn't make proper use of them next season, that might be an entirely different story.

Seriously, if they are going to back him, and this is something that should apply to any manager, then they have got to give that manager time, unless results really dip or the standard of the football isn't improving.

Further to your article, aside from speaking about the initial impact, you spoke about the defence and something to build on. Patric, that was already established long before Moyes got here.

He was given a whole plethora of attackers, midfielders, wide players and an attacking full-back to improve that side of the game.

I don't see too many players improving like say they have done under Andrews at Brentford.

Mike, I couldn't get back to you yesterday but posted on the squad utilisation thread earlier.

Tactically clueless, same formation, same favourite players, week-in & week-out, destroys the kids and blameless for every defeat.

But tell me this: What has he won domestically in 30 years of management???

It will be more of the same from Moyes if he's here next season. He has played the same style of football for all of his time in management since he first came to Everton. He won't change now.

The manager in the following season, if he does stay, would inherit £125 million worth of Moyes-type player.

He got that one right.

Ha, look at the teams above us! Look at the teams below us, the point differences, and our fixtures.

We have created more chances than Burnley, for fuck's sake.

Are you sure?

As we all know, Davey sets his teams up to play a percentage game. I would have thought a large percentage of the paltry amount of chances we get have came about through forced error.

No doubt somebody will have stats... but they won't differentiate between the two.

£125M?

They'd inherit the England goalkeeper;
Branthwaite on a long-term contract;
Garner on a long-term contract;
Dewesbury Hall on a long-term contract;
Ndiaye;
Armstrong;
With other promising players not mentioned.

Or Moyes gets to spend £150-200M for his second major transfer window since he has been back. 4 or 5 starters to raise the bar.

Not something upon which to make a case.

I agree fully with Dale's and Christy's comments. No sentiments -- just get a younger manager with quick thinking that will get us excited.

Moyes is like a bad smell that's hanging around too long.

The whole full-back issue nails it for me. Progressive managers look for full-backs with pace, attacking intent, good on the ball etc. Especially in the modern game. Moyes defaults to 6½-foot centre-backs shoehorned into that area to give us height on set pieces and defending back-post headers.

He did it in his first spell and has always done it. A dull as dishwater, anti-football curmudgeon. Who never takes any blame, but takes all the credit.

Did I mention how boring he is?

My apologies for it getting held up in the vetting -- we like to make sure no Red Shite kopite twats post on here, if we can avoid it. Your perspective showed some fresh thinking, and you should be good to post more now if you wish.

Thanks for sticking with us and being one of the (previously) silent majority!

I'm glad we're not fighting relegation but I'm not a Moyes fan. I'd love to see Eddie Howe take the helm. Just him. Nobody else. UTFTs

The only way he'll come to us is the fact he's an Evertonian since he was a kid.

I just can't ever ever bring myself to say “we will lose to”, before we even get to the day of the match. We can beat Man Utd!

Save those negative vibes for the Live Forum if it's still 0-0 after 5 minutes!

I didn't like that prediction... it got right up my nose.

A bit like those noxious emissions.

I want us to win but I'm a realist. Moyes is the manager. I don't need a crystal ball to know what he'll serve up.

He is like a leopard never changing its spots and his strategy would always keep Everton mid-table

We have had some good results this season and some awful ones particularly at home against arguably lesser opposition.

That is mainly due to a lack of quality up front which will remain that way for the rest of the season and that fact alone will lose us too many points.

If the board decide to keep Moyes then they need to get that quality strike force which will mean offloading some of the current squad. None of us really believe now that Barry or Beto are good enough.

”We cannot dare to dream under Moyes. He is a grey man. Our football is drab. The colour of our football is beige. He pisses about in his pre-match pressers, supping his hot coffee and giggling to his favourites, and offers nowt.”

No football manager should feel that comfortable.

It's that arrogance in his pre-match conversations that annoys me the most because he's telling everyone: " I'm mid-table Mickey and we might win or we might lose and my job is safe because look where they've been since I left here."

He thinks we deserve him. He thinks we're punching above our weight now we're not fighting relegation. I want a manager who reaches for the stars and fights to win on all fronts.

I knew we'd go out at Wolves in the League Cup and I knew we'd go out of the FA Cup. He never disappoints me. I know what I'm getting. Bang average predictable football for the most part.

We can beat Man Utd and I personally will never ever predict a loss against even prime '70s Brazil before a ball has been kicked.

I cannot for the life of me understand why Blues go on the pre-match thread to predict a 2-0 (eg) loss? What do they get from that? “See how good I am at predicting doom? See how good I am at football”?

It is negative shite, no matter who the manager is. Pickford, Branthwaite, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, Garner would all, in my opinion, get in Man Utd's team. That's half a team.

We can beat them... the fuckers! If Moyes goes for them!

Iraola.

Get him in with his recruitment team and we'll be fighting for Champions League.

Re Martinez -- good as that game was, I'm not sure it was an actual 'Martinez Masterstroke' -- Naismith only got on due to an injury, he wasn't selected.

How many of the players on your list did David sign?

But the timing is all wrong right now, I know that.

You didn't happen to go to a Christian Brothers primary back in the day?

Less than 39% winning percentage for his career, albeit with a couple of Spanish Cup semi-finals. Less than 38% winning at Bournemouth with no Cup runs -- out early this season.

Sets up his teams for quick counter-punches and free-kicks, and does it well, but not known for style or creativity.

So what's the attraction, aside from the movie-star hair?

Jose (who I like) looked completely bamboozled by it all.

Imagine if that happened at our new stadium against Man Utd. The place would be like a mad house because, deep down in the most cautious of us, that football is in our DNA.

What's Our Name?

1 August 2026: 'One of Kieran McKenna, Cesc Fabregas, Roberto De Zerbi, Xabi Alonso, Oliver Glasner, Edin Terzic, Sebastian Hoeness, Julian Nagelsmann, Andoni Iraola, Matthias Jaissle, Ruben Amorim, or Thiago Motta was introduced as the new Everton manager on the first day of June, replacing David Moyes who was dragged kicking and screaming into a taxi on May 25 shouting incessantly "my away record, what about my away record" after the club finished14th in the Premier League'.

List of managers who will be available to hire this summer:- Iraola, Glasner, De Zerbi, Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso, Low, Deschamps, Frank, Maresca, Marco Silva, Pochettino, Rose, Terzic.

Not commenting on which one will be the best fit for the job, if there is a vacancy. But this summer will be unusual in the number of managers who will definitely be looking for a new job.

I doubt you'll have been to Bournemouth. Talk about the good, the bad and the ugly.

It doesn't just have a small stadium. Considering the size of the town, it has a small football fan base. If they doubled the ground capacity, they would struggle to fill a 25,000 seater.

But they are a smashing club and the only reason they are still in business is the passion of people connected to the club. All in all, given the problems they have faced, it's amazing they are even in the Premier League.

I don't go in for championing other managers while we are not even looking for one, but I most definitely do understand those who plump for Iraola. He is everything Moyes isn't. He is decisive and bold with his substitutions and, when his players go forward, they really look as if they mean it.

What could he do with a club the size of Everton?... Who knows?

Many, many Evertonians looked at Eddie Howe when he was the one defying gravity on the south coast. As a long time TW"er, you will remember that. Unfortunately, they were shouted down by people who wanted a safer pair of hands.

Newcastle took the chance; we didn't. While the most undeserving fans in the UK are experiencing an absolute roller coaster of a time up in the North East, we are still basking in the glory of being in a safe pair of hands...

The club will feel vindicated in the appointment if the pre-season objectives are achieved.

That will disappoint some, but the club won't risk a huge amount of upheaval if it can avoid it. Instead, they'll look at the rest of the Premier League and thank the stars that they've not sacked managers through the season, or having to replace a talented manager with someone who will struggle to maintain those standards.

There is a core of players to the side now at Everton who are young and delivering. There is another batch that will probably take longer, and then there is an old guard that will be phased out by a transfer kitty weve only seen once of its kind in 5 years.

The net transfer spend over the last 5 years is still only £12M, the same as Jack Grealish's annual wage with us. This will be recognised as why the squad still has major deficiencies within it, and why a competitive team is still coming up short.

The club will increase the middle table wage bill, and spend £150-200M to push them up the table. Only then will a decision be made renew or dispense with Moyes's contract, in line with next season's objectives and outcomes.

Mr Gaynes is bizarre in his Iraola lecture. An outlier, perhaps, or in Yank speak, left field?

I wouldn't describe any of those managers as just 'safe hands'.

The allure of Ancelotti was too much. A generational manager. Koeman had the warning signs there at Valencia, a club not too dissimilar to us. And anyone who had done their homework would have quickly killed the idea.

I respect Bournemouth as highly as I do Brentford, and for the same reason, but that's hardly relevant to whether I'd make Iraola our first choice.

I'd rather have a manager who has actually performed better than Moyes (whose winning percentage in this stint at Everton is fractionally higher than Iraola's at Bournemouth).

Hiring a manager because his players "look like they mean it"? Not for me. Proven winner, please. Record of silverware, please. They are out there.

Another reason I don't think Moyes will be sacked this summer -- he's under contract and Friedkin would have to pay him, plus a new manager with perhaps an even higher salary that would also come out of our SCR limit.

Isn't Moyes making something like £100k/week? We could attract a very good player for that, or a couple of talented youngsters. Do you figure Friedkin would rather spend his money on two managers than on improving the squad?

The first Asian pupils entered the school in the year that the school became private; dentists' and doctors' kids from Hightown, Formby, Freshfield, and Ainsdale. Girls followed later and now outperform the lads.

Two Champions League winners and an international manager. all with a penchant for playing cautious football, even when they had international superstars within their ranks.

Good job we didn't go for a safe pair of hands or it may well have been boring.

Nice to see you finally admit Jack Grealish earns £300k a week.

'Do you figure Friedkin would rather spend his money on two managers than on improving the squad?'

I don't think that Saint Daniel the Absent has much of a clue about what is going on at my lifetime-long beloved Everton.

His Roma record suggests that your comment is, erm -- Go TFG -- at the very least questionable. In other words, like the rest of us, you have no idea.

The Barcodes have a 40/60 chance of getting past Man City in the last 16. Hovering around the Champions League is nice but, at some point, the Saudi state will despair of this monotony. I would take Eddie Howie at our club in without any misgivings. Should have added him to my earlier list.

IEHWT

It is your last paragraph that resonates with me, mate.

Unfortunately for us Evertonians, it's been a very long time since we witnessed that type of football, and it has been very rare in all the games David Moyes has managed us over the years.

I thought Moyes left us a good team; I thought he was unlucky with having the spine of his team out injured for his only cup final.

But I've never thought David was brave enough and I've never really believed that he genuinely understands what Everton Football Club is truly capable of (of course I'm aware we have been terrible for years), especially now we have moved into a fantastic new stadium -- and we should be looking to take the stabilisers off!!!

I wasn't trying to sell Iraola to you, but you asked why there is enthusiasm for him.

I agree with you: Moyes will not be sacked. The huge amounts of empty seats we see so often at BMD long before the end is something I have already resigned myself to for the foreseeable.

As it happens. I won't be there for the next 3-4 of them, so hopefully I will be less aware of the sheer numbers streaming out because they can bear no more.

I too was a “guest” of the mad monks but at West Park Grammar, St Helens. I always thought they were Jesuits but turns out not the case.

But my question was, with trepidation and in a roundabout way of asking, why the beef with Mr Gaynes?

Re Howe - I was surprised the Saudis kept him on this season. I assumed they would think he's not a “big enough” name for that project. But he'll be out this summer and available.

I'd still go for Iraola personally but I reckon bigger fish will be in for him -- probably Man Utd as it looks like Spurs are set on Pochettino again. The dicks!

Glasner is an interesting one though, and I suppose he qualifies as a “proven winner”... but then again, so was Martinez!!

Can you expand on what you consider Moyes is talented at please?

What "standards" would a new manager struggle to maintain

He probably wouldn't have been one of the truly evil ones though -- there were plenty of them in that now thankfully abandoned 'brotherhood'.

Not only are there empty seats towards the end of games, 6 or 7 minutes before half time, there are loads of empty seats, and the same just after the 2nd half starts. It's a bit like watching England games at Wembley where the corporate lot don't return till they have had their fill of prawn sandwiches.

Maybe the extra 12,000 seats we have at Hill Dickinson Stadium compared to Goodison Park are filled with tourist supporters just there for the experience?

My golden rule that I have passed on to my sons and grandsons is never boo and never leave early. Can you imagine people going to the theatre and pouring out 10 minutes before the end?

Being charitable, maybe they leave early because of the absolute nightmare of getting away from the ground, the exits in the dock wall need widening -- and they need to scrap all the roads off Great Howard Street being closed.

Finally, can we stop these so-called fans who claim to be supporters booing at half-time? The clue is in the word 'supporter' ... but maybe many should be classed just as 'spectators'.

If the play was as boring as our football, the theatre audience would pour out early.

I've never booed an Everton team. But I have wanted to leave early at a lot of the games this season, but I nearly always stay.

I did make my way down the top of the mountain that is the East Stand halfway through the embarrassing penalty shoot-out v The Makems. I could take no more of that.

I can talk shite with the best!

If I'm being honest, the last thing I want to do is go and watch us playing Man Utd with an 8 o'clock kickoff on Monday night, but I suppose this isn't Everton's fault, and more about how we have allowed the game to go.

More TV money, better players, but some ridiculous kick-off times, and a sport that just keeps getting more expensive to watch, to go alongside it.

I'm at the top of the cliff; other than ToffeeWeb, it's rare I read anything much else about football, but I'm even getting bored going to the match now, and this is something I never thought would happen to me.

Haven’t left early since.

What has happened is that Bournemouth now are playing their 3rd and 4th place centre halves. If that's wasn't bad enough mid way through the season again their top scorer and best player Semenyo.

The job he is doing is remarkable. If he came to us you would view our players in a different ligh. In his pre match presser he was talking about our players and done so with vigour.. Could you imagine what he could do at Everton where he can build and I think we have a chance because I don't think he would go to the likes of Spurs and Tfg could sell him their vision.

If that's true, it is ridiculous. And shows why fans will stop going to matches.

You would both walk across broken glass to watch high quality, attacking football? Me too.

I’ve given it a miss a few times this season, gave my ticket away. The lack of quality in our football is soul-destroying.

I’m a realist when it comes to football and understand that, until we have the players, we will struggle to play wonderful football.

But there are loads of alternatives to the tripe we have been served up the last 5 years or so. Whether that’s direct football with lots of corners and shots or a defensive set-up with quick counter-attacks etc doesn't really bother me.

What I just can’t abide is getting to the stadium and knowing I’ll be bored to tears. It’s soul-destroying.

If you want me admit Grealish earns £300k a week, I've no problem to say he does if that's what is reported at Man City, or that Everton are reported to pay 75% of that figure.

Allardyce was clearly just an interim, as they were shitting themselves rightly or wrongly, over relegation. Benitez, yep lost for words on that one.

John 141 - I was referring to Fulham, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace looking fir a new manager. No guarantee that the next will be as good.

While we are on the subject, what in your opinion is David talented at?
And what standards would we struggle to maintain if he left the club?

You said you have given your ticket away a few times this season.

Can I ask how many times you gave your ticket away under Dyche?

On many occasions is the answer.
Dyche and Moyes style, or lack of, football is identical.

Thats fair enough and I respect your views as a committed fellow Blue.

We will just have to agree to disagree about Moyes.

All the best, mate.

I don't think I've ever agreed with you on anything. However every time I read your posts I can see what a great Evertonian you are.

Not only that but you always talk football and don't get involved in some of the silly stuff on here.

Top man!

Can you tell me were Newcastle are in the league, with a much better squad than ours?

They will finish strongly. Like they always do.

My over-riding preference is Iraola but only if he's allowed to recruit the players that suit his style.

And for all Moyes’s shortcomings, John, his football is nowhere near as dire as I saw under Dyche. That Fulham home game when we drew 1-1 will forever haunt me! 1-0 down and still playing damage limitation until the last few minutes!

Punched above his weight a couple of times at Everton but normally he had around the 7th or 8th highest wage bill and this is probably around where he averaged during his very long spell last time.

He got to one cup final and two other semi-finals in about 22 attempts at the domestic cup competitions, and he never got to the last eight of any European competition he entered while he was the manager of our club.

Not really competing on any front, just get them to around 6th or 7th in the table and take loads of praise, for doing a fantastic job.

An ability to put the club in a stable position for a couple seasons, while the club repairs its battered playing staff, finances and reputation, with a player bank that has plenty of juice still in it.

The Friedkins need to invest long-term, and not firing managers and short-term transfer fixes to stay in the Premier League. The cycle had to be broken, and a reset made.

I'd expect the objective, once relegation worries were overcome, was to bring European football in two seasons with a younger squad, paying money it could afford. He either delivers that, or the owners will make the change.

And what standards would we struggle to maintain if he left the club?

Hopefully none, his standards would be embedded in the club.

One approach to buying players, youth players coming through, hard to beat, players being fit etc etc etc.

The club needs to understand its DNA of what players, manager, and style works, and what doesn't. There can't be a return to the scatter gun approach to buying shit players for huge money, for them not to deliver and leave on frees.

Martinez inherited a decent setup, bought well, and it evaporated in 18 months. That can't happen again.

£12M divided by 41 (weeks) = £300k give or take an Alan Whicker or two... I wonder what it works out as after bonuses?

Makes no neverminds, I think we have finally established that Moyes has deffo agreed to pay "international superstar" wages to somebody who many of his supporters are claiming is nowhere near an "international superstar".

Add the fact that TFG will be asking what they are getting in return for the £100M they have already spent on players like Barry, Dibling, Aznou, and Rohl and you will get a pretty clear picture as to why Moyes will not get anywhere near the budget many are predicting he will get in the summer.

They know he will protect their investment by keeping us up. Unfortunately, they also know that watching Everton next season will be about as exciting as a week in Talacre.

They won't be watching, so it matters not to them.

So moving from a midfield of Doucoure, Harrison and underperforming Garner and Ndiaye, to Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye, super Garner, and Jack Grealish is like a week in Talacre, and just 'keeping us up'?

And the world class away record, did that actually happen, or did you just have a nightmare that you are desperately trying to forget?

Their first debate could be whether to call it Wuthering Lows, or The Wuthering Lows.

Best 2 out of 3 falls or submissions? Maybe that was the existence of God.

Out of nowhere, he offered that up where he said the club are really backing me. The question was not even about TFG.

Now that is out of the way, the topics have been about the Manager and the new stadium, so where do I stand on both?

In regard to the stadium, the first I will touch on is all the evening kick-offs we seem to get shafted with. Some might be going for the first time and, as it is a new stadium, some will be mindful of getting away and. if travelling by train will not want to miss their last train home.

In time, people will get used to arriving and leaving and timescales; as each year passes, more will stay to the end.

In regard to people leaving their seats before half-timet and then coming back up a good 5-10 minutes after the second half has kicked off, the club has set it up in a way where people will go down for a pint or something to eat in the knowledge they have the match on the TVs all around the ground on the concourses.

Another factor in the atmosphere is a lot of friends got split up due to the years of season ticket loyalty the club brought in. Also, a factor was you picked your season ticket purely on a seat view. A better idea might have been to invite season ticket holders down for an actual feel of where you could be sitting. By the time the test events came around, most had already bought their season tickets.

Going forward, people will change their seats and look to try and get closer to their friends.

How can we make the stadium atmosphere better going forward? Well, we have around 3,000 season ticket holders who travel away and never stop singing... My suggestion would be to house them all in the Lower South Stand section and, like some other games, have the Lower South as unreserved seating, so people can sit and sing together.

Another suggestion would be for the club to add an additional 2,000 season tickets for people on the waiting list. There are too many empty seats in the stadium due to Seat Unique.

Once the novelty of a new ground wears off, they will struggle to please day trippers or the 92 ground hoppers, put the fans first going forward.

Right, now to the Manager...

In large parts, Moyes has done a great job steadying the ship, he has got us way away from the danger zone and ensured a smooth transition to the new stadium without us looking over our shoulders at the Bottom 3. It's hard to judge with having neither a right-back or a decent centre-forward, our slow up play is dreadful going forward.

So. after the plus I gave to Moyes, I find it hard for a Manger who insists on playing our better centre-back at right-back and Bill and Ben up top.

henever O'Brien has started at centre-back this season, Everton have not lost a game. During Keane's 3-game suspension, we saw a better balance to the team with Patterson at right-back, and O'Brien at centre-back, but Keane came straight back in and O,Brien pushed out to right back.

We saw McNeil getting put in the team for weeks on end, yet the likes of Dibling, Iroegbunam and Rohl get a game then dropped, neither getting a run of games like McNeil, Barry, Mykolenko or Beto. I pull my hair out that Mykolenko plays every single game and not even a thought of giving Aznou the last 10 or so minutes of the game.

We can either finish a few places higher or lower so why not try a Plan B? Give the likes of Aznou, Rohl, Alcaraz, Dibbling more minutes, but make sure Dibbling has at least Patterson on the right to help him.

So how do I feel on the Manager front, me personally I would thank the Manager at the end of the season and look to bring a younger Manager with fresh ideas, Ireola would be a good fit for me, even Glasner, someone who can take the club forward and not be afraid.

Moyes for me has a ceiling and when he reaches that its like the punching above our weight mentality kicks in, playing experianced players out of position before giving other players a chance, so for me I would look to bring a fresh Manager in this summer.

Those that are happy with the stabilisation, relegation threat avoidance, multiple away wins at grounds we haven't for years. Not looking over shoulders.

Then there's those who want more and want to see a path to deliver better football. A team good with the ball as well as good without it. Ambition beyond mere stabilisation.

The second group don't see better football, any chance of success under Moyes.

Glass half-full or half-empty? Take your choice…

Saying that... Have we still got a trophy cabinet?

They have a note at the top of the threads that states posts may be removed if not on topic.

You may be happier on there?

All of us want more. Better football, Europe, cup runs, all of it.

Yet it's possible to also be pleased for the moment with the stabilization and the progress made so far from the dismal depths we were plumbing 14 months ago.

The latter does not exclude the former.

Thank you for your advice.

I have written several articles for Evertonia. They have each been published, so hopefully they weren't that bad. I definitely intend to do more.

I have been somewhat restricted in movement lately and have spent far too much time visiting various Everton websites in the hope of seeing Evertonian views about Everton.

Fortunately, I am recovering and won't be tied to my laptop for much longer. Dont worry. I will still pop in from time to time if only to see if you guys have been granted your own non-footy threads.

In the meantime; Have you tried Woman's Weekly? They talk about virtually everything other than football on there. Films and clothes and everything.

Also, they are ever so gentle with each other. No Micky taking. No disputes Even sarcasm is frowned upon.

You'd love it.

You can't get to a better situation without a reset, better foundations and better players.

Frankly, I couldn't care who the manager is. I just care that someone can pull it together long enough that the team has foundations to kick on to better things.

To do that, the manager needs to be somebody who can weather it through with a club like ours for 2 to 3 years.

Not an Ange appointment where they're done in 41 days. Not someone who is flavour of the month that is doing it at some no-mark club, where nobody cares if they lose.

The ludicrous calls for Frank, Potter, Lampard and Co, have shown that managing clubs like ours is fucking hard work. Lasting 12-18 months, is for stupid clubs.

So that's my reason for Moyes. There's no shortcut to success. And those who think there is are kidding themselves.

Have a good weekend fella and try to chill.

Xxx

I think many forget that we achieved 48 points under Dyche the season before. We only lost Onana from that squad and he wasn't always a starter and more of a squad member.

We added players like O'Brien, Ndiaye, Lindstrom, Iroegbunam and Mangala... clearly Dyche was drastically underachieving with the talent we now had and whoever the new manager was the only way was up.

This season we now have added George, Grealish, Barry, Aznou, Rohl, Dewsbury-Hall, Armstrong, Alcaraz and Dibling... Yet some people are talking about relegation escapes, stability and happy to finish 13th. This all feeds into the Moyesiah, our saviour bollox.

A Top 10 finish should be the minimum expectation for this squad; if Moyes doesn't even match what Dyche did, then he should be thanked for last season and immediately shown the door. Personally, as I explained before, he should sacked if Patric's Opta figures are correct anyway, for said reasons earlier.

You have a good weekend too.

Anyway back to Everton, let's hope we can finally roll up at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and get a much needed three points on Monday evening.

Up the Toffees.

Two good lads by the sound of it, definitely two good Blues.

Long may it continue. End of the day, we all want what we think is best for our football club.

The circumstances as they are, there will be no change.

I'm all for change when a dressing room has been lost. When we're on an absolutely unacceptable run of form (see Spurs). When we're in genuine danger of relegation. And more generally when it looks like there's no prospect of a manager getting things back on track.

I don't believe in giving a manager time for times sake. But our current trajectory is good. Change for change's sake? Or worse still, some misguided notion that as a club we can expect to be competitive at the top of the best domestic league in the world? I certainly don't believe in that.

We're building towards being what passes for competitive outside of the elite, moneyed clubs (a younger, better balanced squad with saleable assets, greater commercial revenue, etc.). Stay the course for as long as that's the case.

We've got the best away record in the Premier League, for fuck's sake... with the worst squad. But that's not the manager, oh no, that just happened.

He thought he was doing the right thing by sacking Mourhino 2 years ago and bringing in club legend De Rossi to replace him. The result was chaos and three more manager changes in the next 18 months.

I think Danny B is right. I really doubt Friedkin will change managers unless he absolutely has to.

Doesn't seem a bit over the top to me. Seems perfectly reasonable. In pre-season, would we all have accepted 8th as acceptable? I would! Whoever was in charge, and that's the caveat isn't it?

Some fans never wanted Moyes, they will never be on board, they won't admit the good work done in a short space of time.

That's the reason I was against going back for Moyes.
If he was Iraola, Thomas Frank, or some other fashionable manager, those same fans would be on board, talking about projects, long-term strategies, and the away form.

I just don't get the noise around him. If we were struggling, then yes. But we are comfortable, we are now getting players back after being so low due to Afcon and injuries...

Get a Grip!!!!

I agree that this would be an achievement and certainly no need for change.

However, if we were to finish bottom half and he is not sacked, I would certainly think that Steve Brown may be right and these owners are only interested in Everton as a cash cow.

Obviously they have been a disaster at Roma but I was hoping that they would have learned from their mistakes, like hiring Mourinho, whereby Roma actually have improved since he left despite Mike's version.

Roma have gone from serial title challengers to regular 6th place finishes under TFG.

Danny you argue there is no need to change but judging by what we are doing, TFG is copying Chelsea's methodology.

So is Moyes the man to nurture young players and get the best out of them?
Is Moyes iimproving players? No; only Garner ...while many have regressed.
Is Moyes tactically versatile and astute? No
Is Moyes using his squad to best effect? No
Is Moyes producing the exciting football he promised? No

When you look at Chelsea's model, they are looking for the next bright manager to grow with the team.

Moyes has picked his players in the pursuit of points and nothing else. If Everton finish 10th or below, he will not have achieved these results despite him ditching the two cup competitions and holding back the development of many players. If this is acceptable to TFG then they are clearly demonstrating a lack of Ambition something which has been levelled at them in Roma.

Kevin, our away record is very good under Moyes this season -- but we are 5th in the league table at present -- not 1st.

You have the audacity to call Darren's words 'tosh' when you write this: 'world class away record'? What 'world class away record'? In which world is a 50% win rate away record 'world class'? Perhaps I ought to ask you directly, Kevin: do you think that a 50% win rate away from home is 'world class'?

Kevin, do you remember that awful Australian soap opera 'Home and Away'? I ask because never ever do you discuss our home record while you ejaculate over our 'world class' away record?

So, I'll ask you directly, Kevin. How would you characterise or describe Moyes's home record this time round?

As I type, it is a win rate of 31.8%. Your thoughts and comments about this please... or are you having 'a nightmare that you are desperately trying to forget?'.

Kevin, I'd love to read your thoughts on Moyes's hair.

Can you remind me what today's date is? Is it May 24?

Hang on, I'll check. In 'merica it's February 20 so I suppose it is in the UK too.

You might want to revisit @195 on May 24.

Whatever tickles you, mate!

If it wasn't Moyes in charge and we were 8th today, UK time 8:33 pm, there wouldn't be the same noise!

this isn't difficult. Since he took over that basket case of a side, he's got the best away record in the Premier League bar the league leaders. That's remarkable.

If Arsenal lose their next and we win, we'll have the best again. And for some weird reason, after a decade of shite, Evertonians are falling over themselves to say 'So what?'

Some fans think it's easy, they have no patience. Yes, Moyes was always going to be divisive, but we are now talking about how we are playing, compared to how we are losing or battling relegation.

Yes, people will say, oh that's the Kenwright effectL "plucky little Everton"... It's not!

The reality is, you have to walk before you can run; you don't go from the abysmal football of the last few years, the consistent under investment in the team, the selling of the only decent players we had, to just being good !!

Some fans think Nathan Patterson will cement our place as Champions League contenders, or Aznou will come in and transform us in to a Pep style of football.

Have some patience, or we will be spinning the manager wheel like Nottm Forest!!!

I'm wondering if any other manager was in charge and Everton were playing the football they are currently playing, would I be looking forward to going the match on Monday night? And my answer is still the same: No.

I've told my nephew, I'm going to take him for something to eat before the game because if I get in our house and get comfortable, then there's no fucking way I'm gonna want to go back out the house to watch us.

I'm using his whole record.

Yes, Evertonians fretting about first world problems like style of football, after we've been utter dross for 10 years.

We go from that to Jack Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall, with Garner in England form, and the effing moaning is off the charts.

If Everton had beaten Brentford and Wolves in the space of a few days at the start of the New Year, then I think they would have put themselves into the Champions League places. But Moyes preferred O'Brien at full-back and the balance of the team suffered once again.

We aren't ready for Champions League football, or any type of European football, according to many, but I cast my mind to the last time Everton finished 4th... Although we weren't ready for European football then either, it didn't stop the season being very, very enjoyable for every single Evertonian.

Europe was there for the taking, imo, but Moyes wasn't backed by TFG and went back to playing certain players in a formation that doesn't suit us at home, and we lost a chance to make this season a hell of a lot more exciting than it's been.

Stability? There's nothing wrong with stability, but the Premier League has been wide open this season. With a little bit more ambition, I think Everton could have been moving onto the next stage of their rehabilitation a lot sooner.

Take that year we qualified for the Champions League and ended up getting beat 5-1 away from home by a third-rate team from Romania?

I'm getting old and boring, and should obviously be happy with Everton being 8th, even if the football is rigid and boring?

I think we have accepted enough shite over the last (take your pick) however many years, but surely we have got to start regaining our ambition soon; otherwise, what exactly is the point?

So what if we have one of the best away records, so what? It's inconsistent, boring football. Moyes is happy with his lot. He likes being Mr Inconsistent because this means he wins some, he loses some, and we accept it.

Evertonians have been served up such dross for so long that we think what Moyes has done this season is admirable. You can read it in this thread. People think he's doing really well because we have been brainwashed to expect dross and when it rises slightly above dross, we applaud him.

We need to raise our expectations and not accept this bang average football. School of Science? We should not accept this rubbish we are served up.

Let's get back to that top table and stop swallowing this tripe he serves up.

I directly asked you to charactertise and comment on Moyes's home record of a 31.8% win rate.

You always avoid doing this even when asked directly. Could you do so please.

'Remarkable' is not 'world class' Kevin.

Our commercial revenue was less than £50M in the most recent figures published. Villa's was close to £90M. The Sky 6? Between £239M and £408M.

The new stadium is projected to propel us to just behind Villa in terms of revenue.

That's the scale of the challenge. We're making the right moves in terms of becoming what passes for competitive, but the odds are and will continue to be stacked against us truly establishing ourselves at the top table in the way that we perhaps have been in the past.

It was brutal.

I'd argue we are only where we are because, as you point out, the Premier League is so open. And we are not 8th compared to 4th or 5th because O'Brien has been at right-back.

I'd argue we've drawn or won other games due to O'Brien rather than losing them. Obviously he's not a long-term right-back solution.

I agree about Wolves and Brentford being missed opportunities, but Patterson has not shown he's anything special, its not a guarantee he plays and we win. I'd say, if he plays, the chances we lose increase, due to his defencive deficiencies.

No player, tactics, formation or substitutes makes this team or squad Champions League challengers. If we finish where we are now, it would be an excellent season; if we got Europe of any kind, it's a huge over-achievement.

18 months ago, would you have thought you could have posted "They would have put themselves in the Champions League places" -- and still not be happy?

Some of my favourite trips came watching Everton getting tonked, except for the time in Fiorentina when a very naive approach cost us a place in the quarter-final.

We definitely had a team that was good enough to win that competition, especially with the final only being 30 miles away in Manchester. Definitely an opportunity missed, that one.

Remember, Dyche was effectively the spokesperson for the club in those dark days, and not just about matters on the pitch. The players could not help but see the stress wearing on him. The pall was orders of magnitude beyond what was observed on TW every day back then. Go ahead, check it out.

That bounce from Friedkin taking over and then appointing Moyes is not fully on Dave's side of the ledger.

I'm never happy watching O'Brien playing full-back, especially in the games at home when the onus should be a little bit different. While I agree that Patterson isn't the best defender, I do think he gives the team a lot more balance, and I believe balance is an absolute necessity.

We currently have different views, David, because although I can understand what you're saying regarding qualifying for Europe being a huge overachievement, my view is that, whilst that might have been true before the season started, it's different now because I think it's been a very poor Premier League this season.

The home record is eminently fixable. It's clear our team is much stronger than last season. Yes, the results have been disappointing, but there are a number of reasons for that.

First time playing at BMD; all teams are generally weaker at home than previously, an expectant crowd intimidating the players, and the fact we've got no bleeding full-backs.

And what happened to allowing a team and a manager a period of grace whilst things bed in? Especially when we've been stuck in a nightmare which he's made go away. Does he not deserve any credit?

Is it really appropriate to be drawing up plans to get rid after such an improvement? I don't think so anyway.

The objective facts are Dyche got 17 points from 19 matches and Moyes got 31 points from 19 matches, with the same squad (plus Alcaraz) last season. I simply don't buy the notion that this was explained by a new owner and manager bounce. One hell of a bounce that would be!

Also, the "managing in crisis" excuse doesn't really do it for me either. Remember 2004, when we nearly went into administration and had to sell Rooney on the cheap to a predatory Man Utd? Tipped for certain relegation and replaced Rooney with Marcus Bent.

Who was the manager during that crisis, I wonder? Result -- 4th place finish and Champions League play-offs!

Nothing against Dyche btw, but he had definitely run his course with us by the time he left and I still think we would have gone down if he had stayed.

Phil Neville made the most stupid statement before the game that I've ever heard when he said '0-0 is the best result you can get away from home in Europe'.

No it isn't, you moron. I knew then what Moyes's approach would be and we would lose without scoring. There was absolutely no attempt to get a goal that night and we inevitably conceded.

The worst thing about it was that we had both the players and the team to win the Europa League that season.

In the two seasons before the Friedkin acquired Roma, they came 6th and 5th -- not "serial title contenders" at all -- and since then they've been 7th, 6th, 6th, 6th, 5th and currently 4th.

Also, since the TFG takeover, they've won the Conference League title and made the Europa League finals (both under Mourinho), so your statement about TFG that "Obviously they have been a disaster at Roma" is simply not true.

And it is not my version but unvarnished fact that Friedkin hiring De Rossi to replace Mourinho turned into a train wreck. De Rossi started the 2024-25 season winless in four and blamed the club CEO, delivering a her-or-me ultimatum to the owners. They chose her, she sacked him, the Ultras went nuts, she resigned under death threats, the new manager flopped in 12 games, and two more managers followed.

I think that experience will make Friedkin very reluctant to change managers unless it's absolutely necessary, which was the point of my post. If you disagree with my opinion, by all means dispute it, but please don't alter the facts in the process.

Just got in after a cracking night out. The wife's away for the weekend and I've been down the pub. Live act didn't know Talking Heads but did a passable Jam and Killers and got me on vocals for Johnny Cash.

In the dock wall Monday, if your there -- would be good to put a face to the name, but I'm aware you have medical issues, so another time maybe.

All the best and try to chill -- anger isn't healthy mate.

Nothing but the best is good enough.

I'm not his biggest fan but, failing it going totally Mike Walker-ish, he's here for a bit yet.

1) State that we were competitive against Top 6 clubs -- we lost, of course... but we tried.

2) Big up the quality of Wolves and Leeds to explain why we couldn't beat them -- they are relegation candidates but bloody good.

3) Wax lyrical on Bournemouth -- because they rolled us over.

4) Conclude by mentioning that not being in a relegation fight is progress -- schedule the ticker tape parade.

A bit of banter with his house journos as he slurps his coffee. Job done.

He made his successor, Mike Walker, look like he could walk on water.

I picked Walker... it could've been any one of many... point being he was only heading one way. Yet his previous record was 'good' -- shows the dangers of picking flavours of the month.

The big decision is not when to move Moyes on...and for God sake not sideways or upwards... but -- as it's all a bit of a gamble -- Who!

Off topic-ish alert; at home vs Man Utd, we won't see as much of the ball as we might usually do, nor face an outright parked bus... both of which we're not that good at anyway.

Maybe if Moyes treats it like an away game, we might fare a bit better?

All bark. No bite

I grew up in an environment where anger would be seized upon and relentlessly mocked. It was seen as a weakness.
Scottie Road had a fierce reputation as a hard place in the '60s, '70s and '80s, but that's not the Scottie I grew up on.

There were much tougher areas in Liverpool. Sure there were some tough, tough men (and women for that matter) that you didn't want to get on the wrong side of, but in my circles, when two people locked horns (nearly always over footy), he choice of weapons was nearly always ridicule and piss-take.

You had to be far tougher for that type of combat because it didn't matter how quick-witted or condescending you were. somebody would come along in better form than you and you would be shredded. Everybody got shredded.

Maybe it's wrong to try to bring that culture onto a forum where the word is seen but the tone can't be heard. Or maybe I'm just not a skilful enough writer to pull it off... but be assured, the only time I ever post in real anger on this site is when I hear some clown slaughter a teenager for not being Wayne Rooney.

My blood pressure is remarkably good.

I used to question the wisdom of Ancelotti when he used to play a different formation at an empty Goodison than he did at an empty away stadium, Derek -- especially after he used the same away formation to great effect when we beat both Arsenal and Chelsea at home in consecutive home games (with a couple of thousand inside the ground), playing with four central defenders across the back four.

I look at the way we are currently playing at home and I see something I've seen from every single Everton team during the last however many years. I don't think we play as a collective team anywhere near enough.

When I listen to the people who say that the pitch is bigger at Bramley-Moore Dock, even if they are correct and might have a point, my own view is that it was also happening at Goodison Park for years.

We simply don't condense the pitch enough, which means we don't get players close enough to each other, and when you're playing against teams that give you a little bit of space, then life suddenly becomes a lot easier for a decent footballer.

Close the space, don't let a team play through us, and we will suddenly become a much harder team to play against. This was the reason why I really enjoyed our performance at Villa Park last month so much.

Something in the week that Grealish will be coming back on loan, as Everton are refusing the transfer fee.

If that plays out, all could be relatively sensible bits of business. Don't over-pay for Grealish; Wilson would add goals and assists from the right; and Delap something to prove after the failure at Chelsea.

If we can get those for £35M odd, and admittedly fair wages, then there would still be significant funds left over. Particularly when you throw in a fee for McNeil, Patterson and Beto.

I'd imagine that's nearer to the plan than sacking Moyes.

I think I've stated my reasons often enough but I suppose there is only really one way to find out?

Perhaps upgrade in Keane, Alcaraz, George... maybe they take the money on Iroegbunam for a player with a higher ceiling.

GK: Pickford, Travers, perhaps a successor for Pickford
LB: new, Aznou
RB: new, new
CB: Branthwaite, O'Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, perhaps a new kid to go out on loan
CM: Garner, Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Iroegbunam? Röhl, Gana, Alcaraz?
LW: Ndiaye, George
RW: Wilson, Dibling
CF: Delap, Barry, someone to play link-forward

Sold - McNeil, Patterson (Moyes don't fancy him), Beto, Mykolenko (no new contract).

We create loads of chances but can't put them away -- 15th best this season for expected goals.
We have the best defensive record in the league -- 5th best this season.
Our football is better -- 17th best this season for possession.
Our home form is eminently fixable -- 14th best this season.
We are more competitive -- 14th best this season for points gained from a losing position.
With the worst squad in the league -- 7th highest net spend in the summer.

Maybe stick to the facts.

We have the best away record in the Premier League.

5th best this season, so far.

Gaynes, in particular, check our last match, will go missing for a couple of days when we lose.

In response to the goal bit, we don't create enough chances or have the players that you'd hang your hat on to score regularly. Goal scorers and quality cost, and with a £12M net spend over the last 5 years, the squad still resembles that.

Nothing comes from full-back, practically nothing from centre-midfield, or centre-back. Grealish might get 5, Ndiaye 10 with penalties, Barry may be 10. At best, the side can score 50 a season.

Who in the squad is getting us to 60-70 goals a season? Please answer that rather than just criticising whoever the manager is. The maths don't math however you cut it.

So if the side can only score 50 a season, you sure as hell make sure you don't concede that many...

'Please answer that rather than just criticising whoever the manager is. The maths don't math however you cut it'.

The manager keeps telling us that he had the last word on transfers and, I assume, still does, in his mind at any rate.

So, Ian, Moyes signed off on Barry and we got fuck all in January, apart from a loan to sign who we hear will cost well north of £20M.

Who in the squad is getting us to 60-70 goals a season?

Erm, Ian, that's a question for Saint Daniel the Absent and Saint Angus the Silent, that utterly absent Executive CEO - what does 'executive' mean as the twat never leaves Houston.

The utterances over the next 6 months of TFG, Moyes, the two saints, and their salaried agent on here, the ventriloquist's dummy from Puget Sound -- go long-term plan with erm the damp stuff now -- will be, to say the least, interesting.

I have been a fan of Tarkowski over the years but, if he's still in the first team squad at Everton next season, let alone playing captain, then we won't progress as quickly as I'd like.

Branthwaite and O'Brien (checks notes, Mike) should be established as our defensive pairing asap. I think we're assembling a young side and those two already have experience and nous beyond their years.

I am looking forward to seeing a young dynamic Everton side starting next season with only that Auld Mackem in goal tipping the age average.

I can't see Moyes managing a young dynamic side though, in my opinion!

Hate Saturdays with no game…

"Who would get us to 60-70 goals?"

A Moyes team has never scored 70 goals in one season.

I can see both sides of the argument; however, the reason we are disappointed at the missed opportunities to get higher is a result of where Moyes has got us to at this point. It's not just how bad the Premier League is, some sides with better squads are well below us, like Spurs and Newcastle... you still have to put the points on the board.

Some point to our net spend this season, around 7th highest, but that's 1 season after years of spending nothing, selling and buying from the bargain bin, we could barely put a team out preseason in the USA.

The football hasn't been better, but the results have the points gained, so in my mind the club's on an upwards trajectory -- the team's obviously better... wasn't that what we all wanted?

I also think the club will have been completely stabilised by then, with much bigger revenues accruing from higher league table finishes, the BMD boost in revenue and new (and more lucrative) sponsorship deals put in place by the owners.

This will then put us in a better position to get an up-and-coming, hungry manager with a different mindset and playing a different style of football. This was always going to take a while and I do think that Moyes is the right manager for right now.

Of course I want to see Everton higher up the table but I also want to see us playing better football. But because I think it's impossible for us to win the Premier League, I'd love to see us concentrating a lot more on the cups.

Moyes is what Moyes does, gets a great result at Forest, when he is down to the bare bones, and then loses at home in the next game because he isn't quite brave enough or positive enough to carry on with the same team.

Some people are happy; some people are not. It's all about opinions, and mine is that I'd sooner see Everton playing good football now that I feel we should have moved away from just existing to survive.

It's not about changing people's opinions, it's just about giving mine, David, and if I'm honest, I find a lot of the football we currently play very boring.

And so the usual suspects wheel out their mythical ‘attacking football' tropes while the rest of us roll our eyes.

I hear Liz Truss is available though.

So you can piss and moan about the manager, CEO, ownership, or the pies, but this club isn't in the conversation for top talent that can deliver now. And we haven't been for a very long time either.

This club can pick up players who failed at Chelsea, failed at Marseille, or are unwanted from Man City. They might pick up the odd player who is overlooked by the top sides. But they aren't signing bonafide, low-risk top talent.

How many of the following would have considered joining Everton?

Isak
Estevao
Ekitite
Wirtz
Eze
Semenyo
Cunha
Mbeumo
Delap
Tijjani Reijnders
Cherki
Osimhen
Woltemade
Madeuke
Gyrokes
Sesko
Guehi
Etc etc

All available last summer, and not one of them would drop their aspirations and play for our club. That is the reality.

Could Everton sign the next group of players to come off the rank?

Anderson
Rodgers
Wharton
Gibbs White
A pissed off Foden.
Etc etc

Not a chance. All have ambition. And all will want to play for a club better than ours.

I've realised that posting against some of you, there is a denial of where our club has been, and where our club stands. Rose-coloured spectacles that our players and club is this or that.

It isn't. It is a club that nearly went to the wall, and we've scrambled about scratching around for players to save us at the arse end of the Premier League. There are some green shoots, but still few.

Shiny stadiums and past glories count for jot. A top player is looking at 10-15 better options than us in the Premier League and World football. And until we sort that pecking order out, we aren't achieving nowt.

Pick through as you want. Argue the toss. But you're kidding yourselves.

I try and give explanations of why I don't really enjoy watching Everton but I usually roll my eyes at idiots whereas I tend to just shake my head and look away when I watch the ball going wide to Big Jake O'Brien and then watch him checking back.

You have got to be brave to play good football, so when I look at Tyler Dibling showing a complete lack of enthusiasm, I definitely question both the desire of the player and also the desire of his manager to play attacking football.

Once a player goes onto the pitch, I'm aware it's up to him to perform and it's not the manager's fault, when he doesn't, but I've watched him playing with Patterson, looking a lot more confident and involved, and then I've watched him play with O'Brien, and it looks like the kid hasn't got a clue what he's supposed to be doing.

I've watched enough mundane football at Everton over the last 30 years but, if it gets us away from danger, then I should be happy?

I've stood the test of time; it's not just Moyes who has bored me to tears but I often feel that people have forgotten what Everton should be. Does having such feelings make me sound self-entitled?

It will make a nice change.

Does Liz play attacking football?

Taking the piss was what half the fun was about, give it and take it back with a smile, the smile was a great defence.

When I worked on the Royal Hospital, there was a young spark (electrician) who was handy fighten' but okay with the verbals, taking and giving. He pleaded with me one time not to blow him up over a deal we done.

I was doing a load of leather jackets in that had been found before they were lost — this lad tried one on that was a good fit and bought it. He came back the next day when he was paying me and said, “I think you are a bit pricey with the cost -- can't you make it ‘half bat'?"

I said, "Yeh, no problem, you owe me another £2.50p."

He said, “What? Why's that?”

I said, "I gave you the jacket for £25 and it cost £55 so bleeding' work it out!"

When he did, he said, "You'll keep this quiet, won't you?"

I just smiled and said, “Maybe...”

Neither does changing the manager, John.

But pick away, and pretend it is just a manager issue.

The reality is, we've only 4 or 5 players that would remotely interest top teams.

You want things done instantly. No, you want weaknesses solved even before they've been identified.

Teams take longer to mature, it takes in my view 3-4 years to build a proper side, and that's with proper funding. Before the summer, our squad had received no investment in 5 long years.

Still, the manager has managed to give us, since he got here, the best away record, give or take, in the Premier League. That's 50% of the job, if we are saying we want to become champions (a high bar indeed). And the most difficult half.

I have no doubt Moyes will over time sort out the home form; we always were formidable at home under him. He just can't wave a magic wand and make everything wonderful all at once.

We need full-backs. A new striker, and a full season with Jarrad Branthwaite. If we get that, there's no doubt our home form will improve. None whatsoever.

We have a manager whose priority is defending. Did you know his average Goals For in his first 11 seasons was 44 per 38-game season?

Carry on avoiding the question.

I'll start you off: Ndiaye 10.

Please tell me where the other 50-60 goals are coming from? Name the players who are getting more than 5 goals a season?

And I don't care if four teams have a better away record than us. Ours is still the best... in fact, it's "World Class".

Oh, and we have the worst squad in the Premier League.

There isn't any, I've never said there was.

He's had a few very good strikers in his time at Everton but only managed an average Goals For of 44 per season.

His tactical approach has got nothing to do with that return?

But yes, of course, I'm rarely here after a loss. Why would I be? TW is a miserable place after a defeat. Who wants to read two days of "this guy is shite" and "that guy is lazy" and "the manager needs sacking" and "the refs are corrupt"?

I am by nature a happy, optimistic guy. I love life and take great enjoyment from being a Blue. Why deliberately seek out depressing stuff?

So I don't watch Trump speeches, I don't listen to the hostile ramblings of a certain relative, and after a bad game, I don't return to TW until Tuesday or Wednesday. But it's great to know you miss me!

It's not an easy fix, which is why Moyes hasn't been able to do it.

Not sure where all your other comments about expecting to become champions or wanting things done instantly come from.

Personally, I just don't want to pay nearly 2 grand a year for me and my lad to be bored to tears at every home game.

He regularly scored 50 to 60 goals in his first spell, but it was a nice try... I knew it didn't sound right.

The Premier League has him down with 942 goals in 697 games in January. That's 1.35 goals a game or 51 a season which includes a Sunderland spell where they were doomed and scored 29 in a season.

Like I said, we don't have a squad that has goals in it, and making up stats don't change it.

Thanks for the "mate" though, took the sting out of it.

Just checked; you're right. 6 goals doesn't make that much difference to my point.

50 goals per 38-game season for Everton. Are you okay with that?

Inherited garbage;
Built it up;
Never signed true stars;
Funds ran out;
Team aged.

Because Bournemouth, Brentford etc, seem to have no problem finding these diamonds, then selling them on for big profits.

But, even if Moyes had a few of those to select from, he wouldn't play them until they were Premier League ready, or had mastered his defensive requirements.

If you think differently, then it's you who is kidding yourself.

I also bet the Moyes fan boys were all rubbing their hands at another chance to defend their hero.

Eminently fixable doesn't mean easily fixable, or quickly fixable. It means that fixing it is in no way beyond us. But we have to be patient.

It is Everton fans' very impatience which is currently adding to the problem in my view. If the players hear groans every time the ball is lost, it affects them.

The point I am making is that our away form is championship winning stuff, and it is half the job, the more difficult half. Getting the home form right is often easier.

I don't moan or groan, BTW. Generally, I just sit there bored. Everything about Moyes is just so damn boring.

It's his boring football that has killed the atmosphere at the stadium. Not the fans, who deserve nothing but plaudits for turning up year after year, and who saved this club from relegation and more.

Even if he had integrated these stars in record time, he has also had time to overlook them for their defensive deficiencies.

That sounds all very achievable, particularly after losing a number of the squad last season.

Anyway, thanks for the website MK. And stay positive Mike Gaynes.

12 games to go. Imo, we won't finish 8th.

What finishing position would make you consider it was not "Glorious improvement"?

He had 11 seasons to develop an attacking style. He could not, or would not, do it.

And so is his football.

I'm not out to try and change opinions, the last thing I expect is for the many who didn't want Moyes coming back to suddenly change their opinions.

I respect others opinions, whether I agree or not.
A lot of those opinions rightly or wrongly are tainted by his first spell, which was always going to be the case bringing him back.

I'd love to know how high in the table we would have to be for fans to say it's working, it's not great football, but we are up there... 6th? 5th? 4th?

You don't go from the awful teams we've had for the past near decade, to suddenly being a great footballing side.

Not asking people to change their opinions, but to have patience to see if opinions can be changed. It's not like Lampard or Dyche, where it was imperative in the moment to save our Premier League status. We are in the mix for Europe, not in the mix for relegation.

The fans were being rightly being praised for their part in staving off relegation a few years back.

Moyes makes it an irrelevance and it's..

I thought TSF, should have backed Moyes, in January, when it was clear that getting into Europe was wide open, but maybe they were worried about having two clubs, qualifying for the same competition?

I’m obviously just guessing but, I’m not guessing when I say that if Everton, would have been in the running for a top six finish, then the ground would have been a lot noisier, even if the football, isn’t the best.

Mr. Gaynes (261): sigh. You appear to live off invented flattery like a drip-feed. ‘Track’ you? Quite the reverse. I remembered that because for some reason it struck me after you have been so ‘vocal’ and then disappeared into thin air. Thanks for the tip though. I shall make sure to make full us of our free Mondays. Is that when you bring your - LOL – records up to date?

Because we ARE different.

Because we don’t, and never should, accept mediocrity.

Big Nev had it right. When Everton acclaimed top 6 as success we lost our edge.

Every defeat should hurt the manager like it hurts us.

Every drawn point should be a disappointment that we lost two! Strive for excellence not meh!

Fcuking winds me up this dumbing down of our club.

"If"we win.

Will he go for the wins in the remaining games or carry on keeping it tight?

I would like to see us go all out for Europe but don't believe we will finish in the top half being honest

4th is unrealistic just over 12 months after taking over a dycheball side on the brink of relegation.

We are 5 points off 6th right now !

Is that not in the mix ?

Not saying we will get that, but we are there !

The work done has given fans the opportunity to think like Mark Murphy has put it

" every drawn point a disappointment that we lost 2 "

instead of every drawn point a point closer to PL safety!

Given fans the opportunity to be able to complain about the style of play now relegation isn't in the picture.

Yet some would rather roll the dice, gamble on another change, another set of ideas, another rebuild... well we could just be another west ham, another forrest or another spurs in the blink of a young good looking foreign managers eye !!

Improvement? Maybe. Slightly. But does it have to be so very very dull?

Finishing 4th might be unrealistic but we did have a chance of getting into the Top 4 at the start of 2026. But, after a very unexpected victory at Forest (given that we were down to the very bare bones), the manager reverted to type, with his selection.

We took 1 point from 6 in our next two home games against one team that was below us and another that was bottom of the league.

The Premier League is tight, there's a lot of teams in the mix, so hopefully Everton get enough points to qualify for the lesser competition in Europe, just in case Roma get into the Europa League.

David, why are you mentioning West Ham, Forest or Spurs, if you're not trying to change people's opinions, mate!

Moyes has made us that good??

Sacrifice 4 places to watch entertaining football? All day.

Who's to say it won't get us better than 8th if we had a go?

Reminds me of a good film, with Donald Sutherland playing the part. Michael Caine was a good German.
Jack Higgins book?

By the way. Did anyone else know that the Madness song “My Name Is Michael Caine” was actually about an IRA prisoner??

Not a lot of people know that!

I interviewed Michael Caine in an a Haymarket Art Gallery in the 90s. Absolute highlight of my life.

Catterick, Shankly and fans were interviewed, all being asked whether results were more important than style.

Every red said results were the ultimate, every blue said style mattered. That was 50 years ago.

So just when, if ever in my 70 year life (acknowledging the fabulous Kendall Mk 1 blip), are we going to reliably play in a manner to win and, dare I say it, entertain?

We won 1-0 by the way, Alan Ball, whoever he was, scoring the winner after being seriously levelled by a red foul just outside our area (Ball was like that, all over the pitch).

Tommy (the Flying Pig) Lawrence was the red's 'keeper' and just a few years ago was stumbled across by a TV voxpop team looking to interview scousers on a then imminent blue/red derby.

The TV team cited that '67 game as memorable and that's when Tommy let slip his identity, describing Ball's goal as "brilliant",

And it was, given the savagery of the earlier foul inflicted on him.

If Moyes is here next season, then I'd like to see him now start playing a team that should be more likely to be the selected first team next season, regardless of the type of football he prefers rather than wait until preseason friendlies.

Decisions have to be made on contract renewals or options, the first of which are Keane and Gana possibly Tarkowski.

To me, we should now start Branthwaite and O'Brien as the central defence and until the matter is settled Patterson at right back.

At some time, we must give Aznou the occasional outing,?more to give him experience at Premier League level rather than as a replacement for Mykolenko, the criticism of whom I don't fully share.

Then there is the tricky bit that is midfield and injuries aside this area probably depends on how many you intend to play as strikers, the one target man upfront or two from Beto, Barry, George and/or possibly next season A N Other.

Dewsbury-Hall and Garner seem a laydown misere which then leaves two or three from Ndiaye, Armstrong, Dibling and Iroegbunam and next season possibly Grealish. I'd really like to see Armstrong given priority in his best position.

Then, after about 6 to 8 games provide TFG's analytical company with the profile that you want in any new players and I don't just mean, "Can score goals and/or create XGs".

This is, of course, provided that our CEO and Owners don't see qualifying for kashkow competitions as this season's priority.

Somehow this is 'acceptable' and all part of a cunning long-term plan that will involve major expenditure over this summer, although the chief megaphone is now starting to back down.

Our approach this season is not to qualify for Europe. That must be a first amongst Premier League clubs.

It looked on at the start of December, and would have been a possibility with additional investment in the squad. That is the only reason why I still cut Moyes some slack.

'It looked on at the start of December, and would have been a possibility with additional investment in the squad'.

Roma did fine though.

But remember Steve you Doubting Thomas, we apparently had targets.

I have another theory that any team that learns how to win knows a lot more about that saying about there being more than one way to skin a cat.

Donyell Malin, 5 goals in 5 games since he was signed for Roma on a loan fee of £1.7 million with an obligation to buy for £21 million.

Roma brought in four players in January. It is pathetic that our owner has not visited the club 1 year after buying it.

With a big lad in middle, the constant aim of rest of team is to just lump it to the big lad and that starts with goalie

It makes our style too predictable, uninspiring and a gift to opposition as we hardly have a big lad with skill in the middle.

On a side note, read posts before on my sad daily morning catch-up.

Philip Devlin @291

You mention interviewing Michael Caine. You a hack? Interested as that is my background.

As an aside, I watched Michael in a couple of Michael Parkinson shows— Jesus he had some ego — really loved himself, came across as a bit of a phoney, to me, while Bob Hoskins was the complete opposite.

They were both cockneys but Bob seemed to act like himself — down to earth but a great actor, while Michael acted like he was an icon of the screen industry, which he wasn't, to me, but each to his own.

So I just went over with a camera crew and chatted with him for about 20 minutes. He's the absolute definition of a gentleman.

Bob Hoskins -- I used to live in his house in Belsize Park. 30 Steele's Road. I'll stop name-dropping now…

Moyes wouldn't sign any of them anyway, even if they were available for free. Not the ones who show any attacking intent anyway.

We won nothing first time around with Moyes and we will win nothing this time around either. Even if, god forbid, he is given another 11 years.

Mid-table is as good as it gets with our Davie. But, if you are content with that, good on you.

Well, I was a bit older than Armstrong but...

Every time I hear Belsize Park mentioned, I always think of my favourite Marillion song, Phillip, so you don't have to elaborate mate!

As for Bob Hoskins, I never met him but wrote him a letter asking him if he could get me two tickets, which I would pay for, for the long running musical play he was in, Guys and Dolls.

He replied that the demand for tickets was so heavy he was still waiting to get tickets for his mam and dad — so that was the end of that.

“One got lobbed out of the garden of the McCartney garden clan when little”.

I bet you're a Lord or a bleedin' Baron!

No, I was saying in previous seasons, any points were a positive in battles against relegation: 1 point better than none in that position.

Now, as it should at Everton, the draws are viewed as bad results and 2 points lost. Due, in my opinion, to the what Moyes has brought and the position he's put us in.

Tony A.

I wasn't trying to change opinions, mate, just pointing out the pitfalls that have affected other teams who roll the dice too often in my opinion.

As much as I'd like to see better football, more intent to go and win games from the start, the league is so tight, the difference could be massively negative, whereas is this squad actually good enough, even with a bit more positive
tactics, to get 6th or 5th?

I honestly don't think so.

January could have been that moment to improve the quality available but it hasn't happened, so I would say we are operating at the limits of the players available.

I think the point is, regardless of what players he has, he will stick with his defensive-first football.

I honestly don't think he has got it in his DNA to change a career-long mindset.

Did you see Brentford tear us a new arsehole!!!

I saw Brentford have a very easy day at Bramley-Moore Dock, but I haven't seen many teams troubled because of the very rigid system that we have been using.

Trained by NCTJ and worked for Northern Echo and did freelance then. Wrote pieces for New Musical Express when it was cool in 1980s including a large Kid Creole piece I am proud of still.

Also proud to have a press pass to see Elton John and spend the entire gig in the bar with a girl I managed to smuggle in.

Left the journo world, went travelling in a Fiat Panda for a year, mostly on a credit card before they were electronic.

Came back homeless and in big debt.

Went to Citizens Advice for help. Joined them as a volunteer and, 35 years later, still work in charity sector.

Over the top reply?

And to avoid flack from the Boys in Blue (you know who I mean).

Fluke from redshite today.

There. It is a footy post!

Fook the footy... most interesting post this year!

What's wrong with Rohl, Dibling (struggling I know), Aznou, Alcaraz, for fuck's sake? Our squad is better than Moyes is showing.

#MoyesOut

Look at last night's game. That's all you need.