Our writers' Everton review and awards for the 2025-26 season

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Everton's dismal end to the season is the overriding emotion right now, but it wasn't all bad throughout the campaign. Our writers have picked out their highs and lows from the 2025-26 season.

Player of the Season

Michael Kenrick: Tyrique George - I know we’re all meant to pick James Garner, but I’m sorry – every time this kid got a few minutes from miserable Moyes, he had only one thing uppermost on his mind: how can I score or make a goal? That’s what I thought football is meant to be about.

Patric Ridge: James Garner - There’s probably three choices, here. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has largely been excellent, even if the fatigue seems to have caught up with him in recent weeks. Jordan Pickford has pulled off some unbelievable stops, but this award has to go to James Garner.  He has been superb all campaign long, whether playing in the middle or at right-back, and he has gone from arguably fighting for his place in the team to now being the first name in it.

Harry Diamond: James Garner - A real Swiss Army Knife of a midfielder who has come on leaps and bounds this season. The numbers back up the development that we’ve all watched, and his England debut was richly deserved. It feels as if Garner will look even better around better players, so Everton need to get to work.

Calum Jones: James Garner - Performing at a world class standard for the majority of the season, absolute standout in midfield and extremely glad we have him tied down to a long-term deal! Am I surprised he didn’t get into the England squad, a little. Can see him captaining the Blues one day! 

Goal of the Season

MK: Iliman Ndiaye - While Ndiaye’s jinking runs sometimes flatter to deceive in terms of clinical end product, his moments of individual brilliance provided the brightest visual highlights of an otherwise dull attacking season. His solo strikes, especially the one at Sunderland, full of quick feet and trickery, easily take this spot – just there weren’t anywhere near enough of them.

PR: Iliman Ndiaye - Iliman Ndiaye’s spellbinding run and finish against Sunderland back in November gets the nod here for me. Ndiaye took it in on the touchline, drove around a glut of defenders and then curled a sumptuous finish into the left-hand corner. Exquisite. If only he had kept up that kind of form in the run-in.

HD: Iliman Ndiaye - It’s difficult to look past Ndiaye’s effort at Sunderland, a goal that no other player in the squad would be capable of. 

CJ: Iliman Ndiaye - For personal skill and flair, Iliman Ndiaye vs Sunderland for me! Outstanding dribble and a top-class finish. Simply an outstanding goal, we should be trying to keep our hands on the Senegalese attacker for as much time as we possibly can!

Best Moment

MK: First Goal at Bramley-Moore Dock - A massive milestone for the club as they transition into a new era under The Friedkin Group (TFG). Amid a season of sterile away days and frustrating dropped points, the emotional release and historic weight of the first goal at the new stadium stood head and shoulders above any fleeting tactical victory.

PR: Chelsea win - Potentially cheating a bit here in describing an entire game as a “moment”, but that 3-0 win over Chelsea — which could end up being Everton’s last victory of the season — was fantastic. Everything about the day was brilliant. It’s ridiculous that it hasn’t been built on. Honourable mentions: Ndiaye’s opener against Brighton in the first game at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Jack Grealish’s last-gasp winner against Crystal Palace and that gritty 1-0 win, when down to 10 men, at Old Trafford.

HD: Chelsea win - It proved to be something of a false dawn as European hopes faded fast, but the 3-0 win over Chelsea was a memorable performance and occasion. Everton need more of those nights next season.

CJ: Jack Grealish vs Palace - I think Jack Grealish’s late goal against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium summed up Everton really! A scrappy finish by a fan favourite in the dying moments of the game. Fantastic night, and the noise within that ground, wow! What about that 10-men win over Manchester United, think that deserves a mention too!

Best Signing

MK: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (with caveats) - Brought in to provide a creative spark, Dewsbury-Hall provided significant goal contributions early on and clearly gave the midfield an energetic lift. However, any praise is heavily tempered by the fact that Moyes flogged him to death, leaving him looking completely out of ideas and exhausted by the final few weeks of the campaign.

PR: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - Had Grealish stayed fit all season, then this choice might have been harder. But, he didn’t, so it’s an easy pick (which perhaps says something about Everton’s recruitment last summer, too). Dewsbury-Hall has clearly been the best of the bunch. He has scored 8 goals, outperforming his 4.3 xG, and provided 4 assists in 30 Premier League appearances this season

HD: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - I liked the signing of Dewsbury-Hall when it was announced, and it proved to be the case. The 27-year-old raised the level of the XI and fitted effortlessly into the Everton side. Sadly, he was run into the ground across the run-in. 

CJ: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Played a huge role in high turnovers this season, whilst providing plenty of goals and assists. Hope to see him as a part of the midfield for a long time!

Biggest Disappointment

MK: The Shocking Capitulation for Séamus Coleman’s Farewell - The absolute nadir of the final run-in was against Sunderland and Moyes’s *"absolutely shameful exhibition of incompetence for Coleman's farewell."* To drop points so limply in a game meant to honour a club legend — while actively coughing up a potential European spot — epitomised the manager’s total lack of ambition and inability to utilise the players in his squad properly.

PR: Tyler Dibling - Plenty of fans may point to Thierno Barry here, but given he has scored 8 goals, then despite all the other issues we have seen with the striker, I’ll let him off the hook. It’s not a bad return, but improvement is needed if he stays. There is, of course, the fact that the last six games have been a huge disappointment, and has cast a dark cloud over the season. But unfortunately, this goes to Tyler Dibling. It’s not (mostly) his fault; he hasn’t been given enough minutes. When he did play earlier in the season, he didn’t really offer much, barring decent performances at Burnley and Nottingham Forest over Christmas. I do question the wisdom of spending £35m on such a young player last summer, but he is here now, and he must get more time to show what he can do, and he must take his chance when it comes.

HD: Sunderland shambles - If anything summed up the wretched run-in, it was this. A shambolic defensive performance that ended hopes of European football. Sunderland are now celebrating Europa League football, while Everton are left to wonder what might have been. It could, and should, have been different.

CJ: Tyler Dibling - An expensive signing (£40m) that has only played 14 times in the league. Hope he gets some game time next season. He’s young, has time to prove himself. 

Ideal summer signing

MK: Tyrique George - I want players like him. Young, dynamic front-foot, always wanting to go for goal.

PR: Andoni Iraola - Going to cheat here a bit, too. Moyes has done a very solid job and I am not against keeping him, but Andoni Iraola is available. And still, as I understand it, open to speaking to Everton should he be approached. Can Everton afford to let the possibility of hiring a potentially elite coach pass them by? Iraola is not perfect, but he seems to align more with what the club want in the long term.  But regardless of who the manager is, Everton need signings, and the top priority should be a right-back. Celta Vigo’s Oscar Mingueza is available on a free transfer, and brings the blend of experience and attacking quality that Everton need.

HD: Harry Wilson - I’ll try and keep this realistic, and Wilson seems a tap-in. A Premier League ready talent to solve a problem position, with North West roots, coming off his best-ever season, and available for nothing. It’s almost too obvious.

CJ: Ivan Toney - Think it’s obvious we need a proper number 9. Someone who can score consistently in the Premier League. Therefore I would go for either Liam Delap, or perhaps Ivan Toney, who would be a lot more expensive. If the funds are there, we might as well have some ambition!

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