David Moyes is back at Everton more than a decade after he last managed the Goodison Park club with the Toffees facing a fight to stay in the Premier League.
In David Moyes’ own words, Everton has changed in the 11 years since his first managerial stint there. “I don’t think it’ll be the same Everton,” said the 61-year-old after replacing Sean Dyche as Toffees boss, hinting at the looming stadium move coming this summer. It certainly won’t be the same Everton if they’re not still in the Premier League by then.
Moyes might also be referencing how Everton’s standards have fallen through the floor since he left Goodison Park to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013. While the Toffees were a permanent member of the top half back then, they are now stuck in a never-ending fight against the drop.
It’s been this way for a number of seasons. Everton haven’t finished higher than 15th in any of the last three Premier League campaigns. They scored the fewest league goals of any team in 2024 and are currently uncomfortably close to the bottom three. Indeed, Everton are above the relegation zone by a single point.
In the immediate term, Moyes must do all he can to keep Everton in the Premier League. The £800m construction of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock has already weighed down the club in a financial sense and that weight would get even heavier should the Toffees be relegated. They need the revenue that comes with being in the top flight.
“I see it as a huge pressure and when you care so much about a club and have such a long period [away], it makes me realise it is a really popular club, one that needs to be – and has been – in the top flight,” said Moyes. “It would be a great feeling for us all to be in the new stadium. But it would mainly be great if we are a Premier League club and can give everyone something to shout about.”
The attack is surely where Moyes is looking to make the biggest difference. Only Southampton have scored fewer goals than Everton in the Premier League this season with Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil the club’s joint top-scorer on three goals each. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s first-choice centre forward, has two goals in 1,389 minutes.
Calvert-Lewin could argue that Everton aren’t creating the opportunities he needs to find the back of the net. The Toffees have created just 28 ‘Big Chances’ this season which ranks them 20th out of 20 Premier League teams in that metric. They are also third-bottom for touches in the opposition box. And bottom in terms of Expected Goals (xG). Everton simply don’t ask enough attacking questions.
Dan Friedkin’s family takeover of the Goodison Park outfit could give Moyes funds to spend in the transfer market, but Everton’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) situation could restrict their January business. Nonetheless, speculation is swirling over reported targets such as Lyon winger Ernest Nuamah and Aston Villa’s Jaden Philogene.
Moyes’ remit is also to carry Everton into a new era. Friedkin’s takeover has renewed ambition around the club with supporters desperate to experience something other than relegation anxiety. It’s time for Everton to plot their way up the Premier League table and Moyes is seen as the man to make this happen.
At West Ham, Moyes won a European competition not long after the club moved into a new stadium. He somehow managed to handle a sometimes toxic environment to point the Hammers in the right direction. Even as Moyes left West Ham last summer, they were nowhere near relegation trouble. Everton surely looked at all this before calling the 61-year-old.
Tactically, Moyes might not be the most inspiring appointment Everton could have made. By the end of last season, West Ham desired a more modern, expansive approach and decided the Scot was incapable of delivering this. ‘Moyes-ball’ is about compact defensive organisation, physicality in the wide areas and quick attacks into open space, not aesthetics.
This, however, would be an improvement on what Everton are currently producing. Fans tolerated Dyche’s ‘Burnley-ball’ as long as it kept the Toffees up, but its effectiveness wore off as his team got pulled closer and closer towards danger at the foot of the Premier League table. A change was necessary to stop the slide.
Of course, Everton have had false dawns before. Farhad Moshiri’s takeover in 2016 was meant to turn the club into a genuine force, yet the Toffees only succeeded in spending their way into trouble. Now, the Friedkins are the ones promising better times with Moyes back at Goodison Park. A look to the past could be the catalyst for a better future.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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