When David Moyes took over at Everton in January of 2025, the sentiment among most Everton fans was overall very positive. After an era of defensive and ugly “Dyche ball”, the club was in the hands of a manager who had overseen some of our better years. After a good start to his tenure, however, many of the fans have turned on Moyes. So, that begs the question: Is it worth it to keep Moyes, or are the “Moyes out” fans correct?
David Moyes oversaw some good years at Everton football club. His first stint as our manager, from March of 2002, to June of 2013 was overall quite successful relative to where the club was at the time of his appointment. He propelled a struggling Everton from the relegation zone and established us as a consistent top-half Premier League team. During this time we even reached an FA Cup Final and finished in a league position that allowed us into the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
His second stint however, has been controversial to say the least.
While there is a lot to be said about his ability to bring a struggling team to the mid-table, there is also a definite argument to be made in the world of modern Premier League football, a mid-table finish is Moyes’ maximum potential. Given the discourse, a comparison of the pros and cons of David Moyes’ managerial future at Everton seems like an important topic.
The biggest argument for keeping David Moyes is the stability that he brings to the club. Two years ago we were regular relegation candidates, whereas halfway through the 25/26 season we were sitting pretty in and around the Champions League spots. However, this argument falls short for me for a number of reasons.
Was Europe expected this season? No. Should we have been expected to get Europe when 8 spots were available and we were in 6th with an easier schedule than most of those around us? Absolutely. However, not only did we not get European football, but we also didn’t finish in the top half of the table. This, for many fans, was the turning point in their support of Moyes. This is due to the fact that, PSR, debt clearing, and other financial improvements aside, the club’s situation has not gotten better in the table throughout Moyes’ second stint at Everton. In the 25/26 season, as mentioned, we finished 13th in the Premier league, on 49 points. This was Moyes’ first full season with the club. The previous season, where the manager was Dyche for roughly half the season and Moyes for the other half, Everton finished 13th, on 48 points. The season before, where Dyche was in control for the entire season, Everton finished 15th – however without the 8 point deduction, we would have finished in 12th, with 48 points. This, combined with the sentiment that the Premier League has declined in quality over the last 2 seasons, has given many fans the impression that the club has not only stagnated, but gone backwards. It’s hard to argue against this view, however Moyes and the new owners should be given credit for the fact that they have put us in the best financial position Everton has been in within recent memory.
Another major critique of David Moyes’ managerial tenure is his confusing lack of use of young players. Personally, I was very excited last summer looking at our window. Tyler Dibling, Southampton’s most promising player in the Premier League that season by a landslide. Adam Aznou, a teenage prospect that played Champions League football for Bayern Munich. Merlin Rohl, arguably the most Moyes-looking signing I have ever seen. All young prospects, playing football in a top 5 league, coming to the club. Despite all this, the man-management of these young prospects has been unfortunate at best. Barely any significant appearances for Dibling throughout the season, Rohl having significant appearances only at the tail end of the season, and Adam Aznou not making a single Premier League appearance the entire year. This is not only an issue for these young players’ careers, but it also sets a poor precedent for young players that may have the option of coming to the club in the future. From the outside, it looks as if Moyes punishes young players for either not performing exceptionally in their short appearances, or for potentially issues in training (which is understandable), and fails to punish players that have consistent poor performances (i.e. James Tarkowski near the end of the season, Dwight McNeil during points throughout the year, Vitaliy Mykolenko as well). This has annoyed supporters and contributors alike. I myself said on USA Late Night Live regarding Dibling’s lack of minutes, “I don’t care if he couldn’t cut it in the Shoreditch Power League, if we paid 40 million quid for him he should be playing over Dwight McNeil.”
However, it is entirely possible that these players were not performing in training. While I find it hard to believe that ALL of our young players were poor in training, it is possible that they do not fit the system that Moyes wants to play. If this is the case, I wonder why we spent so much money on these young prospects, as the only thing that accomplishes is halting their career. When Moyes was questioned about Dibling, he stated:
“Tyler is young and he has age on his side and he is a quiet boy who might need a little more time to develop…”
This would make sense if he didn’t already have a year of Premier League experience. Dibling, playing for Southampton in the 24/25 season, played well against Moyes’ Everton side, which leads many fans to find it hard to understand him not being developed enough for the Premier League.
As for Aznou, I was extremely vocal about this throughout the season. Not having him play in matches where Mykolenko was performing poorly (which was not a rare occurrence this season despite some standout matches) was frustrating for many fans, as Aznou, while lacking defensive capability at times, is extremely effective going forward, as we saw in Everton’s FA Cup match against Sunderland – the only match Aznou has played in the regular season for Everton. Many fans were also annoyed that he was not at least sent out on loan to get minutes, and the rebuttal from many of Moyes’ supporters on this topic was that Everton’s squad was so thin that Aznou was needed for depth purposes. This originally made sense, but then Aznou stopped being included in matchday squads, resulting in Aznou removing pictures and links to Everton on social media, and eventually unfollowing the club on Instagram.
Other critiques throughout include very late substitutions, which gives oppositions a chance to take control of matches against Everton before we have a chance to change shape or tactics. Another is a consistent use of “square pegs in round holes”, using players outside of their preferred positions, resulting in a clunky overlap and some poor transitions (think Jake O’Brien at right-back – a very good centreback, but not a two-way fullback with overlapping capabilites that the modern Premier League requires). These critiques are completely understandable, and hopefully are fixes that can be made for the next season, as it looks as though Moyes will stay in charge of the club.
Overall, I think that David Moyes is a likeable personality. He is funny, charismatic, and highly experienced. However, there have been enough issues that I find it difficult to outright say that he should continue to be in charge of the club, especially being in the best financial position (PSR-wise) going into a summer transfer window that we have been in. I personally have to lean towards the “Moyes out” camp, just because I feel as though his lack of man-management and a struggle to adapt to the requirements of the modern Premier League are not things that will change during the next year, and despite the fact that I like Moyes as a person, I feel as though the cons will eventually outweigh the pros in the owners’ eyes. If this happens, and he builds a team for his system and then is suddenly no longer the manager – we may waste our biggest financial edge that we have had in many years.
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