Summary
Many remember the first David Moyes era as some of the last really sustained stretch of positive Toffee football in the club’s rich and vibrant history. After some rough years for Everton as it concerned coaches, finances, ownership and player health and performance - in other words, just about everything - the side was in danger again.
Having skirted relegation the previous three seasons in a row, staring down a three win, fifteen goal lot as the calendar turned to January, with a stagnant side on the pitch and new ownership in the stands, stability was needed - not just a temporary fix as had been the case with the previous bosses Frank Lampard who came in for Rafa Benitez and Sean Dyche who took over for Lampard.
The Friedkin Group chose David Moyes, the boss who had done good things across nearly all of his stops since departing Merseyside for Old Trafford. He had been disrespected in his previous gig, bringing West Ham United a Europa Conference League trophy only for the club to allow his contract run out after the subsequent campaign, but his time there demonstrated that he was still very able of developing players, setting standards for club culture and finding answers on the pitch and training ground.
Everton FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Performance
With the hiring of David Moyes in mid-January, the side that under his predecessor had only three victories across the Premier League season as 2025 began, soon had lost only thrice from the middle of January to the middle of April. The players were scoring more, the game looked more fluid, the defense looked like it had more support and there was a greater sense of freedom and fun; oh, the joys of a new boss.
Beto looked like a new signing with the new boss’s arrival. Charly Alcaraz, acquired on loan during the winter window, looked a Premier League player as well, showing class and versatility on the pitch, both with and without the ball.
By the end of the season, although the team cooled for a portion in April, three straight victories over May found Everton sitting in thirteenth place - higher than any finish since the coach of the Brazilian national team, Carlo Ancelotti, roamed Goodison Park.
Chelsea FC v Everton FC - Premier League Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Usage
David Moyes did not radically change shape on the side, playing often a 4-2-3-1 as did Sean Dyche, but the instructions that the players received and the little things that the boss and his staff worked with the players on made the differences from mid-January all the way to May.
While the side continued practicing stingy levels of organization and defensive communication, more freedom was given to attacking players like Alcaraz, like Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and the remarkable Illiman Ndiaye.
While many of the players that were loaned for have already returned to their clubs with the 2024-25 season concluded, it will be interesting to see who David Moyes wants and who will be brought in to build upon the foundation that was laid across the 2025 calendar year.
Everton FC v Leicester City FC - Premier League Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Future
David Moyes may not have been appreciated any more down in London, but up on Merseyside, with a new stadium set to open in just months, he will get the respect and backing he craves. The Freidkin Group want to win - as their endeavors in Italy have, at times, illustrated - and their acquisition of the side brings in fresh capital to build a competent, competitive lot going onward.
The boss will get to mould the culture and player personnel side of things, as well as on the pitch of course, and this likely is for the best. Moyes has a history of this sort of thing, and while the Blues have been struggling for a good long while at this point in time, they may actually have just the man to help heal the club properly.
Grade: B+