A look at the difference in outlook at the club compared to when Moyes was appointed in January
David Moyes shows his appreciation to supporters after the Premier League match between Everton and Southampton, the final men's game at Goodison Park. Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images
David Moyes shows his appreciation to supporters after the Premier League match between Everton and Southampton, the final men's game at Goodison Park. Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images
Six months ago, David Moyes was preparing for the first game of his second stint in the Everton dugout. Having been appointed in the aftermath of the FA Cup win over Peterborough United, he had given his first pre-match press conference and sought to inject optimism into a club that looked destined for another relegation fight.
His first match ended in a narrow home defeat to Aston Villa. But his arrival proved to be a turning point nonetheless.
Here, the ECHO looks back on six big months for the club and how the Blues’ outlook has changed as a result.
Everton survival secured after immediate surge in form
The most significant development is that Everton are still a Premier League club. Going into last season, the primary ambition was survival - making sure the club could outlast its off-the-pitch issues and exploit the opportunities its stunning new stadium presented.
When Moyes was appointed that remained the objective. At the time, it felt in jeopardy.
Everton had looked solid for most of December, earning impressive draws with Champions League-chasing Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City after an important home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But two defeats on either side of the new year proved to be the downfall of Sean Dyche. It was not simply the results that were problematic but the manner of the losses as well. Everton took 82 minutes to register a first shot on target as Nottingham Forest brushed them aside at Goodison Park. None followed in the defeat at Bournemouth days later, Dyche’s last game in charge.
So when Moyes returned, Everton were perilously close to the bottom three, struggling to win games and appeared bereft of attacking ideas. Under Moyes, that quickly changed. While the creative woes remained and much of the good work achieved under the Scot was built on the defensive foundation he inherited, his arrival was followed by the discovery of the ability to win games. Confidence returned, form survived a series of troubling injuries to key players, and Everton pieced together a run of wins that quickly pulled the club to a position of comfort.
Positive momentum that carried through to the summer
Moyes thought hard upon his arrival about how he would present himself and the message he would attempt to project. He opted for a positive outlook in which he would pitch Everton as a club that should not have been in the position it was and talked up a future of battles higher up the table.
His approach helped to lift spirits among the players and the supporters. Dyche was within his rights to stress the final season at Goodison would be a tough one given the issues the club was facing. But it was refreshing to many to hear Moyes call for expectations to rise and standards to follow.
The impact could be seen at Goodison. The historic last season at the Grand Old Lady had been dogged with disappointment at the start of the season. Moyes did not quite turn it into a fortress - away wins at Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace were pivotal in Everton’s surge away from the bottom three. But after the defeat to Villa, the home wins against Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City that quickly followed helped to bolster confidence and restore pride and, to an extent, excitement as Everton hit seven goals across two matches and picked up six feel-good points in L4.
Manchester City would be the only other team to win at Goodison in the Premier League, with Everton unfortunate not to beat Manchester United and sparking memorable scenes with the late equaliser in the final home Merseyside derby at the stadium.
While wins were not always easy to come by, by getting Everton away from trouble so quickly, Moyes was at least able to turn the final games at Goodison into the celebration everyone wanted rather than a nail-biting struggle for survival.
Two key players now established in the squad
Two players were key in the positive momentum Everton carried into this summer and will start the first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium having established themselves as players Moyes can trust.
The biggest change he made to the side was to bring in Jake O’Brien. The centre back had been a source of excitement when he arrived from Lyon in the summer but then did not start a game in the league under Dyche - who even opted to play Michael Keane and James Tarkowski ahead of him when both were dealing with injuries ahead of the draw at Leicester City.
Moyes brought him straight in and reaped the benefits as he proved capable despite playing out of position at right back, where he provided stability and a handy source of goals. Headers against West Ham United and Brentford earned valuable draws that were useful in maintaining the streak of good form that carried Everton through late winter and early spring.
Also key was Carlos Alcaraz, the only January signing for the men’s team. The 22-year-old proved useful after injuries savaged Moyes’ squad and was particularly impressive in the win at Palace, in which he created Everton’s first and scored the second.
At the end of the campaign, the Flamengo loanee was key to the away wins at Fulham and Newcastle United. His displays in both games quelled any doubts about whether to make his move permanent and a deal was thrashed out in the days after the season-ending win at St James’ Park.
A new era of stable finances and transfer window potential
The Friedkin Group’s takeover was completed in December and was an immediate boon for Everton. After years of financial turbulence, their arrival provided stability and TFG have moved quickly behind the scenes to restructure the club’s burdensome debt to a more manageable package.
The belief at Everton is that they were able to navigate their way through the last financial year, which ended at the turn of the month, without breaching spending rules and, therefore, carrying the club into a new period in which they are freed from the heavy losses of the past.
It means that, from both a regulatory and resource perspective, Moyes should have money to spend and Everton can be more ambitious this summer than in previous years, when they have been forced to operate with caution. With the Hill Dickinson Stadium move now opening up new commercial streams and greater matchday income, the club, for the first time in years, can now start to think about growth rather than survival.
Stage now set off-the-pitch to encourage progress on it
The stage is then set for this summer. There is a lot of work to do but it is underway - the club having secured the signing of Alcaraz, secured a new contract for Jarrad Branthwaite, and picked up forward Thierno Barry in a £27.5m deal.
The squad will undergo a massive upheaval with 12 players - including high-profile names like Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin - having left. The transition of those who will take Everton into another historic campaign will not be easy as the club leaves behind Goodison.
But the hope is that changes behind-the-scenes will help make the club stronger on the pitch, with TFG having installed a new leadership group tasked with overseeing all areas of work at Finch Farm, led by new CEO Angus Kinnear.