Everton’s move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium had the potential to be awful, as much as it did brilliant.
Leaving Goodison Park was never going to be easy for Everton fans, who had seen their club play at the famous Merseyside relic since 1892 – stretching 133 years prior to their final home game in May.
That move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium could have gone brilliantly, or awfully. Moving away from the final few years at Goodison was likely a positive, starting a new era for a club that had fallen on tough times over the past decade in the Premier League.
However, leaving their spiritual home could have had a negative effect in terms of making it feel like home. But for manager David Moyes, it’s proven to be the former.
David Moyes during Manchester City v Everton - Premier League
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David Moyes’ start to life at Hill Dickinson Stadium offers Everton hope
Of course, David Moyes had spent 11 years as Everton manager in his first spell the turn of the century, taking them from a regular bottom-half side to consistent UEFA Cup qualifiers and even a Champions League campaign.
Time spent in Europe in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 saw the Toffees become the ‘best of the rest’ outside of the ‘Big Four’ under his tutelage – and Goodison’s incredible atmosphere undoubtedly had a huge part to play in that.
And so moving to the Hill Dickinson Stadium could have posed big problems for the Toffees if the move went awry due to a lack of intimidating atmosphere.
But the underlying stats show that Moyes could make the waterside behemoth an even tougher place to go than Goodison after the Scot returned in January.
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So heading into the November international break, how are Everton settling into their new stadium?
Of Everton’s 34 seasons in the Premier League, they’ve only had more home points after six matches in five previous campaigns, with 11 points #EFC’s best return since 18/19. pic.twitter.com/JwD4yTDFyq
— Aaron Barton (@Aaron__Barton) November 11, 2025
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Of all of the seasons that he’s begun the campaign as an Everton manager, only two have resulted in better starts to the season. This campaign has seen three wins, two draws and a loss on home turf, racking up 11 points after six games.
Only the 2002-03 season – Moyes’ first full campaign in charge – and the 2012-13 season, his final year before a move to Manchester United, have seen more points with 14 and 12 respectively.
It’s a welcome change for fans who may have been unsure as to how their new move would have panned out.
Manchester City v Everton - Premier League
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David Moyes has only had two better home starts for Everton – and one wasn’t the Champions League campaign
Interestingly, Moyes has made a better start to Everton life than he did when they qualified for the Champions League in the 2004-05 campaign.
A fourth-placed finish, which saw Everton record 61 points, meant they were handed a place in the Champions League qualifiers.
It resulted in a controversial defeat to Villarreal, but interestingly, Everton only took 10 points from their opening six on the way to that famous campaign.
This time around, they’ve taken 11 – and although Everton sit in 13th, they’re only four points off the Champions League spots.
Stranger things have happened and Moyes has since shown at West Ham that he has the credentials to garner European success.
With players such as Iliman Ndiaye shining at Everton, as well as Jack Grealish finding a rebirth on Merseyside, there’s every chance a run of form could put Everton into contention.