David Moyes’ Everton side went as high as fifth at the close of Premier League play on Saturday evening – and despite results going against them on Sunday, it remains one of his best starts to a Premier League season as Toffees boss.
Everton beat Nottingham Forest by three goals to nil at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, sending fans home with real delight as they finished the day in fifth thanks to Leeds’ 3-3 draw with Liverpool that evening.
Although Crystal Palace’s late win over Fulham on Sunday afternoon pushed the Toffees further down the Premier League table, it remains one of David Moyes’ best-ever starts to a campaign as Everton boss.
And if history is anything to go by, it means that the Toffees will qualify for Europe under his guidance.
Everton manager David Moyes.
Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
David Moyes has just enjoyed his third-best start to life as Everton boss
Moyes’ 24-point haul after 15 Premier League games has only been bettered by the Scot twice in his entire Everton history.
The Toffees are in sixth place in the table, though Moyes has had two previous campaigns where he’s recorded more points at this stage.
Would you take Conference League right now, or see if we can finish even higher?
David Moyes on Everton's hopes of qualifying for Europe.
Credit: Getty Images/Richard Heathcote.
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
One of those campaigns was the 2004-05 season, where Everton were on 30 points after just 15 games, seeing the Toffees in third at the time and five points ahead of fifth-placed Middlesbrough in the race for Champions League football – which they eventually qualified for in fourth, behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
MORE EVERTON STORIES
The only other time that Moyes had more points than this season was the 2002-03 campaign, his first full campaign at Goodison Park, where Everton were on 29 points after 15 games.
Once again, they were third, but only three points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United. A slight collapse during the season meant that they were pipped to sixth by Blackburn Rovers on the final day, robbing them of a European spot – but seventh is usually good enough to qualify for Europe with more qualification spots being opened in recent years.
This season marks Everton’s fifth-best Premier League start in the competition’s 33-year history
Even in other seasons, Everton have only had two better seasons than their current haul, excluding Moyes’ two in the early 2000s.
His successor, Roberto Martinez, tallied up 28 points at this stage, and went on to really challenge Arsenal for Champions League football before a slight fadeaway at the end of the campaign with three losses in their final five games, when at one stage they were fourth with just five games to go.
The current campaign is the best start to a season since then, having navigated the relegation battle years and even a points deduction in that time.
The other campaign in which Everton had made an equally roaring start was the 2020-21 campaign under Carlo Ancelotti, taking 29 points from 15 games – but a second-half collapse saw the Toffees fall as far as 10th, where he departed for Real Madrid.
Do you still like Ancelotti after he left for Real Madrid?
"I'm always looking for the result of Everton"
Carlo Ancelotti reflects on his time at the Merseyside club with Ally McCoist 💙 pic.twitter.com/mm1ivFI1GM
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 8, 2025
View Tweet
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
The key for Moyes is that he has rarely fallen off in the second half of a campaign, managing Champions League football as well as three consecutive European campaigns from 2008 to 2010.
Everton could do that once more under his guidance if they can continue their form throughout the campaign.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox