EXCLUSIVE: David Moyes deserves praise for Everton's seven match unbeaten run so far this season believes Alan Smith
Everton manager David Moyes
Everton manager David Moyes(Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
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David Moyes should be praised for making Everton “a tough nut to crack”, rreckons a former England international.S even matches into the 2026/27 campaign and the Blues have gone into the first international break of the new season unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions.
Everton book-ended a sequence of three consecutive Premier League draws against Bournemouth (1-1), Manchester United (2-2) and Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 with home wins over Crystal Palace (2-0) on the opening day and signing off with a 1-0 victory against Ipswich Town.
In between all of that, David Moyes’ men also advanced through two rounds of the Carabao Cup, defeating Championship pair Preston North End 4-0 away and Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium
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On the eve of this season Blues chief executive Angus Kinnear had boldly predicted that "I think we will spend more than most of our competitors, the owners are very keen to back us.” However, after the window closed Everton were down in 15th place among Premier League clubs when it came to net spend and were one of just half a dozen teams to make a trading profit.
That came after a chaotic transfer deadline day that saw Iliman Ndiaye, Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson all sold for more than £100m with just Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a £4m arrival from Lyon, and Jack Grealish, who has returned on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
Everton did attempt to seal a big-money deal for USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun from Monaco only for it to dramatically collapse on the final day of the window. That has left Moyes with just one recognised centre-forward - along with only one right-back and one left-back - in a senior squad comprising 18 senior players.
And speaking courtesy of BestBettingSites.co.uk, Alan Smith who won a brace of League championships with Arsenal plus the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup, netting 115 goals in 351 games, told the ECHO: “David Moyes deserves lots of credit. I think everybody was wondering how things were going to pan out there, and I’m sure David Moyes was, but he’s made them hard to beat.
“They’ve got a brilliant platform of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite in central defence. We saw that at Spurs and against Ipswich Town as they kept another clean sheet. So, they’re a tough nut to crack, which they need to be, because I don’t think they’ve got loads of goals in them. But it’s the start that they needed, I think.
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 12, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Jarrad Branthwaite was outstanding for Everton in their 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur (Image: Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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“It will still be a bit of a grind for David Moyes with that squad. But yeah, a great start from them.”
The Blues return to action on Sunday, October 11 as they head to new boys Hull City, who sit one place and one point below their opponents in the Premier League table after their own impressive start to the new campaign.
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