Our Everton jury return to have their say after the 2-2 draw with Hull City and the club was put up for sale by The Friedkin Group last week
The Friedkin Group announced on September 23 that they had an agreement to purchase Farhad Moshiri's entire stake in Everton
Dan Friedkin, left, and son Ryan Friedkin, of The Friedkin Group
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It has been another eventful week for all connected to Everton Football Club. Last Friday it was confirmed that The Friedkin Group were seeking new investment options, including the potential sale of the club they bought less than two years ago.
While on the pitch, the Blues maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-2 draw against Hull City on Sunday afternoon. However, had it not been for some defending, David Moyes’ side would have returned home with all three points.
And as the Blues prepare to return to action against Chelsea at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday, our Everton jury have returned to have their say.
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Paul McParlan
It has been another eventful few days at Everton, where matters on the pitch have once again been overshadowed by events off it. It is a never-ending loop from which the club have found no escape. No matter what progress we make on the football side, the continuing soap opera saga of our ownership still provides unwanted attention and drama.
First, the visit to Hull City last Sunday. Yes, there were some positives in the 2-2 draw. We are still unbeaten after eight games and find ourselves in fifth place, the highest-placed team in our city. We played some excellent football at times, Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall produced their best displays of the season. Despite missing several gilt-edged opportunities, Thierno Barry found the net again to score his third league goal, one ahead of the highly-rated Cole Palmer.
However, it was quite simply a match we should have won. When you are leading 2-1 with just over 20 minutes remaining against a side that finished sixth in the Championship last season, you should be able to finish the game off. That we didn’t was down to some uncharacteristically catastrophic defending and a failure to take our chances. We gifted an equaliser to Hull and let two points slip away.
HULL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 11: Everton's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores his side's equalising goal to make the score 1-1 despite the attentions of Hull City's Konstantinos Tzolakis and Nobel Mendy during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Hull City and Everton at MKM Stadium on October 11, 2026 in Hull, United Kingdom. (Photo by Lee Parker - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores for Everton against Hull City(Image: Lee Parker - CameraSport via Getty Images)
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The limitations of our small squad were highlighted when Jarrad Branthwaite, arguably the best centre-back in England was forced to play at left-back. In what universe is that ever a good idea? Why did we let the obvious replacement, Adam Aznou, go out on loan?
The failure to invest heavily in the squad and the attempt to sell Harrison Armstrong during the last window clearly indicated that Dan Friedkin was trying to cut his losses. How can you have a club where the owner has never seen his team play or even spoken to the manager? I am sure that was not taught in the modules at the Harvard Business School. Friedkin has quickly realised that the finances required to have Everton challenging for the Champions League are far more than he anticipated and that investing his funds in AS Roma is a less expensive route into Europe. From a purely financial point that makes sense.
So where does that leave us? We are in a far healthier financial position than we were when the Friedkins bought the club and the new stadium is an attractive prospect for any potential purchaser. I may be biased, but from my perspective, this represents a brilliant opportunity for someone with the finance, strategy and vision to take the club forward.
It will be a tough game against a free scoring Chelsea on Saturday, so we need to put these ownership distractions behind us and focus on the football. Another win would be a real statement of intent and show that Everton are well worth investing in!
James Kellett
Everton’s 2-2 draw against Hull City was arguably the most frustrating result of the season. Considering it is mid-October, that is a surprising sentence to simply write in the context of Everton, even though the Blues have kept their unbeaten record intact.
But if not for two pieces of sloppy defending, David Moyes’ side could have grabbed their first away victory of the season; however, mistakes cost them dearly and they came home with a solitary point. The result at the MKM Stadium was characterised by numerous individual mistakes in both defence and attack.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles had his first poor outing in an Everton shirt, while Thierno Barry was not clinical in front of goal; however, he redeemed himself by scoring the Blues’ second goal of the afternoon. Pinpointing Barry’s performance, prior to scoring in the 68th minute, he looked low on confidence. If Moyes had the option to bring on a replacement striker, the Blues likely would not have secured a second goal.
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Everton before 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)
Ainsley Maitland-Niles had an afternoon to forget against Hull City(Image: Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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Everton’s shallow squad depth arguably helped them against Hull, as it allowed Barry the opportunity to correct his mistakes in the same game he made them. Although the lack of depth is a foundational problem that needs fixing, at this moment, the Blues have an environment that gives players a chance to redeem themselves.
As supporters, we are left in a situation we need to suck up until at least January; options within the squad are thin, so patience must be shown with this current crop of players. Players are not going to be added to the team until 2027, so the best we can do as Evertonians is commit our support to who we have.
The next few months will no doubt deplete Everton’s resources in the short term, meaning players will be asked to feature in unfamiliar positions, and some may find more first-team minutes than usual, so mistakes will likely creep into performances.
But as long as they are given the opportunities to rectify these mistakes, just as Barry did against Hull, unlikely heroes could pop up for the Blues, and this could be the chance for them to kickstart their careers on Merseyside.
Mark McParlan
It was disappointing to see us take the lead from behind and still throw away the points, but I’m not going to harp on too much about the defence given the three consecutive clean sheets prior.
We’ve seen that it was basically individual mistakes, including Ainsley Maitland-Niles for both goals. But I just feel like we could really regret the dropped points. 12 from six would have been fantastic.
On the positive side, we’re seeing our main goalscoring threats in Dewsbury-Hall and Barry on the scoresheet, which will be crucial to any success this campaign. Barry is the only striker at the club. He’s not exactly Bob Latchford, but we’re stuck with him and have to get behind him.
HULL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 11: Thierno Barry of Everton celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Hull City and Everton at MKM Stadium on October 11, 2026 in Hull, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Thierno Barry celebrates after putting Everton in front at Hull City(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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He’s netted six in eight this season having only managed eight in the entirety of the last campaign. He has the attributes: the height, the pace, and he’s getting into the right areas, even if we have to suffer Bambi-on-ice antics sometimes.
Meanwhile, it’s hard not to look with sadness at the spectacle of Richarlison appearing for Tottenham’s u21 side at Cheltenham Town in the ‘Jersey Mike’s’ Trophy midweek.
I’m pleased that the unbeaten run has continued, even if I'm frustrated by the draws, worried about tougher upcoming fixtures, and concerned that one injury forced Jarrad Branthwaite to left-back and, worse, Michael Keane into the starting XI.
Of course, the other looming cloud is the news that the Friedkins want to sell up. Honestly, the lack of reaction and discussion on that tells its own story: we all sensed their interest was waning. But now we are in limbo again.