Former Everton captain Seamus Coleman and ex-Liverpool player Jamie Carragher have been discussing the Blues
Former Everton captain Seamus Coleman
Former Everton captain Seamus Coleman
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Long-serving former captain Seamus Coleman has slammed what has widely been described as a shambolic end to the transfer window from Everton’s owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) and admits he cannot “understand how that can happen” - as Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher declared that manager David Moyes has “been dealt a bad hand.”
Although TFG performed a dramatic U-turn on plans to cash in on home-grown teenager Harrison Armstrong, who was set to be sold to Nottingham Forest for £40million before fans threatened to riot, they still pocketed over £100million on deadline day with their most creative talent Iliman Ndiaye, last season’s top scorer Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson all sold, plus Adam Aznou loaned out.
This ensured that following the late collapse of the purchase of USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun from Monaco, Everton were left with a first-team squad of 18 outfield players that contains just one striker, one left-back and one right-back.
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Then, on October 9, the Blues’ Houston-based owners announced that the club was up for sale, less than 22 months after they had completed their takeover to obtain Farhad Moshiri’s 99.5% controlling stake.
And although Moyes steered Everton on an eight-match unbeaten run at the start of the season, the team have now lost their last two matches, both by a 2-0 scoreline, to Chelsea and Arsenal.
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And speaking in the latest episode of the Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, Coleman, whose 435 appearances for the Blues places him in the all-time top 10, with a record 374 in the Premier League, over a 17-and-a-half year spell following his transfer from Sligo Rovers in January 2009 for a now fabled ‘60 grand’ fee, addressed supporters’ frustrations over the transfer window.
The Republic of Ireland international said: “Listen, I’ve said it to you before, I live in the streets, and the fanbase of Everton are demanding, and they’re not going to sit still. In my early days at Everton, it was always like you were chasing something, whether it be Europe, or I used to be talking about I’d love to win an FA Cup or whatever.
“You get scarred that much from the relegation battles that you can fall into a place of: ‘Oh, I just want to be okay’. That’s not the right answer for the size of Everton Football Club.
“But it’s difficult, because the manager’s come in, and you see it from your side, I see it from mine, but he stabilised a group inside that was in a bad place. Then in the summer, who sells a striker before you get one in?
BOLTON, ENGLAND - JULY 25: Beto of Everton during the pre-season friendly match between Bolton Wanderers and Everton at Toughsheet Community Stadium on July 25, 2026 in Bolton, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Beto's departure to Fiorentina has left Everton with just one senior striker (Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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“We can all have frustrations, and the performances probably weren’t where they should be, but you can’t even take off your striker, who might be tired from running around, to replace him with another one, because you don’t have one. We’re talking about a Premier League-level club.
“I just don’t understand how that can happen. But the gaffer [Moyes] will work hard, he’ll get the job done and all the rest. I just think, from being stung so many times, I’m not saying this is right, but it’s nearly where my mindset has shifted to over the last few years.
“It’s like, I just want us to be okay, get a few more bodies in January, and then Europe would be great, and whatever happens from there is another thing but we didn’t bring in loads of quality attacking players. Iliman Ndiaye left, wasn’t really replaced, and then Beto left and wasn’t really replaced.”
The 38-year-old, who announced on May 15 he was leaving Everton, but has still yet to find a new club, acknowledged beleaguered Blues are right to demand more though. Coleman said: “You can’t blame the Everton fans as well for wanting better.
“I talked about myself there, about feeling in that safe zone, but it’s been so long. Every other club has had something, some kind of success or something, some cup final or whatever.
“It’s been so long that I understand the fans, they are a group of fans there that remember good times, successful times, so you don’t want to stop their ambition either. From a fanbase, you want that, but of course, you’ve got to be careful as well.”
Seamus Coleman speaks to Jamie Carragher on the Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet
Seamus Coleman speaks to Jamie Carragher on the Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet
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Meanwhile, Kop idol Carragher, a boyhood Evertonian, commented on the negativity around the club when it comes to the general mood of supporters. He said: “You’ve got Everton royalty here on the couch, that should cheer you up as well.
“You’ve only lost two games so far this season. They obviously lost to Arsenal at the weekend, but Evertonians still seem unhappy to me from what I see online.
“I know you can never gauge that fully about people online, but it feels like a constant negativity, not happy. What did you expect this season with what David Moyes was left with, really? One striker who’s probably not the answer.”
The 48-year-old, who made 737 appearances as a one-club man for Liverpool, elaborated on the conditions that Moyes, who steered Everton to nine top-eight finishes, including a highest-ever Premier League place of fourth during his first spell in charge, is having to manage in at Hill Dickinson Stadium under stay-away and now wantaway owner Dan Friedkin.
Carragher said: “Moyes is in his last year, isn’t he? I just think everything in that situation, I totally agree with what Seamus said, and that’s what supporters were saying.
“We just want a couple of years of not having sleepless nights going into March and April. Moyes gives you that.
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“As supporters, you want more then, don’t you? I think some of the frustration at the end of last season was a little bit harsh, in terms of, oh, we could have gone to Europe in the last few games of the season.
“This summer, he’s been dealt a bad hand. He has been dealt a bad hand transfer-wise.
“I think Everton will probably finish where they are now. I know the supporters will probably be a bit angry about that and maybe will not want David Moyes to stay or sign a new contract.
“I’m just really interested in what happens to Everton over the next couple of years if they get a new manager in because every supporter wants to go that way, of course. It could easily go the other way, where it was before Moyes came back, where it felt like every season was fighting relegation.
“When I still sometimes look at Everton’s squad, I’m not saying it’s a relegation squad. My point being, somebody not managing that group of players well and getting things wrong and making mistakes, that could easily find itself [the team] fighting for its life.”