LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 24: David Moyes, Manager of Everton, reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
David Moyes reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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Everton were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of the season on Sunday afternoon. Joao Palhinha scored the only goal of the game just before the break as the home side managed to avoid relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.
David Moyes’ side, who were well in contention for a European placing in March, eventually finished 13th after failing to win any of their last seven games. And that has led to the Blues boss coming under pressure from supporters.
And with Sunday’s game in mind, our Everton jury have returned to have their say on Sunday’s defeat and the Blues’ end to the season.
Mark McParlan
Unfortunately, against Tottenham Hotspur we witnessed the second utterly disgraceful Everton performance in a row.
Sure, there was no longer European football to play for, but a ‘respectable’ top-half finish could have been on the cards with a win. Instead, we allowed Spurs to stroll to the easiest safety-guaranteeing fixture they could possibly have dreamed of.
West Ham did their part, but with the eyes of an entire country upon us, we let that country down. By confirming Tottenham’s survival, all we have done is guarantee that they are another team who will leapfrog us next season.
We did not turn up at all. For 90 minutes, until injury time, our performance was outrageous, embarrassing, humiliating. We conceded loads of early chances. We had no control over the game and gave the ball away constantly. I was bored watching us.
I cannot believe David Moyes fielded the exact same line-up, Beto / Thierno Barry swap aside, which has been producing the same lacklustre results and performances for this whole crucial period of the season.
David Moyes and Beto during Everton's win over Nottingham Forest
David Moyes and Beto during Everton's win over Nottingham Forest(Image: (Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images))
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What is being gained by still picking the same players who are either knackered or done with the season? Let’s experiment. Jake O’Brien in his natural position, perhaps? Tyrique George and Charly Alcaraz are desperate to prove their worth. Or our £40million summer signing?
I’m just disappointed for those who travelled down to London, in boiling heat, for the fifth time since March, and had to watch that performance.
Everyone is absolutely furious with how we’ve thrown away the end of this season, and rightly so. The immediate post-match social media reaction that I saw was majority Moyes out.
I get it and agree with everything being said, but at the same time, I can’t bring myself to officially call for sacking the manager.
Arguably, it doesn’t matter anyway – he will get to start next season. Angus Kinnear and the board had made that clear enough already.
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James Kellett
Everton’s 2025-26 campaign ended in such disappointment, when just two months prior, discussions were floated about the Toffees hitting the heights of the Champions League.
So where did it all go wrong? A mixture of questionable managerial decisions, lack of quality in the squad, and of course, poor officiating from Premier League referees.
The aftermath of finishing 13th in the league has led some Evertonians down the path of calling for the removal of David Moyes.
Fans are frustrated with their club, and rightfully so, as it stems from over 30 years of just purely existing in the league and cups.
But when looking at Everton in their current predicament, regardless of who is in charge or what referee officiates their matches, the crop of players are just not good enough.
Taking the final match against Tottenham Hotspur, three of the back four were members of one of the worst Everton teams in history, the 2022-23 side.
Joao Palhinha of Tottenham Hotspur scores the winning goal against Everton that ensures Premier League status for another season . Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Joao Palhinha of Tottenham Hotspur scores the winning goal against Everton that ensures Premier League status for another season . Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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With respect to James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitalii Mykolenko, all have proven their worth in the Toffees’ team, but if the club wants to push higher up the table, the upcoming transfer window is going to be one of their biggest in years.
Moyes will face deserved criticism, but in the 2025-26 campaign he was unable to address the overall lack of quality on his side, and Everton would be in a similar position now if they had any other manager in charge.
Worries will linger regarding the business that the Scot would like to conduct in the summer, but with the correct additions in key areas, he has an opportunity to win his doubters over.
Yet if new recruits fail to make an immediate impact, things could go extremely sour for the 63-year-old. And it is Moyes’ transfer strategy that is at the crux of his current position.
If the ownership dislikes the direction he plans to take the club in concerning transfers, then the Toffees may well have to search for a fourth manager in four years.
Paul McParlan
For Everton and our fans, opportunity doesn’t always come knocking. It came most recently with a glimpse of a place in Europe being tantalisingly close, but after six games without a win before last Sunday, that was squandered.
At one stage, it seemed easier to make Europe than not make it, but we blew it. Everton that!
Another priceless opportunity was handed to us last Sunday, when we had the chance to send Tottenham Hotspur down to the Championship.
They had only won two home games all season, and the tension smouldering amongst the home supporters was volcanic. All the pressure was on them.
We produced what was arguably our worst away performance of the season in an insipid and impotent display, which handed the initiative to the home side, who duly went on to win the game comfortably and save themselves from the drop.
How could we have let that happen? We didn’t have a shot on target until the 98th minute! Watching that shambles filled me with dismay and mounting anger. We had a golden opportunity to relegate our opponents, and we wasted it.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto de Zerbi speaks to his players during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24, 2026 in London, United Kingdom
Roberto de Zerbi speaks to the Tottenham Hotspur players(Image: Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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Last season, we ended the campaign on a high, with three consecutive wins. This time we have not won any of our last seven games. While fans of teams such as Sunderland and Bournemouth can anticipate playing in Europe, the closest we will get to playing European opposition will be in a pre-season friendly. Again! For the eighth year running!
David Moyes’s post-match press conference was a masterclass of deflection, delusion and denial. When asked by the ECHO reporter Joe Thomas if he understood the frustration of fans, he answered with a terse ‘no’. Seriously? What kind of response was that?
Are the fans wrong and is he right? Should we be grateful for finishing 13th, one point better off than last time? Should we be dancing with joy in the fan plaza at Hill Dickinson Stadium or organising an open-top bus parade to celebrate this magnificent feat? Are we not ‘Happily Dissatisfied’?
The manager seemed to think that not being involved in a relegation scrap was a testament to the fine job he is doing. Sorry, David, it isn’t. We have been brainwashed into accepting mediocrity as the norm.
Everton's Scottish manager David Moyes gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
David Moyes gestures on the touchline during the Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton(Image: Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)
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Sadly, the recent comment by our CEO, Angus Kinnear, that he was ‘happily dissatisfied’ with our season reinforces that mindset.
Before the last international break in March, we had a chance to play Champions League football. At the very least, all we had to do was take seven points from a possible 21 to make the Europa Conference League.
We managed three! It was a catastrophic collapse in form which the manager seemed powerless to stop.
We could have relegated Tottenham; we didn’t. We should have made Europe; we didn’t. These opportunities have not arrived too often for Everton this century.