The Everton Forum • Re: David Moyes
he's done an interview with (unfortunately) Spitty in the telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... y-gerrard/
Carragher meets Moyes: I told my players you’d kick us in the first 30 seconds
Everton manager tells Telegraph Sport columnist why qualifying for Europe would be among his finest achievements
Midway through an hour-long chat with a strong contender for the Premier League Manager of the Year award, David Moyes expresses a minor grievance.
“You’re involved in this, but we’ve had an awful lot of Monday night kick-offs this season,” he points out. “It’s not quite the same as coming together at 3pm or 5.30pm on a Saturday is it? It doesn’t make it easier when you are trying to get used to a new stadium. The victory over Chelsea felt like a huge moment for us.”
“Do you want me to have a word with Sky?” I ask, laughing.
Moyes pauses.
“Not if it means we’re going to get less money,” he replies.
The light-hearted exchange is a pertinent reminder of the exceptional job Moyes has done in his first full year back at Everton. Having first banished relegation fears, he is now navigating the challenging transition to a new home – the Hill Dickinson Stadium – to lead Everton to the verge of Europe.
When Moyes replaced Sean Dyche 15 months ago, Everton were in turmoil. They had won one of their previous 11 matches, scoring a single goal in eight games, and sat a point above the bottom three.
Now they are three points from a Champions League spot. If Moyes’s hopes are realised, no coach will have overseen such a startling improvement in 2026
“We’ve been kicked in the b------s too much and let down here in the last few years,” Moyes says. “I told the lads at the start of this season that when I went to West Ham and avoided relegation, I looked at the players and saw no reason why they could not qualify for Europe. I told our lads they could do the same this season.
“You could say that was just a bit of motivation to try to generate the fight we needed. I was challenging the players, saying: ‘Can we really do this?’
“We have seven games left – tough games – but we’ve given ourselves a chance. If we don’t do it, we’ll all be disappointed, although I know I will be able to say this season has not been bad, given where we have come from and what was expected coming into this one.
“Now we’ve come this far, we look at it and think we could have spent £200m last summer and not been in such a strong position. You want to take the chance when you get it. I want some of the players to think they may never get a better chance to play for Everton in Europe.”
Given the context, would Moyes consider securing a European place one of his greatest coaching achievements?
“I would have to say yes, I think so,” he agreed.
“We had to lose 12 players last summer, and we didn’t spend much. If you had said to me a year ago we would be three points from the reigning champions at this stage, I would have said: ‘No way.’ It would be some step for us to take.
“A year ago the boys were thinking, ‘Are we going to stay up?’ and were getting dog’s abuse from the supporters. Now they feel much better walking the streets.
“I said when I came back that I never want to be a manager of Everton getting asked about relegation ever again. That’s no fun. That’s not the pressure I want.”
With that in mind, I want to take Moyes back to the decision to return, especially given how perilous the situation was in January 2025. After negotiations with the new owners, the Friedkin Group, an intervention from two Goodison legends sealed the deal.
“When the opportunity came around again, I was thinking, ‘Bloody hell, Everton are on the verge of relegation here,’” he recalls.
“There had been a lot of good managers who had been here who had not been able to fix things. The one thing I knew I had in my favour was the knowledge of the club, of what the fans here demand and want. What I did not know for sure was whether we had what was required in the building.
“What happened next was that I got a call from Seamus Coleman, and he and Leighton Baines came to my house. They pushed me over the line to come back because they said with what we call in football ‘the small wins’ I could get to galvanise the team. That gave me the final nudge I needed.”
As a former professional, I know exactly what Moyes means by this. The “small wins” are the minute details, the shifts in routine and positive culture that make players relish, rather than dread coming to the training ground, ultimately making looming match days something to be excited by rather than fear.
“I immediately saw what Seamus and Bainsey said. The culture was not as bad as it might have been viewed externally,” Moyes explains. “There were players here who fit the Everton DNA. Seamus was driving that. I could give you numerous examples of Seamus really getting into the boys on the training pitch, demanding they meet certain standards and digging them out if they didn’t.
“I saw the characters here to have a real go, not just at getting away from trouble last season, but to build on it this season. But if you ask me to name someone who has kept what we know as Everton going over the last few years, it’s Seamus.
“Lots of managers have come in, and lots of money was spent, but I always think there is something different about Everton. To me, this is a club that is better suited to being rebuilt gradually. We’re not Chelsea, Manchester City or Liverpool with lots of cash. Doing it step by step is the way for us. That might mean doing well one year, not so well the next, and then going forward again. It’s important not to always feel you’re back to square one after a setback.
“We were able to do that for a number of years [in Moyes’s first spell]. For 11 years we were consistently challenging for the European places, or to be top four and five. What would the club have given for that level of consistency in the last few years?”
To cynics, Everton’s lofty league position is more a consequence of a lower-quality Premier League. As someone who took his first job in the top flight in 2002, how does Moyes respond to that suggestion?
“There is so much football to watch on TV that I wonder if it means we don’t look forward to seeing as many games as we did years ago,” he suggests.
“I personally don’t see any drop in standards. The games are so tight across the entire Premier League. Wolves are a good example. They’re the bottom side, but you can’t tell me any side is genuinely looking forward to playing Wolves at the moment.
“Everyone can beat everyone. We lost narrowly at Arsenal in a nip-and-tuck game, but it could have gone either way.
“I get the point that there may be some aspects which do not seem so high in quality – there was a phase when everyone wanted to play from the back and more coaches realised they can beat a high press by going long.
“But I also think if every team played the same way we would all be bored. There was a time as a coach or when you started out that you might look at how Wimbledon used to play and think how are you going to deal with all those long balls. And then it changed to Manchester City and you’re thinking how you’re going to get the ball at all.
“You can get negativity as a coach whether you are one way or another. A middle ground, where you will pass from the back sometimes and go long others, is the best way to utilise what you have. There are fewer coaches now who are completely long or what you might call ‘tippy-tappy’.”
‘I want to bring through more Scouse boys’
One aspect of the modern game which does concern Moyes is academy football and the development pathway, especially close to home, where he is intent on adding a local heartbeat to his side, a core of Evertonian grit and talent.
“You look at a country like France, and the players there get a chance to play in the first team much earlier because a lot of the clubs do not have the money for lots of transfers,” he says.
“You know yourself that playing with great players helps you become a better player. You had it at Liverpool, I did at Celtic. And then you need a lucky break here and there to give you the chance to break through.
“I definitely want to bring through more Scouse boys. It is disappointing we’ve not had a bundle like Wayne Rooney, Ross Barkley and Jack Rodwell coming through in recent years. Our academy has to be built back up.”
And what does the local element – the Scouse heartbeat – bring to a club like Everton? His response nods to next weekend’s Merseyside derby.
“I used to say to my players: ‘You watch that f------ Carragher and Gerrard, they’ll be kicking us in the first 30 seconds!’” he says, laughing.
“That was the kind of aggression we wanted in our team, especially at Goodison. We always knew we could challenge the very best at Goodison. It’s what we are trying to bring to our new home.
“It’s also important to show the owners what it means to be an Evertonian and what is expected here. We’ve made quite a big jump in 12 months, but if you don’t look to progress again it can quite easily slip back. We need to keep pushing and demanding to keep Everton competitive. I’m very hopeful we will. And I tell you this, if we do get to Europe there will be full houses here whoever we play.”
The European dream is real.
I remember sending Moyes a text message congratulating him on winning a trophy with West Ham United. I have no split loyalty, admitting I would do the same if he achieves likewise with Everton. “Thanks for that,” he says.
“That moment with West Ham was amazing. As a manager, I felt truly elevated. If I could win anything for Everton, having come back, it would be incredible. We’re at the start now.
“It’s been great for me to be back, and hopefully good for the club, and it feels like I am in the right place at the right time in my career.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... y-gerrard/
Carragher meets Moyes: I told my players you’d kick us in the first 30 seconds
Everton manager tells Telegraph Sport columnist why qualifying for Europe would be among his finest achievements
Midway through an hour-long chat with a strong contender for the Premier League Manager of the Year award, David Moyes expresses a minor grievance.
“You’re involved in this, but we’ve had an awful lot of Monday night kick-offs this season,” he points out. “It’s not quite the same as coming together at 3pm or 5.30pm on a Saturday is it? It doesn’t make it easier when you are trying to get used to a new stadium. The victory over Chelsea felt like a huge moment for us.”
“Do you want me to have a word with Sky?” I ask, laughing.
Moyes pauses.
“Not if it means we’re going to get less money,” he replies.
The light-hearted exchange is a pertinent reminder of the exceptional job Moyes has done in his first full year back at Everton. Having first banished relegation fears, he is now navigating the challenging transition to a new home – the Hill Dickinson Stadium – to lead Everton to the verge of Europe.
When Moyes replaced Sean Dyche 15 months ago, Everton were in turmoil. They had won one of their previous 11 matches, scoring a single goal in eight games, and sat a point above the bottom three.
Now they are three points from a Champions League spot. If Moyes’s hopes are realised, no coach will have overseen such a startling improvement in 2026
“We’ve been kicked in the b------s too much and let down here in the last few years,” Moyes says. “I told the lads at the start of this season that when I went to West Ham and avoided relegation, I looked at the players and saw no reason why they could not qualify for Europe. I told our lads they could do the same this season.
“You could say that was just a bit of motivation to try to generate the fight we needed. I was challenging the players, saying: ‘Can we really do this?’
“We have seven games left – tough games – but we’ve given ourselves a chance. If we don’t do it, we’ll all be disappointed, although I know I will be able to say this season has not been bad, given where we have come from and what was expected coming into this one.
“Now we’ve come this far, we look at it and think we could have spent £200m last summer and not been in such a strong position. You want to take the chance when you get it. I want some of the players to think they may never get a better chance to play for Everton in Europe.”
Given the context, would Moyes consider securing a European place one of his greatest coaching achievements?
“I would have to say yes, I think so,” he agreed.
“We had to lose 12 players last summer, and we didn’t spend much. If you had said to me a year ago we would be three points from the reigning champions at this stage, I would have said: ‘No way.’ It would be some step for us to take.
“A year ago the boys were thinking, ‘Are we going to stay up?’ and were getting dog’s abuse from the supporters. Now they feel much better walking the streets.
“I said when I came back that I never want to be a manager of Everton getting asked about relegation ever again. That’s no fun. That’s not the pressure I want.”
With that in mind, I want to take Moyes back to the decision to return, especially given how perilous the situation was in January 2025. After negotiations with the new owners, the Friedkin Group, an intervention from two Goodison legends sealed the deal.
“When the opportunity came around again, I was thinking, ‘Bloody hell, Everton are on the verge of relegation here,’” he recalls.
“There had been a lot of good managers who had been here who had not been able to fix things. The one thing I knew I had in my favour was the knowledge of the club, of what the fans here demand and want. What I did not know for sure was whether we had what was required in the building.
“What happened next was that I got a call from Seamus Coleman, and he and Leighton Baines came to my house. They pushed me over the line to come back because they said with what we call in football ‘the small wins’ I could get to galvanise the team. That gave me the final nudge I needed.”
As a former professional, I know exactly what Moyes means by this. The “small wins” are the minute details, the shifts in routine and positive culture that make players relish, rather than dread coming to the training ground, ultimately making looming match days something to be excited by rather than fear.
“I immediately saw what Seamus and Bainsey said. The culture was not as bad as it might have been viewed externally,” Moyes explains. “There were players here who fit the Everton DNA. Seamus was driving that. I could give you numerous examples of Seamus really getting into the boys on the training pitch, demanding they meet certain standards and digging them out if they didn’t.
“I saw the characters here to have a real go, not just at getting away from trouble last season, but to build on it this season. But if you ask me to name someone who has kept what we know as Everton going over the last few years, it’s Seamus.
“Lots of managers have come in, and lots of money was spent, but I always think there is something different about Everton. To me, this is a club that is better suited to being rebuilt gradually. We’re not Chelsea, Manchester City or Liverpool with lots of cash. Doing it step by step is the way for us. That might mean doing well one year, not so well the next, and then going forward again. It’s important not to always feel you’re back to square one after a setback.
“We were able to do that for a number of years [in Moyes’s first spell]. For 11 years we were consistently challenging for the European places, or to be top four and five. What would the club have given for that level of consistency in the last few years?”
To cynics, Everton’s lofty league position is more a consequence of a lower-quality Premier League. As someone who took his first job in the top flight in 2002, how does Moyes respond to that suggestion?
“There is so much football to watch on TV that I wonder if it means we don’t look forward to seeing as many games as we did years ago,” he suggests.
“I personally don’t see any drop in standards. The games are so tight across the entire Premier League. Wolves are a good example. They’re the bottom side, but you can’t tell me any side is genuinely looking forward to playing Wolves at the moment.
“Everyone can beat everyone. We lost narrowly at Arsenal in a nip-and-tuck game, but it could have gone either way.
“I get the point that there may be some aspects which do not seem so high in quality – there was a phase when everyone wanted to play from the back and more coaches realised they can beat a high press by going long.
“But I also think if every team played the same way we would all be bored. There was a time as a coach or when you started out that you might look at how Wimbledon used to play and think how are you going to deal with all those long balls. And then it changed to Manchester City and you’re thinking how you’re going to get the ball at all.
“You can get negativity as a coach whether you are one way or another. A middle ground, where you will pass from the back sometimes and go long others, is the best way to utilise what you have. There are fewer coaches now who are completely long or what you might call ‘tippy-tappy’.”
‘I want to bring through more Scouse boys’
One aspect of the modern game which does concern Moyes is academy football and the development pathway, especially close to home, where he is intent on adding a local heartbeat to his side, a core of Evertonian grit and talent.
“You look at a country like France, and the players there get a chance to play in the first team much earlier because a lot of the clubs do not have the money for lots of transfers,” he says.
“You know yourself that playing with great players helps you become a better player. You had it at Liverpool, I did at Celtic. And then you need a lucky break here and there to give you the chance to break through.
“I definitely want to bring through more Scouse boys. It is disappointing we’ve not had a bundle like Wayne Rooney, Ross Barkley and Jack Rodwell coming through in recent years. Our academy has to be built back up.”
And what does the local element – the Scouse heartbeat – bring to a club like Everton? His response nods to next weekend’s Merseyside derby.
“I used to say to my players: ‘You watch that f------ Carragher and Gerrard, they’ll be kicking us in the first 30 seconds!’” he says, laughing.
“That was the kind of aggression we wanted in our team, especially at Goodison. We always knew we could challenge the very best at Goodison. It’s what we are trying to bring to our new home.
“It’s also important to show the owners what it means to be an Evertonian and what is expected here. We’ve made quite a big jump in 12 months, but if you don’t look to progress again it can quite easily slip back. We need to keep pushing and demanding to keep Everton competitive. I’m very hopeful we will. And I tell you this, if we do get to Europe there will be full houses here whoever we play.”
The European dream is real.
I remember sending Moyes a text message congratulating him on winning a trophy with West Ham United. I have no split loyalty, admitting I would do the same if he achieves likewise with Everton. “Thanks for that,” he says.
“That moment with West Ham was amazing. As a manager, I felt truly elevated. If I could win anything for Everton, having come back, it would be incredible. We’re at the start now.
“It’s been great for me to be back, and hopefully good for the club, and it feels like I am in the right place at the right time in my career.”
Statistics: Posted by Shogun — Sat Apr 11, 2026 10:44 am