2025/26 David Moyes

[windymiller]

I think the discussion often gets stuck on extremes. It’s not about Moyes being flawless or “the only option”, it’s about what actually fits the current state of the club.

We’re still in a phase where the squad isn’t built for a very rigid, high-intensity system from day one. That’s why I personally value managers who can adapt their approach to the players they have, rather than being fully locked into one ideology. Coaches like Bielsa, Iraola or Postecoglou have very strong identities, which can look brilliant when everything aligns, but they also require a very specific squad and a lot of time to properly implement.

And when people talk about “stability”, I don’t mean accepting mediocrity or standing still. I mean not constantly ripping things up and changing direction. And if we’re being honest, results-wise it’s hard to argue we’ve been regressing under Moyes compared to what came before him. That doesn’t make him untouchable, but it does suggest there is at least some foundation being rebuilt.

Managers that can adapt their approach?! Moyes plays the exact same formation every single game. He plays the same 13 players over the entire season and substitutes Beto/Barry for Barry/Beto between the 70th and 80th minute mark every single game. He almost never makes a sub before the 70th minute unless the opposition scores, at which point he makes a like for like substitution two minutes after that happens. He's the most entrenched manager in the league, he's about as flexible as a titanium rod.

As for your definition of stability "I don’t mean accepting mediocrity or standing still. I mean not constantly ripping things up and changing direction" these two sentences as antipodes of each other. I don't want to stand still but I don't want to change anything either! It's so unambitious. We've got to shed our inferiority complex. Under Moyes we're steady Eddies, we won't be in any real trouble but we won't be challenging for anything. 25 year career, one pot, two finals. He's the ultimate low expectations manager.

 

[ToffeeScot]

I think the discussion often gets stuck on extremes. It’s not about Moyes being flawless or “the only option”, it’s about what actually fits the current state of the club.

We’re still in a phase where the squad isn’t built for a very rigid, high-intensity system from day one. That’s why I personally value managers who can adapt their approach to the players they have, rather than being fully locked into one ideology. Coaches like Bielsa, Iraola or Postecoglou have very strong identities, which can look brilliant when everything aligns, but they also require a very specific squad and a lot of time to properly implement.

And when people talk about “stability”, I don’t mean accepting mediocrity or standing still. I mean not constantly ripping things up and changing direction. And if we’re being honest, results-wise it’s hard to argue we’ve been regressing under Moyes compared to what came before him. That doesn’t make him untouchable, but it does suggest there is at least some foundation being rebuilt.

Every manager has a base philosophy or ideology that they flex from. Some will be completely rigid in never flexing like Ange or Bielsa but I don't think it's fair to label that to Iraola. He's got more flex to him.

 

[DualityNSNO]

Nobody, targets Stability as THE goal, not 1 person.

We are just being realistic FOR NOW, how are so many just ignoring this ??!

First part is definitely not true - it was THE goal for the entirety of the season and is likely THE goal for next with Moyes.

For now doesn't work that way as these are multiyear projects at this point - what is Moyes setting us up for currently? Spending 100m+ more on players he won't play? You have to have an eye on the future as well as the now, and with Moyes we don't get the future part.

It has been dreadful recently though. This year has realistically been crap as well - the possibility and chance to advance and do better quicker was there, but we didn't have the man in charge to actually try and do that; instead we're at more or less the same spot as last year.