2025/26 David Moyes

[Lanolin]

I very much doubt anybody looked at beto as a 20 goal striker..
Maybe over the length of his contract, but not a season..

Oh they did. Some people literally said 20, a huge amount said he would get well into double figures. I remember arguing with someone in the summer who said he was ‘guaranteed’ to get double figures - I pointed that out it was an absurd thing to claim about someone who hadn’t scored double figures in the 2 seasons they’d been here and had never scored more than 11 at the top level anywhere, but I was shouted down by loads of people who were absolutely convinced low double figures was the very least he would get. He needs 9 in the next 20 to get there.

 

[NeilMorepies]

Chose to start the season with a tiny squad, knowing we will pick up injuries, and lose players to AFCON.
Can’t even fill the bench now, and will use that as an excuse for the next month.

 

[Swartzy]

Oh they did. Some people literally said 20, a huge amount said he would get well into double figures. I remember arguing with someone in the summer who said he was ‘guaranteed’ to get double figures - I pointed that out it was an absurd thing to claim about someone who hadn’t scored double figures in the 2 seasons they’d been here and had never scored more than 11 at the top level anywhere, but I was shouted down by loads of people who were absolutely convinced low double figures was the very least he would get. He needs 9 in the next 20 to get there.

Yeah, thinking about it, it doesn't surprise me at all with some of the gaff you read on here.

It will be the same people that are then first to call for his head, and refuse to admit they were kissing his backside a week earlier.

 

[Fonzy]

The squad is essentially mid table…so depending on your view the glass is half full or half empty.

We have good & poor players…some even have the odd good 45 then back to nothing.

However we have been a basket case for a good five years, crazy owner, fa breachers, points deductions, headlocks…you name it we’ve done it!

It will take time to build, to become a club viewed as well run…not to be considered relegation fodder.

Games like today are a reminder how far we have to travel…but In 12 months under TFG we’ve come a long way.

Keep the faith blues!

 

[Igrok]

The squad is essentially mid table…so depending on your view the glass is half full or half empty.

We have good & poor players…some even have the odd good 45 then back to nothing.

However we have been a basket case for a good five years, crazy owner, fa breachers, points deductions, headlocks…you name it we’ve done it!

It will take time to build, to become a club viewed as well run…not to be considered relegation fodder.

Games like today are a reminder how far we have to travel…but In 12 months under TFG we’ve come a long way.

Keep the faith blues!

Heard that like 10 years ago or 15..

 

[MikeH72]

Chose to start the season with a tiny squad, knowing we will pick up injuries, and lose players to AFCON.
Can’t even fill the bench now, and will use that as an excuse for the next month.

He was publicly screaming at our recruitment team to get their arses into gear all summer you buffoon.

 

[Steve EFC]

Chose to start the season with a tiny squad, knowing we will pick up injuries, and lose players to AFCON.
Can’t even fill the bench now, and will use that as an excuse for the next month.

So you think moyes chose to have a thin squad? I doubt it.
What I do think is a lot of players left and there was a club strategy that they were going to be either replaced with a combination of players that are upgrades and potential upgrades.
A thin squad was due to the sheer size of overhaul combined with the need to recruit carefully and allowing for PSR headroom the following summer for phase 2.

 

[Steve EFC]

Heard that like 10 years ago or 15..

Doesn’t mean it’s not the reality we are in now though, and there has been progress with the way the club is being run too, so that is where the belief comes from.

 

[Steve EFC]

All these shouts yesterday about moyes making negative subs and settling for a draw baffle me.
Firstly he had 8 players on the bench and 2 of them were GK’s and 2 were youth team players so he didn’t have attacking options to bring on.
But then with Burnley making several changes and bringing on fresh legs he couldn’t not bring fresh legs on himself!
Under Dyche everyone would have been moaning there was literally no subs being made!!!
Just feel Moyes is damned if he does or damned if he don’t!!!

 

[dannyboy]

All these shouts yesterday about moyes making negative subs and settling for a draw baffle me.
Firstly he had 8 players on the bench and 2 of them were GK’s and 2 were youth team players so he didn’t have attacking options to bring on.
But then with Burnley making several changes and bringing on fresh legs he couldn’t not bring fresh legs on himself!
Under Dyche everyone would have been moaning there was literally no subs being made!!!
Just feel they are damned if they do or damned if they don’t!!!

As soon as anyone saw that squad yesterday, they should've known what was coming. Tight game against a terrible team that could've went either way. Doesn't matter who we had in charge - would've been exactly the same.

 

[Steve EFC]

As soon as anyone saw that squad yesterday, they should've known what was coming. Tight game against a terrible team that could've went either way. Doesn't matter who we had in charge - would've been exactly the same.

Exactly. I feared the worst, but knew getting anything from the game would have been acceptable. We knew this period would be a challenge and injuries have not helped either.

 

[Gilbert..]

Heard that like 10 years ago or 15..

Well we'd have only really heard it under Moshri's new ownership. I cant think of any other time of late.
Wether people want to hear it or not that post was the stark reality of where we are. As of right now i'll take sitting comfortably away from the relegation zone and debating what players can come in and improve us. As opposed to 15 months ago having no debate at all about signing anyone other than maybe a free transfer or loan and having Sean Dyche as manager. Its worlds apart on stress levels alone.

 

[Zatara]

What you’re seeing is not expectation. It’s pure hatred. Only a man full of hate will try and pick on any negativity he can find no matter what happen.

We drew with Burnley.

Negative football since beating Forest 3-0 and on a high. No goals since then in 3 games.

Next we play Forest and most of us expect them to win 3-0.

We are already improving compared to to last season. You must be blind not to see it.

Last season we finished 13th and this season after 18 games were 11th.

To achieve this 2 placing improvement £150mil has been spent.

Can you say most of the signings have improved us?

Can you say youre seeing the integration of young players?

Have last seasons players improved again this season?

 

[RomanReigns]

The only positive I can take is we’ve played at burnley in the past and lost in the league when we had the likes of richarlison, dcl, Gordon and Branthwaite so at least we got a point with a much inferior team to that and kept a clean sheet.

 

[Zatara]

I think palace had a banner from that 'James' song... "If I hadnt seen such riches I could live with being poor'.
I feel that way about everton managers after Ancelotti.
I just look at how he played DCL and how all the managers after played him did, till he went to leeds, fark was paying attention.
I look at the way he took James in knowing his injury record but also his ability to create magic.
He took players like Godfrey and Davies and made them look like real footballers.
He changed formations, made subs when needed.
Yea, it dropped off at the end of his full season but I'd imagine his head was elsewhere.
Now when I look at Moyes, yeah, he's doing fine. Boring, stable, fine.
Grealish has been foundout on the wing in recent games but Moyes wont move him.
No tactical changes.
Even today. 2 subs at 60 mins, no wait, Beto and Alcaraz both did something just there. Make the subs 68 mins
I'm grateful he's brought stability and he'a a gazillion times better than dyche but I'd love a new manager next season.

Great points well made.

I'd have a Fabregas, Iraola or Glasner end of the season - if i cant see young players developing on the pitch or Europe.

Fabregas as he has the name to attact players and seems to be doing very well at Como. Glasner mainly because so many decent posters rate him. Iraola because Bournemouth spend money but frequently sell as well and he develops and plays young players.

Which manager would you have?

I agree, I'm not advocating for sacking Moyes, that makes no sense. I'm just saying that when he gets things wrong he should be criticised and that shouldn't be a big deal. I'm also saying that if an opportunity to appoint a better manager emerges before the end of Moyes' contract then we should be all over it. Every manager we've appointed since Koeman (maybe Silva, I suppose) has been an emergency appointment. I'd like to see us target a specific manager, to a specific style of play and with a specific player recruitment strategy for once and if summer 26 is a possible time to do that then we should go for it.

Who would you go for? As above, mine would be Iraola, Glasner, Fabregas.

I think you have to give a manager an actual extended period to build the squad they want.. that's the thing. I'm sure Moyes knows that we're still 3,4,5 players short at least of having a squad to challenge the way he wants. But it was impossible to do all in one season.

I think most would struggle to argue against the fact that we are vastly improved from before Moyes came in.

For me, he deserves the time to actually build his squad aslong as improvement is visible year on year, which so far it is.

Thats fair to say he needs time. Does he 'deserve' time?

What makes him deserve time? Whats improving? What patterns of play and player development are you seeing?

For me its limited.

Nowhere near full strength for the Leeds and Burnley games but this is still pretty shocking

Take Garner or Iroegbunam out of our team yesterday and we'd have lost.

Not one of their players would get in ours. Not a single one.

Scott Parkers side looked way more up for it than ours. Theyve been losing most weeks and yet seemed to want to attack quickly and pass the ball.

They were of course dreadful but werent sleepwalking like most of ours.