Everton cannot be content simply to exist – something has to change

I saw an Everton article on Google earlier in which the suggestion was that the club “just exists”.

Apologies to whoever wrote it because I cannot remember where it was published or who it was by, but it was a choice of words that resonated with me and, I suspect, will resonate with plenty of Evertonians too.

I write about Everton for a living rather than them being in my heart, although I have developed a real affection for the club. To be fair, there was probably always some there anyway – anyone who is an arch enemy of Liverpool is a friend of mine – and the more time you spend watching and writing about Everton, the easier it becomes to understand both the depth of feeling surrounding the club and the frustration that comes with it.

Because everything around Everton feels as though it should be positive at the moment. And, to a degree, it is. There is the Hill Dickinson, a greater sense of stability – even though TFG are touting them around – and the feeling that some of the uncertainty which has hung over the club for far too long is beginning to disappear. But that positivity can only take Evertonians so far when results on the pitch remain so inconsistent.

Everton need to show where this is heading

Two consecutive Premier League defeats and only two wins from eight make for a lukewarm start to the season, however hard we try to spin the five-game unbeaten opening. There have been good moments, and Moyes has undoubtedly made Everton, on the whole, more difficult to beat, but there is still a sense of waiting for something more convincing to emerge.

The record against the better sides hardly helps. Everton rarely deliver away from home against the traditional top-six clubs, and one statistic doing the rounds after the Arsenal defeat was particularly grim. Michael Swan pointed out on X that Moyes has now managed Everton 45 times away at Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool without winning once – 27 defeats, with 31 goals scored and 83 conceded.

That makes for an underwhelming case for those who passionately believe Moyes is the answer. I still think he was the right man to take over from Sean Dyche and steady the ship, but now that the ship is relatively steady, is he the right man to take Everton forward? For me, the jury remains out.

Moyes understands Everton, and he understands the need for his side to be super-workmanlike and, when circumstances demand it, morph into something resembling the Dogs of War. But it feels as though Evertonians are ready for a more attacking brand of football as well; one that demands dynamism, skill and subtlety and feels befitting of the surroundings in which they now play.

Given some of the talent in this squad, that does not seem unreasonable. Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George are footballers capable of producing far more than just ‘functionality’, and there should be room for Everton to be intense and high-octane while also being pleasing on the eye. Evertonians have waited long enough to watch a team which does more than scrap, survive and occasionally threaten to become something better.

But this cannot simply become another argument about the limitations of Moyes, because the limitations of the squad are just as obvious. It has neither the numbers nor the options required of a side supposedly looking towards the top half of the Premier League, and that isn’t the manager’s fault. Responsibility for that belongs with those entrusted with giving him the tools to do the job.

To end the summer transfer window with one recognised senior striker was, from the outside looking in, beyond difficult to fathom. Injuries in other areas have already exposed how quickly those options disappear and, when Moyes wants to change a game or freshen up his side, there simply isn’t the depth you would expect from a club with ambitions of moving forward.

Perhaps that is ultimately where the feeling that Everton “just exists” comes from. The club has moved forward in so many visible ways, yet supporters are still waiting for the team to follow.

There is nothing wrong with stability after everything Everton have been through. But stability should be the starting point for what comes next, rather than the destination itself.

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