Everton’s start to the season has reignited a row that began on talkSPORT last week, and as of 17 September the debate over David Moyes’ squad, and the Friedkin Group’s ownership, is still running. Simon Jordan and Alex Crook offered sharply different verdicts on air, and their exchange has only grown more relevant since Moyes spoke himself after the 2-2 draw with Manchester United. This update brings together where the argument stands now.
Updated position on the talkSPORT David Moyes debate
Everton have taken five points from their opening three league games and remain unbeaten, a solid if unspectacular return that has done little to settle the argument about whether Moyes has enough at his disposal. The manager himself addressed the subject directly after the draw with United, acknowledging that his squad is smaller than he would like. He was clear, though, that this was not an excuse. His job, he said, is to manage the players he has.
That comment has become the reference point for the talkSPORT discussion. Jordan and Crook both used it to make opposing cases about what Everton’s early-season form actually tells us, and about where responsibility should sit if results dip.
Simon Jordan and Alex Crook clash over Everton management
Simon Jordan’s position was blunt. He argued that Everton’s ownership under the Friedkins is fundamentally a business proposition, telling talkSPORT listeners that “the Friedkins bought Everton because they want to make money.” For Jordan, that context matters when judging Moyes. His view is that a manager takes a job knowing the resources available and must work within them.
Alex Crook, talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent, took the opposite line. He argued that Moyes has been badly let down by the club, going as far as to describe Everton as relegation contenders given the size of the squad at the manager’s disposal. Crook suggested that, in those circumstances, Moyes should consider walking away rather than continue working with what he has been given.
The two positions capture a familiar split among pundits and supporters alike: is a manager’s job to make the best of the resources provided, or is there a point at which those resources are simply inadequate for the level of expectation? Our earlier report on the Friedkins’ broader approach to running the club adds further context to Jordan’s argument about ownership priorities.
Did Simon Jordan criticize David Moyes over Everton’s squad size?
Yes, but not in the way some headlines have suggested. Jordan did not criticise Moyes’ management of individual matches or tactics. His criticism was aimed at the idea that a small squad should be treated as an excuse at all.
Jordan’s argument on talkSPORT was that Moyes has to manage the players available to him “or don’t work there.” In other words, he was not attacking Moyes’ ability, but setting out a condition: accept the job as it is, including its limitations, or step away from it. That is a different point from Crook’s, which focused on whether Everton’s board has done enough to support the manager rather than on whether Moyes should simply accept his lot.
It is also worth being precise about what Moyes himself said. He agreed with the basic premise that his squad is smaller than he wanted, which lends some weight to Crook’s framing. But Moyes went on to say there could be no excuses, a line closer in spirit to Jordan’s stance than to Crook’s suggestion that he should walk away. The manager, in other words, appears to be positioning himself in the middle of the two pundits’ arguments rather than firmly behind either one.
What happens next for David Moyes and Everton
There is no indication from the evidence available that Moyes is considering leaving his post, and nothing in his own comments points that way. Crook’s suggestion that he should walk away is his opinion as a broadcaster, not a report of any decision or discussion at the club. Everton fans should treat it as punditry rather than news.
What is factual is Everton’s unbeaten start: five points from three league games, alongside a manager who has publicly accepted the constraints of his squad while insisting they will not be used as a shield if results turn. The talkSPORT debate is likely to resurface whenever Everton’s form dips, given how starkly Jordan and Crook set out their positions. For now, the clearest measure of where things stand is on the pitch, and Everton’s results over the coming weeks will do more to settle this argument than any studio discussion. Readers can revisit the full detail of the original exchange in our original talkSPORT debate report.
