Everton shake off home hoodoo with comfortable win over Burnley
Everton 2 – 0 Burnley
This was just what David Moyes's men needed following Saturday’s stirring win over Newcastle and a barren three months without a win at Bramley-Moore Dock
They say there are no easy games in the Premier League anymore but Everton came up against the ideal opponents this evening as they went in search of a first home win in almost three months.
Since mid-January, doomed Burnley had drawn at Liverpool and Chelsea, beaten Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and almost completed an incredible comeback from 3-0 down against Brentford at Turf Moor at the weekend, only to have VAR rule out two goals that might have secured them a 4-4 draw.
Perhaps that agonising late drama knocked the stuffing out of Scott Parker’s men because tonight, in stark contrast to those afore-mentioned impressive exploits, they barely laid a glove on the Blues who edged themselves in front through a first-half goal by ex-Claret, James Tarkowski, and then set the seal on three valuable points when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall notched on the hour mark to double the lead.
Were it not for indecision in one instance and then a missing slice of fortune in another, Idrissa Gueye might have helped pad the scoreline to match the one by which Everton beat Nottingham Forest in their last victory in front of their own fans back in early December but no one of a Blue persuasion will be too concerned.
This was just what David Moyes needed by way of a follow-up to Saturday’s stirring win over Newcastle in the North East. His charges controlled the game for all bar a couple of spells at the beginning and end of the second half with their highest possession percentage since the 1-1 draw here with Leeds in late January and ran out surprisingly comfortable winners.
What wasn’t surprising in the context of the weekend performance at St James’s Park was Moyes’s unchanged line-up, which kept faith with Beto and Dwight McNeil. And if the XI that started the game lacked for long spells in the first period the requisite guile and creativity to break Burnley down, they were at least disciplined and patient in their build-up play and warmed to their task with more freedom as the game wore on.
An early opportunity for Lyle Foster to race away on the counter-attack and drag a shot across Jordan Pickford’s goal with Tarkowski again caught far too far upfield wasn’t to be repeated and the Toffees settled into a pattern of measured pressure.
Beto won a couple of early corners before Kyle Walker conceded two more as he snuffed out Iliman Ndiaye’s attempt to dribble towards goal and then headed behind his byline, set-piece opportunities that allowed James Garner to find his range for the opening goal in the 32 minute.
The midfielder curled an inviting free-kick behind the defence and Tarkowski rose behind Jarrad Branthwaite to plant a header across Martin Dubravka and into the far side of the goal.
And after Dewsbury-Hall had smashed over from a free-kick routine, Branthwaite went close to reprising his goal against Newcastle three days ago from another Garner free-kick. Once again the big defender ghosted in front of his marker and glanced a header goal-wards but Dubravka was equal to it and pawed it to safety.
From the subsequent corner, McNeil had a volley saved by the keeper and after Ndiaye had his legs taken out from under him by Dubravka but neither referee Tim Robinson nor VAR Neil Davies found it worthy of a penalty, McNeil had one more strike towards the target. However, his placed side-footer was blocked.
Burnley were mystifyingly absent from the contest as an attacking force and until Jaidon Anthony’s 79th-minute daisy-cutter and Foster’s close-range prod in stoppage time that prompted another brilliant reaction save by Pickford, the only time they looked remotely threatening was from a couple of suicidal back-passes by Everton players that, thankfully, came to nothing.
Instead, all the threat came from the hosts. Beto couldn’t get enough on a wonderful Dewsbury-Hall cross and dropped a header onto the roof of the net in the 52nd minute and two minutes later Ndiaye had the ball in the net, only to have his celebrations cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Garner had done well to win the ball in midfield and feed Gueye but after driving into the centre of the Clarets’ defence, he had delayed his final pass too long and Ndiaye had strayed beyond the last defender.
Six minutes after that, the points were effectively wrapped up. McNeil cut in off the right flank to collect a return pass from Beto which he controlled well before pinging it across the outside of the box to Gueye. The Senegalese slipped the ball forward to meet Dewsbury-Hall’s run and he out-paced Basir Humphreys before deftly clipping it over Dubravka into the net.
2-0 was so nearly 3-0 with a quarter of an hour to go when Gueye tenaciously won the ball back near the byline, turned back towards goal and flighted a lovely shot that seemed destined for the top corner until it bounced off the crossbar and away.
Dewsbury-Hall forced one last save from the goalkeeper shortly afterwards with a deflected strike that Dubravka did well to parry before Moyes made progressive substitutions that saw Branthwaite, Beto, McNeil, Gueye and Ndiaye make way for Michael Keane, Thierno Barry, Tyrique George, Tim Iroegbunam and Tyler Dibling come on.
Both McNeil and Beto, solid in the win on Saturday, had justified their inclusions with decent displays and if it felt a little disappointing not to see the younger wingers get more game time when Everton were in a commanding position, Moyes probably didn't want to take any chances after such a long winless run on home turf.
Indeed, Bramley-Moore Dock under the lights has largely been a recipe for pain, frustration or both for Everton so far this season — all four of their prior home wins had been daytime kick-offs — so it was pleasing to see the Blues finally send their long-suffering fans into the night with a victory to savour for the first time.
They’re unlikely to face as accommodating opponents as Burnley between now and the end of the campaign but getting the monkey off their backs ahead of the visits of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the coming weeks will surely feel good.
Moyes will, no doubt, stress the need to take it one step at a time but having finally backed up a handsome away win with three points by the Mersey that brings them back to within a point of seventh place, talk of Europe doesn’t feel all that fanciful.
Reader Responses
Selected thoughts from readers04/03/2026 05:54:23
As unlikely as we are to get as easy a ride for the rest of the season, it was still pleasing to see the team play football on the front foot. Special mention must go to Dwight McNeil, his season has been a bit of a nightmare, poor and disinterested prior to the Jan window, a failed last minute move through no fault of his or the club, one could be excused for thinking his head was not going to be in the right place for the remainder of the season, just awaiting the chance to move on.
Instead Moyes has obviously told him to go out and show him what he can do. He ain't no world beater but last night he worked his socks off, was not brilliant, but he was very good, which, given last season, was excellent and he deserved every round of applause when he was substituted. It was clear the supporters in the ground appreciated the effort and contributions he made. Now one swallow summer doesn't make, but for all the brickbats given to him over the past year, self included I think, it was only right that he should be thanked for an excellent run out.
Yes we can point to Burnley looking poor and out of it, but we still had to win at home, something that we have rarely done, so I will happily take the points. Especially when I turned over to see the other lot put to the sword by mighty Wolves.. Felt nice..
No match is a given but I doubt next up Arteta will be quaking in his boots, but maybe a little tremor? Well done blues, well done..
04/03/2026 07:18:02
As both Harry and Christine have said it was a regulation 2-0 win against a very poor Burnley side who waited until the 79th minute to have their first shot of the game.
It was pleasing to see Dwight put the effort in and he deserved the applause which I’m sure he really appreciated.
Not much else to say really other than some pleasing football moments in the second half and, of course, another fantastic Pickford save at the end.
04/03/2026 07:22:11
It could be that Moyes has stumbled on his first choice XI. It doesn’t matter how much we scream about the right back position, it’s Jake’s till the end of the season.
I was delighted that we actually played some good football. How different to the ponderous eyesaw of a week ago against Man Utd.
I saw pleasing aspects of Gana and Dewsbury-Hall that I hadn’t seen for a long time. Ndiaye I love. O’Neill played his part as did Beto. They all did.
All in all, a good night for the whole team and supporters. Same again for the Arsenal trip! Mmmm.
04/03/2026 07:25:13
Ditto Christine, just to add that we played some tidy joined up football with realative ease, and showed a bit of invention and variety in our game.
A home win, fans happy, good stuff.
04/03/2026 07:25:46
Let’s big ourselves up and believe Christine, and tell everyone you know that the best little Spaniard, we used to know, is already worrying about the Everton game!
04/03/2026 07:27:37
is this not rather faint praise Lyndon? after 'outlasting' Newcastle, we then beat a 'very poor' Burnley side, who as you note despite their poor qualities had managed a series of excellent results in the games prior to this one.
Burnley don't just play on their own, they play against us. And if we play well, we stop THEM playing. So their poor form is directly linked often to how well we play. Who plays well against Man City? not many, they make us all look bad. Regardless, we could well finish as high as fifth this season, which you'd never guess if you read the tone of some (quite a lot) of your match reports. I would have expected such a dizzying improvement to garner a smidgen more praise, especially after the ten years we've all sat through? But at least we now have that monkey off our back, time to start winning home and away, overtake the reds, and take our place with the Champions.
04/03/2026 07:47:33
Christine @ 2 & Antony @ 6;I'm sure the snideyest little Spaniard we know won't be totally dismissing our away form, I'm more worried that Moyes will over think it!
He, presumably, knows what works, he's found / stumbled upon an 11 - don't play silly buggers Davy, stick to what you know.
Its the (not quite) Champions Elect, a free hit, give it our best shot and let Arsenal worry about the pressure from City.
04/03/2026 11:03:25
Credit to Moyes for getting McNeil back on track. None of us saw that one coming. I feel that he’s a confidence player, and seeing Alcaraz, Grealish, KDH getting game time ahead of him didn’t do him any good. He doesn’t need blistering pace in the position he’s in, he looks comfortable on the ball like he was a couple of seasons ago.
It’s so good to not only have a lengthy injury list at this stage of the season, but to instead have players like McNeil getting confidence back and give us options. Let that spread to all the others.
04/03/2026 11:05:09
Oh I am sure Arsenal will be ready having hired out the local community pool for diving lessons! Indeed they are allegedly this seasons 'masters of the dark arts" at set pieces!
Seriously though I can see them being totally frustrated by Everton, but I wonder if that will be enough as I also wonder who the ref will be and just how decisions will mysteriously fail to go our way followed by an apology the following week! Cynical? Who me?
04/03/2026 11:37:46
Last night's win gives Moyes and the fans a little breathing space, given our poor home form since the turn of the year.
For once, I was pleased with a comfortable home win (we havent said that too often lately), despite a woeful Burnley team. Disappointing to hear the away fans turn on Scott Parker, a player who I admired and seen him give a wonderful display for Charlton Athletic at Goodison a few years back.
Looking forward, the summer months will be an intriguing time for Moyes and the fans.
Him and his coaching staff will know (or should know) the so obvious areas of the team that need improvement.
Mykelenko's limitations at left back were again evident last night. He simply cannot cross a ball the way modern full backs need to. Lofted crosses make it almost impossible for a centre forward to get any purchase on the ball with the head, even if we had a decent player in that position.
Fullbacks play such a prominent role now in teams in the top six clubs, and both positions on either flank are up for grabs.
Despite a much improved balance in our midfield, we still lack goals from that department. We remain one of the lowest scoring teams in the Premier league, and it is a situation Moyes must address.
Beto and Barry are clearly not the answer up front, despite both player's literally running themselves into the ground. No lack of effort, just ability.
In the summer I expect big bids for both Branthwaite and Ndiaye, both would fit seamlessly into the top four teams.
Interesting to see whether TFG or Moyes would consider stupid money for either, in the knowledge it would allow us to strengthen in key positions?
All in all, we are in a much better position, than we were just 18 months ago, when administration was a real prospect, and an unfinished waterside stadium.
Up the Toffees.
04/03/2026 12:51:11
Sitting in a traffic jam coming home just after 10.00pm, all the car horns started to sound.
It took a moment to dawn that they were saluting the Wolves’ winner.
A nice moment.
04/03/2026 13:56:29
Agreed Peter @12. I was queuing for the Southport train at Sandhills when the guy with the tannoy announced wolves had gone one up to general merriment and an already happy train burst into song when they scored the winner!
A lovely journey home for once.
04/03/2026 14:04:00
Maybe if David, doesn’t overthink things, and gets a result at Arsenal, then he might get that credit you think he deserves Kevin?
It’s fair enough if you want to give him praise, I hope it continues and a lot more people join in with you, between now and the end of the season, but let’s not kid ourselves that Burnley, offered any kind of a threat last night.
I listened to Moyes, this morning. I don’t really bother but it was on the car radio, as part of the 8 O’clock news, and I did find him a little bit condescending and arrogant, if I’m being really honest.
Glad the monkey is off your back after winning at home David? It hasn’t really bothered me, I think we have been playing well and I’ve found the questions quite boring, is what he said.
I thought we played okay against United, but Newcastle, Brentford, Wolves, Leeds or Bournemouth? I knew what he meant about being bored though, because I never went to two of those games and I left before the end in the other’s, but this is what happens when you find most of the football, very boring.
04/03/2026 15:02:14
Tony
I just find your bar setting to be extremely high. Since he got back he's given a relegation threatened team the best away win record in the league, he's swapped out Doucs and Harrison with KDH and Grealish, massively boosted the games of Garner and Keane, and has us a handful of points of a CL place. If you look at the boards online, most of the contributions despite this sharp increase in form have been negative. Is everything great? No, why would it be? We nearly went out of business, we had the worst squad in the league. But in a year we seem to have gone from 'thank god we survived', to 'we're winning, but is it entertaining'. People only seem to get excited when we lose. then we have five times the number of contributions, long paragraphs of moaning. When we win? ' we 'outlasted them'. or 'the opposition were very poor'. I find it all quite odd.
04/03/2026 15:26:00
I’m having a similar discussion with my son who is probably bored in Dubia, well I hope he’s bored anyway because he’s doing my head in.
He’s even worse than you Kevin, his sensationalism is off the scale, but at least we now have 5points from 21, which is a big improvement from 2 points from 18, even if the manager thinks we have been playing well in games that we clearly haven’t
04/03/2026 16:46:26
Tony I hope he's enjoying our recent uptick in form, and it's a nice distraction from the current nonsense.
04/03/2026 17:09:02
He’s working in real estate Kevin, so I can’t see him being busy for a while. I told him to go on holiday and he said he’s waiting for his new British passport, to arrive so it looks like he’s stuck for the time being anyway.
He’s like you, (I think) he’s more interested in points on the board than watching decent football, but he’s only just told me this now, and to think of all the money I spent on him travelling anywhere and everywhere to watch Everton, over the years
04/03/2026 17:23:01
Although it was hardly a stern test everything worked well last night, the team played well and won with comparative ease and the Liverpool news on the way home made sure we all went home happy.
However, I was disappointed that once again David Moyes selected his favourite 11, and only used his substitutes at the end of the game. I say this because I think there will be an opportunity next season for us to be on the very fringes of the top 6. Sadly the top 5 pick themselves and it will be sometime before we can dream of becoming one of them. But we could and should aspire to be number 6.
I have no aspiration to play in Europe next season, simply because of the strain that puts on the team, and it's clear domestic results suffer. I would hope that we will do much better in the domestic cups and aim for that exclusive position of number 6 in the league. To do this we will of course have to have a bigger, fit for purpose, playing squad, and I would favour the Manager trying to develop this from now until the end of the season.
Apart from the obvious holes at right back and centre forward, where if we are to move forward, we will need to bring in replacements, we have other players who have been given little or no playing time. I am thinking of Messrs, Aznou, Rohl, Dibling and now George, all have been brought in this season and have been given very little game time. So I would like to see more of these fringe players, together with Armstrong and Alcaraz, given some playing time recognising that Keene, Mykolenko, Gueye and Grealish all come to the end of their contracts in the summer. So once again the Club will be faced with a considerable rebuilding exorcise with limited resources.
04/03/2026 17:39:32
Just a reminder, John (#4), we do not have a player named O'Neill. We do, however, have a player named McNeil.
Let us, at least, get the names of our own players correct.
04/03/2026 17:50:57
It made a very pleasant change for the home fans to see a win, albeit against a poor team. While we controlled the majority of the game there were moments when we might have come unstuck, most notably early in the second half when Mykolenko and Dewsbury-Hall played two very careless passes in their own half. A Burnley equaliser at that stage would have changed the atmosphere and quite possibly the final outcome. We needed to speed up our passing but not at the expense of accuracy especially in our own half.
As Lyndon pointed out at the weekend the current starting eleven is last season’s team with the exception of Dewsbury-Hall who is proving to be a significant upgrade on Doucouré in the attacking midfield role. Yet we continue to struggle creating chances against compact defences owing to a lack of pace and poor decisions in the final third. Like most clubs, including one or two of the elite, we need a clinical finisher who can also link up with midfield and wide attackers. Such players are hard to find and once established they command huge fees.
I guess we need around thirteen points to put ourselves in the frame for European competition. That will be a tall order given that four of our remaining nine games are against top six teams. I think we need to win at least one of the those games. Given a choice in the matter there’s no doubt which one that would be!
04/03/2026 18:00:55
Well spotted Terry!
04/03/2026 18:41:15
At the beginning of the season I quietly hoped that we could actually get into Europe, if I'm honest it was a bit of a pipe dream, which frankly it still is. We simply aren't ready to do ourselves justice if we do qualify, in that we are consistently inconsistent. But it's a possibility still and would be quite an achievement. It would cement David Moyes in place as well which perversely may not be a good thing in the longer term.
But reality bites, we sit about 19th on the net transfer spend in the past 5 seasons with a paltry £12.13m compared with the usual suspects spend of up to £600+m. But such expectations would determine success for Moyes, the team and the club. It would underline the progress and set the bar of expectations even higher.
It would also mean a huge personal kudos for David Moyes and vindication in his appointment, but it hasn't happened yet and even when it does I think it would be the zenith of both Moyes, and the squads capabilities.
Now anyone just looking at the net transfer spend would assume we have been are a well run club, but of course the truth has been horrendous, such is the absurd price of success at the other end of the table. In short the net spend are only part of the equation, commercial revenue, competition for silverware and consistency in Champions league are the benchmarks for the high spending teams. We are a long way away from that with the team, the squad and manager, frankly it's difficult to see exactly how a second tier club already in the PL can challenge the huge differential in squads, managers or income. It's a bit of chicken or egg game for clubs outside the top table, to be successful you need to have the commercial income to buy the quality of players needed to challenge. The inability to spend, no matter how much money your owner has, can in the end only be countered by winning silverware, success breeds money. It may be a long climb to be a club who can, season on season, be in the mix to win the league. But that's what surely the plan must be for the ownership of this club. At least, I hope it is.
04/03/2026 22:43:22
Kevin (7), I've made the argument before that we've made opposition teams look poor or off it by playing well ourselves and stopping them from playing but I thought Burnley really were dreadful and it had less to do with us and more to do with them just lacking in spirit and joined-up play.
They gave the ball away a lot in their own half and they didn't trouble us at all until practically the last kick of the game.
I thought we were fine. We had some nice moments, controlled the game, should have scored maybe three or four but got the job done and that's all that mattered. We've played better this season and not won so I'm not complaining.
And "outlasting" Newcastle isn't a negative connotation — it was testament to our never-say-die spirit in a tough away game.
04/03/2026 23:07:17
Lyndon yes fair enough.
05/03/2026 08:35:10
I agree with Harry and Christine regarding the game.Dan Friedkin will get a full analytics of the game as he does every game from Chris Howarth of Insight, which the Friedkin Group took over.Chris does analytics for 14 Clubs including Roma.He attend the weekly two hours meeting on tactics and p!ayers, which Moyes attends.He also is involved in the late night meeting between Everton Management and Dan Friedkin in Houston.Friedkin has not been seen at matches, but is fully involved in a weekly, often more frequently Everton.
TFG are obviously happy with Club stability and are fully aware of what is going on.Fans my complain about lack of engagement, but
these guys ignore the noise :fans, media, and concentrate on the data and the Strategic plan, which is Stablisation.Moyes should see on his contract. Things will only change with TFG decide to pivot.
05/03/2026 09:13:05
Seems that the “Moyes is not for us- he’s too stubborn-“ brigade have mainly had a couple of match reports sabbatical.
Long May it continue, and that brigade give the guy a break, and appreciate the change he is creating.
05/03/2026 10:11:39
Frank, here is the crux of the problem as far as I am concerned and I suspect it's the standpoint of many more. The truth is we endured a level of football that was within our means during the Moyes Kenwright era, we punched above our weight often but always failed when it mattered most. We got to know a manager who settled for easy options, set up to contain rather than win, was as risk averse as a natural trait. In the end he was shown to treat us with disrespect in the way he left.
Fast forward 11 years and his star has only shone briefly with West Ham with success in Europe, but the rest of his short term managerial escapades ended poorly until he found his way back to the club, our club. We know David Moyes as well as he knows us. He has undoubtedly got attributes which was why I touted him for a return over keeping faith in Sean Dyche, but only short term because as good a manager he is I believe he can only take us so far.
Ambition is different depending who you talk to, success is measured differently, owners want stability, fans want to eat at the top table consistently, managers want to keep their job, want to meet the defined expectations of owners, not fans.
Most fans right now, see our situation as a blessed relief, are thankful Moyes has steadily improved the team and got us to a point where we will soon, perhaps next season, be once again seen as best of the rest.
But as a success starved fan I would love to see the clubs owners state their ambition and tell us how they will go about it. I would love to see a manager who will win silverware or be there at the final, not just once in a blue moon.
The way this Premier league is now rigged, winning the league is a far off dream, but winning trophies at home or in Europe isn't and its the only way this club will claw its way back to the top where it belongs. That's the strategy we must embrace. Solid league standing for a European place but qualification is only the means to an end.
Of Moyes, he will take us so far but can he step up to the top table? I doubt it, the pragmatic Scot can only take us so far.
05/03/2026 10:54:54
Christine
have you heard of the expression, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?
05/03/2026 12:07:06
Kevin, or Penny wise, pound foolish?
Settling for Moyes to build a team does means banking on stability rather than ambition. I have ambition, you crave stability, therein is the difference.
Winners don't settle for second best, stability is improvement but not success.
05/03/2026 12:57:06
Hear! Hear! Christine
Moyes has consistently shown himself to be a good manager, but I doubt very much that he will evolve into a great manager - not at this stage of his career.
I expect Moyes to see out his contract & leave us in a better position than when he arrived. The task for TFG is to find in his successor a man who will move us forward & exceed Moyes' limitations.
05/03/2026 13:11:51
Christine, I agree that we are not quite up to European Standards yet, but still think it would be a good learning curve for us to achieve that level and get used to the different styles that the Europa League offers - as well as the benefits of travel for Fans, hope for the future, showing off our new stadium, market brand Everton, additional players to cope with the added schedules... growth pains indeed, but it's what we have to do to learn and improve. Sure stability in the league is important, but we need to kick on at some level, especially as the PL Title is still a long way off.
05/03/2026 13:57:17
Well said Christine, as ever.
The position we have now, as well as the money the new stadium is bringing in, means we have the stability we craved.
I am very appreciative of the job Moyes has done and our league position this season is better than we must have hoped but as you say we can all see his limitations and they aren’t going to change.
I expect him to see out his contract and then be moved on with our thanks.
05/03/2026 17:51:06
Kevin (32) I think there is a huge difference in the standard of the clubs in the Champions League and the UEFA Conference League. In the latter I reckon even this season we could have fielded a competitive second eleven comprising mainly players who this season have been peripheral. They include Travers, Seamus or Patterson, Aznou, Iroegbunam, Röhl, Alcaraz, Dibling and until recently McNeil. We have two centre backs to spare and could play one of Beto or Barry.
Should we qualify the powers that be could gear the summer recruitment to ensure we have the depth to play in Europe as well as in the domestic competitions.
06/03/2026 06:59:40
I'm the points-on-the-board type, so this season has been the brightest since Don Carlo was at the helm. I'm at a loss when I see so many comments from Evertonians who are clearly in pain this season. After trying to absorb the details of those fans (thank you Christine - very articulate unlike myself), I kind of get it. But after the most stressful and depressing period in my Everton supporting life (closely followed by the scrapes of the 90's), this season has been wonderful. Moyes, along with some fabulous new players, have dragged us out of the relegation conversation. For now, that's enough.
06/03/2026 08:05:17
Duncan, I get why so many are just relieved to be where we are, indeed thankful, but the new owners, the leaving of Goodison, the start of an exciting new era, Moyes brought the needed stability, we were on the crest of a wave of hope and expectation. The TFG had an opportunity to drive that expectation to new heights but I feel they settled for the easy road and in doing so took the wind from the sails. Of course it didn't have to be that way, Desperate Dan could have turned up at a game last season and nailed his colours to the mast, at least we would know where we were going and how we get there, but not a word other than a few generalities from non football execs..
Not so much pain I'm feeling Duncan, more frustration at an opportunity lost.
06/03/2026 09:46:55
After watching events unfold towards the bottom of the league, were it appears that teams are going to need at least 40 points to stay up, then I can understand the people with Duncan’s opinion, although I tend to agree with Christine, especially when she uses the words, within our means, because I feel that is a very good description, imo Christine.
06/03/2026 11:29:15
Gana out! Too old! McNeil out! Not good enough! No ambition! Anyway, how did we get on against Burnley? I haven’t seen the result yet…
06/03/2026 14:52:03
Thanks to you guys, Christine and Tony (sorry, Antony these days), I'm starting to get to grips with your reasoning. I'm probably more scared of relegation than I am optimistic about the idea of winning anything. I wouldn't be rude enough to guess your ages, but I'll bet you were lucky enough to see Everton win trophies and genuinely be one of the top 4 clubs in England.
I'm 46 which isn't young, but other than distant memories as a kid, all I've seen Everton win is that glorious FA Cup more than 30 years ago. And even that trophy came from playing the underdog (of war!) role. In actual fact, I was at Wembley to see us win the Charity Shield against Blackburn, but we all know that doesn't count as a real trophy!
It might not be that simple, but I feel like fans of my age and younger have an inferiority complex when it comes to the team we support. For all of our teens and adult lives, Everton have not been one of the big teams. I would love that to change.
06/03/2026 16:37:22
On the whole I think I prefer owners who keep a low profile, appoint the best people available and allow them to get on with their jobs. So far the Friedkin Group appears to have done that. There have been no big promises, no grand strategies, no twenty point plans but the club is demonstrably heading in the right direction both on and off the field.
Obviously there is much still to do. We will soon learn how robust our financial position is when the 2024/25 accounts are published. In the summer we will see the extent to which the new recruitment team has been able to grip the squad rebuilding process and address the gaps which have been apparent for several years.
Voluble owners make headlines but as often as not for all the wrong reasons.
06/03/2026 19:30:53
If any of the younger fans have got an inferiority complex Duncan, they just need to remember how well they supported our club, in its darkest hours.
It’s coming out now, I think I’ve read a couple of people who were involved in those relegation battles now coming out and saying different things.
Dyche said that when the final whistle went against Bournemouth, in all his career he had never heard a louder stadium, but the statement from Andros Townsend, explains us better than anything else, imo.
I have never experienced anything like it in my life, it was incredible. We were failures, we were disgraces and so small, but then to turn up to a game and have fans greet us like we were kings, it made us feel so big and that we could run through a brick wall. Ultimately that support and fanbase at Goodison Pk, got us out of the situation we were in.
I’m lucky, I’ve seen us win. I wish I’d have seen us win more but, I’ve seen some special players and some very special games. Bayern Munich, is the obvious one, Rotterdam, the most special one, Watford, the most memorable one, hearing the crowd singing champions, after we had just beaten QPR, was the most surreal one, whilst the comeback against Palace, belonged to the spirits of both the living and the dead,
Moyes gets credit for taking us higher up the table now but, the reason I picked up on what Christine, wrote about enduring a level of football that was within our means under Moyes and Kenwright, is because it was never good enough for the Everton, I have seen and want to see again.
From despair at the end of 1983 - to being voted the world team of the year by the middle of 1985. Incredible, but true, and although things might have changed, my own view is that things won’t really change the way I want them to if people keep accepting a level of football, that is easily within our means.
06/03/2026 19:40:10
John, in any normal business I would generally agree to much of what you gave written. But this is a football club in a football mad city in the best league on the planet with hundreds of thousands of fans who hang on to every word about the club. We are passionate, tribal, vocal. Silent leadership is not an option.
Do TFG understand this? I don't think so. One could argue that's how they treat Roma, except it's not, they are visible, vocal and involved, a stark difference with Everton.
This club has been dreadfully led for over 20 years, we have been lied too, despised nationally, ridiculed, ignored and shamed. Whilst we may be happy those days of gone, we are still dented, bruised and suffer serious trust issues, we need unison and leadership that will inspire and consolidate the fanbase. For many years I studied leadership, wrote and mentored business people on the best ways to drive expectations. I like to think I know my onions.. at least some of them anyway.
This is not an automobile franchise where you set structures in place, get the basics right, put in a team to run it and let it go with just a few tweaks. This is an animal, millions of daily customers, volatile, passionate and loud, every single minute of every single day. A rabble united in a cause, a love, a desire. We are irrational, ungrateful and demanding. We need leadership that is visible, that we trust, that we believe in. Competent management is not leadership, silence is not leadership, we all need to get with the plan, except we don't know what the plan is, what we can rally around.
We are a proud club with a proud traditionm been badly run with its fans badly treated, we have a new home, a better manager and team, but we want leadership too, we need to know where we are going and how and when we hope to get there. Only then can we understand the objective. If we are all running in the same direction at the same speed, all with the same objective, same focus, one belief, we will get there a lot quicker and be unstoppable along the way.
Shrinking violet, invisible leadership, might work in some clubs, even across the park, bet even that lot get owners visits I might add, but we are Everton and TFG have a tiger by the tail.
06/03/2026 19:56:54
Tony, absolutely spot on. I could not have said it better. I was privileged as a youngster to stand on the pitch on my uncles shoulders and look up to the directors box at a team with the league championship trophy, that was 1963. I was privileged to meet Alex Young, Roy Vernon, Alan Ball as I grew up, too young to go to the FA cup finally in 66, put got my ticket for 68 and hitchhiker down to London, saw the game, bunked onto a train back. I was 13.
I saw glory days before the 80s, I believe I will see them again, but I am in a hurry! Like you I believe in our motto, I believe we need that drive to put us back at the top of the tree where we belong. No rest breaks, no hiatus, no let up. Something that was lost has been found again. Everton. The best damn club in the world.
06/03/2026 20:41:55
It’s better Christine, but it’s nowhere near good enough yet. Not by a long shot, I saw my brother today, he walked passed me when the team’s went off the pitch for half time the other night and said, I’m off Toe, I can’t watch that type of boring football, any longer.
You got off at the wrong time the other night, I smiled, because the football was better during the second half. It’s an ordeal getting to the stadium after Goodison, he said, and although I’ll be renewing my season ticket, I’m not sure I’ll be doing it for long if the football doesn’t improve.
He continued by saying that there was definitely quite a few people who left the stadium at half time, and he said this old fella, was saying to him that he’d watched Everton, for over 60 years, but he was finding it very difficult enduring the football, we are currently playing right now.
Substance over style? I’m aware it’s a results business, so I’m aware of how important substance is, but some of us also like to be entertained, so hopefully that’s part of the next phase for the resurgent Everton!
06/03/2026 21:57:22
I really can't understand people worrying about the quality of football played. Good on you for having high standards but we're coming from a very low place and if you don't take that into account then that is very unfair. We have a squad that is I reckon 80% full of good players capable of playing attractive footy. We can all see that a better striker would make all the difference and allow us to open up more. KDH, Garner and Ndiaye are as good as most in the league. Branthwaite and Jake will turn into one of the best CB pairings in the league and I imagine that will be next season. Gana is a good player but Harrison and Merlin will start to fight for midfield next season. Dibling and George, if he hangs around, will be mainstays in the next season or two. This is just a phase we have to go through as we move from total shite to competitive every week. We see glimpses of how it could be and that will do for now. We need a better striker and the game changes until then it is what it is. I actually don't see any team in the EPL playing attractive front foot footy this season so suck it up and enjoy the undoubted progress on and off the field
06/03/2026 23:13:27
this period when Moyes was underachieving under Kenwright, lowering our standards and all. Can someone remind me what our net spend was during this period?
actually, no I remember now. he wasn't given a penny, but was being asked to compete against teams spending tens of millions every year. But that doesn't matter, footy is all about attitude, or something. And he let us down, made us smaller, lowered our expectations, when what he should have been doing is saying, 'no, we've got no money, but we're going to Old Trafford to win!'
I wonder why everyone didn't do this.
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04/03/2026 00:52:20
Something we haven’t had the luxury of is winning routinely at home against opposition we really should be beating easily, so it was refreshing to come through as comfortable winners against a very poor Burnley side, it doesn’t leave much to complain about either which is very welcome indeed.
Maybe this could be the impetus to kick on and really stake a claim for those coveted European places, Moyes generally likes this period of the season and we finished strongly last season as he steered us away from relegation, it’ll be interesting to see if Moyes can propel us into Europe.
It was nice to see McNeil play well, so fair play to him, he does take some stick, justified I might add but when he gets up to speed he can be a real asset so more of this please Dwight, Burnley however was absolutely abysmal and we never really had to worry, after Tarks’ towering header it was plain sailing, we did the simple stuff in a manner which was professional and hopefully can become habitual.