Everton banter 3

02 Feb 2026 00:05:49
Not now, but in the summer, how much of the Dibling fee is retrievable?
He may have talent, but is miles off being up to partnership standard, IMO we will be lucky to receive 20 present of the fee paid.
I'm not having a pop at the kid, but those who sanctioned this deal, should pay with their job .

02 Feb 2026 07:49:31
Give him a chance, he will come good. he's not even been here a season yet.

02 Feb 2026 09:19:30
Very true Blue-dev we have a history of getting rid of youngsters too quickly, Ademola Lookman isone of the best wingers in Europe now but we dumped him far too soon. Moise Keane never really had much of a chance either.

02 Feb 2026 09:49:08
We have so many experts who see a young player a few times and decide he is rubbish get rid. We are finally starting to bring young players into the club and some will take longer than others to settle. That doesn’t mean they’re rubbish it means they need time.

02 Feb 2026 10:51:08
Hindsight is a wonderful thing AB, we were all delighted when we signed him, he was brilliant last season for Southampton in a team that got relegated, however because he was made to train away from the first team for a long period due to Everton’s interest in him he probably was playing catch up with his fitness and sharpness.

I personally think with a proper pre- season training he should live up to his true potential next season but he will need a constant run of games not like this season one time in one time out, his confidence is probably shattered also.

02 Feb 2026 11:01:49
Agree.

01 Feb 2026 17:16:51
So Ángel Gomes wanted to return to the Premier League and Wolves looks like his destination on loan with option to buy. Why are we not looking at players like this, have we actually got a scouting department. Surely we are a more attractive proposition than Wolves. It is becoming embarrassing how little is happening.

It seems like every club bar us is making moves to improve. I bet we end up with no one as the George situation is dragging on. What with Efc, Var, referees decisions and blatant corruption in the premier league, the enjoyment and life is being sucked out of both the team and the game.

01 Feb 2026 17:58:51
Gomes is no better than we already have in his position. Bang average that's why only Wolves were in for him.

01 Feb 2026 19:11:23
Not many times I disagree with you Reg but I think it is harsh on the lad. He has definitely got plenty of ability. Would be a great option for cover for injuries or off the bench in games as a minimum.

01 Feb 2026 19:56:23
Apparently BN he wants 1st team football with the World Cup coming up and surely he won't get that with us. We have better.

01 Feb 2026 21:40:34
Think the fact Wolves are the only team in for him and the option to buy is rumoured to be less than £10m speaks volumes.

01 Feb 2026 22:01:38
Gomes is a fantastic player. He showed it in his few England caps. Can play anywhere thru middle of midfield. It would be a no brainer to sign him. But if wolves sign him then so be it.

02 Feb 2026 09:49:42
Who would he replace in the team?

02 Feb 2026 12:44:07
Versatile midfielder who can play in a variety of positions and would give us extra cover in cups, Europe’s etc. We need extra players in our squad and especially players with experience and ability to cover injuries, suspensions. Although he is not a winger would definitely swap him for McNeil.

01 Feb 2026 15:57:53
Palace are close to signing strand Larson from wolves. what I don't get is why sign for a team that have sold there 2 best players so far this season and knowing the manager won't be there in the summer either. sorry lads nowt to do with everton. I just think it's a strange move.

01 Feb 2026 17:23:21
Maybe they offered him more money?

01 Feb 2026 19:10:19
Probably BMD but I reckon palace are going to go into decline now. wonder if there RB would join us he is class.

01 Feb 2026 19:35:47
More money and it's unlikely that Palace will get relegated so he's still in the prem. Don't underestimate the lure of the premier league.

If he has a decent season or 2 he's probably off again.

01 Feb 2026 21:42:18
Unlikely Palace will get relegated?

They are in free fall and genuinely think they could be the team that ends up in 18th come end of season.

Sold good players, manager wants out, results dropping off a cliff and buying average players - absolute recipe for disaster.

01 Feb 2026 15:56:11
I bet we drag this George transfer out till past the deadline.

01 Feb 2026 16:52:15
Love the confidence mate.

01 Feb 2026 18:33:25
I have none. Get excited every window only to be left disappointed. can't believe our new scouting department have come up with one 19 year old winger when we all know we desperately need fullbacks.

01 Feb 2026 19:49:50
A really good young player, plus we're losing a winger for the rest of the season. not really hard to get is it?

01 Feb 2026 22:03:38
George is a Illiman MK2. NDaiye on left and George or right. Speed, trickery on both wings.

01 Feb 2026 22:26:56
What is strange to me is if he is that good why didn't we sign him in the summer Fulham agreed £22 million with Chelsea but for whatever reason it fell throo and we paid £45 million for Dibling both are the same age does moyes intend to play George and makes me wonder if moyes actually wanted Dibling in the 1st place.

01 Feb 2026 12:38:02
Well it would appear we are either a glass half full fans or a glass half empty fans. People point out that we had two good chances to win the game while blindly ignoring the amount of chances the opposition had.
They measure Moyes "success" against that of Dyche, but let's be honest that is a very low bar. And blame everyone but Moyes for our failings whilst having no idea as to what is going on at the club.
I can only comment on what I see and hear, and so far I am hearing a manager who gives very negative interviews and still appears to have this knife to a gun fight attitude, which I find annoying.


The football if you can call it that, is boring, unimaginative a very hard to watch. I could maybe understand it if we had pacey forwards but we don't, and yesterdays formation was just baffling, and not for the first time.
So I guess you could say I am a glass half empty fan, when in reality my glass fell off the table and smashed a long time a go, and as yet I haven't been inspired to buy a new one.

{Ed025's Note - i cant argue much with that Brass..

01 Feb 2026 13:56:56
Not that straight forward in my opinion.
Believing we’ve made progress on and off the pitch (we have by the way) does not mean I ignore or am not frustrated when we’re crap.
I don’t think I’ve read anyone saying Moyes is perfect and it’s not his fault the bar was so low pre his arrival.

If we finish top half, he’ll have been a success from the mess he took on. Yes, there are more progressive managers, and I wouldn’t be against a change in the summer for the right candidate.

01 Feb 2026 14:30:09
Apart from the Mitoma chance, I can't recall them having anything clear cut tbh.

{Ed025's Note - they had at least 3 BN..

01 Feb 2026 14:30:31
Both teams were crap.

01 Feb 2026 15:28:26
Difference is they were crap and had a go we were crap and did nothing till he made changes he was forced to make.

01 Feb 2026 16:38:18
Mitoma chance and Welbeck header is all I remember Ed. They had 2 big chances and we did. They had 2 shots on target and we had 4. Not saying these stats paint the full picture but I thought both of us were shocking in all honesty.

Not defending Moyes in anyway. He was brought in to stabalise us and he has certainly done that. He still manages in the same way he did in his first tenure.

The question is, how long do TFG want the steadying of the ship to last before they try and move us onto the next step. Personally speaking, I hope it is the summer.

{Ed025's Note - it certainly wont be before then BN..and nor should it be, he has fulfilled the brief but we could be so much more with a bit less negativity mate..

01 Feb 2026 19:13:04
Couldn't agree more Ed. I know he hasn't had the greatest spell of late but I can't help but think someone like Iraola would work wonders with this squad.

01 Feb 2026 19:58:12
I understand a lot of the sentiments from earlier post but. Where do you expect us to be? Realistically? I don't get it. Of course we will be crap very good or indifferent, yeah we need to improve the squad but, obviously its not that simple.

Moyes will get things wrong and right, current league standings suggest he is getting it right more often. Seriously I swear some think we are the Real Madrid of Merseyside.

01 Feb 2026 20:04:02
I still think a RB and LB in Moyes’ style like Baines and Coleman would give us much more going forward. He never had an eye for a striker so I still don’t feel he will ever solve that.

Give him the summer to sort the areas we need sorting and see how we are at Christmas. One thing we know for sure, Moyes gets results. He constantly finishes top half. The football can be awful at times but he grinds out wins. We’ve won more at this stage of the campaign than the last few.

Once he has taken as far as he can, let’s look for a new manager but be mindful of how West Ham are currently doing. The question is: when has he done as much as he can?

An Iraola would be interesting but our scouting team aren’t as good as Bournemouth’s so I’d expect him to struggle with us.

{Ed025's Note - i can certainly live with that BR..

01 Feb 2026 21:31:07
Agree with amost of that, I would add though what is as far as he can? Won the Conf Cup with West Ham after another good euro campaign. Would that high enough for some? Or got to go still?

01 Feb 2026 12:03:53
If signing the boy from Chelsea goes ahead, then all those who have offered to drive MacNiel to forest, will have to get into the lottery to do the job, but I really liked the one offering to wrap him up with a pink bow on his head.

01 Feb 2026 17:20:16
The problem is in Moyes head Chelsea boy is replacing Grealish and wants to keep McNeil as depth for losing Grealish.

01 Feb 2026 21:32:05
Yeah, that's a sensible thing to do.

02 Feb 2026 09:51:43
McNeil won’t go anywhere.

01 Feb 2026 11:45:49
For me, Moyes' use of O'Brien yesterday perfectly summed up why I, and so many others, cannot stand him.

Selecting a centre back at right back, who has shown himself to be completely ineffective in both attack and defence in the position, despite having 2 recognised right backs on the bench, is one thing - but for me, it's the way he used him:

Any other manager could look at that situation and think 'he can't dribble, run or cross, but he's huge' - let's stick him high and wide, ping balls to him in the air, and have him knock them down for KDH (moved to the right of the midfield 3) to run onto and break between their CB and LB. Almost an old fashioned little-and-large striker partnership, but wider and driving into the channels.

Obviously I'm not saying that would immediately work and we'd have won 3-0, but the point is, even when you're dealing with a bad hand, there are ways to look at what you've got and try and mix things up to suit the cards you've been dealt. Moyes Does Not Do This. He has his colossal centre back at right back, and he is asking him to do the exact same role he would if it was Patterson: overlapping runs, drive into space and whip in crosses - none of which he can do.

There are so many managers who would have looked at out available players yesterday and done something with them to try and get something out the game. Even if we go with the back 5 again, even if we put Dwight at left wing back, or we put Rohl at right back and have him sit narrower - there is countless things the manager Could try, but we have the only manager in the league who just thinks "eh, stick the big lads in, they're defenders, aren't they? "

This is why Moyes is a dinosaur - it's the same mentality as a Sunday league manager - and i'm afraid his understanding of the modern game grows more and more distant with each match we absolutely slog our way through.

01 Feb 2026 13:57:46
We did get something out of the game.

01 Feb 2026 14:37:24
We didn't deserve to. We were better in the second half, but first half we had 0 shots, 0 shots on target, 0 chances and 0 corners - the first half is the tactical result of how the manager has spent the entire week preparing the team, and this isn't the first time it has gone like that.

{Ed025's Note - it was awful Alex..

01 Feb 2026 09:47:18
Whilst this is a rumours/banter page and everyone is entitled to their opinion—and I do enjoy reading the different viewpoints—some of the takes on here are genuinely wild. Sack Moyes? Seriously? Have people already forgotten the last four seasons and the absolute dross we were forced to endure?

Is the football brilliant? No. Could we play better? Absolutely. Do we all want two proper full-backs and a striker? Of course we do. But this is clearly a work in progress, and we all need to show a bit of patience. This squad wasn’t built overnight, and it’s not going to be fixed overnight either.

We only have to look back at the money that’s been wasted—buying three number 10s, signing sub-standard players, and ending up with a completely unbalanced squad. Moyes and the club need time to clear out the dross, rebalance the squad, and build something sustainable.

And to be honest, I didn’t want Moyes back in the first place. Players and managers returning to a club rarely works out. I’m delighted to be proven wrong though—and right now, in Moyes I trust.

If, at the start of the season, we’d been offered mid-table safety with an outside chance of Europe, we’d have snapped their hand off without hesitation.

01 Feb 2026 10:20:40
Spot on Preston.

01 Feb 2026 10:41:03
I think most of what you've said is entirely fair, but the point is that many of us have lost faith in Moyes being the one to take us forward. He may well have steered us clear of the rocks, but that doesn't mean he knows where he's going.

Last night's team selection, playing 4 centre backs and a teenage centre mid at right wing, resulting in a sum total of 0 shots in the first half, is a perfect example of why people don't want him.

I understand it feeling entitled to see the progress we've made and still be unhappy, but I think the football is too poor, the tactics too predictable, and the direction too aimless. Plus, if we're being brutally honest, our position this season flatters us, because so many other teams have been So bad.

01 Feb 2026 11:20:58
Have to say, I’m with you, Preston. He’ll have less excuses next season of course, as we hope there’ll be a second overhaul.

01 Feb 2026 11:35:17
The selection wasn’t what I’d of picked but maybe it shows the unbalance of the squad after years of mistakes.

I’d point to what moyes did at west ham, took them from relegation fight to win a trophy in Europe. Their fans wanted him out and look at them now!

I’m not saying moyes is going to be the man who takes our great club back to where we feel it should be - challenging for major trophies. But I do feel that the next couple of years needs to be a stable and he is the man for that.

We all want better and love to have it now but fans should be careful what they wish for. There is no divine right to success and it will take a bit of patience.

01 Feb 2026 11:42:22
Seams a don’t lose don’t win mentality with Moyes unless Patterson wasn’t fully fit I can’t understand like many that bizarre team, ironically the managers after Moyes served up football just as bad, and yet we’ve come full circle and back with Moyes.


I doubt where winning anything with but I fear what happens after him, proof is the last several years and a look where West Ham are. I’m not saying history will repeat itself but who knows.

01 Feb 2026 11:46:19
We’ve been a work in progress for over thirty years now, and in that time Aston Villa have been relegated and played in the Champions League. So just how long is it going to take exactly?
That performance yesterday was all down to the manager being negative and stubborn. It’s almost like he didn’t want to upset his centre backs so he found a way of playing all of them. Now people might not like Patterson but he brings a better balance to the defence, and not giving Aznou a chance is simply baffling.

And what’s happened to Merlin Rohl?
I defy anyone to tell me that what we watched yesterday was progression it wasn’t, and had Dyche done that you would all be on here today screaming for him to be sacked. For me Moyes is a slight upgrade on Dyche and that’s about it.

01 Feb 2026 11:57:07
Every week i look forward to the 2 hours of watching Everton.

Every week i'm left disappointed because the manager chooses to play the sport in the most negative way possible.

Points good, league position good. But let's not pretend it isn't sheer luck. Some of them wins we’ve been battered, you play the same game 10 times and you lose 8 of them. League is also strange this season with lots of teams similar points. we can be bottom 5 in a matter of weeks.

Not sustainable at all. We have good enough players to play passing football, not just hoof diagonal, depend on set pieces and defend our six yard box + hope for pickford worldie save x2/3.

01 Feb 2026 13:59:23
We’ve heard this before. Anything good that happens is luck, anything bad that happens is Moyes. Daft.

01 Feb 2026 14:59:50
We must have been 'unlucky' to almost get relegated last few seasons in that case. Gained Grealish + KDH who are significantly better than what we had under Dyche. Football is the exact same, as is the tactical set up.

01 Feb 2026 15:16:40
Not a big fan of Moyes, but if we have been let down by anybody, it's TFG, or at least, their so call expert recruitment team, IF their is money to recrute players, loan or buy, there have been numerous deals that have been done elsewhere that would have been good value and would have strengthen our side .

01 Feb 2026 15:23:55
Did they let us down in the summer? KDH? Grealish? Or are we ignoring the good signings to fit the narrative?

01 Feb 2026 17:43:08
No, they just spent £42m on a player that does not not belong in the premiership.

01 Feb 2026 18:32:39
As is often the case, we’ll just pick out the negative bits then. Let’s forget tying top players down to long term contracts too.

01 Feb 2026 07:39:04
{Ed's Note - Shappy has posted a new article entitled, The Dalot Dilemma: Why United Should Keep Their Reliable Right-Back

31 Jan 2026 22:40:10
Sack moyse. We've a good team here, not the players fault.

01 Feb 2026 00:05:23
Hard to watch, same stuff game after game, Strange team selections, players in positions that they are not used to, players who are purchased for specific positions left out, pathetic first half play. late substitutions, a rally in the second half and points gained but points lost.
Yes we have done better than previous years and it is not too bad, we will not be relegated and might even get into Europe.

I suppose that we should be grateful. Why then do I want better tactics and performance?
Please don't tell me that we are a work in progress and when we get in 2-3 new players we will be much improved, I haver been hearing that for 30 years.

01 Feb 2026 09:24:46
Our performances are down to one man Mike. Those wearing Moyes tinted glasses won't have anything said about Davey, even if they themselves said they didn't want him back. I and others get slated for calling him.

He's a dinosaur in a modern world and there's better about. But some will think yesterday was a great result for us. We should have beaten Brighton as like Leeds and we didn't. I'll be glad when he's gone.

01 Feb 2026 11:22:21
It’s not as simple as Moyes in or out for me Nick. He’s in the results business and results have us 8th in the league.

01 Feb 2026 12:58:00
Thing is Mike you've been hearing that over and over because we keep ditching managers after no time at all and starting again! Now in the first full season of the club looking stable and zero prospect of relegation already at this stage you're campaigning for the manager to get sacked because the football isn't pretty enough yet!

01 Feb 2026 13:36:44
All really interesting points re moyes. I like moyes and i wouldn't sack him but i get the unrest, there is no denying that the football is terrible and the tactics yesterday were alarming. Agree with playing mcneil at full back. Anzou played great when he got his chance, if your good enough your old enough.

i'm grateful to dyche and moyes for getting us out the mire because 2017 to circa 2023 was an utter disaster and embarrasing but at least I've now got a team that i'm proud to support.

01 Feb 2026 13:56:48
It’s not pretty, it’s not even football as I know it. Will say it again Villa have been relegated and have achieved Champions League while we are still a team in transition. Just think about that for a bit.

01 Feb 2026 15:24:58
Not in one season though, BMD. Would you have accepted a top half finish this season on day one? I wouldn’t have.

01 Feb 2026 17:27:51
Don’t you men you would have JB?

01 Feb 2026 17:29:56
No it took Villa four seasons to go from promotion to Champions League. In that time we have done nothing.

31 Jan 2026 21:08:34
We are a hard watch sometimes, some of moyes decisions were borderline psycho, I know this is a progressive season compared to last four but given the modern game and the modern footballers is DM the right man to take us to the next stage i'm forever thinking of his phrase of bringing a knife to a gunfight.

{Ed025's Note - what was that first half all about though BN? It was like watching paint dry mate. And yes I am blaming Moyes for that. Same as last week and the same as most weeks,so bloody negative..

31 Jan 2026 22:01:53
It is the same most weeks ed, and has been for a long time now. That setup today with 4 centre halves playing was terrible, as soon as I seen it I thought we would struggle to create a chance never mind score.

A lot of our fans think we were unlucky not to win because of the KDH and Tarks misses. But Brighton had many chances to score before we even had a shot at their goal. And if 1 of them had gone in we may well have been beaten 3 or 4. And deservedly so.

We offered nothing going forward and struggled to make 3 passes. Brightons pace killed us in every department today. Our best defender and passer of the ball was out at left back. Madness. We were very lucky to get a point and only had some shape when Patterson came on.

{Ed025's Note - i just dont get why we start games so slow Joe, is it a planned thing and if so why?, it seems we need to go a goal down before we want to start playing mate and it does my head in..

31 Jan 2026 22:08:02
Imagine you were replying to the post below Ed and totally agree bud. Terrible first half. For me terrible line up and approach. That being said, could it have done the job and got 3 points - it should have.

I am not on board with the way Moyes wants us to play. I think it is archaic and uninspiring. I was of the crowd who wanted him to move on during his first tenure. It was not the case in this game but far too many times had I seen us in the driving seat in games and we would end up getting a point, instead of 3 or 0, instead of 1. Bringing the likes of Davey Weir on when we were controlling games and inviting the pressure on. The consistent failure to have a pop at the bigger teams.

All that being said, I would have him in charge of us over many other managers that we have had or would likely end up with. At least he cares and has the clubs best interest at heart. In the summer, would I like us to do what Roma did and move away from a sentimental apt like Ranieri and move to a Gasperini - 100%.

We have the nucleus of a good side and we could be improved so easily, not only by recruiting in certain positions but also the way we approach games. I would love us to go and get a Christian Ilzer, Ole Werner or Michel at Girona and try and get the next decent progressive coach in to work with some of this lot.

{Ed025's Note - i want Moyes to do well BN and if we were not so lethargic at the start of games i would be content, but we have to be better that we have in the first half of games mate as its killing us..

31 Jan 2026 22:09:55
Same as the first half Leeds game Ed, moyes is maybe on a pigs back because we aren't in a relegation fight but God this club has made us accept mediocrity across the board from top to bottom i'm so fed up with bad players bad formation bad scouting bad signings as a 53 year old i'm really sick of everything and I've used the phrase Everton sicken my happiness more than I care to remember, maybe we'll never win the league again but that shouldn't stop us from trying or demanding a go at it or dreaming.

{Ed025's Note - im with you BB..