A Christmas Carol | OneFootball

Not even two short weeks ago, the feeling around Everton was overwhelmingly positive.

Everton had won three of their last four matches, seeing off Nottingham Forest and their former boss Sean Dyche with ease.

Thierno Barry had scored his first Everton goal, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was in rampant form in midfield and even the impending departures of Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye to the Africa Cup of Nations could not dampen spirits.

Everton had done the legwork, collecting valuable points ahead of clashes with Arsenal and Chelsea — title favourites and Champions League hopefuls, respectively.

These games were always going to be tough, but then fate struck a cruel blow, too.

Not only did Ndiaye and Gueye leave for AFCON, but Dewsbury-Hall limped off early on against Chelsea. Jack Grealish is carrying a niggle in his hamstring. James Garner is one booking away from a suspension. Everton are down to a skeleton crew.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal exposed Everton’s issues. Without Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall, they were shorn of the key cogs in not only linking the midfield and attack, but helping them to maintain possession.

Dwight McNeil, handed his first Premier League start of the season, was poor out on the right, and lacks the pace, skill or tenacity to thrive in this set-up, especially in that position. Carlos Alcaraz, starting in the number 10 position, was incredibly erratic. Barry was starved of service and Beto came on to little avail. Tyler Dibling also failed to impress from the bench, but does need more minutes to regain confidence and start to show why Everton were so intent on bringing him in in the first place.

However, for all Everton’s attacking weaknesses, it was ultimately a moment of madness from Jake O’Brien that proved decisive against the Gunners, and a little under a year into Moyes’ tenure, the overall progress is clear to see.

Last Friday marked a year since The Friedkin Group assumed ownership of the club. In that time, they have set about reshaping the club’s leadership.

Progress, they say, is not linear, though, and there will be — and has been — bumps in the road.

However, since it’s Christmas time, it seems like the ideal moment to stop and breathe. There are plenty of positives, and plenty of negatives; plenty of things going well, and plenty of things that must improve.

But for the first time since the 2020-21 season, Everton have reached Christmas in the top half of the Premier League.

And while the scars of the last few seasons should stop any Evertonian from declaring guaranteed safety just yet, it is much nicer not to feel the daunting need to look over one’s shoulders heading into the festive crunch.

Everton will reach Christmas Day on 24 points — 11 clear of the bottom three. They have won seven games, drawn three and lost seven. This time last year, the Toffees had played only 16 times, compared to the 17 this term. They had, strangely enough, lost fewer matches (six), but they had only 16 points and were 15th, just four points above the relegation zone.

Progress, then. Clear, tangible progress, eight points worth, to be exact, even if there has been some understandable frustration, given how far away Everton are from being able to really compete with teams in the upper echelon of the table. Of the seven league games the Toffees have lost in 2025-26, six of them have come against the sides competing in the Champions League.

There will be plenty more frustration to come, but compared to the ghosts of Christmas past, every Evertonian should relish the chance to breathe a little easier and, for now, look up rather than down.

Reader Comments (15)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

Ian Wilkins 2 Posted 23/12/2025 at 11:57:01

A very balanced review, Patric.

There are lots of positives, under new owners and management the club is so much more professional. Chalk and cheese to the amateurishness of the recent past.

Fantastic new stadium (save for the bloody transport), improved revenues and commerciality. Much to be thankful for and look forward to.

There were never going to be near-term miracles on the pitch. Progress has been made... but significant flaws remain.

Time, and money will be needed to get us where we want to be. Critically, it will also need the right recruitment and management to raise us up to levels we all long for: challenging for honours, European competition.

I guess the latter is where the question marks remain. It will take the right management of footballing matters to deliver.

Ian Bennett 3 Posted 23/12/2025 at 13:15:02

It comes down to the quality of players. We all know the limitations of our players, and that in a natural pecking order, they are largely middle of the road at best.

Good recruitment is incredibly difficult. Grealish, and Dewesbury-Hall have been a success. Rohl, Dibling, Barry, Aznou have time on their side. I assume no one predicted the improvement of Branthwaite after we signed him?

Going back to recruitment, look at some of the players we have missed out on. Transfers aren't guaranteed, and the pool of players we've been in for explains that most will probably fail.

DoakMcAtee Douglas LuizFrancisco ConceiçãoKuboSoucekMaitland-NilesAke

I've gone through all our summer targets; you're looking at one or two goals, and one or two assists at best so far this season for nearly every player. Most have failed.

We are fishing for tiddlers, and expecting them to be world beaters.

Jonathan Oppenheimer 5 Posted 23/12/2025 at 14:38:16

Christy 4, I think a lot of people are going to be sorely disappointed come end of January. We'd be mad to overpay for any of those positions.

We've shown we can put together a solution at right-back. If we're ever to get anything from Barry (or Beto), either with production or sell-on value, we have to keep playing him.

It's hard to see how another young Premier League-ready defensive midfielder would be available that is an improvement on Tim Iroegbunam or Merlin Röhl.

Best case scenario is that we take someone on loan who has a proven track record scoring goals and needs us to get into a World Cup squad. But given we'd have to find a ton of luck to get into Europe, I feel we'd be much better off waiting until our recruitment team has been in place longer to get the next phase of the rebuild right. Also, it's not clear we have the funds to buy now anyway.

Dale Self 6 Posted 23/12/2025 at 15:51:11

Do not desperately overpay in the January window. If something unexpected becomes available, of course make a reasonable bid.

We can stay ahead of the bottom dwellers with what we have.

Sorry, Dave, make do.

Kieran Kinsella 7 Posted 23/12/2025 at 15:59:39

Jonathan,

I agree. We've done well with loans in the past, including your fellow countrymen, Donovan and McBride.

When we've spent big in January, it hasn't worked out.

Rob Dolby 8 Posted 23/12/2025 at 16:20:16

Ian @3,

Recruitment is even more random and difficult when we chop and change managers or don't have a system that players are suited to.

Barry and Beto are pretty poor strikers in our system but both would be better suited to a system with balls crossed into the box.

What style is Moyes trying to introduce? How do you know that the players you have listed wouldn't be suited to our team?

Ian Bennett 9 Posted 23/12/2025 at 17:01:21

I think he is trying to play football, Rob. Given the players, it has been far better than a long time before him.

Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall, Garner, Ndiaye, Branthwaite, Pickford is a semblance of a decent team. You just need another 10-12 players of that ilk to truly compete.

Yes, those summer targets might have performed better here, or indeed elsewhere. They haven't..., and I think that's a fair indication that £20-30M doesn't get you very much these days.

Man Utd have spent £60M each on Sesko, Mbeumo, Cunha, and probably need another 6 or 7 before they're in a title conversation. That's the levels these days.

Rob Dolby 11 Posted 23/12/2025 at 19:24:03

Ian 9,

Yep without doubt the football level has gone up due to Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall, Garner and Ndiaye.

There has to be a next level or plan to get to the next level. We can't compete with the likes of Chelsea, so we have to be more innovative.

We bought Dibling and look like we have no plan to play him in the current system. To me, Moyes wants to turn him into a McNeil rather than a Cole Palmer, with the emphasis being on the off the ball work.

This isn't bashing Moyes, we all know how his teams are set up and how he wants to play but, to get to the next level, players like Dibling or Alcaraz need to get on the ball and stop wasting energy in chasing shadows.

Under the previous 2 managers, the system has revolved around the Number 10. Top teams have more than the one dimension.

It's hard to figure out what plan Moyes or the owners have for Everton this season.

It could be one of consolidation due to injuries, Afcon or some players not yet making the impact expected.

Yes, there have been bright spots but it's clear they are still lacking what it takes to go the distance with the big money clubs.

Like many of us, I would have liked to have heard something more positive from those at the top regarding strengthening the team where it's so obvious we have weaknesses.

It would seem that they are looking ahead to next season to allow for the development of those in the squad not yet thought to be ready.

Normally that would make sense for a club in Everton's position but we fans don't want to see disappointing results every other week or more, but I guess we just have to be patient a liitle longer, having been in the doldrums for many seasons.

Ian Bennett 13 Posted 23/12/2025 at 20:15:28

I really want Dibling to succeed. But he needs to put more zip and positivity into his game. He seems very much a work in progress to me, and is probably more likely to go out on loan than dominate the first team.

I was against the signing as, like Kean before him, I didn't think we would have the patience for the fee demanded. I've often been wrong on a host of players, so I take no pleasure in his struggle. But I do think he's off the pace. Some will say that's from a lack of minutes or confidence, but I think it's what you invariably get from a 19-year-old.

I am also not convinced he is a right-winger. He does lack pace and I think it is fairly obvious that he cuts in on the left. Without an overlapping right-back, it makes it even harder for him.

We have seen lads come in and struggle, but go on to succeed. Maroune Fellaini really struggled at first, and I won't be alone in thinking we signed an expensive dud. He was moved up pitch, and became a real handful. Not easy on the eye for sure.