What's the plan, Angus? | OneFootball

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Angus Kinnear’s programme notes ahead of Everton’s final home game of last season certainly caused a stir.

The now-infamous “happily dissatisfied” soundbite backfired spectacularly, while he also insisted Everton valued the “stability” of David Moyes, and the whole tone of Kinnear’s notes was almost one of having given up on a season that was still very much alive.

Everton, at one point in the game that followed, were leading Sunderland and sitting in eighth. A game-and-a-half later, Everton had finished down in 13th and the Black Cats had surged into the Europa League.

But another standout quote from Kinnear was that the club always knew it would be a “two-summer window plan”.

Here’s the sentence in full, for context: “Our job in the coming weeks and months is to continue with what we always knew would be a two-summer window plan, and ensure the squad has enough depth to mount an even more compelling challenge next term.”

That’s all well and good, but at no point did Kinnear go on to expand on the key element: What is the plan?

And this has just fed into the feeling of uncertainty and frustration surrounding Everton’s recruitment strategy this summer.

It’s absolutely fine to have a two-summer window plan; there’s nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, it’s good to see there is a plan, after years of the club simply surviving in the wake of Farhad Moshiri’s rash spending.

However, Kinnear’s comments have, perhaps inadvertently, put something of a target on his back, because in claiming it is a two-window plan, he has set a deadline.

And so fans have been left to ask, what is the plan that Everton’s leadership are working towards?

Is the plan to build a squad capable of sustaining mid-table finishes for a few seasons, and one unlikely to be in any danger of getting dragged into a relegation scrap? If that is the case, then so far, so good. And it’s hard to imagine a Moyes team getting dragged down to a fight at the bottom.

That would fit in with the general approach of the club, too. While Moyes and the players spoke of wanting to qualify for Europe, Everton did not gamble in January when, if they had just gone and brought another couple of players in, the chance of qualifying for the Champions League, never mind another European competition, was very much alive.

I won’t tread over old ground, but that failure to act felt like a cop-out at the time and one that backfired in the end. But, the club did stick to their guns.

However, I’m only guessing here.

What if ‘the plan’ is actually to turn Everton into a team capable of challenging for the European qualification places?

Now, that clearly should be the long-term ambition, but Kinnear has said this is a two-year strategy? So are they expecting two summer windows to get Everton to that point?

If that is the case, then they are going about it a strange way, because Everton’s additions so far this summer do not scream of a team that are set on mounting a European charge.

Last season was bizarre, and while you can never firmly predict how a campaign will play out, there’s a good chance the European race won’t be quite as wide open this coming season as it was in 2025-26, when at least six teams were all fighting for a couple of places come the final two games.

But we need some clarity.

That will probably now have to wait until after the window, but Kinnear should take heed that soundbites aren’t good enough. You can’t say there is a plan, but then not detail that plan.

All Evertonians can do now is sit back and hope the club really do know what they’re doing and what they’re working towards. There’s less than a month of the transfer window left, and while there has been movement, Everton have only brought in one fresh face compared to the squad that finished last season, and are still sorely lacking in positions of desperate need.

If this is the plan, Angus, then it’s not a good one.

Reader Comments (11)

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Mark Ryan 2 Posted 05/08/2026 at 14:26:44

He says he wants us to mount a compelling challenge next term.

Angus, you have excelled yourself because you achieved this last season. It was the most compelling challenge I've ever faced when trying to enjoy watching Everton.

You are a bullshitter and I'd rather have Joe Kinnear or Roy Kinnear at the helm. Grade A twerp!

Kevin Molloy 3 Posted 05/08/2026 at 14:27:53

This is our one true link to the dead hand anonymous Americans who now own Everton. And I do wonder whether they chose a complete dickhead deliberately, to make people reluctant to engage with him. Cos everything he says is nonsense.

A world class recruiting team, but then he thought Davy was a world class manager. Has anybody ever so described Davy? Even his Mum?

Since they got here, four first team spots have fallen vacant, the 6, the 10, the right back, and left wing. All filled or to be filled with players between the ages of 28 and 32, and all on the cheap.

There is no plan, it's just steady as she goes, cos they bought the club for a song, and know as did Bill, that just maintaining the status quo is winning financially.

Pete Ambrose 5 Posted 05/08/2026 at 15:03:10

What people seem to have forgotten is Bill Kenwright rescued Everton from oblivion under the previous owner. Kenwright wasn't super rich but he loved Everton and did his best.

Moshiri was brought in to add finance but unfortunately he was dumb where football was concerned. The biggest loss that people forget was the financial clout that a Russian oligarch brought to the table which unfortunately was lost when sanctions were imposed.

TFG have arrived but are dragging their heels on transfers while they back Roma. There seems to be a survival plan but not a plan to advance, which is a bit soul-destroying for the average Everton fan. We can but hope... but not hold breath.

Before coming to Everton, Angus Kinnear was CEO at Leeds Utd from 2017; prior to that, he was Managing Director at West Ham Utd and oversaw their move from Upton Park to the stadium used for the London Olympics.

Prior to that, he was commercial manager at Arsenal during their move to the Emirates. So, seeing he was involved in the moving to new venues for both Arsenal and West Ham Utd, maybe TFG thought he was a safe pair of hands to oversee the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Obviously TFG are pulling all the strings while being absentee landlords. There has definitely been a policy to invest in younger players similar to Chelsea. But the level of youngsters Chelsea can buy is at a higher level than Everton.

Also, to go down this route, you surely should have a manager who is comfortable with this approach and this doesnt seem to fit David Moyes's way of working.

I would also question if Moyes was even consulted about the move to buy younger players. Maybe we are in the new era where managers have little or no say in future signings and managers have to work with what they are given?

Certainly so far our biggest expenditure on youth in Tyler Dibbling looks at present like a complete disaster, which makes me think Moyes wasn't really consulted with this transfer.

I have no idea if Kinnear is the right man for the job but so far he hasn't set the world alight in the transfer side of things.

Dave Williams 8 Posted 05/08/2026 at 15:23:11

Excellent post Brian. Managers who want to use young players usually set out to boost their confidence- Moyes tends to criticise them in public whilst letting the errors by the likes of Tarky, Myko etc go without comment. It really is a poor match and it does all seem like the TFG model is to build Roma and leave us on the shelf for now, maybe to be given resources once Roma is established as a major force. Some managers would seek confrontation but Moyes has history of playing the corporate game thus protecting his job. This could be harsh but if Armstrong goes on loan again it would be expected.

Keith Harrison 10 Posted 05/08/2026 at 15:42:02

Me and the missus went to Rome to see David Gilmour in October 2024. I made a point of speaking to as many Roma fans as possible over the 5 days - much to the wife's annoyance. Of the 40+ I actually managed a conversation with, they almost to a man (and woman) hated the Friedkins. They complained about them sacking popular managers/coaches, while not communicating one iota with the Roma fans. Just under 2 years later, I think they may have changed their minds, seeing the quiet revolution that their club is effecting. Perhaps their Roma blueprint will start filtering through at Everton at some point, although getting rid of Moyes would be a mighty fine start. Just saying.

As Patric says its fine having a 2 window plan, seems common sense. But what's the target outcome after them 2 summer windows ?

Are the club not saying what the target is, so as not to be seen as failing? Claiming you want to build a squad to challenge for Europe and not coming up with he investment needed, looks bad on them.

Is the target unacceptable to Evertoinians, so kept secret, for example, just keep avoiding relegation for a couple of seasons, while TFG continue to grow other revenue?

The absence of a clear target, exceptable to the fans or not, will continue to fuel this distrust of the owners.

If Kinnear come out and said the 2 year plan was to buy young players, to fill the squad with developing players in the hope that year 3 would have us in position where we could genuinely attract some top quality players to make the push to challenging for Europe every year, at least we'd know where we stand.

We have Moyes downplaying everything, lowering expectations, we cant make "no great strides".

New owners, new board, new recruitment department, new stadium shouldn't the manager & CEO be raising expectations?

It screams to me like Kinnear & Moyes are scared of failure, that's why we have no targets.. when the opposite should apply!

"Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations."