West Ham 2-1 Everton: What We Learned | OneFootball

(Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Another game, another last-gasp defeat, and it may well be that this loss proves to be the end of Everton’s European hopes. This time it was West Ham who got the better of David Moyes’ men.

There’s still four games to go, and still only 3 points separate Everton in 11th to Brighton in 6th, but the signs are not good — it would take an almighty turnaround now for the Toffees to finish in the Top 7, and even 8th place, which may be enough for Europa Conference League qualification, looks a stretch now.

Here’s three things we learned from the loss at London Stadium:

After a sticky patch earlier in the season in this regard, it seemed as though Everton had figured this out, especially with the return of Jarrad Branthwaite.

Yet, in Branthwaite’s absence on Saturday, and without Beto, who usually occupies the near-post, Everton’s vulnerability from corners was once again exposed.

Last week, Virgil van Dijk had the free header from 6 yards out. This time, it was Tomas Soucek.

It feels like we’ve seen the same goal happen time and time again this season — two against Tottenham in October, one against Newcastle United a month later, and Nathan Collins’s goal for Brentford in early January all spring to mind.

Jordan Pickford is a brilliant goalkeeper but tends to stay on his line, and clearly this is a tactic too, so that means the defenders in front of him have to be fully switched on. Once more, they weren’t, and it proved costly.

A big area of improvement for next season.

JAMES GARNER LOOKS LEGGY

It has been a brilliant season for James Garner, who would be well worthy of a call-up for England’s World Cup squad.

But while I hope he makes it, there’s probably a case to say a good rest over the summer would do him good.

In the last two matches, Garner has looked increasingly leggy. He had an excellent second half against Liverpool but was given the run-around in the first, and on Saturday, he was far from the levels he has displayed all season long.

That is perfectly understandable, he has played the third-most minutes of any outfielder in the Premier League this season, and in such a demanding position — or in his case, positions — that’s bound to take its toll.

There’s no need for Garner to be dropped, or anything like that, but it’s time for Moyes to get more energy into the side in other areas to support him.

Garner now needs to rest up this coming week, and then put his all into the run-in. If he is not at his best, it’s evident how much Everton struggle to contain teams.

KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL DELIVERS

Finishing on a positive note, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is by far and away Everton’s signing of the season, and it’s a straight shootout between the midfielder and Garner for the Player of the Season award.

He was not at his best against Brentford, yet popped up with that late equaliser. He was not at his best against Liverpool, but delivered the assist for Beto to drag Everton level.

He was sharper against West Ham, and led some excellent breaks in the first half, and his performance was rewarded with what should have been, at the very least, an equaliser when he lashed home on the volley in the 88th minute.

For Everton’s defence to then go and switch off just 4 minutes later is ludicrous, but should not take away from what Dewsbury-Hall continues to give the Toffees, and that is output. Eight goals, four assists — three more league goal involvements than any other player in the squad.

If Everton do miss out on Europe, it will certainly not be for the want of trying, and in Dewsbury-Hall’s case, it will not be for the want of doing his part, either.

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Reader Comments (46)

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Eric Myles 1 Posted 26/04/2026 at 14:36:53

In the redshite game, it looked like they were targetting Pickford to keep him on the line. There was crowding and wrestling in the goalmouth to not allow movement of the goalie.

This can only be fixed by the refs booking players and awarding a free kick as soon as the ball is put in play, something they're not interested in doing.

The Hammers game seemed more open at corners and it was defender errors that accounted for the loss.

Edward Rogers 2 Posted 26/04/2026 at 14:41:24

What I learned:

Referees are shite.

Eric Myles 3 Posted 26/04/2026 at 14:45:53

And VAR, Edward!

Edward Rogers 4 Posted 26/04/2026 at 15:05:31

That goes without saying, Eric.

Dave Abrahams 5 Posted 26/04/2026 at 15:37:32

Patric,

You say Pickford staying on his line is a tactic, has Moyes and his coaches told the rest of Everton's defence this?

Jim Bennings 6 Posted 26/04/2026 at 15:59:35

I believe the late goal we conceded at Arsenal where Pickford came out and lost it must have some subconscious role in the staying on the line.

I don't think Jordan ever feels comfortable with high balls, and I firmly believe that has always been the case since the day he signed for us, it's always been a slight Achilles Heel here with him.

The Origi goal at Anfield brings me back to this, a nothing ball floating out for a goal kick that Jordan was so uncertain about and results in a madcap fluke.

Another springs to mind in the previous season at Anfield in the FA Cup under Allardyce, scored by Van Dijk, was unerringly like last week's header.

Jordan is an amazing goalkeeper but I've definitely noticed a weak spot there on high balls, crosses, set plays.

What I learned was that the match going fans have turned.

At the Arsenal game, most people I spoke to were still backing Moyes. Some were actually incredulous that I expressed doubts.

Yesterday, people were pissed off and from 60 minutes onwards, the discontent was palpable. After the game, it was vociferous.

Moyes was almost as vilified as Barry.

Tony Abrahams 8 Posted 26/04/2026 at 17:37:03

They haven't got a fucking clue, those away fans, Mark, most of them only go to get pissed!

What do they expect? It's been a hard season with a small squad and we had three of our best players out the team yesterday.

Being serious, I never watched our game yesterday, but I wasn't surprised by the result.

David West 9 Posted 26/04/2026 at 17:38:18

We've learnt that when we need to pull out a performance under a bit of pressure, too many don't turn up.

Tarkowski, McNeil, Mykolenko, Keane, Barry and Gana just are not good enough, they are not going to be good enough next season, European football or not.

Dewsbury-Hall, Garner, Branthwaite and Ndiaye are the only players any team who gets into Europe next season would even consider.

Time to really cull the mediocrity that's in the squad this summer.

Mike Price 11 Posted 26/04/2026 at 18:06:11

I'd let Pickford go. He pulls off some brilliant shot-stopping but is often a liability.

He doesn't command his area and is terrible on crosses. There's very few supporters of other teams who would want him despite his England credentials.

He's always reminded me of a fireman that sets his own fires just so he can try to put them out and play the hero.

Cue the outrage... like when I said giving Coleman a contract last year was a complete waste of money, basically paying millions for a cheerleader,

What we've learnt is our recruitment is a disgrace and we're still run like a charity… see Michael Keane's voluntary improvement in terms despite him having an extra year option on the same terms as this year.

Darren Hind 12 Posted 26/04/2026 at 18:11:40

I've learned that those who knew, knew.

Others have simply spouted sycophantic pap trying to defend the richest failure in football by talking about this "staggering improvement".

I hope when Moyes fucks off, he takes those with a similar loser's mentality with him. Happy clap mediocrity and you will have it served up to you by the bucket-full.

Rennie Smith 13 Posted 26/04/2026 at 18:37:28

People surely can't be serious when saying we should let Pickford go?

Patric Ridge 14 Posted 26/04/2026 at 19:06:20

#5 Dave

Yes I think it's tactical mate (without knowing for sure ofc!). He has not come off his line from such situations all season. The CBs and near-post defender are tasked with making first contact.

I reckon this is due to Pickford's lack of relative height. He's not 6'5, but he's brilliant at other things. You have to compensate so the onus is then on the defenders to make that 'first contact'.

When they do, it's fine -- and Everton's record for defending set-pieces this season is middle of the road in the Premier League -- but when they do miss, and the delivery is spot on, it results in basically a free header.

It doesn't help that all the corner goals we've conceded this season are basically carbon copies of each other.

Ian Horan 15 Posted 26/04/2026 at 19:07:06

For me, we have a manager with no Plan B. He is also a manager that would rather get 6 points from 6 drawn games than a manager who would go for 9 points from a run of W L W L W L driven by an attacking intent.

Time for a modern thinking manager who has mobile technically gifted players as opposed to all 6ft plus "run all day" athletes. Enjoyment and passion for Everton gets crushed on a regular basis.

John Collins 16 Posted 26/04/2026 at 19:13:19

100% Ian.

When we will next be in with a chance of a Champions League place with 6 games to go, who knows..?

A chance not taken seriously by the manager, in my opinion.It's been a substandard competition this season, the Premier League.

Raymond Fox 17 Posted 26/04/2026 at 19:57:56

How is that not a penalty, when it's for Everton that's when, they say it wasn't intentional it looked mighty like it to me. He shouldn't be putting his arms around Barry in that situation anyway.

As far as Pickford is concerned, he can't get to most crosses because he's blocked off, it's the latest tactic which is spoiling the game.

So every time we lose it's the managers fault, what about the players who don't play well and put the ball in the net enough times.

Dave Abrahams 18 Posted 26/04/2026 at 21:12:55

Patric (14) Patric he has never come off his line since he has been here, it's been a constant fault of his which has caused a good few goals against us and he has got away with plenty more, I blamed him last week for not coming off his line when Branthwaite was shielding the ball back to him just before he got injured v Liverpool it was his ball all day long and then he's glued to the line when Van Dijk heads home the winner although fans blamed Tarkowski who should have done better but so should Pickford.As a shot stopper he is excellent but as an all round quality goalkeeper I wouldn't think so.

Mike Gaynes 19 Posted 26/04/2026 at 21:21:45

Patric #14, there was an interesting analysis just recently in The Athletic showing that Pickford is, by a wide margin, the least likely keeper in the Premier League to come off his line on a corner. He has stayed home more often this season than any previously.

The implication was that it's a deliberate tactic based on the idea that he's much better at close-in reflex saves than at getting his fist to high balls over 6'-6" opponents.

Interestingly, we're one of the better clubs at defending corners, based on percentage of goals given up versus number of corners defended. We concede a lot -- more than five a game -- but have the 5th lowest percentage of goals conceded on them.

Ian Wilkins 20 Posted 26/04/2026 at 21:43:02

John Collins 21 Posted 26/04/2026 at 22:03:14

If you know your keeper is not coming out it's the defenders responsibility.

I agree with Dave's post, he very rarely comes for a cross.

If he's not coming for them inside the six yard box, Van dyke around 5 yards out yesterday's about 3, hes not coming for anything.

Kenn Crawford 22 Posted 26/04/2026 at 22:21:30

The only thing I learnt from this game is Moyes is and always has been a one dimensional manager. Playing players that should not be anywhere near the first team ie, Barry McNiel Gana yes Gana has been an outstanding player for us in the past but he is shot.

We have nothing to lose for the rest of the season so Moyes try something different ( fat chance ). Moyes tho is your 13 th year at this club and the only thing you have lifted is your paycheck so piss off and take those above mentioned players with you!!!!

Patric Ridge 23 Posted 26/04/2026 at 22:53:31

19 Mike - really interesting. And yes, Pickford is prone to staying on his line, because he knows it's not his strong suit. So tactically I think Moyes and his coaches are encouraging that and want the massive defenders we have to deal with it. Which they mostly do (as the stats show).

21 and 18, John and Dave - defending is a team game. No goalkeeper is perfect. You can have a 6ft 6 monster who will come and claim everything, but then they can't get down to a low shot to save their life.

Everton compensate for Pickford's height by packing the box and having three CBs in the team most of the time, and also by having their CF on the near post (DCL was fantastic at defending such situations, Beto isn't bad, but Barry is not good). Those players have to do their job.

Pickford gets them out of trouble on enough occasions. You take the rough with the smooth.

John Collins 24 Posted 26/04/2026 at 22:57:20

Wouldn't swap him for any keeper in the Prem Patric.

My point was to the headers of the ball.

If they know he's not coming it's their responsibility.

Annika Herbert 25 Posted 26/04/2026 at 23:36:19

Raymond @ 17, who picked those players in the first place? Who doesn’t replace said players who are not performing?

Our very own Defensive Dave, that’s who. Given the players available, everyone can pretty much predict exactly who will be in the team every week. The man will never change

Si Cooper 26 Posted 27/04/2026 at 01:27:26

I agree with Patric; if the outfield players do their jobs as they should be done then the ball doesn’t get to Soucek and Bowen doesn’t have an uncontested header.

The keeper’s preserve is the six yard box that lies within the posts, not the bits beyond (unless it’s a long cross and it’s just a couple of bodies in the vicinity). Sometimes you’ve got to accept he has to make a percentages call and sometimes you are damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Pickford has flaws but is still a top keeper overall.

Derek Thomas 27 Posted 27/04/2026 at 02:04:05

What have I learned?

1) Nothing about Moyes I didn't already know. He likes to run an 11...plus 2 or 3 on standby - not a squad

2)The key to defending your 6yd box is

a) Don't fill it full of defenders* getting in each others way - there's enough of the opposition doing that.

b) Attack the fucking Ball!

Edit; * remove 1 to the edge of the 'D' and TWO to the centre circle...lets see if the opposition has the bottle to send all their players into the 6yd box then.

Did I mention Attack the fucking Ball

Nick Page 28 Posted 27/04/2026 at 02:09:35

Moyes has done a brilliant job stabilising this football club. For that I'm very grateful.

What I would like to see though is some bollocks from the manager. Just have a go, Dave! Fortune favours the brave.

Nothing to lose now. COYB

Paul Griffiths 29 Posted 27/04/2026 at 03:45:53

(1) James Garner's form has worryingly slipped.

(2) I relearned again (and again and again) that Moyes lacks courage and creativity when it comes to selection: Barry.

(3) I relearned again (and again and again) that Barry is shite.

(4) I relearned again (and again and again) that Tarkowski is a twat in pushing the blame onto others: he and Barry allowed an admittedly tall fella from a standing jump to score and then Tarkowski turned on Pickford.

(5) O'Brien is a liability at right back; Patterson should have started

(6) Gana Gueye remains important for us

(7) Keane has been our best centre-half this season

(8) I relearned again (and again and again) that McNeil is nowhere near what he once possibly was and should not start for us again before he gets sold in the summer

(9) I learned to be very worried about Ndiaye. He tends to coast and do some nice things and does not seem to win too many dribbles but he looks our best player and I think that he will not be with us when the next season starts. However, I do wonder about his commitment to us. Also, end product could be a lot better. He has scored twice as many goals as Keane and two of them were penalties.

(10) I relearned again (and again and again) that KDH is our most important player moving forwards at this point in time.

(11) I learned that any wide player is impacted negatively by the two full-backs who played yesterday. One of them - McNeil - is not very good anyway.

(12) George was disappointing and I imagine that he will be home in the Kings Road by the end of May.

(13) I learned that I would love our team to take the game to our opponents: press higher, push higher, drive, run into spaces, create spaces, and so on.

(14) I learned that we will finish in the bottom half of the table.

Jim Bennings 30 Posted 27/04/2026 at 05:50:09

Derek 27

I agree about defender these days rarely wanting to attack the ball.

I look back to someone like Dave Watson or even a bit more recently if you need, Alan Stubb's, David Weir, they would actively go to engage the ball and attack incoming crosses.

These days there's seems to be a desire to just be too statuesque and expect to stay in zone to win from a standing jump, it's another weird trait about modern day football.

Derek Thomas 31 Posted 27/04/2026 at 06:34:03

Jim @ 30; you can have 3, 4, 5, 6 defenders all doing what used to be called in a derogatory manner 'Marking Space' or as they call it now Zonal Marking' - I know why it's used, it's to stop players dragging your defenders out of position - I just don't like it.

But unless your players are very very good AND you get it 100% right EVERY time it just takes one Cahill, Soucek or whoever to have the bottle to put their head in the mix and attack the ball...especially if they aim for the space between 2 defenders 'zones'

It's just complicating what is basically a simple task...

See flight of ball

Decide; this is (or is not) my ball

Head ball away!

None of this...is it in my zone or is it just on the edge, shall I go or shall I stay, too much room for 2nd guessing and indecisiveness.

Ball!

Mine!

...and the defender should be on it like a Labrador on a sausage dinner.

Can't understand it myself, big galoots like Keane, O'Brien and Tarkowski seem to have no trouble attacking the ball at the opposition's goal area - why not in our box.

Or am I just 'old fashioned' (probably)

Darren Hind 32 Posted 27/04/2026 at 07:09:09

I don't believe for one minute That Pickford has been told to stay on his line. That would be like telling a midfield player not to tackle. It's part pf the job description. Take the decision making away from a goalkeeper and you make him redundant.

If Moyes and his coaching staff have told him this then all of those goals are on them. Not the keeper.

We don't miss DCL's goals. He didnt score enough of them, but there are aspects of his game that have left a big hole. Defending set pieces is one of them. We simply havent replaced his defence of the near post. Beto doesnt have the leap and Barry doesnt have the desire.

For me Tarkowski simply isn't good enough to mark the opponents main dangers for these dead ball situations. That much has been proven time and again. His feet are not quick enough to adjust to anything whipped in with genuine pace. In fairness Keane's the same.

So we have forwards who cant defend the near post. Two center halves who are constantly caught out by the fight of the ball and a keeper who's arms don't reach higher than the opponents head.

I'm no fan of Moyes, but one thing he is very good at, is organising his defence. I'm in a state of disbelief that he has allowed his defence to concede goals to obvious dangers like Van de ven. Van Dilk, Souceck, Thiaw

Tarkowski is a lighthouse and needs to go. In the absence of Branthwaite, Jake O'Brien needs to be promoted from his role as a bit part player defending these corners. He needs to be dominating the center of our goal. Calling the shots The guy is a monster. lets use that height and power

Tony Abrahams 33 Posted 27/04/2026 at 07:34:50

When DCL, scored against Liverpool, Klopp, slaughtered his players in public for conceding a goal from a corner. Different standards or maybe he was just angry because he hated getting beat, and he already knew he was leaving.

Our standards have improved massively this season because we aren’t fighting relegation, but looking at how we have played since we have had the added pressure of trying to qualify for Europe, then I’m just glad we aren’t in a relegation battle this season, even if we haven’t really been in one since 2023.

Mark Murphy 34 Posted 27/04/2026 at 07:43:25

Btw...

Days since our younger players last got more than 10 minutes in a game:

Harrison Armstrong - 61Charly Alcaraz - 84Tyler Dibling - 84Nathan Patterson - 89Merlin Rōhl - 97Adam Aznou - 105

Rob Beattie 35 Posted 27/04/2026 at 07:46:36

I like Iroebugnam, Röhl and Aznou (what we've seen of them); the problem is Moyes sticks with his boring favourites. O'Brien should not be playing right-back. Tarkowski is making more and more mistakes...

Do we have a DoF? If so, we need him to recognise we won't win fuck-all with Moyes and risk losing good young players. Why should they stay? #MoyesOut!

Mick O\'Malley 36 Posted 27/04/2026 at 08:19:23

I honestly don't get the absence of Rohl from the first 11, he was excellent in his last game against Villa, part of a good team performance and result, we haven't seen him since, I know Moyes has his favourites but surely he could have been used for the over played Gana, who has had a decent season but plays every match when available, and I also thought Patterson done well in that 5 game cameo at right back which also included some decent results, I thought he done well considering he has hardly had any minutes this season and no one will ever convince me that a big strapping centre half is a better right back than an actual right back, Patterson let nobody down but he's another that has been left out and not seen since, also my patience has run out with Barry, he just doesn't have the desire, he lacks fight

Steve Brown 37 Posted 27/04/2026 at 08:28:51

Mark @ 34, those stats are shocking.

That is almost £100 million of young talent going to waste due to Moyes’s reluctance to play young players.

Meanwhile experienced pros like Tarkowski, McNeil and Mykolenko play terribly and get selected.

Tony Abrahams 38 Posted 27/04/2026 at 08:39:53

I’ve just done a bit of research and our inability to defend corners stretches back to the time Sean Dyche, was our manager.

It might go back further, I haven’t got the time to check, but when you have got a keeper, who prefers to stay rooted to his line then I think you are always going to have problems defending set-pieces.

If it genuinely is a tactic keeping Pickford on his line, how embarrassing, because surely when it comes to goalkeeping, then it’s the saves he doesn’t have to make that are the most important.

Paul Griffiths 39 Posted 27/04/2026 at 08:59:56

Agree Steve - 37.

This is 2026, I'm xxxxxxx sick and tired of the stale and tired voices claiming that HEY he played these 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 young fellas in his first overlong stint,

Moyes as a rule of thumb over his time with us prefers his tried and trusted lieutenants.

Tony Abrahams 40 Posted 27/04/2026 at 09:01:50

Tried and trusted and he knows that they are going to get us so far = Stability.

Paul Griffiths 41 Posted 27/04/2026 at 10:03:26

Or a couple of points or places below, Tony A.

Tony Abrahams 42 Posted 27/04/2026 at 11:25:38

When Moyes left, Martinez, managed Everton for three seasons but then along came Moshiri, the clown, who was getting advised by the conman, who had a huge ego, relishing friends in the media, proclaiming him to be the world’s greatest Evertonian, and since then only Sean Dyche, has managed two full seasons for Everton.

I understand the need for stability but I also believe that Everton, will only become relevant again once everyone starts realising how big we could become once again, and this is something that I don’t think will ever happen under David Moyes.

He his the master of creating an illusion that he his doing a much better job than what he his being given credit for. A man that can take us so far, but not far enough and a man that has always lacked real belief when it matters the most imo.

I want more, and don’t want to continue watching such rigid football, which actually wouldn’t be so bad if every single player knew his job completely, which definitely isn’t the case right now.

Patric Ridge 43 Posted 27/04/2026 at 11:33:34

42 - Tony

I think that's fair, but there is also a need for solid foundations. I don't see there being an outstanding manager, bar Iraola, available this summer. I just don't tend to think there are many top managers at the moment in general. Nobody would have said Kompany was a top manager when he left Burnley, but he went into an outstanding team that has the wealth to dominate their league, and he has added his flourish on top.

If Everton turned to, say Glasner, in the summer. A good coach, but I don't think a better manager than Moyes, and one with similar flaws - his teams don't like to have the ball. He also wants to play a system Everton would need to recruit specifically for. That's not me saying I'm against Glasner, just that that's the calibre of manager out there atm.

Interestingly, all of Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford need fairly significant points totals from their last 4 games to match what they did last year, whereas all of those teams could actually finish higher than they did last season, on lower points.

John Collins 44 Posted 27/04/2026 at 11:37:49

Interestingly, all of Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford need fairly significant points totals from their last 4 games to match what they did last season, whereas all of those teams could actually finish higher than they did last season, on lower points.

I posted yesterday, Patric. It has definitely been a substandard Premier League this season.

Eric Myles 45 Posted 27/04/2026 at 12:58:07

Paul #39, it was more like 25.

46 Posted 27/04/2026 at 13:08:03

I can see both sides of the argument. I think part of the rationale people use is how old or young they are.

It's been over 30 years since we last lifted a trophy. I was lucky enough to be there. I was also fortunate enough to see us win the league and European Cup-Winners' Cup in the '80s. That also means there's one, or two generations of fans that have seen us win nothing, and usually struggle.

So I can see why Moyes offers stability. And set against much of the dross of the last 2 decades, I can see why that appeals.

But I also believe Moyes doesn't have it in him to be a winner, certainly not a serial winner.

I know that, since the advent of the Premier League, the game has shifted towards favouring the bigger and well-resourced teams. But they're not infallible -- almost all have had periods of poor results, bad management etc. Their wealth and revenue generated offer some immunity.

As John at #44 notes - and no doubt others have picked up on - this season has seemed to be substandard, whilst a couple of the self-appointed ESL six have also struggled this season.

So whilst Everton has exceeded most of our expectations this season, it's just as likely we will fail to make Europe as make it -- and barring a massive overhaul in the squad, we'd probably embarrass ourselves.

So the conundrum seems clear. Stick or twist with the manager. As Patric and others note, there's not a lot out there that we could realistically attract -- I still think getting Ancelotti was indeed a "Hollywood" manager -- albeit one we couldn't really afford at the time.

My view:- Moyes has another year. Give it to him on the assumption we will be slightly better off at the end of it. After that, he goes with best wishes. No job "upstairs" etc. I never forgot that he refused to let Howard Kendall near Finch Farm. It was Martinez who invited him for a visit.

It's arguable that Sir Alex Ferguson has "haunted" the corridors of Old Trafford since he retired, (again). I don't think he's still a non-exec director, but Moyes will have completed over 15 years at Goodison by the time his contract has expired, making him the longest serving post-war manager.

Hopefully our US Overlords have as little truck in sentimentality as they do for the average fan (with the recent price rises). If we're going to go full commercial to compete, then leave the sentiment and history at the door. It doesn't matter these days.