David Moyes ‘flying’ as Chris Sutton makes Everton Premier League title claim
David Moyes has taken little time to bring an air of positivity to Everton since replacing Sean Dyche as their manager in January.
At the start of January, Everton were looking at the possibility of suffering relegation from the Premier League with Dyche still at the helm.
However, Moyes’ return as manager has revitalised the Goodison Park outfit, who have won four and drawn one of their six Premier League games since his arrival.
Michael Ball has observed that the Toffees are now closer to a European qualification spot than the relegation zone and Sutton feels this might just be the sign of things to come.
| Manager (Premier League 2024-25) | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | P |
| Sean Dyche | 19 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 25 | 17 |
| David Moyes | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 13 |
Chris Sutton wowed by David Moyes
Assessing Everton’s situation, Sutton described the 2-1 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday (15 February) as “big” before adding that Moyes has been “flying”.
“Another big win for Everton and David Moyes, and he’s absolutely flying, isn’t he?”, the pundit said on Daily Mail’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast (17 February).
Daily Mail correspondent Mike Keegan was in agreement with Sutton and took a swipe at colleague Ian Ladyman for earlier saying that the Blues should have hired Graham Potter instead of Moyes.
He said: “Absolutely. The Moyesiah.
“13 points clear of the drop now, so that door that Lado [Ian Ladyman] suggested had opened, I think is well and truly slammed shut now.”
Sutton, meanwhile, pointed out that the Merseyside-based club have a better chance of securing a European qualification spot than dropping down and even suggested the possibility of competing for the title next season.
“They have probably got a better chance of qualifying for Europe than going down at this moment in time.
“12 goals in six games, I think, under Moyes, they’re scoring freely.
“Who knows next season, who knows next season, what might happen? They could be contenders.”
Everton back on track?
Everton were competing to qualify for European competitions under Moyes until he left for Manchester United in 2013.
However, the Goodison Park outfit have since been reduced to a relegation-battling side, thanks to years of mismanagement under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership.
With the Friedkin Group buying the club from Moshiri and Moyes back in charge, there is an air of positivity around Finch Farm now.
While competing for the Premier League title as Sutton suggested is still a stretch, there are enough reasons for the Toffees to be optimistic about their project, not least the move to the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium next season.
If Dan Friedkin and Co remain smart in the transfer market, there is no reason why Moyes cannot get Everton back to competing for European places next season onwards.
The Blues were restricted to making just one signing in the winter transfer window – Carlos Alcaraz – due to financial constraints, but there is expected to be more leeway in the summer.