Why David Moyes' Charly Alcaraz admission highlights brutal Everton failure
Everton's miserable end to the summer has not impacted things on the pitch.
Well, at least it hasn't yet.
After all, we're only five games into the Premier League season, and seven competitive games in total.
But fair play to David Moyes, who has managed to keep a lid on the off-pitch anger that came about as a result of a dismal performance in the transfer market.
By the end of the summer window, Moyes was left with just one senior striker, and no expert full-back cover.
It was a sorry effort to leave the squad in a stronger place, and one admission from Moyes only serves to highlight one brutal failure.
What has David Moyes said about Everton's striker issue?
There's no real shade to be thrown at Thierno Barryo, who has five goals in all competitions this season - albeit three of those came in one game against Championship outfit Preston.
But the fact of the matter is, it was an absolutely brutal failure to leave Moyes in a position where Barry is his only senior option up top.
The decision to sign off on Beto's sale to Fiorentina before a replacement was definitely in the door was incredibly short-sighted.
You can't really account for the sort of drama that Everton went through with Folarin Balogun on transfer deadline day.
But you can make sure that you do not leave your squad short in the way that Everton managed to do.
The lack of options has led Moyes to concede that Charly Alcaraz, who scored the winner in the 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, is a Plan B option to fill in for Barry if needed.
In quotes reported by the Liverpool Echo, Moyes said: "Charly could be one of them [options to support Barry] if we needed it.
"I was concerned we were going to try and make a couple of changes [against Wolves] and I knew I could always move Brennan (Johnson) back to wide right or wide left if I needed to.
"My plan was to bring Charly on anyway. Brennan was doing a good enough job [at centre forward]. He played on the shoulders, he looked to run behind.
“I know he didn't finish the chance at Tottenham but in the main he's pretty clinical when he gets the chances. I trusted that if we could get chances against Wolves - and we were making chances - then Brennan would probably be on the spot.
"That's why I chose him over Charly on the night. But I think Charly could probably help us out if we need to.”
How have Everton ended up here?
It feels pretty ridiculous where we're in a spot where Moyes is having to discuss ways to make up for a striker shortfall.
Alcaraz took his goal really well against Wolves, but the 23-year-old should not be in a position where he's thought of as a centre-forward option.
Not least because he has struggled for game time in his regular attacking midfielder role since the arrival of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the summer of 2025.
Alcaraz is a mercurial talent, capable of unlocking tight games, and chipping in with goals and assists when getting regular minutes.
But all Moyes' admission has done is prove that Everton failed in the transfer window, and that is just not an acceptable situation.