Moyes, tempering expectations, and the Everton elephants in the room

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Moyes, tempering expectations, and the Everton elephants in the room

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The summer is supposed to be a time of optimism. Memories of last season’s shortcomings are getting further in the rear-view mirror, while transfer talk, despite being in large parts fabrication, does provide a bubble of excitement.

Everton are yet to act this summer, andcomments from David Moyes this week have done little to offer encouragement. If the extent of the Everton manager’s ambition is to match Brentford and Bournemouth, the club has the wrong man in charge.



That’s not to disrespect either of those clubs. Each have maximised their resources, bought well, turned profits, and impressed while doing so.Bournemouth will play European football next season, something Everton haven’t done for almost a decade.



If Moyes meant to follow those basic principles, few would grumble.



But it’s impossible to avoid the feeling that this, instead, was a tempering of expectations. For so long, Everton have plodded along contentedly with underdog status.



‘Happily dissatisfied’ after a crumbled challenge for European football is a world away from ‘nothing but the best is good enough’.



Moyes has contributed to a culture where pride is taken from participation and near misses. His comments this week did not feel like a message to the owners. Some, eternal optimists and Moyes supporters, have suggested the Scot purposely stoked the furore of supporters in a bid to push The Friedkins into action.

I, for one, am not buying that.



Whether it’s been trickled down from the top or instead from the man himself, it feels like a deliberate ploy to water down transfer disappointment ahead of time.



It’s another mixed message. Everton have gone from projecting plans for ‘world-class players for a world-class stadium’, to naming ‘Moneyball’ recruitment models as the plan.



The latter completely ignores the fact that, as things stand, neither club nor manager are suited to that model. Only four teams have won more top-flight titles than the Toffees, and one of those was propelled to such status by state-funded backing. This is not a fanbase that would be content with a steady stream of top talents heading for the exit door each summer, and neither should it be.



Moyes, meanwhile, has faced regular criticism for his treatment of young talent. It's an unmissable elephant in the room.



Remember Adam Aznou? The exciting Moroccan teenager who spent the season ‘developing’ on the sidelines. What about Tyler Dibling? Talked up as one of England’s most gifted talents, but the proud owner of just four league starts.



Where is the evidence that would persuade up-and-coming talent that Everton is an ideal environment to progress?



Moyes may feel he is simply being a realist, though that is somewhat ignorant to a fanbase that understands the club's circumstances. No one is more aware than the supporters of a three-decade trophy drought or the financial challenges to end it. Few are demanding success right now.

But, at the very least, can there be some signs of ambition? Preempting excuses solidifies a culture of mediocrity that desperately needs a reset.

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