Everton

"When David Moyes was with us, we had an identity and we knew what Everton was about," said Warren Doyle from The Blue Room podcast on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

Reflecting on how the Scotsman's return has been received by fans, Doyle said: "For years we have struggled to find an identity again. One minute we are hiring managers who wants to play expansive football and then we bring in Sean Dyche and we are left with a mix of players who all different managers have signed.

"It's been a real mish-mash of a squad over the years.

"Moyes built a clear pathway to what Everton were about and it was great going to games knowing the team were going to be competitive. That can't really be said for the last few years.

"The supporters know there are limitations and expectations we can't quite reach at the moment but Moyes has given us that in the past and that is probably why there is a warm feeling around his re-appointment.

"Fans hope he can try and give us some of that back."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Sean Dyche and Julen Lopetegui losing their jobs maybe weren't great surprises, even if the former Everton manager had personally saved the club last season and Lopetegui scarcely had enough time to stamp his authority at West Ham.

It is all because of the fear that grips clubs when the owners, and indeed the fans, start looking down instead of up in the Premier League.

Like David Moyes, who was dismissed by West Ham only to be lured back by his old club to get them out of another fine mess, Dyche will soon be wanted again by clubs finding themselves in trouble.

I am not sure if there has been a recent manager who has been more harshly undervalued for his efforts.

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David Moyes is back in charge of Everton and has a really tough job on his hands. In terms of firepower, he is armed with a water pistol.

He has taken over a team which did not score enough goals under Sean Dyche. That was their biggest issue, and it is hard to see how Moyes can solve it with the same players that Dyche had.

With Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, Everton have got players who can hold them together at the back, but Moyes' conundrum is to increase their attacking threat, and that is going to be a struggle, especially in these early days.

Armando Broja is injured again so maybe Moyes can get a tune out of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but that is something none of the the past few Everton managers have managed to do, and I have even seen him being linked with a move away.

I have got Aston Villa's Emi Martinez in my Fantasy team, and I see him as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, but they always seem to concede silly goals.

So it is possible to get at Villa, I just don't see Everton managing it.

I don't like talking about myself much but my last goal as a professional footballer was a clever header in a Villa win over a Moyes' Everton team at Goodison Park, and I am going for the same outcome here.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

David Moyes has a big challenge ahead as he returns to Everton, with the side one point away from the relegation zone.

The Football News show speaks to former Toffee Leon Osman, who played under Moyes in his first stint at the club, about where they can improve, the manager's style and what the future looks like.

They also hear from Everton fans Ped McPartland and Les Roberts on the differences between Moyes and ex-manager Sean Dyche, and where they need to strengthen the squad.

Watch more from The Football News Show on iPlayer

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Everton are still waiting to find out the extent of the ankle injury suffered by on-loan striker Armando Broja.

The 23-year-old went down under a challenge during the FA Cup third-round victory over Peterborough.

Broja appeared to be in significant pain, needing oxygen from the physio, before being carried off on a stretcher.

Speaking before Wednesday's Premier League game against Aston Villa, manager David Moyes said: "He [Broja] is going for another scan. I think it is a little bit mixed.

"One moment we are thinking it is maybe not too bad. But that's why we are doubling up.

"We are just waiting for the swelling to go down before he goes for the scan and we'll get a better idea in the next few days."

Broja has been restricted to five games without scoring this season after joining from Chelsea on deadline day in the summer with an Achilles injury.

Everton have one of the worst attacking records in the Premier League this season, so how can new manager David Moyes get his side to be more fruitful in front of goal?

Former Toffees midfielder Leon Osman tells The Football News Show that overlapping full-backs and simply putting more crosses into the box will help an out-of-form Dominic Calvert Lewin.

He also outlines the differences between Moyes and predecessor Sean Dyche.

Watch The Football News Show on iPlayer

New York Times chief football correspondent Rory Smith believes David Moyes' re-appointment at Everton "seems extremely logical and makes perfect sense" given their circumstances.

But former Premier League forward Theo Walcott disagrees that Moyes is a long-term solution for the club, arguing Graham Potter "might have been a shout" before he agreed a deal with West Ham.

"I like Moyes as a manager and everything he's done up to this point," said Walcott on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "But I feel Potter might have been a shout before West Ham got in there.

"I'm not saying it's a bad appointment, but I feel Potter would've been a more forward-thinking, younger generational manager that can really attract players coming through."

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There was a feeling of nervousness from Everton supporters when 'PSR verdict day' came around on Tuesday, having fallen foul - twice - last season.

Everton became the first side in Premier League history to be deducted points for breaching the competition's financial rules, and another charge followed. After the appeals process they were docked a total of eight points.

But club officials have been confident there would not be any issues this time around - and they have been proven right.

The Toffees have undergone significant cost-cutting measures to ensure they were financially compliant for the 2023-24 season, helped by the sales of Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey before the 30 June deadline - the end of the financial year.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Everton have been hamstrung by strict spending constraints and they are the only Premier League side during that period with a positive net spend, of £80m.

"After the points deductions, we were very nervous of making sure we didn't fall foul of those problems again," director of football Kevin Thelwell told BBC Radio Merseyside in September.

Returning boss David Moyes faced the media for the first time on Monday and said: "Overall I hope we can all get together and find a way of spending some money but, as you well know, we still have a bit of work to do [on PSR] to clear everything so we have to be mindful of that as well."

Everton are beginning to get their house in order off the pitch, with a tick mark next to new manager, new owners, new stadium and PSR compliance.

Now the task is to start winning games on the pitch to ensure they maintain their proud record of being ever-present in the Premier League.

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is hard to think that some 11 and a half years after he last sat in the home dugout at Goodison Park, David Moyes is on the eve of doing it all again.

Part of me believes it was always destined to happen, with it almost being poetic that he should be the man to manage our last match at Goodison Park and the first at Everton Stadium.

A steady pair of hands was certainly the order of the day once Sean Dyche's departure was confirmed, and Moyes ticks that box.

Since the relative stability of Moyes' Everton, the club has been in a steady state of decline. Countless managers, hundreds of millions of pounds wasted on sub-standard players and financial turmoil have been the overarching headlines.

The version of Everton that Moyes has inherited has a lot more similarities to the one he took over in 2002, than the one he left in 2013.

Embroiled in a relegation battle and craving on-field stability, the parallels are striking.

In a question of who needs who the most, you could make a case for them both needing each other.

Since leaving the club, Moyes has been on his own managerial rollercoaster. The lows of Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland and the highs of West Ham and winning their first trophy since 1980. It's certainly been an eventful career, post-Everton.

Some may say it is a typical romantic appointment and nothing has changed, even under new ownership.

It is a valid observation, but the appointment smacks of common sense.

The general feeling within the fanbase appears to be one of satisfaction. There is a palpable sense of relief, despite some dissenting voices.

The managerial appointment was never going to please everyone, but we all deal in the currency of wins.

Every Evertonian can get on board with that.

Find more from Mike Richards at Unholy Trinity, external

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Everton FC

David Moyes faced the media on Monday after returning as Everton manager and there was not a spare seat in the house.

With widespread interest on his comeback, the 61-year-old was dressed in a sharp, navy-coloured suit and entered the packed press room at the Finch Farm training ground with a beaming smile on his face, before holding aloft the home jersey and posing for photographs.

He took his seat and started with a light-hearted gag, stating there were "many old faces" in attendance, including his own - he can't have been talking about me there because I was still in high school when he began his first spell 23 years ago.

Moyes spoke about having to stay in the Premier League in order to head to the new stadium next season as a top-flight club, as well as the need to score more goals to win more games.

He also urged the out-of-confidence number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin to find his "goalscoring boots" with the requirement to "start to deliver" on the pitch again.

Everton is a club close to Moyes' heart, having given him his first opportunity to manage in the Premier League.

Moyes said he has turned down jobs since leaving West Ham in the summer and I asked him if Everton was the only club job he would have taken.

"Yeah, I believe so because I don't think there is anything else," he replied. "I want to show I can go again. In football, you always have to prove yourself and I'll try to do that again."

The first test comes against Aston Villa on Wednesday, as he aims to push the Toffees away from danger and back up the table.

West Ham are poised to enquire about Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin before possibly making a move for the striker. (GiveMeSport, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Moyes confirmed Dwight McNeil is still unavailable with an "ongoing knee issue", Armando Broja is awaiting another scan and Dominic Calvert-Lewin trained on Monday so "should be OK" for the game on Wednesday.

• The returning Everton boss said he "did not expect the job to come up", but that the Toffees are "a different beast" and it was "too big an opportunity to turn down".

• On previous comments after leaving West Ham about not wanting to return to managing a team in a relegation fight: "Everton is different. A couple of weeks ago I didn't think Everton could be in a relegation battle, I thought they would be strong enough to get out of it. I've come into the seat now and I'm going to back that up and say we are going to be strong enough to get away from it. But, I'm not kidding myself, or anyone else, we will need everyone behind us."

• He said he has had "good conversations" with the new ownership, adding: "I have had privilege here to work under some great owners and people who have helped me. I've worked under people whose intentions were to build a better Everton. I think they did that, we did that in a period that wasn't easy either. This period is not going to be easy, but new ownership has big ideas and big hopes that they can make a big difference to the football club."

• On first priorities: "First priority is winning football matches. But there is other things of course, like building the club back up if possible. I don't think damage has been done by any managers but damage has been done through a long period of time. I had a great time here and I would love to be a part of making it better. The new stadium looks the business, it looks elite, now we need to get the elite players to give everyone something to shout about when we move."

• Moyes said that after his first training sessions with the team, they are "in good spirits" and that they "had a bit of laughter, bit of fun as well". He added: "When things aren't as good, you need to find ways of keeping chins up and things bright."

• The new boss also confirmed that under-18s manager Leighton Baines and his former staff at West Ham - Billy McKinlay and Alan Irvine - will be joining his coaching team as he wants to "try and work quickly with people I know and trust".

• He revealed there had been "three or four occasions" when he nearly returned to the club since leaving in 2013, but was now nervous coming back for the first time since his departure and feels "huge pressure" to keep them in the league.

• Moyes believes forward Calvert-Lewin "can be the one to make a big difference" but has told him he needs "goals off him straight away and he has to start delivering".

Listen to full commentary of Everton v Aston Villa from 19:30 GMT on Wednesday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Image source, Getty Images

Andy asked: With Sean Dyche seemingly saying he had taken the Everton squad as far as he could, is criticism of The Friedkin Group unfair? I'm not sure he left them with much choice.

Phil answered: I think the criticism of TFG is unfair in that if Sean Dyche felt he had taken Everton as far as he could (or perhaps this particular squad as far as he could) then they could not wait before acting as the current situation is very worrying.

The timing was certainly unusual, a couple of hours before the FA Cup tie against Peterborough United, but we must assume negotiations over severance terms were taking place.

My view, stated many times here, was that Dyche was never going to be the manager taking Everton into their new stadium, but I'm sure in an ideal world TFG would have preferred to have made this decision at the end of the season, not three weeks into their reign.

In the end, circumstances forced their hand.

Atalanta want to complete the January signing of 27-year-old Everton and England forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been linked with a summer move to Newcastle United on a free transfer. (Sun, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

The draw for the FA Cup fourth round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties involving Premier League teams in the order they were drawn.

Games will be played over the weekend of 8 February.

• Manchester United v Leicester

• Brighton v Chelsea

• Exeter v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry v Ipswich

• Blackburn v Wolves

• Mansfield/Wigan v Fulham

• Birmingham v Newcastle

• Plymouth v Liverpool

• Everton v Bournemouth

• Aston Villa v Tottenham

• Southampton v Burnley

• Leyton Orient/Derby v Manchester City

• Doncaster v Crystal Palace

See the full draw

We asked for your views on David Moyes' return to Everton - and you have certainly responded!

We have been inundated with comments, with many different opinions on the 61-year-old's appointment - some of you are happy to see him back, and some of you are not so keen.

Read below for a selection of replies from both sides of the coin...

Image source, Getty Images

David: I believe Moyes is the right appointment at this time. He is available and there isn't any compensation to pay. Hopefully the players and fans can unite behind him. He will keep us in the Premier League and play a more entertaining brand of football. But it will take time - Sean Dyche has sucked the life out of the club.

Brian: Probably the the sensible choice at this point because the team needs a reboot after the pragmatic style of Dyche. There are too many good players to be languishing at the bottom end.

Malcolm: This is classic Moyes take-over territory. He will solidify, inspire and develop the players into a team that picks up narrow victories regularly. It is practically a given. What comes next will define his legacy.

Ivor: Mixed emotions sad - sad for Sean but elated for David. He will give a much-needed boost to the squad and the supporters. Optimism returns to Goodison Park.

Paul: This is a very needed appointment. The past three managers (Rafael Benitez, Frank Lampard and Dyche) smacked of desperation. Moyes will be a safe pair of hands, but it is stating the obvious that we need a couple of quality signings - preferably who know where the net is.

Andrew: Absolutely the right choice. We need the stability and experience, and he understands the uniqueness of Everton.