Everton's summer transfer window was a shambles, leaving the club with one recognised senior striker, but the situation should strengthen David Moyes' position rather than weaken it. The veteran manager has just under a year left on his contract, and the Friedkin Group should offer him a new one as soon as possible.
A window of calamity
Deadline Day unfolded in what has been described as amateur hour, leaving Everton with one recognised striker in Thierno Barry. Overall, the club has 18 senior outfield players. It was a calamitous window.
Despite the shortcomings, Everton have made a reasonably encouraging start to the season. If things go wrong from this point, the blame will lie squarely with those in charge of transfer business, and the owners.
Moyes' track record
Over the last 30 years, Everton's average finish in the Premier League has been between 10th and 11th. The club's best finish in that time was fourth place in the 2004-05 season, when Moyes' side won only 18 of their 38 matches, scoring an average of 1.18 goals per game with a goal difference of minus one.
In that same period, the club's worst finish was 17th, achieved on three occasions. Everton have been FA Cup finalists once, losing to Chelsea in 2009 despite a first-minute lead through Louis Saha, and semi-finalists twice, the last time in the 2015-16 season. They have been knocked out in the third round 10 times in those three decades.
Backing the manager
The Friedkin Group cleared a lot of debt and completed the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. They are now looking for new investment. The club's under-achievement over these past three decades should be shocking, but everyone has become accustomed to it.
Moyes, 63, looks refreshed in his second spell at the club, and sounds fantastically enthusiastic even when customary Everton calamities are going on around him. His contract expires at the end of the season, and the owners should offer him a new one as soon as possible. The Friedkin Group might not be the ones to take Everton forward, but David Moyes most certainly is.
