Everton's European Dream Collapses as Moyes Faces Relegation-Form Stretch

Everton's 2025-26 campaign promised European football after an encouraging start built on the loan arrival of Jack Grealish and the recruitment of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. A 3-0 victory over Chelsea in March left the Toffees eighth in the Premier League standings, just three points adrift of Champions League qualification with seven matches remaining. The club's supporters envisioned a breakthrough season following years of financial turmoil and regulatory sanctions. Instead, the team collapsed entirely. The decline began in earnest after a 2-2 draw at Brentford on April 11, triggering a catastrophic run of form that would define the campaign's final weeks. Everton failed to record a single victory during this stretch, joining only relegated Burnley and Wolverhampton among Premier League sides unable to win during the period. A 3-1 home defeat to newly promoted Sunderland in their final fixture sealed a 13th-place finish, an outcome rendered more painful by the fact that Sunderland finished seventh and secured European football for the first time in 53 years. The irony of Moyes's tenure centers on consistency in underperformance despite vastly different circumstances. When the 63-year-old manager returned in January 2024, Everton stood just one point above the relegation zone before recovering to finish 13th, clearing the bottom three by 23 points. Despite investing a club-record £97 million in summer transfers, the Toffees achieved an identical 13th-place finish with marginal improvement. The squad's collapse at home proved especially alarming, as Everton recorded the lowest home points-per-game tally (1.2) of any team beginning life in a new Premier League stadium—a dramatic contrast to their top-seven away form. Grealish's injury in January proved a turning point in the statistical narrative. The English winger's presence coincided with a 45% win rate and 1.6 points per game, figures that plummeted to 22% and 1.0 respectively following his absence. Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman attributed the decline partly to Moyes's demanding management style proving unsustainable for a thin squad over a full season, while also acknowledging the difficult adjustment to new stadium surroundings after the club's turbulent period of financial breaches and points deductions. Osman argued that successive mid-table finishes represent progress given the circumstances, with Everton no longer battling relegation concerns. Looking forward, Everton's recruitment strategy requires reassessment. The Friedkin Group's nine summer signings produced mixed results: Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall succeeded immediately, but £35 million winger Tyler Dibling started only six matches, and left-back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich awaits his Premier League debut. Moyes acknowledged the spending disadvantage facing Everton, who rank 15th among Premier League clubs for net spend over five years, while noting that Bournemouth achieved sixth place despite posting an £81 million profit from sales. With 12 months remaining on his contract, Moyes must reverse the downward trajectory or face questions about whether his management approach can sustain a competitive project at Goodison Park.