Everton are back in familiar territory, uncertainty upstairs, frustration in the stands, and a manager left to explain the mess in public.
David Moyes has confirmed he has never met or spoken to owner Dan Friedkin since returning to the club in January 2025. That is the headline, and it matters. In any well-run football club, the manager does not need daily chats with ownership, but total distance over such a long period tells you plenty about how Everton ownership is operating.
Friedkin, whose group completed the takeover in December 2024, has stayed away from Goodison Park since taking control. Day-to-day responsibility has instead been pushed towards Rishi Majithia and chief executive Angus Kinnear, with Moyes making clear where the chain of command currently sits.
Everton ownership structure under scrutiny
Moyes put it plainly: “My real contact is Angus. Angus is the one who I would go to see. Rishi is the next one and then the head of the Friedkin family in America. I don’t really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to.”
That is functional, but hardly convincing when the club has just come through a chaotic transfer window. Everton supporters have every right to ask who is making the key calls, who is signing off sales, and who is carrying the sporting vision. At the moment, the answers look blurred.
Moyes also accepted the new regime is still learning on the job. He said, “We’ve got new owners in who are still feeling their way in the club. I think if we get to know each other more it will get better.” That may be true, but Premier League clubs do not get much time for bedding in. If you waste a transfer window, the damage lands immediately.
Everton transfer window leaves Moyes exposed
This is where the concern sharpens. Everton ended the window with only 18 senior players. The squad balance is poor, the depth is thin, and the margin for error is tiny. One striker, one right-back and one left-back is not squad building, it is negligence.
The backlash from supporters at Bournemouth came after news broke that the club had accepted a £40m bid from Nottingham Forest for Harrison Armstrong, one of their brightest young assets. Everton later backed away from the move, but the anger did not vanish.
It got worse. Beto was sold to Fiorentina on deadline day before a replacement had been secured. Folarin Balogun was lined up from Monaco, then the move collapsed late in the day. That left Moyes with fewer options and more questions.
None of this helps a side already short on quality and numbers. Managers can deal with losing. They cannot do much with a squad left understocked by poor planning.
David Moyes stays committed to Everton
Moyes has seen enough at Everton to know when a storm is brewing. He also knows what this club can be when it pulls together. Asked whether he had thought about walking away, he shut that down quickly.
“Everton’s different,” said Moyes. “I wouldn’t have come back for anybody but Everton.”
That is loyalty, but also realism. He understands the emotional weight of the place, and he knows supporters can still drag a team through difficult periods. He pointed to that directly, saying, “I think the club here has had enough days where the people find a way of recovering. People saw the face of Evertonians last week and it can be really powerful. I would expect them to be really powerful now.”
His message was obvious. The squad is short, the club is unsettled, and Everton need the crowd with them. He added, “But powerful for the team, powerful for the players. What we’re going to need from them is extra because we’re short, so we need them. If they’re not with us, then it’s terrible. And they are with us, I believe they are with us.”
That is where Everton stand. Moyes remains in place. The fans remain engaged. The Everton ownership model, for now, remains the biggest concern of all.
