David Moyes
Everton manager David Moyes has voiced concerns regarding his team’s preparedness for the upcoming Premier League season following a 1-0 defeat to AS Roma in a pre-season friendly at Hill Dickinson Stadium. While Moyes acknowledged some positives, particularly the performance of new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, he emphasized the significant work required to ready the squad for their first campaign at the new stadium.
David Moyes said: “We’ve got a lot to do, haven’t we.”
The match against Roma served as Everton’s final pre-season friendly and marked the senior team’s first game in front of supporters on the Liverpool waterfront. Despite opportunities for James Tarkowski, Thierno Barry, and Iliman Ndiaye to put the Blues ahead, Everton failed to capitalize on their chances.
Moyes said: “First half I thought we were OK, I didn’t think we played so well in the second half. Roma were better in the second half. We missed a couple of opportunities to get in front but didn’t take them.”
Moyes was particularly impressed with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s debut performance, noting the quality he brought to the team.
Moyes said: “I thought Kiernan did well. I thought he gave us some quality. You could see the difference in his levels and some of the things he did were very good. I was really pleased with that part.”
However, the match highlighted Everton’s lack of options on the right side, both in midfield and defense, an issue exacerbated by an early injury to left-back Vitalii Mykolenko. Moyes remains focused on addressing these challenges, particularly the team’s creative struggles.
Moyes said: “We’ve been lacking it [creativity] for most of the pre-season to score enough goals and make enough goals. So, we did do last season, we scored a lot of goals in the second half of the season. Hopefully, we’re keeping up for the start of the season.”
As Everton prepares for their season opener against Leeds United, Moyes is determined to resolve these issues to ensure a successful start to the campaign. The manager’s candid assessment underscores the urgency for improvement in both creativity and squad depth to compete effectively in the Premier League.
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