Everton 24/25 Season Review

And so another season is over. Everton finished 13th. Our perennial rivals across the park won the season, annoyingly. It was our final season at our beloved home, Goodison Park. We had two different managers. Let's discuss this. (And by discuss I mean I will talk about my opinions and feelings and you can just read since I haven't implemented comments yet on this blog, but you can always send me something on my X account if that works for you).

The First Half of the Season

Well this was depressing. This was a rought time to deal with. We didn't get our first league win until our seventh game, against Crystal Palace. Before that we threw away three league games where we in the lead, two of which we lost 3-2 after going 2-0 up, and one of those we were 2-0 up until the 87th minute (that Bournemouth game was rough).

Dyche had to go. It was simple. After the Bournemouth loss, it gelt like we made no attempt to ever win a match. I could manage that a bit at the moment given the strength of our squad, the injuries and if those opponents were just the so called 'big teams' like Arsenal and a Chelsea team that weren't doing too badly at the time. But to lose against Southampton, the worst team of the season and one of the worst ever, a team who only won one other match, was absolutely ridiculous.

I'll admit, I was very hesitant to jump on the 'Dyche out' train, largely because I couldn't think of anyone I would trust to replace him. And there were some great moments under Dyche such as his first match against Arsenal, beating Bournemouth on the last day of the 23/23 season and of course beating Liverpool 2-0 last season. But we were 16th, we absolutely awful, and Dyche was incredibly stubborn.

The Second Half of the Season

Very shortly after Dyche's sacking, a sacking that felt very sudden, Moyes was appointed. I'm currently 28. As a result, the earliest manager I can remember was David Moyes. In fact, when he originally left to go to Man U, the idea of Everton having a different manager seemed completely foreign to me. But in the past couple of seasons we've gone through a slew of different appointments. Was Moyes going to be the right person? Would things be any different? The answer, it would turn out to be, was yes.

Yes, in his first game we lost to Aston Villa, but then when we played Spurs, a team that had beaten us 4-0 near the start of the season, and at half time we were 3-0 up. It wasn't a stress free game given that they pulled 2 goals back in the second half, but it was a massive win. After that we managed to go on an amazing run of form racking up some phenomenal wins and scoring so many more goals. A great in analysis of what changed can be found in this video.

Not only did we finish 13th, but I'm pretty sure we were 9th in the form table since Moyes took over.

Notable Matches

Everton 2 - 3 Bournemouth | 31st August 2024

This one hurt, I might have mentioned that. I was already having a rough day at the time, and Everton having a 2-0 lead was cheering me up. But of course it couldn't last. I'd say it broke me to a degree. Afterwards I deleted all football apps from my phone, went somewhat dark on social media as I just couldn't cope with it. This was a horrific result and I'd say it was the clear start of Dyche's downfall.

Everton 3 - 2 Tottenham Hostspur | 19th January 2025

What a match! I wasn't expecting much from this game. We'd just lost to Aston Villa and this was Spurs. I spend the time just chilling with my girlfriend and while I knew it was the second half I decided to take a look at the score, figuring that I'd be seeing us 1 or 2-0 down. I was very pleasantly surprised to see we were winning 3-0. I was astounded actually. Naturally I had to keep checking my phone and then get stressed as we conceded two goals, but the team held one and a wave of relief washed over me as I saw my TV pop up with the notification for full time.

Everton 2 - 2 Liverpool | 12th Februaruy 2025

Here it was, the penultimate Merseyside Derby at Goodison. A loss here would be painful. And it was almost a loss. Again, I spent the time with my girlfriend as I was too anxious to deal with it. But she then went and I was left alone in my flat seeing that were losing 2-1. I accepted it. It was Liverpool, they were set to win the league. It just hurt given that it was the last one at Goodison. Then the ball falls nicely to the foot of James Tarkowski and we get the equaliser. Yeah, I won't lie. It felt like a win. It still does.

Everton 2 - 0 Southampton | 18th May 2025

The day had finally come. The last ever match at Goodison Park. A ground I'd been to a lot as a child. I unfortunately was not able to get tickets to this game. I was unlucky in the draw and then unsurprisingly couldn't get any on resale, so I had to watch it in my parent's living room with my brother while my dad got to enjoy it. The match was relatively lacklustre. Iliman Ndiaye was great and the first half was decent, just a shame about those offsides from Beto. But the second half was a tad stressful. We barely threatened at that point, while the Saints had a few decent moments. Overall, we were lucky to not conced, but thankfully we didn't and it remeains that the last goal at the stadium was an Everton one.

The ceremony afterwards was really nice though. I enjoyed getting to see all the former players that could make it show up, I enjoyed the music, I only wish I could've been there.

Notable Players

Beto

Beto has been alright before this I'd say. He'd get an occasional goal. But what really endeared him top me and a lot of the other fans is his passion. He has a clear drive to score. And once Moyes took over, that's what he did, scoring 7 goals for us. He truly seems like a much improved player and I'm so happy for him.

Iliman Ndiaye

I would regard this man as our best outfield player this season. Right from the start, the skill and ability he showed was phenomenal. I had already seen him score in person before he joined us when I watched Sheffield United play against Spurs in the FA Cup at Bramhall Lane. He was the only scorer in the match, coming on as a substitute and from Blades fans I had he seemed to be their best player. Them losing him before the start of their Premier League season was a massive blow, but us managing to sign him was fantastic. I can't wait to see what else he can do for us next season.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos? Charly? On wikipedia it says Carlos. Oh well, he has been a great signing for us. The only player we signed in January, on a loan deal. It wasn't much but I don't think many of us fans expected much from that window. But he managed to score 2 goals for us and get a few assists in as well, and has looked great on the ball partnering up with Beto. He's got a great fighting spirit as well. I'll always remember him rushing to back up Doucoure when Curtis Jones sprinted at him. I'm quite glad we've signed him on a permanent deal.

Conclusion

Overall, it was an okay season for us. An adequate one. A decent one if you take into consideration the issues we've had in the previous seasons. It was basically just important for us to avoid relegation in our final season at Goodison Park. The bare minimum for this season was basically to avoid a relegation battle, which Dyche couldn't guarantee, but that Moyes managed to make certain. I can live with that ending and I'm excited to see what we can achieve next season in our new stadium.

Please, let's get some decent signings in this window. We desperately need them.