​David Moyes returned for a second spell at Everton in January 2025 [Getty Images]For much of last season, Everton were looking up.Loan signing Jack Grealish proved to be an instant hit. Fellow new arrival Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was a reliable matchwinner. Strikers Thierno Barry and Beto had shrugged off early-season struggles to start scoring goals.A 3-0 triumph against Chelsea on 21 March put Everton eighth in the Premier League, just three points off the Champions League places with seven games left.Supporters were dreaming big. Instead, the team imploded. Everton failed to win any of their remaining matches – the longest run without a victory since David Moyes returned for a second spell in charge of the Toffees in 2025. A 2-2 draw at Brentford on 11 April sparked a decline in form over the remainder of the campaign that ranked Everton in the bottom three during that period. They were one of only three teams to fail to win a match during this spell, along with relegated Burnley and Wolves.A tale of two 13thsEverton’s loss to Sunderland in May was their eighth home defeat in the Premier League last season [Getty Images]Despite the drop off, Everton retained hopes of European football when they faced Sunderland in their final home match of 2025-26. In his program notes, Everton CEO Angus Kinnear declared that he was “happily dissatisfied” with the campaign – an odd turn of phrase at a confusing moment that quickly soured after a 3-1 defeat.Promoted Sunderland would go on to finish seventh and secure European football for the first time in 53 years. The irony for Moyes is that Everton have finished 13th in both seasons since his return, but to very different receptions.When he rejoined the club 18 months ago, the Toffees were one point above the relegation zone. They would go on to finish 23 points clear of the bottom three.Everton then spent £97m before the 2025-26 campaign – a club record net outlay in a summer transfer window – to repeat the same finish having accrued one more point. Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes after a chaotic period of financial breaches, points deductions and relegation battles, successive mid-table finishes demonstrate progress. “When David Moyes first came in, we flew out the blocks and had a great start,” he said. “That continued for well over a year before the first sort of low period, which was the end of last season. “I still feel that we made progress last season, which is what we wanted, along with stability.”Moyes in final year of contractMoyes, 63, has spoken of the challenge of keeping up with the biggest spenders in the Premier League, with Everton ranking 15th of the current top-flight teams for net spend over the past five years.Bournemouth, however, spent the least of any Premier League team last summer, making a profit of £81m from player sales, and still finished seven places higher in sixth. Brighton made a profit of £41m and finished eighth. Moving to the state-of-the-art Hill Dickinson