Liverpool Echo

Our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the defeat to Tottenham and their side's dissapointing end to the Premier League season

Everton were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of the season on Sunday afternoon. Joao Palhinha scored the only goal of the game just before the break as the home side managed to avoid relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.

David Moyes’ side, who were well in contention for a European placing in March, eventually finished 13th after failing to win any of their last seven games. And that has led to the Blues boss coming under pressure from supporters.

And with Sunday’s game in mind, our Everton jury have returned to have their say on Sunday’s defeat and the Blues’ end to the season.

Mark McParlan

Unfortunately, against Tottenham Hotspur we witnessed the second utterly disgraceful Everton performance in a row.

Sure, there was no longer European football to play for, but a ‘respectable’ top-half finish could have been on the cards with a win. Instead, we allowed Spurs to stroll to the easiest safety-guaranteeing fixture they could possibly have dreamed of.

West Ham did their part, but with the eyes of an entire country upon us, we let that country down. By confirming Tottenham’s survival, all we have done is guarantee that they are another team who will leapfrog us next season.

We did not turn up at all. For 90 minutes, until injury time, our performance was outrageous, embarrassing, humiliating. We conceded loads of early chances. We had no control over the game and gave the ball away constantly. I was bored watching us.

I cannot believe David Moyes fielded the exact same line-up, Beto / Thierno Barry swap aside, which has been producing the same lacklustre results and performances for this whole crucial period of the season.

What is being gained by still picking the same players who are either knackered or done with the season? Let’s experiment. Jake O’Brien in his natural position, perhaps? Tyrique George and Charly Alcaraz are desperate to prove their worth. Or our £40million summer signing?

I’m just disappointed for those who travelled down to London, in boiling heat, for the fifth time since March, and had to watch that performance.

Everyone is absolutely furious with how we’ve thrown away the end of this season, and rightly so. The immediate post-match social media reaction that I saw was majority Moyes out.

I get it and agree with everything being said, but at the same time, I can’t bring myself to officially call for sacking the manager.

Arguably, it doesn’t matter anyway – he will get to start next season. Angus Kinnear and the board had made that clear enough already.

James Kellett

Everton’s 2025-26 campaign ended in such disappointment, when just two months prior, discussions were floated about the Toffees hitting the heights of the Champions League.

So where did it all go wrong? A mixture of questionable managerial decisions, lack of quality in the squad, and of course, poor officiating from Premier League referees.

The aftermath of finishing 13th in the league has led some Evertonians down the path of calling for the removal of David Moyes.

Fans are frustrated with their club, and rightfully so, as it stems from over 30 years of just purely existing in the league and cups.

But when looking at Everton in their current predicament, regardless of who is in charge or what referee officiates their matches, the crop of players are just not good enough.

Taking the final match against Tottenham Hotspur, three of the back four were members of one of the worst Everton teams in history, the 2022-23 side.

With respect to James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitalii Mykolenko, all have proven their worth in the Toffees’ team, but if the club wants to push higher up the table, the upcoming transfer window is going to be one of their biggest in years.

Moyes will face deserved criticism, but in the 2025-26 campaign he was unable to address the overall lack of quality on his side, and Everton would be in a similar position now if they had any other manager in charge.

Worries will linger regarding the business that the Scot would like to conduct in the summer, but with the correct additions in key areas, he has an opportunity to win his doubters over.

Yet if new recruits fail to make an immediate impact, things could go extremely sour for the 63-year-old. And it is Moyes’ transfer strategy that is at the crux of his current position.

If the ownership dislikes the direction he plans to take the club in concerning transfers, then the Toffees may well have to search for a fourth manager in four years.

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Paul McParlan

For Everton and our fans, opportunity doesn’t always come knocking. It came most recently with a glimpse of a place in Europe being tantalisingly close, but after six games without a win before last Sunday, that was squandered.

At one stage, it seemed easier to make Europe than not make it, but we blew it. Everton that!

Another priceless opportunity was handed to us last Sunday, when we had the chance to send Tottenham Hotspur down to the Championship.

They had only won two home games all season, and the tension smouldering amongst the home supporters was volcanic. All the pressure was on them.

We produced what was arguably our worst away performance of the season in an insipid and impotent display, which handed the initiative to the home side, who duly went on to win the game comfortably and save themselves from the drop.

How could we have let that happen? We didn’t have a shot on target until the 98th minute! Watching that shambles filled me with dismay and mounting anger. We had a golden opportunity to relegate our opponents, and we wasted it.

Last season, we ended the campaign on a high, with three consecutive wins. This time we have not won any of our last seven games. While fans of teams such as Sunderland and Bournemouth can anticipate playing in Europe, the closest we will get to playing European opposition will be in a pre-season friendly. Again! For the eighth year running!

David Moyes’s post-match press conference was a masterclass of deflection, delusion and denial. When asked by the ECHO reporter Joe Thomas if he understood the frustration of fans, he answered with a terse ‘no’. Seriously? What kind of response was that?

Are the fans wrong and is he right? Should we be grateful for finishing 13th, one point better off than last time? Should we be dancing with joy in the fan plaza at Hill Dickinson Stadium or organising an open-top bus parade to celebrate this magnificent feat? Are we not ‘Happily Dissatisfied’?

The manager seemed to think that not being involved in a relegation scrap was a testament to the fine job he is doing. Sorry, David, it isn’t. We have been brainwashed into accepting mediocrity as the norm.

Sadly, the recent comment by our CEO, Angus Kinnear, that he was ‘happily dissatisfied’ with our season reinforces that mindset.

Before the last international break in March, we had a chance to play Champions League football. At the very least, all we had to do was take seven points from a possible 21 to make the Europa Conference League.

We managed three! It was a catastrophic collapse in form which the manager seemed powerless to stop.

We could have relegated Tottenham; we didn’t. We should have made Europe; we didn’t. These opportunities have not arrived too often for Everton this century.

Andy Robertson will leave Liverpool upon the expiry of his contract but it has been suggested he will sign for Tottenham Hotspur.

Former Liverpool defender Andy Robertson is closing in on his next move after reaching a 'verbal agreement' with Tottenham Hotspur. According to reports, the Scotland international will remain in the Premier League after Spurs maintained their interest following a failed move in January.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Juventus' late hijack attempt has failed in the process with the full-back respecting the "pact". The former Dundee United and Hull City left-back found playing time restricted at Anfield during Arne Slot's difficult campaign as summer signing Milos Kerkez, 10 years Robertson's junior, was preferred.

Robertson bid an emotional farewell to the Anfield faithful on Sunday during the 1-1 draw with Brentford and received a guard of honour on his final Reds bow. But he won't be far away from returning to L4 after Roberto De Zerbi's side ensured survival on the final day of the season with a 2-0 win over Everton.

It now appears that the Liverpool legend dropped a clear hint about his next move during his final message to supporters after his exit. Taking to social media, the Scotland captain told supporters, "it's not goodbye, it's a see you soon".

He said: "I have spent all week telling the people in the building, players and staff how much they mean to me. Now it’s my turn to tell the most important people at the club how much they mean to me.

"That is you guys. From day 1 the love and support you have shown me has been unimaginable. Your support always gave me that extra motivation to be the best I could have been.

"We have had so many special nights and special days together and for that I’ll be forever grateful. The home games, away games, trips to Wembley or the parades. You guys ALWAYS show up in your numbers and I never took that for granted.

"You are the heartbeat of the club and the best fans in the world. Thank you for the reception yesterday, that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"You guys are family. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you soon. YNWA. Robbo."

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The 32-year-old's Liverpool career will come to an end at the end of the season, when his contract expires. He won two Premier League titles, two-time Carabao Cup-winner as well as adding Champions League, Super Cup, FA Cup and Club World Cup honours during their dominance under Jurgen Klopp.

Robertson will lead Scotland out at a World Cup for the first time since 1998. For the defender, he will also have international accolades in his focus as he enters the twilight of his career.

The left-back stands just 10 caps away from levelling Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish on 102. The pair united for a BBC Sport interview ahead of his Liverpool farewell, Dalglish said: “It’s a great coincidence between Scottish people and Liverpool.

“None of us that played for Liverpool would have been there without Shanks [Bill Shankly], who set it off at the very beginning for everybody.

“Throughout the years when Shanks was there and since he left, there has been a lot of successful times for Liverpool but there’s also been a lot of Scottish people. For some reason, they seem to enjoy it. They seem to be able to mix in with the punters, and they like to see a wee bit of Scottish in it.

“I think you fitted the bill perfectly. You’re a great credit to yourself. You’re a great credit to the football club, the way you conducted yourself and what you have produced for the club.

“You can see that with your winner’s medals. You’ve done yourself proud, you’ve done Liverpool Football Club proud. You did Scotland proud.”

Everton were in ninth after taking the lead against Sunderland. By the full time whistle at Tottenham Hotspur they had endured a costly slide

Everton’s drop down the Premier League table will cost the club millions of pounds in merit payments.

At half-time in their penultimate game of the season, the Blues were leading Sunderland thanks to Merlin Rohl’s deflected strike. At that moment they sat in ninth place, separated from eighth and a place in Europe on goal difference alone.

The second-half collapse that followed, combined with the defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, left the Blues in 13th - the same position they occupied at the end of last season, and where they would have finished the previous season without being hit with points deductions.

As well as costing the club a shot at a return to Europe, the slump down the table will lead to a significant reduction in merit payments - hundreds of millions of pounds handed out to clubs depending on where they finish.

The figures set to be allocated this year have not been confirmed by the Premier League but over the past two seasons each extra place has been worth around £2.7m. Last season, ninth-placed Bournemouth earned £31.9m while 13th-placed Everton took in £21.2m - a difference of £10.7m when assessing where Everton stood during the break against the Black Cats.

The fees are expected to increase this year with the Athletic projecting the disparity between ninth and 13th will be £15m. As such, that will be £15m lost by Everton across the final 135 minutes of the season.

Such fees are just one of the knock-on effects of Everton’s slip down the table, with Europe having appeared within reach after the demolition of Chelsea in March. Seven winless games followed, meaning the club will not be one of the eight English sides in Europe next season - nine if Crystal Palace win the Europa Conference League this week.

David Moyes said a lack of European football hindered Everton’s efforts in the transfer market last summer. He will now face the same challenge over the coming months.

Another challenge will be the anti-social scheduling Everton will once again be subject to. As one of the clubs outside Europe, their schedule will have the flexibility to place them on Monday night duty - a slot they have occupied seven times this season and which has felt like a contributory factor to the club’s poor home form and initial struggle to settle at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur are seemingly frontrunners to sign Andy Robertson from Liverpool, but there appear to be other offers for the Scotland international this summer

Juventus have reportedly made an offer to sign Andy Robertson this summer. Tottenham Hotspur are still said to remain ahead of the Serie A side, but Italy appears to be another option for him.

Several of his Scotland team-mates already play in the country, most notably Scott McTominay, who joined Napoli from Manchester United. Billy Gilmour also moved to Naples when leaving Chelsea, while Che Adams swapped Southampton for Turin's other club, Torino, that same summer.

Robertson played his last match for Liverpool on the final day of the Premier League season. He will leave this summer when his contract expires.

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Sky in Italy claim Juventus have made enquiries and requested information about Robertson. They have made those moves as they reportedly look to sign experienced players this summer.

It is also acknowledged that the club have done likewise with Alisson. The outlet notes that Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti previously worked with the goalkeeper while at Roma.

Unlike the Brazil international, it is certain that Robertson will depart, having announced that decision in recent weeks. He shared a heartfelt message to the Liverpool fans on social media after bowing out at Anfield when being substituted in his final appearance for the Reds.

Robertson said: "I have spent all week telling the people in the building, players and staff, how much they mean to me. Now it's my turn to tell the most important people at the club how much they mean to me. That is you guys.

"From day one, the love and support you have shown me has been unimaginable. Your support always gave me that extra motivation to be the best I could have been.

"We have had so many special nights and special days together, and for that I'll be forever grateful. The home games, away games, trips to Wembley or the parades.

"You guys ALWAYS show up in your numbers, and I never took that for granted.

"You are the heartbeat of the club and the best fans in the world. Thank you for the reception yesterday, that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"You guys are family. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you soon. YNWA. Robbo."

Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's final game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur

It was the ultimate fixture of flattering to deceive as ‘Spursy’ came up against ‘Everton that’ but unfortunately all us Blues knew how it was going to pan out.

I went down on the train to watch the game and when I got to Euston station, there were sets of fans from various clubs and the ones who supported West Ham – and Arsenal – were saying: “can you do us a favour?”

It was a very hot day and I wondered whether Everton were going to show some bravery, loosen the reins and go for it, but unfortunately, we never did that.

Tottenham went into the fixture having not won a home game this calendar year yet walking away from the game afterwards when their fans were all relieved, I told them: “You were up against the best opponent you could have picked for this scenario.”

This is the question mark over David Moyes and his team. You’ve been brought to the football club to make us steady and the manager has done that, probably a lot better than plenty of fans think.

However, when we had a game where all the pressure was on our opponents, we were so passive, playing the ball backwards and sideways with no intent at all. We’ve been there ourselves when the burden has been on our shoulders, but when we have these opportunities to move forward, we always fail.

I don’t care about Tottenham. I don’t care about their team or their fans, I care about Everton and I want us to go out and be hard to beat and we’re not.

I want Everton to be nasty but we’re too nice. With the clientele and manager that we’ve got we should be difficult to come up against.

But instead, the opposition can just go out and enjoy themselves. That’s really frustrating from a fan’s point of view, never mind from an ex-player.

I went out to the concourse and it was bouncing, like it is at every Everton away game, they’ve travelled down to London at great cost and our supporters were in full voice, but as soon as the whistle went and the match started, all that enthusiasm evaporated and we just knew it was going to be one of those games.

Why can’t we be the guys to turn up, put them under pressure and pin them into the corner? Test the keeper and try to quieten the home fans down.

West Ham scored in their game, but it didn’t change the atmosphere at Tottenham because they knew it was comfortable. Everton weren’t doing anything, so they knew it was fine.

We never make it difficult. As Evertonians, we’ve been there, going into matches when our Premier League status has been on the line, but we had to fight and roll our sleeves up in such situations, and in 1994 and in the final home game in 2022, we had to come back from two goals down to survive.

Yet, when Spurs have got their version of that, the way the goal came about was also far too soft and we didn’t have a shot until the 99th minute.

You’ve got to read the room a little bit. Play Tyrique George from the start and put players in who want to show the manager and the fans what they’re capable of and express themselves.

I’m not saying put people in just because it’s the last day of the season but copy and paste is not working.

Before the Spurs match, Everton were one of only four Premier League teams to have won more games this season than the previous year, along with Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. Afterwards there were six but it’s not all doom and gloom because the season has been a very strange one and a lot of teams are frustrated.

Is David Moyes the guy to get us where we want to be? That’s a huge question mark for the board.

Everything was rosy before the break after the Chelsea game, but the last seven weeks have left us wondering what is going to happen next season. There is another manager whose name is being widely circulated on social media, but could he survive an 11-game run without a win at Everton?

Look at those fans of West Ham, they’re telling us that they can’t believe they got rid of David Moyes – twice. He won them a European trophy and now they’ve been relegated.

Am I surprised by the level of criticism that the manager has received of late? That’s football and it’s a results-based industry.

When you win, you’re the best thing since sliced bread. Yes, we’ve had some huge VAR decisions go against us throughout this winless run, but it feels like we just put our heads down, feel sorry for ourselves and do nothing about it.

Moyes has got a better tune out of these players than some of his predecessors but then they just go back to reset and self-destruct.

Because of the way our season has panned out has made it more frustrating. If we’d been chasing the pack and then finished like we did, we’d probably have been feeling a bit better about it.

Sunderland have finished seventh and they went into their game at Hill Dickinson Stadium a week earlier, below Everton in the table. They’ve not just sneaked into Europe, they’ve bypassed the Conference League and made it into the Europa League.

I heard David Moyes after the game, saying how he doesn’t understand the frustration of Evertonians, but that’s the reason. We were there, we were in the mix, but we let it go.

That group of players should have been good enough to get over 50 points. Credit to Sunderland, they’ve done fantastically well, but it’s an even harder pill to swallow when they went into the penultimate game of the season below us and they didn’t even play that well against us, yet they came back with three points and have finished seventh.

Coleman signs off but others haven't taken their chance

It was brilliant to see Seamus Coleman come on again for his last Everton appearance. The first thing he did was an overlap.

Ndiaye had three opponents around him, and the fans were getting frustrated as he was losing the ball because he had no options. It’s almost like we go: “there’s the ball, now go win us the game,” but he’s out of form and struggling.

But Seamus comes on and gives him an option because he’s a natural full-back, that’s what you’re supposed to do. We’ve been beaten this season, especially at home, by teams who have had very progressive full-backs who overload and get forward, like Tottenham and Newcastle.

We don’t do that though. Whether it was Ndiaye, Jack Grealish or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on form, we left it to them to try and win us the game while the rest just sit and watch.

While we have performed well in 20-30 minutes spells in various matches, we often haven’t taken advantage of such situations, and our game management and decision-making isn’t there. We’ve been playing better football at times and have come away from games thinking: “we should have got more from that.”

There have been times when the manager has trusted certain players to come on and they haven’t seized the moment, so from David Moyes’ point of view it will be a case of: ‘I’ve given you the opportunity and you haven’t taken it.’ But then on the flip side, players need rhythm to get into games, and they’re left playing catch-up, so coming on with just five minutes to go will not help them.

Finally, good luck to Everton’s players who are going to the World Cup and thanks to everyone for reading this column throughout this season – I hope you all have a great summer. Up the Toffees!

James Garner spoke following Everton's 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of the season

James Garner believes it’s obvious where Everton need to improve but insists it’s still been “a progressive season” for them despite their dramatic downturn in form during the run-in.

The Blues’ 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur – a result that ensured Roberto De Zerbi’s side avoided relegation at London rivals West Ham United’s expense – meant that David Moyes’ men failed to taste victory in their final seven matches. Despite being three points off a Champions League place following their 3-0 success against Chelsea in March, Everton ultimately finished 13th for the second straight year with just one more point than they picked up in 2024/25.

Garner said: “I’m disappointed. We’ve not won in seven, so that’s even more disappointing, to finish the season off without a win in seven is very disappointing.

“Personally I’ve had a half decent season but it’s not just me, there’s a team as well and there are 11 different people on the pitch and subs that can come on so I’ll help in whatever way I can but ultimately I need my team-mates there to help me to pick up points.”

Asked if he could put his finger on why Everton’s results tailed off so badly, the 25-year-old said: “No. If I could have then I would have tried to fix it.

“These type of runs happen, but we need to change or find out what it was because that can’t happen going into the new season.”

OPINION

Garner believes that despite not being embroiled in another relegation battle, he has a clear indication over where Everton can do better as a whole, regardless of the steps he feels they have taken. He said: “It’s definitely been a progressive season, a better season that we’ve had over the last four or five years. Six or seven games ago, we were talking about maybe having a European run.

“I think if the games had gone differently and a couple of games we were even leading but we’ve lost points, so it could have been a lot different season if we’d had picked up points over these last seven games.

“There’s definitely been an improvement and definitely something we can be positive about going into next season.

“I think what’s let us down, perhaps over the course of the season because it’s easy to look at the last seven games because it’s been the most recent, is that we’ve let far too many goals in. It’s literally the obvious but we need to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

“This season we’ve done much better scoring goals, but we need to keep more clean sheets and be a lot more solid going into the new season.”

Garner was named Everton’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season and was rewarded for his form with a new, improved contract in January. The Birkenhead-born player believes he has now set standards he needs to maintain.

He said: “Me personally, I think that I’ve had my best season that I’ve had as a professional. It’s definitely given me a level to stay at going into next season.

“If I drop below where I’ve performed at this season then it will be noticeable, so I need to stay at this level and if not, go higher.”

Despite his form earning Garner a first England call-up, a brace of caps in March and a man-of-the-match award on his international debut against Uruguay, he missed out on a place in the Three Lions’ World Cup squad. Blues boss David Moyes said he was disappointed for his player but not surprised given the team’s end of season slump and asked whether he thought Everton’s form in the run-in had cost him a place on the plane, Garner said: “Maybe yeah. The manager chose his players and he might not have had his team even before he made his announcement.

“I don’t know whether it did play a part, but it is what it is.

“He [Thomas Tuchel] called me. It was pretty basic to be honest.

“He said: ‘It’s not the news that you’re after.’ Look, there’s a lot of top players that have missed out, I’m not the only one and I wish the boys all the best for the summer.”

Analysis from the final day defeat at Tottenham Hotspur as Everton's end of season tumble down the table ends in 13th place

Everton’s end of season collapse will bring back painful memories for David Moyes of when a similar run started rather than finished against Tottenham Hotspur.

Back in 2004, before some of the current Blues squad were even born, Moyes’ men enjoyed a 3-1 win against Spurs at Goodison Park on Good Friday and then promptly drew the next two games before losing the final four.

The upshot of it all was that despite not being in any kind of realistic relegation battle all season, Everton – who wrapped things up with a 5-1 thrashing at Manchester City (still several years before they became petrodollar billionaires) - finished 17th on just 39 points. There was clamour for the Glaswegian gaffer to go with that old chestnut that he had supposedly lost the dressing room even being trotted out.

Thankfully that was still an age before widespread social media and Moyes rode the storm, the club’s owners were rewarded for their patience and the Blues’ highest-ever Premier League position was achieved just 12 months later. Ultimately, there would be no fewer than nine top-eight finishes on his watch.

This year, second time around, there could, and perhaps should have been another one. Instead, Everton finish 13th for the second consecutive year and just one point better off than last year when the Scot returned at the halfway point with just 17 points on the board.

Whatever you think of David Moyes and his tactics, he’s shown himself to be the Blues’ most consistent manager of the Premier League era and arguably the ONLY man in modern times to lead the club effectively on a long-term basis. As Pep Guardiola departs Manchester City, the 63-year-old who dubbed Everton ‘The People’s Club’ is the only manager in the competition’s history to have accumulated over a thousand points after serial title winners Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

But Moyes, like all those beleaguered Blues, his hurting badly over the way this campaign has petered out. With one more year to run on his current contract, having already overhauled Howard Kendall in terms of matches managed, he’s due to overtake Harry Catterick as the longest-serving Everton boss of all-time next season, but if he is still there then both he and the club’s supporters will be demanding much better than this.

Running on empty

When asked in his pre-match press conference to preview this fixture if he thought Everton’s end-of-season slump was down to fatigue, manager David Moyes was pretty emphatic that he felt that wasn’t the case. The Blues boss said: “Well, we’ve not played 50 or 60 games like the Aston Villa players or the others. If you’re asking me, that doesn’t stack up one bit at all.

“I don’t see where that can even be part of it, players are playing 60 or 70 games and what not, and getting on with it. For us to have 38 games, 40 maybe, I can’t see that at all.”

Whether you agree with his selection policies or not, he has a point, so just what was it down to because there was a distinct drop off in form, particularly when it came to some of the team’s star men. Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have been shining lights for Everton for prolonged periods this term but the form of the pair slumped badly in May.

With Jack Grealish having already been sidelined since January, the downturn from the most creative pair in the team who are both usually assured finishes too, with Ndiaye not showing his usual coolness in front of goal and Dewsbury-Hall dallying with chances caused a significant slump in fortunes with the squad’s lesser lights unable to fill the void. While the pair were guilty of profligacy in recent times, this showing was perhaps even worse as neither of them had a sniff and we can only hope they come back fresh come August.

When a late opportunity failed to fall for him, Everton substitute Tyrique George stood before the advertising hoardings in the North Stand and was goaded by the fans of Tottenham Hotspur, a local rival of this Londoner’s parent club Chelsea. Whether he ultimately ends up back at Stamford Bridge this summer or the Blues take up their option on the 20-year-old prospect remains to be seen.

George, who was Everton’s brightest performer on a day of huge disappointment – despite only featuring in the final quarter of the contest – kept on plugging away and it was only a spectacular save from Antonin Kinsky in stoppage time that denied him his first goal for the club.

While an equaliser would not have prevented the hosts from staying up, it would have certainly cranked up the pressure inside the stadium in the latter changes and more importantly for the substitute, would have been a huge boost to his own confidence.

Arriving on the final day of the winter window, George has shown in patches just how much promise he offers. This correspondent might have used the phrase “fits and starts,” but there has only been one of the latter.

The ball is in the Blues’ court when it comes to the prospect of doing a permanent deal but when asked in his pre-match press conference, Moyes said: “We’ve enjoyed having Tyrique here, he’s been an excellent boy and he’s work rate and everything has been excellent, so we’re happy with him.” He also added a line about both George and Grealish going back to their parent clubs.

There’s certainly a player in there, and we’ve seen more minutes and more promise in the second half of the campaign from George than from £35million signing Tyler Dibling, but for now his prospects of moving to Merseyside on a permanent basis appear to be in the balance.

David Moyes was speaking after his Everton side went down 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur to finish the Premier League campaign without a win in seven games

David Moyes conceded he was disappointed with the way Everton’s season had finished as a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur left the club without a win in seven matches.

Joao Palhinha’s first-half goal was enough to give Spurs the win that sealed their Premier League survival and condemned Everton to a bottom-half finish.

For so long Europe had looked within reach for the Blues but instead they have finished 13th - the same position as last season and with just one extra point.

Asked how he felt about the way the campaign had drawn to an end, Moyes said: “I'm disappointed in the last six or seven weeks. For probably three quarters of the season we've been very good. In the last six or seven weeks we have been really disappointed, but not always.

OPINION

“And I'm saying it in every interview I do at the moment, you cannot forget the handball at West Ham, or the penalty kick at Man City. If we were coming here with two points more we'd have had a different mindset completely.

“We've got a group of players coming here, in a comfortable position in the league. We would have been coming here needing to get a win, probably, or a draw to be in Europe.

“So, there's been a lot of things that played a part, probably more so this season I've felt than ever before, certainly from my point of view.”

Everton struggled to deal with Tottenham until a late flurry of chances almost yielded a point - coming closest when substitute Tyrique George forced a stunning save from Antonin Kinsky.

Mathys Tel was a constant threat down the the Blues' right, where stand-in full back Jake O’Brien found it difficult to contain him.

With Idrissa Gueye and Jarrad Branthwaite injured and Nathan Patterson ill, Moyes’ scope for changes may have been limited and only the strikers were changed from the side that started the defeat to Sunderland - Thierno Barry starting ahead of Beto.

Asked by the ECHO why he did not make any further changes, the Everton boss said: “If I thought it was better I would have done it.”

Reflecting on the match, Moyes said: “I thought we didn't play well in the first half. I thought we were resilient enough not to let Tottenham go any further ahead.

“It always meant that we were in the game right to the end, and probably we were the better team in the last 20 minutes. But not for the other part of the game, so I couldn't put my hand up and admit to that.

“But we made sure Tottenham didn't get too much, but we didn't have any opportunities really until 10, 15 minutes to go when we brought in a couple of the younger boys who made a big difference, so we were pleased with that.”

The end to Everton’s season has been woeful. After carrying momentum into the final international break of the campaign, a run of seven games without a win has cost the club dear.

Two months ago Europe, and maybe even the Champions League, was within reach. But instead it is Bournemouth, Sunderland and Brighton who will also experience famous nights under the lights.

Everton will also be playing night games next season but they will once again be subjected to the misery of Monday matches as eight Premier League rivals - nine if Crystal Palace win the Europa Conference League next week - savour a taste of what they crave.

The past seven matches have seen injuries and bad decisions prove destructive to the Blues' hopes and ambitions. Missed chances, defensive lapses and questionable tactics have also hurt those dreams of more enjoyable days on the immediate horizon.

Everton travelled to Tottenham Hotspur as the supporting act in the big story of the final day of the season. But, like across the last seven matches, they played a leading role in their downfall.

That was particularly evident in the defining moment of the game when, just before half-time, Joao Palhinha rose unchallenged at the back post to head against the woodwork and then reacted quickest to rebound to save Spurs’ top-flight status. It was a lead they deserved against a limp opponent that made silly mistakes, was outmuscled in midfield and which struggled to retain the ball against a team that should have been wracked with anxiety.

A late flurry of opportunities almost salvaged a point, Tyrique George forcing a sublime save from Antonin Kinsky in stoppage time. But once again, the Blues were the perfect opponent for a team that needed a win.

The inquest over how Everton’s season has ended should have started when all hopes of Europe were destroyed by Sunderland last week. It is true that few expected European qualification at the start of a campaign in which stability was the primary goal. Yet to have squandered a golden opportunity to take a shortcut to clear, tangible progress deserves scrutiny - of the manager, of the players and of those above them.

The Blues have fallen short in too many areas at the crucial moment to avoid some serious soul-searching.

Everton could have ended this season in the top six. Instead they sit in 13th, the same place they occupied last year and would have, deducted points permitting, finished the season before. They have one more point than they earned on the pitch in each of those campaigns.

Questions over whether progress has been made are not unfair given that context, though the Blues’ journey to 13th has been much different this year. There is a lot to be said for a first season in five in which relegation was never a threat - for all the disappointment of recent weeks no Evertonian would have swapped their place for that of a Tottenham or relegated West Ham United fan today.

The avoidance of a survival fight was a low threshold to aim for, though, and no-one should be satisfied with how this campaign has ended, even if parts of the season hinted at progress.

The claims of CEO Angus Kinnear ahead of the Sunderland match, that Everton can be “happily dissatisfied” with this season, were a red flag. If the Friedkin Group (TFG) wish to take Blues supporters with them as they rebuild the club - raising ticket prices by almost three times the rate of inflation for some on the way - they must make clear they understand the dismay currently flowing through many parts of the fanbase.

Their work, and that of David Moyes over the past 18 months, has helped Everton lay a foundation that can be built on. Yet while sustainable progress is essential there will be little patience for a project that shows no clear strategy over how fans will enjoy the famous nights it feels every other club has savoured across the past few years.

Kinnear’s notes point to TFG having faith in manager Moyes, while his comments on the summer and beyond highlight a belief he will oversee the next steps the Blues hope to take. There is no doubt he also craves a bright future for a club that has bounced around in chaos for almost every year he has been absent from the dugout this century.

For all the trauma of recent weeks he also provided some wonderful moments since his return. It has not all been about delivering a dose of medicine to a club still paying the price for years of recklessness. It was not that long ago that his name was the subject of vociferous chants of support from the stands, particularly away from home.

For the club to move forward there has to be an understanding from everyone the Everton revival goes far beyond him, though. This is most pertinent when it comes to recruitment. Moyes must have buy-in to who is signed but the new model has to be one that can survive and thrive whoever is in charge.

Bournemouth and Brighton’s qualification for Europe, and Brentford’s near-miss, follows years spent creating a structure in which what happens on the pitch is not solely defined by the manager. The Blues have to spend money this summer and Moyes should have influence - there is no point signing players he will not use. There is also no point spending millions on signings whose shelf-life at the club ends when Moyes’ tenure does, whenever that might be - and as it stands that is in just over 12 months.

There were a host of factors that made last summer so messy, including that the new panel of senior leaders at the club was not in place when the transfer window opened. While there should be some understanding of that - and that a lot of clubs spent a lot of money on a lot of players who have not made an impact this season - several of the deals that were struck have looked increasingly perplexing as the season has gone on though, not least those of Tyler Dibling and Adam Aznou.

Both could yet develop into important players for Everton but the club can ill-afford expensive misjudgements and there is no excuse for there not being a detailed plan that addresses core needs in place for the coming months.

That is because some of the issues are so glaring. The Blues must, above all else, sign a specialist right-back this season. For too long the club has muddled through with square pegs in round holes. That is no slight on Jake O’Brien - the signing of a right-back would free him up to move into his preferred position, where he has excelled when given the chance. But the Blues lose too much in attack and defence by asking him to persevere as a centre-back playing right-back. That was abundantly clear inside 15 minutes as Mathys Tel caused him no end of problems, drawing him into an early booking and then teasing him for the rest of the match.

Pace and ruthlessness is also needed. There is a cruel irony in Everton’s fastest players being a central-midfielder and a centre-back - and their best finisher being another defender. That Merlin Rohl’s introduction on the right of midfield has been so useful shows just how important speed is and how little the Blues have.

Imagine the damage a genuine winger with that acceleration could cause? Creating chances is one thing but Everton need someone who can finish them and too many big opportunities have been missed at key moments despite the 17 league goals collected by Beto and Thierno Barry. The latter, a surprise introduction to the starting XI, once again had limited impact on the match and was booed off by an away end still frustrated by his exploits on and off the pitch.

Not all of the Blues' problems will be addressed this summer - there is a lot of damage to undo from previous years. But above all there has to be an awareness within the club that the past seven weeks have been a calamity and that must drive a serious effort to demand more.

The problem for the Everton hierarchy is that for all the importance of a sensible, sustainable rebuild, another year has gone by in which other clubs have shown their fanbases that success is possible without perfection.

The Blues can aim for both in the long-term, but in the short term they have to aim for more.

What Seamus Coleman did at full-time as Everton captain delivers one final classy act

Seamus Coleman showed his class on his final appearance as an Everton player following the 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur

Seamus Coleman ended his Everton career with a classy goodbye.

The departing club captain, brought on for the final minutes as the Blues fell to a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, almost played a role in Everton salvaging a point when his cross found the head of Carlos Alcaraz, who flicked just high and wide.

That was his last act of note in Royal Blue but when the final whistle went in north London he had his own special moment amid the wider celebrations of a Spurs side that had secured survival on the final day of the Premier League.

Coleman - who was applauded on by both sets of supporters - found every home player who had collapsed in relief at the end of the game, shaking their hands.

OPINION

OPINION

One player still walking was Richarlison, who walked over to his former team-mate and embraced him before the pair shared a short conversation.

The 37-year-old then walked to the away end, which stood in applause as he thumped his chest and clapped back in a moment enjoyed away from his team-mates.

Coleman made the journey to the dressing room alone - though constantly mobbed by players and staff from both teams on his way - as the curtain fell on an extraordinary 17 year career at Everton.

The scenes ended an emotional week that saw him play his last home game in the second half against Sunderland before giving a series of poignant speeches at the club’s end of season awards and during a guard of honour at Finch Farm.