- 2 months ago
Moyes on premier league right back scramble and Everton transfer business
21/05/2026
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
21/05/2026
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Ian, I think I'd make it 28 years as a manager.
00:03My goodness, you make me sound old, Alan.
00:05Well, you know, I can beat you on that one.
00:08Are you ready for this one?
00:10Personally, I'm ready. I think I'm always ready.
00:13It's a privilege always to be a manager of any club in the Premier League,
00:16but more so for me, my longest periods have been with Everton.
00:22It was great last year. We had a terrific year last year after taking over.
00:27So here we go again.
00:30Both yourself and the CEO talked about the transfer window this week.
00:34Angus Kinnear said that he was confident of a right-back coming in before the window closed.
00:39Do you share that confidence?
00:40Well, I think there might be five or six managers before me
00:43who was trying to bring a right-back as well, so I'm not the only one.
00:47It sounds strange. It sounds as if you would find right-backs ten a penny,
00:50but that isn't the case when you're looking.
00:54Look, we've identified quite a few right-backs we like.
00:56We've bid for quite a few we like.
00:57So we're right in there.
01:01We're working to try and get one.
01:02Is it a position which really, really needs to be filled?
01:06I think we've got other people who are doing quite well.
01:09Jacob Bryan has done well for us there.
01:11Other people are filled in.
01:13We've still got Craig Patterson, we've got Merlin Roll, who's done well in pre-season,
01:16playing there at different times.
01:18Jimmy Gardner played really well at right-back for us.
01:21So it's not as if we've not got Andy to do the job,
01:25but it's certainly a position we're missing because from our squad compared to last year,
01:30we're a player down just to shame us on his own.
01:32And that takes our numbers down.
01:34So we're still a little bit down on numbers.
01:37So we've certainly got room to bring in a new right-back.
01:40I guess having to move those players from what you think is a natural position
01:45leaves you at a bit more of a disadvantage, doesn't it?
01:47It does, but maybe those players moving from that position to that position
01:51are doing a better job than the ones we think we could buy.
01:53So we're trying to do the right thing.
01:57We're limited on funds in some places,
02:01so we're looking at levels of players
02:03and we're trying to see if they're going to be better
02:05than what we already have in the building.
02:07What are you expecting in the next few weeks in the concerns of anything?
02:11I think it'll be a difficult opening
02:13because we don't have Christian Norgaard fit yet.
02:15Jimmy Gardner's obviously returning from a hernia operation.
02:20Tim Irabouma's had an adductor strain
02:24which he won't make it tomorrow.
02:28So I've just got to hope that we have enough to get through at the moment
02:31with what we've got.
02:33I actually meant what you expect in the transfer window until September.
02:36Oh, I didn't.
02:37Yeah.
02:38Great injury update, though.
02:39No, no.
02:40Well, you know, we'll not get huge injuries,
02:44but we've got a couple of which would be really important to us
02:46and would give us a little bit of different options if we have them.
02:51The CEO also said this week
02:52that one of the reasons he came to the club
02:54was the challenge of getting back to where it needs to be.
02:59You know, it's easier said than done, I think, that.
03:02How big a job is it to do that?
03:08Well, I'm desperate because I've got an idea
03:11of what it looked like when Everton were a decent side.
03:13I'm not saying we were as good as Howard Kendall's teams
03:15or the great teams he had and the players.
03:18But we've had decent teams in the past,
03:20teams which have been in and around Europe,
03:22teams that have been getting to cup finals.
03:25So we've had that in the past.
03:27So we want to...
03:29Well, I certainly want to get back to that.
03:33And I've got an idea of what it looks like.
03:35I've got a knowledge from my experience in the Premier League
03:38and the games I've had about what it looks like
03:40and what's required to get there.
03:42So let's hope we can do it again.
03:45You've made Tarkovsky the captain.
03:48Did he have many contenders to that position?
03:52No, not really.
03:53I feel that Tarkovsky's been the one who...
03:54Tarkovsky was the captain really all last year.
03:56Sheamus was a great captain on and off the field.
03:59For long periods last year, it was off the field.
04:02He didn't have to do a great job,
04:04not just in my time here,
04:06but in the time when it was difficult.
04:09It wasn't that long ago when it was a difficult time.
04:12So we mustn't forget that.
04:14But Tarkovsky's the one who's taken it on.
04:17He'll have to play well.
04:18He's got competition in centre-half.
04:21But at the moment, well, he's on the pitch.
04:23Tarkovsky will be captain.
04:26Crystal Palace won the first game of the season, of course.
04:29They've had a number of changes,
04:30the manager plays as well.
04:32What are you expecting from them?
04:34Well, from what we've seen so far,
04:36the manager done a brilliant job at Lenz
04:38and played a very similar system to Oliver Glasner.
04:43Obviously, I think they've tweaked a few things,
04:46but obviously very similar,
04:48and I think that's probably why he was such an attraction
04:50to bring to Crystal Palace.
04:54I think we've got a lot of new managers coming in.
04:57I've seen lots and lots of new managers
04:59coming to the Premier League over the years,
05:01some brilliant managers, great managers.
05:04It's a difficult league to work in.
05:07I've got no doubt there'll be some who do a great job
05:09and there'll be some who find it really difficult.
05:12So we don't know.
05:14We'll find out.
05:14But good luck to all the new managers.
05:16I hope they all try and do well,
05:18but certainly when it's not against Everton.
05:21Thanks.
05:21Al, we'll go to Stuart at Premier League Productions.
05:24Hi, David.
05:24You mentioned managers there.
05:26I think there are nine clubs starting the season
05:28with new managers in the Premier League,
05:30including Palace, obviously.
05:32But because of that,
05:34could it actually be quite open in the league
05:36to start with whilst they all settled down?
05:39Well, the way managers are getting changed so quickly,
05:42I'm not sure it will,
05:43because I think the teams are quite often in place already
05:46at the clubs.
05:48And the managers are sort of coming and going
05:49and making do with what they have
05:52or having to work with what the players they have.
05:55So, but I think it's interesting.
05:58I think the Premier League has brought Mourinho, Klopp,
06:05you know, you name it.
06:05I could go on and on.
06:07Carlo Ancelotti.
06:08So many great managers to the Premier League
06:10over years and years.
06:12So I've got no doubt within this group of nine new ones,
06:15there'll be two or three who really come out.
06:17I didn't mention Pep there,
06:18which I certainly should have done.
06:22So you never know where the new young managers come from,
06:25you know, how they evolve.
06:26We've seen quite a few come and go recently as well.
06:30But the Premier League's where they all want to come to.
06:32So good luck and, you know, it's a challenge.
06:36And of new players, Brennan Johnson, if he's involved,
06:43might he feel as though he's almost got a bit of a point to prove
06:47against Paris after such a short spell there?
06:51Eh, he may well do.
06:53I don't know personally if that's his thinking or how he feels about it.
06:57But you could also say the same about Dwight.
06:59You know, Dwight's just left here and he's going to play for Palace,
07:01probably a good chance of playing.
07:03So we don't know that.
07:06I think that obviously they're both players of swap clubs.
07:09It's never an easy thing coming back to your new club
07:12or playing against your new club as quickly as what it is.
07:16But they'll both be glad probably when the game gets out of the way
07:19and they can move on after this one.
07:21And Hayden Hackney was class in the Championship last year.
07:24From what you've seen in the early days,
07:26do you think he'll be able to settle in quite quickly
07:29into the Premier League?
07:31I hope so.
07:32But my history would have been that the boys who've come from the Championship
07:35have taken a bit of time to get in the side and work through it.
07:41From Julian to Bainsey and Bill Jagielka and Tim Cahales
07:46and all the other ones.
07:47Some of them have been right in the team and done well
07:49and others took time to become those Premier League players.
07:52And to be fair, a lot of them went on to become
07:54full England internationals.
07:56And that's what I hope for Hayden.
07:57I hope that we can develop Hayden in a way where he goes on to get to that level.
08:02But I just don't want people expecting too much too soon from him.
08:05And I don't want to put too much pressure on him.
08:08I want him to be given the same opportunities and the chances
08:11as those boys did back then,
08:13where they took a bit to develop,
08:15watched the football for a wee bit from the sidelines
08:18before they really broke into the team.
08:20And from your experience, what is the importance of a good start,
08:24a real sort of tone setter if you like, right at the start?
08:27Well, I think it's hugely important if you can get off to.
08:29I mean, look, last year we started the season
08:31with no great ambition that we could really get to Europe.
08:37After the first three or four games,
08:39I was in here talking and saying,
08:40we've got a chance of being a European team.
08:42But really, it was out with a reach at the start of the season.
08:46But by the time we got to those three or four games,
08:48I'm saying, well, we might as well talk the positive story
08:51because we've done it and we ran it really, really close last year.
08:56Thanks, Stuart.
08:57We'll go to Julia at Radio Moses High.
09:01Hi, David.
09:02How are you doing?
09:03When you mentioned that you'd bid for some write-backs that you do like,
09:07are they pending bids?
09:09Have they been accepted, rejected?
09:11No, they've all gone by the wayside for different reasons.
09:14So, yeah.
09:15What are those reasons, can you say?
09:17Well, some have been injury.
09:18Some have been, no, they've not accepted it.
09:22But some have been, you know, the fees have been a bit too,
09:25we've bid lower than what the clubs want for them.
09:28So, that's been the main reasons.
09:31What is it about this right-back position that continues to be a problem,
09:35to find someone that's suitable for what you want to do?
09:39Well, I could ask the question back to everybody else, the same question.
09:43You know, I look at so many of the clubs in football at the moment.
09:46You know, I look at Man City, for example.
09:49They've changed the midfield player into a right-back.
09:52You know, quite often, Arsenal have played centre-halves at right-back.
09:58So, I think it's not just a problem here.
10:01I think there is a little bit of shortness of real top quality and levels,
10:07which maybe you would want.
10:10So, of course, we can go and buy a right-back.
10:13But we're trying to buy one which we think is better than what we've got,
10:16and we want that one to be somebody who we think could help us get better, improve.
10:23But, yes, of course, we could go and buy a right-back.
10:25There's hundreds of them we could do.
10:27Hayden Hackney, you've just mentioned there.
10:31Is he ready then for Premier League football?
10:33And what does he have to do then?
10:34Because it sounds as though he might not be quite ready for that step-up.
10:38Eh, he might be.
10:40He might be.
10:41But the fact of the matter is,
10:44if you're expecting the boy to come from the Championship
10:46and be suddenly a Premier League outstanding player,
10:49then that might be not quite ready.
10:51I think he's got the attributes to go on and do that.
10:54But as I said just previously,
10:57I'm looking to bring him on, develop him,
11:00like we've done with the others.
11:01If he's ahead of that, then he'll be in the team sooner.
11:04I think Tim Cale came in right into the team right away when he came from Millwall.
11:08But there was others like Bainsey and Jolien and probably Jags
11:12who had to wait their time before they got themselves into the side.
11:16So, let's see.
11:18Let's hope that he develops very quickly.
11:20The CEO said he understood frustrations at the end of last season
11:24that Europe was missed out on.
11:26And he said that the Friedkin group, the owners, had described it.
11:30They felt it was a failure because they wanted to see Everton win.
11:33And I just wondered, in those summer conversations you have with the CEO,
11:36with the ownership, how you have felt about assessing it
11:39and your views on that?
11:41Well, I was hugely disappointed I didn't make it.
11:43I've got to say, for me, it took me a long time.
11:47It took me a long time of the summer to even get over it.
11:50I'm just getting over it, really, because to be in Europe makes a big difference.
11:55It means much more money coming into the club.
11:57It means a better chance to sign a different level of player.
12:04You can also try and keep a bigger squad working because you have more regular games.
12:10So, for me, there was a lot of reasons why I wanted it to happen.
12:13I'm surprised they were disappointed because I don't think MD set out.
12:19There was never, ever at any time MD said to me,
12:21David, you have to make Europe or you have to be in and around the top end.
12:26I think everybody wanted to make sure that we moved into the new stadium safe,
12:31not having too difficult a season.
12:33And we certainly done that last year.
12:35And with that, then, what's your viewpoint for this season?
12:38What do you think is achievable or does some of that still depend on the transfer window?
12:43Well, look, I've been in it long enough.
12:45I'm experienced enough to know what it looks like and what you really need to get
12:48to become a team challenging for Europe.
12:51And I still think we would need to buy more if we want to become one of those teams.
12:55Do you expect more in the door?
12:56Yeah, I do.
12:57I do.
12:58I expect more.
12:59Whether it will happen is a different thing, but I do expect more.
13:02Just finally from me, just on the fans, Palace last season, you know, going 1-0 down
13:07and Hill Dickinson Stadium started to feel quite like Goodison on that game.
13:11It became a bit of a cauldron.
13:13I think the fans felt, you know, the players were being wronged, you were being wronged.
13:17And I just wondered as well, you know, the 1878s have played a great role as well that first season.
13:22And I know the club are supporting them by, you know, helping raise funds on a match day.
13:26I think it's buying a beer in the first 45 minutes and money goes to them.
13:29So just on that, what's your message ahead of a second season at Hill Dickinson to the fans in the
13:341878s?
13:35Well, let me answer the last bit, I think, was to say, fantastic, the supporters.
13:39We'd be backing the support we were trying to get and anything that they helped to donate goes a long
13:44way.
13:45So great from the supporters.
13:47I think this year we've had what a year is sort of coming in.
13:52And, you know, we've maybe not had the wallpaper up and the paintings up, all everything we want at the
13:57Hill Dickinson.
13:58But we're now beginning to make it feel like home.
14:01Our record away from home last year was really, really good.
14:03But our record at home wasn't as good as I'd like it to be.
14:06Could have been because of the start of the first year in the new stadium.
14:10Could have been other teams coming in the big anticipation.
14:13Could have been just a different environment, getting away from Goodison.
14:17So we need to turn that into somewhere where we take more points this year than we did last year.
14:21That would be some.
14:22But I don't want to take away the points we got away from home last year because it gave the
14:27away supporters loads and loads to enjoy.
14:31The travel was worth it.
14:33But so I suppose the away support and the home support.
14:37Evertonians have always been good.
14:38So we need it as much as ever.
14:42Thank you. Good luck.
14:43Thanks, Julia.
14:44Any further questions in the open section?
14:46Pabby, we can see you.
14:51Hi, David.
14:51How do you feel Merlin Roll has done at right back?
14:55I know he's spent a lot of time there in pre-season.
14:57I just wondered what he thought of his performances there and whether he could do that role this season if
15:01he needs to.
15:02I think he can play several roles for us, which I think he's shown.
15:05And anybody who's watched this recently, he's probably, we've tried a few things in pre-season with different players
15:11and tried a couple of different things in games to see how it's been.
15:16I think anybody who's watched Merlin in pre-season would say he's done really well.
15:21And this is a boy who we brought on loan last year and it was already permanent anyway, so it
15:29was already done last year.
15:30It was just that it had to be a loan for the first part of it.
15:34So I think he can step in and I think he's done well.
15:40And it goes back to the thing about we're crying out for a right back all the time.
15:44You know, maybe we could find one within our own place like other clubs have had to do.
15:48They've had to find, I used, it's Nunes, a right back, I think, using Nunes at Man City as an
15:55example.
15:56Who Man City had to do when they lost the likes of Kyle Walker, etc.
16:00Those players, Rico Lewis, who was playing there, but they thought Nunes would be a better option.
16:10You mentioned the injuries there to Tame and a few others in midfield in particular.
16:15How big a role can Harrison Armstrong play as a younger player in the squad this season?
16:21Harrison has now been propelled into becoming a first-team player, probably much faster than even I expected.
16:29But I have to say his performances have warranted it in many ways.
16:33But I think when you're a 19-year-old and if you think that your 19-year-old is going
16:37to be good enough to play 36 Premier League games and Cup games and all that,
16:41well, there's very few 19-year-olds who will be doing that.
16:44So he has to be brought along, played, tucked out at the right time, moved it.
16:51So we'll have to do that.
16:53But I have to say he's an athletic, fit young boy.
16:57And I think he's stepped up, especially at the start of most seasons.
17:01I think that he had a really good start when he went to Preston last year and whatnot.
17:05So he started well for us in the pre-season games.
17:08So we're pleased.
17:09And he's given us more to think about.
17:14Thanks, Paddy.
17:14Any further questions in the open section before we move on?
17:18No?