David Moyes' Cup Comments Make My Blood Boil

A strong opinion piece on David Moyes' lack of ambition for a club that so desperately needs some.

I am sick of David Moyes' attitude as Everton manager. There, I said it.

Just like any relationship, you should never go back to your ex, because despite all the good things at the start, both sides end up more miserable than before.

That is how the relationship between Toffees supporters and Moyes feels, as the Scotsman enters his second full season in his second tenure as boss.

After a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace that saw Everton win their first opening-day Premier League fixture since the 2021/22 season, the atmosphere and mood around the club should be full of positivity, despite transfer struggles and that aforementioned lack of a right-back.

But Mr David Moyes has been plastered around in football news, bringing that all to a halt with comments made ahead of tonight's Carabao Cup tie against Preston North End that have got my, and plenty of other Blues', blood boiling.

When asked a perfectly reasonable question about how important the cup competitions are to Everton this season, Moyes responded:

"This is a question every journalist asks every manager and, in some ways, I think: 'Are those journalists dead stupid? Do you think none of the managers want to win the cups?

"Of course we all want to win the cups. Yes the cups are hugely important, would it be more important than staying in the Premier League?

"I'll ask you the question: Is winning a cup more important than staying in the Premier League? What would your answer be?"

The full clip is here:

David Moyes had quite the response when asked how important the Carabao Cup is to Everton this season 😅 pic.twitter.com/pb4YIEEYCW

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 25, 2026

These comments piss me off.

Now, to be fair to Moyes, he didn't say that he doesn't want to win a cup. In fact, he quite literally said the opposite. But why is Premier League survival even being brought into the conversation?

Nobody asked Moyes whether he'd rather Everton win the Carabao Cup or get relegated. He was asked how important the cups are this season.

Why does the conversation immediately have to become one about survival? What I can gather from what he is saying is that there is some sort of trade-off between seriously competing in the cups and maintaining Premier League status.

Of course, there is some validity to that. Take Wigan Athletic, who under ex-Toffee manager Roberto Martinez won the FA Cup in 2013 in the same season that they got relegated from the Premier League.

Ironically, they beat Moyes’ Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park in the quarter-final on their way to cup success, yet they have failed to return to the Premier League and currently reside in League One. It's not an awful example of why Premier League status matters. But why are we using Wigan Athletic in 2013 as the benchmark for Everton Football Club in 2026?

Everton shouldn't have to choose.

It's a joke that a club like Everton hasn't had a major trophy to celebrate since 1995. A remarkable stat shared on BBC Radio 5 Live recently claimed that, since 2000, Everton are the only one of the current 92 Football League clubs not to have celebrated either a trophy or promotion. However, you can think again if I'd rather celebrate a Championship trophy over a 15th-place finish in the Premier League.

Just heard a weird stat on Radio 5.
Apparently since 2000 Everton are the only club out of the 92 in the top 4 leagues who have had nothing to celebrate (trophies or promotion)! 😱

— Pete Crowther (@thechelskikid) August 17, 2026

As a 24-year-old Toffee, I have had nothing to celebrate as a fan of this club.

There have been times when we have got close, even under Moyes. An agonising 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the 2009 FA Cup final was our best chance, with two further Wembley visits in both 2012 and 2016 ending in late heartbreak, with Liverpool and Manchester United winning 2-1 respectively.

Since then? Nothing.

There have been quarter-finals, including the 4-0 battering against Crystal Palace under Frank Lampard in 2022 and the penalty shootout defeat to Fulham in the Carabao Cup in 2023, but Everton haven't seriously threatened to win a major trophy for years. Thirty-one years without one.

And ironically, the last Everton team that actually won something wasn't exactly cruising along comfortably in the Premier League. Joe Royle took over a side bottom of the table in November 1994. Six months later, Everton beat Manchester United at Wembley to lift the FA Cup while also successfully maintaining their Premier League status. Imagine that. Fighting at the wrong end of the table and trying to win a trophy at the same time.

Everton are now in a position, whether Moyes likes it or not, where relegation should be a thing of the past given the quality of players at his disposal, the investment made and the size of the club. No club is too big to go down, I understand that. Everton supporters know that better than most after what we have endured over the past few years. But it shouldn't be mentioned when talking about what this club wants to achieve this season.

Especially when Moyes' own boss is saying something completely different.

Everton CEO Angus Kinnear has publicly spoken about the club wanting to challenge for a trophy this season, pointing towards Newcastle United and Crystal Palace as examples of clubs that have shown it can be done.

🚨| Special Interview With Angus Kinnear out now...

🎙️| We failed to get Europe and that was deeply disappointing to everybody. I know some of my comments at the Sunderland game gave the sense of being satisfied but we weren't - Angus Kinnear 🔵

Listen here now for free by just… pic.twitter.com/oawPq1W6sp

— A View From The Bullens (@thebullensview) August 18, 2026

He even revealed that discussions have taken place between the ownership and Moyes himself about using the Carabao Cup and FA Cup to give supporters something to cheer, get behind and be proud of. So why are we talking about survival?

Newcastle didn't have to get relegated to win the Carabao Cup.

Crystal Palace didn't have to get relegated to win the FA Cup.

These are the clubs Everton should be looking towards. Clubs outside the usual suspects who decided that simply existing in the Premier League wasn't enough.

What happened to ambition? What happened to giving the players something more to fight for? What happened to connecting with the fans? There are generations of Everton supporters who haven't experienced any success and, with the way it's going, it could be so much longer.

I'd trade a kidney for a cup, trade my first-born child for one, go a year without complaining about the club, just for the satisfaction of winning something. It doesn't help that we live in the shadow of our red neighbours, who know more than their fair share about what winning feels like. But Liverpool shouldn't even need to come into it.

Everton's history is big enough on its own. Nine league titles. Five FA Cups. A European Cup Winners' Cup. A club that spent decades competing for the biggest honours in English football has somehow reached the point where Premier League survival is being mentioned when its manager is asked about the importance of the cup competitions.

That's depressing.

We don't seem to be moving forward as a club with Moyes in charge, and it's not the first time he's made comments that have come back to bite him. Towards the end of last season, Moyes made remarks about the potential for European football, and even the Champions League. Based on the form Everton had around February and March, it wasn't impossible.

Then, in typical Everton fashion, they threw it all away with no wins in their last seven games and ended up in a miserable 13th-place finish. That is perhaps what frustrates me most. Last season should have been the end of merely being happy to survive. The stadium is built. The ownership situation has stabilised. Money has been invested into the squad. Everton have players capable of doing far more than looking nervously over their shoulders at 18th place.

The next stage has to be about achieving something. I'm not saying Everton should sack Moyes because of one press conference, especially days after winning the opening game of the season 2-0. But comments like these are exactly why I struggle to believe he is the man to take Everton beyond simply being comfortable.

You can't help but look at what Eddie Howe achieved at Newcastle. He took a club that had spent years going nowhere, turned them into Champions League contenders and, most importantly, gave their supporters something they hadn't experienced for generations.

A trophy.

That's what Everton supporters are desperate for. Not another season where we finish 13th, 14th or 15th and congratulate ourselves because at least we aren't in a relegation battle. Give us a day out at Wembley. Give us a semi-final. Give us something to actually believe in.

I hate to say it, but Jason Cundy was spot on when discussing Everton on talkSPORT last week. He claimed we simply “exist” in the Premier League and “make up the numbers”. Comments like Moyes' are exactly why that perception exists. If our ambition stretches no further than ensuring we're still a Premier League club this time next year, then what exactly are we competing for?

"You don't do anything!"👀

"You just hang around The Premier League!"😬

Jason Cundy slams Everton for just making up the numbers of The Premier League! pic.twitter.com/BT0JaXwvZL

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 21, 2026

We'll see tonight how much 'ambition' Moyes actually has for the Carabao Cup, against his old club Preston no less. So at least for him, one of his teams will win tonight.