Six months ago, Everton were a punchline — points deductions, ownership chaos, a squad held together by duct tape and Sean Dyche's stubborn will. Now they sit seventh in the Premier League, and the man responsible is the same one who first made them relevant two decades ago.
David Moyes's second coming at Goodison Park has been defined not by grand gestures but by the small, grinding competencies that made his first tenure so effective. Monday's 1-0 win at Newcastle was a masterclass in controlled pragmatism: defend deep, stay compact, trust your finisher. Thierno Barry, the Guinean forward who has emerged as Everton's most dangerous weapon, obliged with the only goal — his second against Newcastle in five days after scoring in last week's League Cup tie.
The Barry question
Barry's emergence is the kind of development that separates good recruitment from lucky recruitment. Signed from RB Salzburg's feeder system for a reported fee under ten million pounds, he has adapted to English football with startling speed. His movement is intelligent rather than explosive, his finishing clinical rather than spectacular. In a league increasingly defined by hundred-million-pound forwards who flatter to deceive, Barry looks like a genuine find.
The more interesting question is whether Everton can keep him. A strong second half of the season will attract attention from clubs with deeper pockets, and the Toffees' financial situation, while stabilising, remains precarious. Moyes has been here before — he built a Europa League side at Goodison only to watch Rooney, Arteta, and others depart for wealthier pastures.
Newcastle's malaise deepens
For Eddie Howe, the result extends a troubling run. Newcastle have now won just twice in their last eight league matches, and the expansive football that characterised their Champions League push two seasons ago has curdled into something hesitant. St James' Park, once a fortress, has become porous. The recruitment strategy that was supposed to push them into the elite has instead left them with an unbalanced squad and mounting questions about Howe's tactical adaptability.
The Magpies remain in the top half, but the gap between their ambitions and their performances is widening. Saudi-backed patience is not infinite.
Our take
Everton in seventh feels like an anomaly, but it might be something more durable. Moyes has always been better at building than maintaining — his challenge now is proving he can do both. If Barry stays fit and the defence holds, a European place is not fantasy. For a club that spent most of the past year staring into the abyss, that counts as a minor miracle.
