WREXHAM, WALES - SEPTEMBER 7: Sebastian Revan of Wrexham during the Sky Bet League One match between Wrexham AFC and Shrewsbury Town FC at Racecourse Ground on September 7, 2024 in Wrexham, Wales. (Photo by James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images)
David Moyes has bought Everton time that could earn them millions
Everton’s form under David Moyes has lifted them to 14th and created major distance between them and the drop zone
Saturday’s 2-1 win at Crystal Palace hoisted Everton up to 14th in the Premier League table, a point above Manchester United. It was the fourth win in six league matches under the returning David Moyes.
The points haul over the past month has seen the Toffees pull well away from the bottom three and a relegation dogfight that they had looked destined to be part of under former boss Sean Dyche, with the gap now 13 points between them and 17th-placed Ipswich Town.
Barring a catastrophic set of results and total capitulation from Everton over the course of the next 13 games, the new 52,888–seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be playing host to the Toffees as a Premier League side for its debut campaign in 2025/26.
That was always the plan, but the tumult at the club brought about by its off-field problems of the past few seasons, where debt piled high and an ongoing takeover saga that saw the club almost sold to a private equity firm that has since gone bust, meant that the plan had seemed on very shaky ground as points deductions and a lack of investment in the team due to financial constraints led near misses when it came to dropping into the Championship.
Mathematically, of course, the club aren’t safe right now, but the odds of such a thing happening will be sufficiently low enough in the eyes of would-be commercial partners to feel at ease about just how much exposure they would be getting.
The decision of new owners The Friedkin Group to part with Dyche and bring back Moyes was driven by the need to preserve the ultra-valuable status as a Premier League side. Being a Premier League side was part of the investment thesis of TFG, and while the risk of relegation was sufficient enough for them to know they may have to deal with it, the long-term plan to turn the club around will be achieved far quicker with survival.
Not only would survival be of enormous financial benefit to Everton through the preservation of huge broadcast rights that come with Premier League membership, which stood at £132.2million for 2023/24, but also for the ability to get a better deal when selling their commercial inventory for the new stadium, including stadium naming rights.
Commercial partners want exposure, and the Premier League delivers that like no other domestic football league in the world, providing a global audience thanks to its touch points with all corners of the world.
