- 6 weeks ago
Everton boss David Moyes on the fitness of Kiernan Dewsbury Hall and Jack Grealish and the challenge of facing Premier League leaders Arsenal
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
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00:00We've had Christmas dinner.
00:02Happy Christmas.
00:04We can't use her here to do a professional job.
00:07Look at the state of them.
00:10Hey, I'm not speaking to you.
00:14If there's no Guinness in here, there's no Christmas party, I'm guessing.
00:18Well, the brums are available.
00:20There's three meats. We've all lost our minds.
00:23All right, aye.
00:25Merry Christmas, aye, aye.
00:28Can I take it off now?
00:30No, you've got to keep it off.
00:32That was part of the deal, wasn't it?
00:34You had to wear the Christmas hats to get your dinner.
00:37Good afternoon, everyone.
00:39Welcome to our press conference to preview our game against Arsenal.
00:43We'll start off with Vinnie at Sky.
00:45David, can we start with squad availability?
00:46First of all, Kiernan Dewsbury Hall. How is he? What's the situation?
00:49Kiernan's doing well, but not available for the game.
00:52So, it'll be a big miss for us, but that's what happens at this time of the year.
00:57They're liable to lose players.
00:58Every club's got injuries or suspensions, so we are no different to MDLs.
01:02Have you got a time scheme?
01:03Yeah, we have, but I'm not telling you.
01:06Merlin Roll?
01:07Yeah.
01:08Merlin Roll's back.
01:09He's been training, and hopefully he'll be back available for the game.
01:13And Jack Grealish?
01:14Jack's okay.
01:16Jack will be available to play, yes.
01:18How big a test then is Arsenal?
01:20Because obviously they've set a very high standard this season in the Premier League.
01:23They have, but they've been setting really high standards for the last few years under
01:27Mikel, and probably longer.
01:29So, they're a really good side.
01:33They're probably, at the moment, the best side in the country.
01:37Obviously, come the end of the season, that'll be proof for them or not, if that's the case.
01:41But certainly in the early half of the season, they've been blowing everybody away.
01:45They've been doing great.
01:46At the same time, how much progress do you feel you've made now in a relatively short space
01:50of time as well?
01:51I think we've made big progress, I do.
01:54I think that our progress might all have to come steady.
01:58And I think when you're so far away, you can't expect everything to go right very quickly.
02:04We've probably had four or five really poor years here as a club, really, generally.
02:09So, we're trying to make all that better.
02:11And look, things are better.
02:13Better results, better performances.
02:15Players are doing well.
02:16So, we want to try and keep that positive feeling up.
02:19How much of an indication is it the fact that we've spoken at times about challenging
02:23those European positions this season, rather than looking behind yourself?
02:26Yeah.
02:27Well, I think every win gives you that feeling that you're a chance of making Europe.
02:31Every defeat makes you think, hey, let's just behave ourselves a little bit
02:34and think a bit clearer.
02:35So, I think that's just the way the Premier League is this season.
02:38But, you know, I think the players are doing a really good job.
02:41They've done a lot of good things.
02:43We've had to come from nearly being a relegation team last year to doing pretty well this year.
02:50We'd like it to be better.
02:52But, we're still quite happy with what we're doing.
02:55Thanks, Tim.
02:56Thanks, Finny.
02:57We'll go to Simon at Premier League Productions.
02:59Hello.
03:00How do you temper that, then, in terms of the looking at Europe, but also the calm down?
03:05Well, I think it changes.
03:06As I said, we won four games out of five, which got us in a really good, strong position
03:11and made us think, hey, by the way, this is getting better.
03:13But, I don't think any of us are daft.
03:15We're always saying, you know, you only need to be a game or two away.
03:18I think if we'd beaten Chelsea last week, we'd have probably got ourselves up in fourth
03:21or fifth in the league, which would have been terrific.
03:23So, I hope that we get those opportunities again sometime later in the season,
03:27where we're saying, hey, if you win this game, this might get you fourth or fifth.
03:30My hope is that we are able to do that.
03:33But I'm also a realist and understand that, you know, you only need to lose four out of five,
03:37and you could be certainly looking at the other end of the table.
03:39So, we're going along okay.
03:43We're doing okay.
03:44We're playing well enough.
03:45Obviously, the loss of players, whether it be AFCON or whether it be through injury
03:49or through suspension, we hope isn't going to play too big a part.
03:54In terms of that, then, you were maybe struggling to fill your bench at times.
03:59You weren't putting the full complement on there.
04:01You were putting two goalkeepers on the bench as well.
04:04So, how much tougher, given AFCON, given the injuries that you're currently having,
04:08how much tougher does that make your job now?
04:11In some ways, it makes it easier because you've got less selection.
04:15But in lots of other ways, we know that we've not got many.
04:20We can't afford many drop-offs or drop-outs at the moment.
04:23So, we'll see what we can do, hopefully.
04:28We'll have players back come mid-January, and certainly the boys from AFCON,
04:33and we'll see how they do.
04:34You're not being tempted yet to bring back a certain midfielder from another football club?
04:38Well, that could be a possibility, and it's getting much more closer to that possibility.
04:45And we'll certainly consider it.
04:47You can leave him there, you know.
04:49Leave him where he is.
04:51As far as James Garner is concerned, this, if selected, will be his 200th appearance in English football,
04:59over half of which now have been with Everton.
05:02What sort of influence is he having now?
05:04He's getting nearer, I suppose, the more senior.
05:07I know he's only 24, 25, but that more senior player.
05:10I think he's having a big role in what we're doing.
05:12I think he's played really well.
05:14I think he's been good against a lot of the so-called top players as well.
05:19I think he's shown that he can compete at that level.
05:22And I think he's enjoying it as well.
05:24I think he's shown that he's got no problem when we've had to play him right back,
05:28and he's played superbly well.
05:30He's a central midfield player who can play as a six, he can play as an eight.
05:35He's just given us that versatility and that flexibility when we need him to do different roles.
05:39But his overall play,
05:43and the people who've probably watched Jimmy a lot longer than me,
05:46I've seen him since I've come back probably just less than a year ago.
05:49I think he's improved.
05:51I think he's improved greatly this year as well.
05:53His stats will show that as well, all apart from the shots converted.
05:57I think he's had more shots than any other Everton player this season.
06:00Is that right? Yeah.
06:01But he's only scored that one goal against Brighton.
06:03Is that one place that maybe...
06:05Well, it is.
06:06I think we always want the midfield players to score more goals,
06:09and we're pushing them that we get goals from every area.
06:13So, yeah, I think Jimmy could do with adding a couple more goals.
06:16But he helps us.
06:17He's a delivery.
06:18He's got a few assists in his name as well.
06:19So hopefully we can start getting some more goals.
06:23Thanks, Simon.
06:24We'll go to Julia.
06:25Ready on the other side.
06:26Hi, David.
06:27Hi, Julia.
06:28On James Garner again,
06:29obviously you are very light on numbers,
06:31and he's sitting on the four yellows.
06:33Is this going to be a test of sort of a maturity for him really now as well,
06:36how you both navigate this in order to keep the numbers that you need?
06:40Yeah, well, it is a problem because we took him off with ten minutes to go
06:43when he was probably playing as well as MD at Chelsea.
06:46But we thought, well, if we don't, then we could find ourselves short
06:50if we've got a booking in the last few minutes.
06:52So we're aware of it.
06:54But I think that's partly because Merlin's been injured
06:57and also partly because Garner's away.
06:59Merlin's back.
07:01You know, he's not played any games,
07:03but he's back training at least at the moment.
07:05So we've got him back in that condition,
07:07which helps if Jimmy did get booked now.
07:10But prior to the weekend,
07:11we weren't so sure how that was going to be.
07:13So we had to keep the tabs on him.
07:16But he's done really well
07:17because he had to get through a couple of games without getting booked,
07:19and he's done well that way.
07:21Mikel Arteta is obviously someone you know very well.
07:24Can you tell early on if someone wants to be a manager
07:27and if they'll be good at it?
07:28Was there any indication when you first worked with him?
07:32It's very difficult sometimes to work out
07:34what players are going to become managers.
07:36I used to think of the ones
07:37who got their coaching courses early.
07:39But Mikel did.
07:41Mikel was clever in his football thinking.
07:45He knew how he wanted to play as well.
07:47He had a really good upbringing.
07:49If you look at the clubs he started with,
07:51you know,
07:52Piri's at PSG,
07:53Piri's in Barcelona,
07:54Real Sociedad.
07:55So he's had a real chance before he came
07:57and went to Glasgow Rangers and came here.
08:00So before,
08:01he'd actually been around and seen a lot of clubs,
08:04a lot of really good clubs, you know,
08:06with good setups.
08:08But it was a wee bit of a moaner at times, Mikel,
08:12and that's sometimes a good sign as well.
08:14You know,
08:15I wanted things done right,
08:16wanted it to be good,
08:17wanted the team to play better.
08:19But he was a great player for us.
08:21Great captain,
08:22great player,
08:23great signing really at that time.
08:25You know,
08:26and probably,
08:28obviously I've been here a period,
08:30a different period from maybe other people
08:32who saw, say, Howard's teams over the years.
08:35But Mikel was really part of one of my best teams anyway,
08:39if not the best team.
08:40I don't expect it to be this week,
08:42but has he rung you at points in his managerial career?
08:44Yeah.
08:45Yeah.
08:46Also for favours and,
08:48you know,
08:50he's taken my players too cheaply,
08:52stuff like that in the past.
08:54But,
08:55no,
08:56look,
08:57he's a good lad, Mikel,
08:59and by the way,
09:00he's doing amazing.
09:01He really is,
09:02doing a great job.
09:03It's a year ago since the freedom groups took over.
09:06I appreciate it.
09:07It's a little bit longer for you to wait for your year anniversary.
09:10And just given how the club was when they came in,
09:13which has been well publicised,
09:14and how they operate now,
09:16can you see,
09:17since you arrived in January,
09:19how different the club is under their ownership?
09:22Well,
09:23I think, first of all,
09:24we have to thank them for coming in and saving the club,
09:27really, in many ways,
09:28and being the ones who put the money there.
09:31I hope that they're not disappointed with the football club.
09:33I hope they've been so excited by the project,
09:36the club,
09:37the support,
09:38obviously the new stadium,
09:40because we need them to really help us,
09:43all Evertonians,
09:44to get back to where we want to be,
09:46and how we want to move forward.
09:48But I have to say,
09:49I've been hugely impressed by the way they've gone about their business.
09:52I don't think,
09:54and I didn't expect them to come and say,
09:56here's bundles and bundles of cash,
09:58there you go,
09:59he's going to do what you want with it,
10:00because they're a business,
10:01and they want it to be done correctly.
10:03And at the moment,
10:04they're going about their business quietly,
10:06but professionally.
10:08And I hope that what we can,
10:10we want to do,
10:11as the people who know about Everton,
10:12we want to start getting all the new,
10:14the building blocks for the club to improve,
10:16a bit on bit.
10:17I don't think we're going to be a club,
10:19which is going to be able to say,
10:20here we are,
10:21we're going and spending all the money.
10:22We,
10:23we don't own a country where we can go and spend what we want.
10:26We have to do it piece by piece.
10:28And,
10:29I think the,
10:30the three Kings are happy for us to go along at that,
10:32that pace.
10:33Finally,
10:34for me,
10:35the 1878,
10:36busy,
10:37hard at work again,
10:38doing a,
10:39a display with the first one at Royal Dickinson Stadium.
10:41And,
10:42how important is it to you and the players?
10:44And does it make that difference when,
10:46these atmospheres are created and,
10:48you know,
10:49trying to replicate the atmosphere that Goodison had with the display?
10:51Yeah.
10:52Well,
10:53first of all,
10:54a huge thank you for the,
10:55for the support they gave us when we were at Goodison,
10:57especially in the,
10:58in the running when we,
10:59we desperately needed everybody behind us.
11:01I think now the new stadium,
11:03it's a great thing that they're doing.
11:05And I think that hopefully we can add to it.
11:07I mean,
11:08what we want,
11:09I think everybody,
11:10the players,
11:11the staff,
11:12everybody appreciates the work.
11:13What we want is the stadium to be allowed all,
11:14all through,
11:15the game,
11:16not just at the start.
11:17We want the stadium to be allowed and,
11:18and noisy throughout.
11:19And if,
11:20if there was an opportunity,
11:21it'd be the Saturday night before Christmas,
11:23when,
11:24maybe you've enjoyed a few,
11:25a few before you get there.
11:27And,
11:28you can make yourself heard.
11:30coffee.
11:31Yeah.
11:33Thanks,
11:34Julia.
11:35Any further questions in the open section before we move on?
11:37No?
11:38Okay.
11:40David.
11:41Thanks,
11:42David.
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