Moyes' Programme Notes For Man Utd Clash

We’re pleased with the start we have made to the season. The players did a good job in getting themselves prepared and ready for the 2026/27 campaign and we enjoyed a good opening day win against Crystal Palace here two weeks ago.

Since then, we’ve seen ourselves make progress through to the next round of the Carabao Cup.

We came away from Preston pleased with the result and we were all delighted for Thierno Barry in getting himself three goals.

Ahead of the tie it looked a difficult test, away to a Championship team, which is never easy, but in the end it was a comfortable victory.

For me to go back to Preston, the club where I started my managerial career, was great. It certainly felt even better to come away with a victory which got us through to the next round, where we were rewarded with a home draw against another tough opponent from the Championship in Wolves.

Saturday saw us having to travel to Bournemouth, with little recovery time. This made the late point we earned on the south coast all the more welcome.

On the day, we felt a draw was well deserved, but I did feel there had been opportunities before then for us to have taken all three points.

Bournemouth have shown over recent years how good they can be and in their first game of the season at Manchester City they proved that they are still a strong side.

There were periods of good play from us and some good individual performances. In the end we came back with a well-earned point.

I have talked several times in the past about the quality of our away support.

Last season I am sure they enjoyed many of our games on the road because they saw us pick up some really good results.

Once again last Saturday they showed brilliant support to the team. They got behind all of the players and stuck with us right to the end and were rewarded when we got the equalising goal.

It’s difficult to explain the importance of having such a strong fanbase but that backing becomes even more important when we are away from home and it underlines the scale and stature of our football club.

I think the strength of the Everton fans was certainly on show at Bournemouth.

Today we welcome Michael Carrick and his Manchester United staff and team to Hill Dickinson Stadium. Michael did an incredible job in getting United back into the Champions League, a competition which they have missed out on for several years.

We had two tough games against them last season and I am sure this afternoon will be no different.

In the past few days we said goodbye to some really good characters and colleagues, many of whom have played a big role at our football club since I came in.

Initially they helped us retain our Premier League status, then last season they contributed to us building on that and, for long periods, helped us to have a stronger season.

We want to wish Beto, Tim Iroegbunam, Nathan Patterson and Iliman Ndiaye all well for the future and we will no doubt see some of them again on our journeys this season. Adam Aznou, meanwhile, will continue his development on loan at Malaga and we wish him well there.

They all helped to create a strong culture inside the dressing room and we thank them for what they brought to us.

While some players have left, we introduced two new ones this week. Jack Grealish is already well known to you all and we are looking forward to getting him back to the levels he showed in the first half of last season when his assists and goals were really important for us.

We also welcome Ainsley Maitland-Niles and we are looking forward to getting to know him. Hopefully he will prove to be another good addition to the squad.

Finally, I must stress the importance of us all pulling together.

We need to be strong again and there may be occasions when we may have to find a way to get through some difficult moments. It is something you have all done in recent seasons. Everyone has pulled together for the good of the Football Club and we may need to do so again.

We have made a good start and we are looking to build on that. We all recognise the importance of early wins and we will be giving everything to try to bring us another one today.