David Moyes on Everton's Owner: No Contact with Dan Friedkin

David Moyes has revealed he has never met or spoken to Everton owner Dan Friedkin since returning to the club in January 2025 – despite the American having been in charge for almost a year.

Friedkin, head of The Friedkin Group, runs Everton from Houston and has not been at Goodison Park for a home game since completing his takeover in December 2024. As the summer window descended into chaos, the distance between boardroom and dugout became a central issue.

Moyes: ‘My real contact is Angus’

Speaking before Sunday’s meeting with Manchester United, Moyes was asked directly whether he had met or spoken to Friedkin at any point during his 20 months back in charge.

His reply was blunt: “No.”

The Scot explained that the owner leaves the day-to-day running of the club to his son-in-law, Rishi Majithia, who works alongside chief executive Angus Kinnear.

“My real contact is Angus,” Moyes said. “Angus is the one who I would go to see. Rishi is the next one and then the head of the Friedkin family in America.

“I don't really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to.”

That chain of command has been under fierce scrutiny after a fraught end to the transfer window that left supporters furious and the squad threadbare.

Fans revolt over Armstrong sale

Tension boiled over at Bournemouth last Saturday. News broke during the game that Everton had accepted a £40m bid from Nottingham Forest for Harrison Armstrong, the highly rated England Under-19s midfielder and one of the club’s most prized assets.

The away end turned. Anger was aimed squarely at the board.

Everton eventually pulled out of the deal, but the damage to trust lingered. Fans saw it as another example of a club lurching from one short-term decision to the next.

The final days of the window did little to calm anyone down. On deadline day, Beto was sold to Fiorentina before a replacement striker had been secured. USA forward Folarin Balogun then backed out of a move from Monaco at the last moment on Tuesday, leaving Moyes badly exposed.

Everton closed the window with just 18 senior players. Only one recognised striker. One right-back. One left-back. For a club that once prided itself on depth and resilience, it was a stark picture.

Manager sides with supporters

Moyes did not hide behind the hierarchy when asked about the Armstrong situation last weekend. He openly aligned himself with the fanbase, stressing the club was “managed by an Evertonian” and adding that “supporters aren't always wrong”.

On Friday, he admitted the club’s internal structure still needs serious work.

“We've got new owners in who are still feeling their way in the club,” he said. “I think if we get to know each other more it will get better.”

There was no hint, though, that he is looking for a way out. This is the club he rebuilt once before, guiding Everton to a string of top-five Premier League finishes between 2002 and 2013. He made clear he does not intend to walk away from the challenge of trying to unify it again.

“Everton's different,” he said when asked if he had considered quitting. “I wouldn't have come back for anybody but Everton.”

‘We need them’

Moyes now leans heavily on the one constant at the club: the supporters.

“I think the club here has had enough days where the people find a way of recovering,” he said. “People saw the face of Evertonians last week and it can be really powerful. I would expect them to be really powerful now.

“But powerful for the team, powerful for the players. What we're going to need from them is extra because we're short, so we need them. If they're not with us, then it's terrible. And they are with us, I believe they are with us.”

The owner may be thousands of miles away in Houston. The squad may be thin. The structure behind the scenes may still be taking shape.

On Sunday, though, all that really stands between Everton and another bruising afternoon is Moyes, a patched-up group of players – and the raw power of a fanbase asked once again to carry more than its share.