The plea from a Goodison great

Anders Limpar won the FA Cup with Everton in 1995 and he has not lost any of his passion for the club in the three decades since. Speaking exclusively to the Liverpool Echo, the Swedish winger has delivered a blunt verdict on where Everton find themselves right now: talented enough to push for European football, but shackled by ownership that has shown precious little interest in the manager responsible for the improvement.

Limpar's central argument is straightforward. He believes David Moyes has done a genuine job of steadying a ship that was taking on water, dragging the club from relegation candidates to a side that went unbeaten in their first six Premier League matches this season before Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea. "Over the last couple of years Everton have developed from being a team battling against relegation to now being a mid-table team," Limpar said. That, by any measure, is progress.

An ownership situation that is difficult to defend

The backdrop to all of this, though, is deeply uncomfortable for Everton supporters. The Friedkin Group confirmed earlier this month that they are willing to sell the club less than two years after buying it, and the impact on day-to-day operations has been significant. Moyes was left with just 18 senior outfield players after a transfer deadline day that saw Iliman Ndiaye sold to Manchester City for £65m, with Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson also allowed to depart. The collapse of Folarin Balogun's move from Monaco made a difficult window look even worse.

What makes Limpar's comments particularly striking is the detail around communication, or the lack of it. "I heard about a rumour from a person inside the club that David Moyes has never talked to the board within the ownership, which is unbelievable to me as they have been there for almost two years now," he said. Moyes himself confirmed last month that he has never spoken directly with Dan Friedkin, explaining that his real point of contact is Everton CEO Angus Kinnear, followed by TFG representative Rishi Majithia. "I don't really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to," the manager said. For Limpar, that distance is simply not good enough. "It is very important that the manager has a close relationship with the board and the board needs to be interested in the manager."

What Limpar actually wants to see

For all the frustration, the former winger is not asking for the earth. His reading of the squad is measured rather than dramatic. "We have an overall good team, 85% of our team is great, but we still need a good No.9 and a full-back, then we can compete for European spots," he said. His hope is that a new owner is in place by January so that Moyes can be backed properly in the winter window, and he reserves particular excitement for Christian Norgaard, who he calls "a hell of a signing" and predicts will become "the engine of the team" once he is fully fit.

On Moyes himself, Limpar is unequivocal. "For me, David Moyes is the perfect manager for Everton. He is the best possible manager the club can have." Those are warm words, but they carry a warning too, because Moyes is in the final year of his contract and admitted last week that talks over an extension have hit "a bit of a lull" while the ownership situation remains unresolved. Everton travel to Arsenal this Saturday, and with uncertainty swirling around Goodison, every result matters just a little bit more than usual.