Patterson and Delap challenge for the ball (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Centre stage
Bringing Jake O’Brien into the side as right-back proved to be an inspired David Moyes masterstroke on the manager’s return to Everton but having now moved into his more natural central role, the Republic of Ireland international has endured a couple of tough assignments. Snapped up for £16.43million from Olympique Lyonnais last July, O’Brien was the Blues’ biggest signing in the summer of 2024, but found himself largely overlooked by Sean Dyche in the first half of this season.
Moyes acknowledged that throwing him in as a square peg in a round hole was an unorthodox move but he “had to do something” when returning to Goodison Park and the 23-year-old excelled in his hybrid role. It wasn’t just a case of tucking inside and the 6ft 6in player adding a more dominant aerial presence though.
O’Brien can shift – as we saw here when outpacing Jack Clarke after the Ipswich Town substitute had a five-yard head start on him – and such was the smoothness of his adaptation, this correspondent has playfully dubbed him ‘The Cork Cafu.’ Although he’s still coltish at this level, the former Crystal Palace man has been making great strides but while he is more at home in the middle, there is also more responsibility at centre-back.
Related Articles
What Liam Delap quietly did away from team-mates can fuel Everton hope as transfer reality exposed
Everton may have finally found solution for problem position as unique record set
This proved a steep learning curve as what had been an assured performance for over three quarters of the game ultimately counted for nought as O’Brien left George Hirst wide open at the back post for the equaliser. It’s all about communication in the heart of defence though and with Everton’s defensive leader James Tarkowski now sidelined, O’Brien and Jarrad Branthwaite must both learn to become more dominant in their displays.
Not a perfect 10
As the current Everton player who excites fans the most with mazy dribbles that get them out of their seats, there has been talk all season about when Iliman Ndiaye might get his chance in the number 10 role. Dyche had doubted whether it was a position that came naturally to the Senegal international but in recent weeks, Moyes has hinted that the former Olympique Marseille man would get his chance.
Ultimately it arrived when incumbent Abdoulaye Doucoure was missing from the squad due to a personal issue. In truth, Ndiaye, who was sidelined for seven weeks due to an injury picked up in Goodison Park’s final Merseyside Derby, has struggled to get back up to speed since his return to fitness but a move to a more central role might in theory present him with more opportunities to get on the ball.
That wasn’t always the case here. Ndiaye, who was quiet on the left at Chelsea, flitted in and out of the action and while there were moments of quality, none of his flicks and tricks really came off and the question marks remain about whether he could be effective there on a longer term basis.
Full-back thoughts
Vitalii Mykolenko has been Everton’s first choice left-back almost by default for over two years now but whether that remains the case or not next season, the Ukraine international could benefit from the increased competition that a rival could present – Ruben Vinagre, who is now turning out in Poland for Legia Warsaw was never able to provide that. Here we saw the two sides of Mykolenko again and while he got forward with regularity against one of the division’s lesser lights, he was also left exposed in crucial moments.
Mykolenko was caught badly out of position on more than one occasion and even when making a rash challenge on Dara O’Shea – for which he was booked – he was unable to prevent the cross that resulted in Ipswich Town’s equaliser. He’s already had Ashley Cole and now Leighton Baines as mentors, so he can’t claim he hasn’t been taught by a couple of the Premier League’s all-time greats in his position.
On the other side of defence, Nathan Patterson has just been waiting for an opportunity, but after enduring an Everton spell that has been blighted by both injuries and then seeing him overlooked in favour of team-mates being deployed out of position, the Scotland international has now been hooked in both his starts against Chelsea and Ipswich Town. His fellow Glaswegian Moyes has chosen to finish the games with the near 40-year-old Ashley Young, so the jury is still out on whether Patterson will ever become the long-term successor to Seamus Coleman.