Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace
Michael Ball
I was made up for Jack Grealish to get his first goal for the club and for Evertonians it was great to see.Since Jack signed, he has embraced the football club and he’s a player that you want to see on the scoresheet. I’ve got to give David Moyes and the players credit because after that first half, I couldn’t see a way out and it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon.There was a reaction from Everton against a very good side who had been unbeaten for six months, which I like to see. They seemed to be hurt like they were embarrassing themselves on a global stage with the game on TV.We want more assists, and we want more goals from Jack. He’d already got a couple of shots in before his winning goal and when he was at Aston Villa, that’s what he used to do.He’s free to do what he wants in the final third and I think David Moyes gives him that freedom but he needs to make sure there’s something at the end of it whether it’s a shot or a cross. It’s difficult to break down opponents in the final third of the pitch but while Jack is a master at it, he needs to also have an end product and that’s what he did and got his rewards by being alive to a situation.I’m a left-back, I can’t tell Jack Grealish what to do in the final third, but David Moyes can, he’s his manager. Those kind of players can figure out their own issues, I used to say to players in front of me: ‘You’ve got your job to track back but you do what you want in that final third, you’re the magic man, you’re the match-winner.’
When it’s not working though, you can’t keep doing the same thing. When Jack first started with Everton, nobody could find him out, he got a lot of joy and won Premier League Player of the Month.Since the international break, opponents have reckoned: ‘Everything is going to Jack,’ so it’s a case of ‘Stop Jack, stop Everton.’ He’s therefore found it a little bit difficult because he’s often had two or maybe three men on him and he doesn’t want to lose the ball. So, he doesn’t want to gamble by taking a shot and instead he takes an extra touch because if it breaks down and gets blocked, the opponents have got a counter-attack on us. That’s like his Manchester City days, where if it’s not 100% on, you just keep it. At Everton, we want to pop the question, just in case it takes a deflection and it might go in or we might get a corner. I think he’s realised that now. Jack has got the ability to do it, he needs to have the self-belief that he’s the one who can take a pop shot, and he had the bravery to get in there and put the ball in the back of the net at the end. He’s been immense since he came to the football club in terms of raising the expectations of fans and his team-mates around him.He’s been a £100million player but he still wants to improve himself, so if you’re in that changing room looking at Jack, you see him wanting to impress his manager and impress the fans. Team-mates should act like sponges and soak up some of that attitude. He’s got that hunger. If you’re Tyler Dibling coming to the football club, you think: ‘They spent a lot of money on me, and I want to impress but Jack is showing me the way.’After Manchester City, Jack could have come to Everton and swanned about, but he’s got the right attitude as he wants to impress, put in the hard yards and make people happy. There might have been question marks over bringing him to the football club, but I think we’ve all seen the reasons now why he was brought here.Charly Alcaraz came on at half-time and while I wasn’t surprised, I was impressed with his attitude and performance. He’d had an opportunity at Wolves and didn’t really do it, so I think he felt disappointed in himself.Never mind the quality of his play, he made a difference by just being busy. He tried to cause issues for the opposition through his work-rate. Since the last international break, we’d let ourselves down. When David Moyes had given various players a chance to show what they can do, they often haven’t taken it. We knew that Crystal Palace had been away in Poland on Thursday night, so we wanted Everton to start fast but it never happened. I was really disappointed with the players in the first half.There were question marks before the game over what David Moyes was going to do with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall suspended but what we were served up for the opening 45 minutes was a hard watch. It looked like we were the team that had played midweek as we appeared very lethargic.Sometimes, you’ve got to hold your hand up and say that you’re playing against a very good side, but we didn’t even try and stop them. They were only in second gear, but they were causing us all sorts of problems and we were fortunate to go in only one-nil down.It’s been stop-start with Thierno Barry and Beto but neither of them have been paying him back. People have been saying that you need a few games to get going, but when you’re not playing well, you’ve got to change it.As a former player myself, I understand I needed a run of six games to get going, but if I’m not playing well, I don’t deserve to be on the pitch. It’s a bit of a conundrum.
Deafening roar answers big Hill Dickinson Stadium question
There were huge question marks in leaving Goodison Park. Many of us didn’t want to go, but we knew we had to.People were wondering: ‘Can they get the atmosphere right?’ There were lots of boxes to be ticked and a lot of clubs have struggled to find their feet at a new stadium.But we’ve been to Hill Dickinson Stadium a few times now and we know it’s amazing – it’s immense, you’ve got to give credit to everyone involved in designing it. But what we want is a football team to scream and shout about. Since the start of the season, we’ve been thinking: ‘Imagine this place when we score a last-minute winner.’ The hairs are standing up on the back of your neck with your friends and family experiencing so much joy over what’s just happened.
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Getting the atmosphere going is going to be a long process as it’s all new for everybody in terms of how they go to the game and what they do while they’re there. But as long as Everton’s players keep on fighting to the end then we’ll keep it rocking.Let’s make it a fortress that is difficult for opponents to come to. While visitors have now got a lovely away dressing room to get changed in, as soon as they get on that pitch, we can make it a cauldron. We’re making it our home like Goodison with the noise and the intimidation. But it’s up to the players to get us up on our feet.We’ve been wondering ‘what’s it going to be like if we score a last-minute winner at Hill Dickinson Stadium?’ and now we’ve all witnessed it. It was absolutely deafening.I’ve been suffering with flu and I was losing my voice! It was great to just be there.