On the face of it, a point away at a Sunderland team that could have gone second in the table with a win is nothing to turn your nose up at, but I can’t help but feel that the Everton performance was frustrating after a positive start to the game.
Again, a lack of quality finishing not only contributed to Everton not being able to give themselves some breathing space in the game, but also encouraged the opposition to gain in confidence and as the half went on, you could see the belief in them increase
In truth, I don’t think Everton looked like causing Sunderland any real problems in their box, especially in the second half, which is a story we’re seeing all too often so far this season.
Iliman Ndiaye speculation builds after another goal for Everton
Thankfully, there was the impressive Iliman Ndiaye to take advantage of the early good work, and once again, he was the player who shone, the player that took the game to the opposition and the one that had that little bit of magic when needed
There’s been a lot of speculation regarding Ndiaye’s future lately and possible interest from a variety of quarters, and it would not be a surprise if that speculation becomes reality, not necessarily in January but certainly in the summer, bearing in mind his form at the moment.
Sunderland v Everton - Premier League
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
However, it’s imperative that Everton keep hold of the likes of Iliman, in my opinion. For far too long, the club has lost players to so-called bigger clubs in similar circumstances.
Of course, that happens at all clubs, but for me, the Friedkin Group need to take the stance early in their ownership of the club that they are building something, not only to external sources, those clubs that will inevitably come looking at the Senegalese star, but also internally. Manager and players need to see that there is a plan and not one that can be dismantled at the first opportunity.
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The key to that is by winning games and showing that the club is moving forward, players often stay when they’re happy, but if they feel the club lacks ambition in anyway, heads can be turned. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. In reality, in these days of player power, and the lure of Champions League football is difficult to fight off for ambitious players, it’s crucial that Everton show, as much as they can, that this is a growing club that players should want to be a part of.
Hill Dickinson Stadium earns rave reviews in the England vs Australia Rugby League Ashes tour
It was great to see the Hill Dickinson stadium host its first non-football event as the Rugby League Ashes tour came to Liverpool.
England vs Australia certainly looked to be a very successful day with many positive comments from those that attended, and it was also a glimpse of the opportunities the stadium will offer going forward.
As much as we adore watching the Toffees, it was also good to see the focus turn away from Everton to showcase how beneficial the waterfront location will be to the City.
However, I also think the time has come to return the focus to the team again and the football played at the ground. There is a danger we may begin to reach out and grab our new home as some sort of comforter blanket when results go against us.
The stadium is fantastic, but it’s a stadium, it won’t win the club points, players and managers do that.
This isn’t me rehearsing my Grinch performance ahead of the festive season, I just think we’ve talked constantly about it for a long time now, rightly so, but whether Goodison Park or Hill Dickinson, the club is and always will be about the football and the season gets real from this point.