Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas picks out some key issues for discussion after the opening months of the campaign
David Moyes celebrates following the Premier League match between Everton and Fulham. Photo by Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images
David Moyes celebrates following the Premier League match between Everton and Fulham. Photo by Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images
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Everton signed off for another international break with a win that lifted morale around the club and the fanbase. It was not just the win that proved satisfactory, but the manner of it.
The Blues may not have been perfect but after scoring twice, having three goals disallowed and largely controlling the match, few could argue that they deserved to beat Fulham on Saturday. It was a timely result after a run of games in which performances held promise but failed to lead to three points against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland.
Finishing that last run of games in such a manner was therefore useful not just for the Premier League table, but also for the mood surrounding the Everton project with frustration starting to creep in after a good start to the season.
As the league halts for the third time this season, now feels as good a time as any to consider some of the key issues that are working well, and some of those that remain problematic, ahead of a busy winter for the Blues.
The Jack Grealish effect
It should not have been necessary for Everton to win on Saturday for the pressure to ease on the club’s start to the season. While there have been moments of disappointment and frustration, the campaign had begun well when contrasted to last season.
Fulham represented the Blues' fourth win of the season - a feat they did not achieve until January of last year, after David Moyes had replaced Sean Dyche.
The outlay over the summer was always going to increase expectations but after years of turmoil, Everton were playing catch-up. Once the loanees left Finch Farm at the start of the summer, Moyes barely had a squad and the months that followed could only ever be the first phase of a long-term rebuild should Everton be serious about climbing the table in sustainable fashion.
Hopes of quick steps forward were intensified by some of the business undertaken though, most notably the signing of Jack Grealish. The Manchester City loanee was the club's highest profile summer signing and brought with him a level of intelligence and guile missing from the squad for too long.
This was a move that came with risk given the expense of the deal and Grealish’s recent struggles at the Etihad but it has, so far, been an overwhelming success.
The 30-year-old has been a focal point for the Blues, creating chances and winning set pieces while tormenting opposition right backs.
Two assists in his first home game, the win over Brighton, and a first goal with his stoppage-time winner against Crystal Palace have given him landmark moments already in Royal Blue.
The fanbase has fallen in love with him and Everton, so far, have helped Grealish fall back in love with football.
Iliman Ndiaye tearing through defences
The addition of Grealish did, to some extent, suggest a willingness to sacrifice the best of Iliman Ndiaye.
Everton’s most effective attacking player last season, the 25-year-old has traditionally fared better off the left but has found himself bumped out of position by Grealish.
That has not held Ndiaye back, however. The winger has been one of the players of the season so far for the Blues and his skill on the ball has regularly captured the attention of the wider footballing world - particularly after the defeat at Man City, a game in which he created two good chances for Beto and almost beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to open the scoring.
Ndiaye has four goals for the season, created Idrissa Gueye’s at Liverpool and would have a host more assists had his team-mates' finishing been better.
Everton will miss him when he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal along with Gueye but, for the time being, he has been a stand out star who has failed to let a move to the right stifle him.
Hill Dickinson Stadium a happy place
Moyes had real concerns about Everton’s move from historic Goodison Park to the Liverpool waterfront and would have spent more time at the new ground with his players at the end of last season and over the summer had opportunities been available.
His fears were justified - several high-profile moves have been followed by a drop in form in recent years and even though they have had time to bed in, Tottenham and West Ham United are still struggling to make their relatively new homes resemble anything close to a fortress.
Everton, on the other hand, got off to a brilliant start with an opening game win over Brighton and have not looked back - losing just one of the first seven league and cup matches at the new home.
It has not always been convincing - Brighton had the chances to make that match tougher, as did Palace, though in the only defeat thus far Everton were far better than the 3-0 reverse to Spurs suggested.
The form at Hill Dickinson Stadium is another barometer of success in which it is important to remember just how much of an improvement this season has been on last, so far.
By this stage last season, the Blues had started their final season at the Grand Old Lady with defeats to Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton and laboured to draws against Newcastle United, Brentford and Fulham.
Lack of ruthlessness
The start to life on the banks of the Mersey could have been even better had Everton found a clinical streak. One of the big issues facing Moyes at the end of last season was whether to allow Dominic Calvert-Lewin to leave and, if he did, find a replacement.
With the deadline day sale of Youssef Chermiti, the Blues placed faith in Beto and summer signing Thierno Barry.
It was Beto’s goals that proved so vital as Moyes led Everton away from trouble last season, while Barry arrived from Villarreal with a lot of promise - and Moyes stressed he would require patience.
Just two goals from the pair have followed though, and both were scored by Beto - one in the 3-2 league win at Wolves and one in the Carabao Cup victory over Mansfield Town.
Since then, Everton have been troubled by a string of high-profile misses that have proved costly. The Blues have created more than they did last season but finishing remains the problem, with big opportunities going begging against Aston Villa, Spurs, Man City and Sunderland - all games they failed to win.
The performance of Barry against Fulham has sparked some optimism, however. The 23-year-old was lively, hassling defenders and linking up play well as he delivered a performance that showed real courage after his frustration at the Stadium of Light days earlier.
The hope is that he will use that display as a foundation to build his Everton career on.
Making full use of the young summer signings
Barry had been given few chances before his consecutive starts last week and Moyes has adopted a cautious approach to the introduction of the younger summer signings to the first team.
Adam Aznou is yet to play in the Premier League with Vitalii Mykolenko maintaining his spot at left back. Moyes believes the teenager will need time to adapt to his new club.
Carlos Alcaraz is another star whose minutes have been limited - despite the impact he has shown he can have on matches after a positive loan spell last season.
Merlin Rohl, though he has had injury issues, has also received less exposure than expected, but the biggest conundrum has been Tyler Dibling. The most expensive signing of the summer, the teenager has made just one league start so far.
He has been hindered by the success of Ndiaye on the right and Moyes does see him as being a key player he will seek to trust when the Senegalese leaves for AFCON next month, however.
Everton’s progress this season may well come down to whether Moyes can fully integrate the new signings into the team in a way that means he can use his new-found depth to help his side adapt to matches as they are unfolding.
Jarrad Branthwaite’s injury frustration
The frustration over results clashed with the news Jarrad Branthwaite had suffered a setback with his recovery from a hamstring injury picked up around the time of the final pre-season match, at home to Roma. This was a hammer blow for Everton, whose most important business of the summer had been to convince one of their best players to commit to a new deal.
We are yet to see the 23-year-old in action this season and that has hampered Moyes.
Branthwaite is strong, quick and good on the ball and his recovery pace would have allowed the Blues defence to push up the pitch and avoid conceding so much space in the middle third - where they have been vulnerable this season.
Branthwaite felt like the obvious next step forward in this side’s development. Michael Keane has stepped up impressively to fill the void, though.