On the south coast on Tuesday, David Moyes celebrated in front of the supporters before acknowledging the incredible away record he has overseen since his return to Everton
Jack Grealish and David Moyes celebrate with the Everton fans at the final whistle of the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Everton. Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images
Jack Grealish and David Moyes celebrate with the Everton fans at the final whistle of the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Everton. Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images
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Upon the final whistle at Bournemouth, the travelling supporters burst into a festive, Everton-themed rendition of Jingle Bells. “Oh what fun it is to see, Everton win away”, the chorus went as the Blues made it two striking, statement victories on the road in just eight days.
Just like at Old Trafford the previous week, those who had made the journey to watch their side step onto enemy territory had cause to stay late and produce scenes unforgettable to those within them and that would go viral among those savouring their taste of the jubilation online.
Everton’s committed away following may finally be getting used to the feeling of travelling home with a smile. It was the eighth Premier League win in barely 11 months since David Moyes returned.
It was not always like this. Taking three points back to Merseyside was the sign of a false dawn under several of Moyes’ predecessors.
Rafa Benitez won at Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2021 but a positive start to the season soon descended into chaos and it was nine months until the Blues won away again - this time under Frank Lampard at Leicester City in a match they had to win to keep control of their own destiny after that campaign ended in a gruesome relegation fight.
It was the other side of the summer when Everton won at Southampton the following October. That would be another season of just two away wins in the league. And like the season before, it came in May, after a managerial change, and with the club in a survival fight as Sean Dyche nspired a shock 5-1 success at Brighton.
But the following season saw the Blues clinch no fewer than five wins on the road in the opening half of the campaign - Dyche leading his travelling team to victories at Brentford, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and his former club Burnley.
But Dyche, only one more away triumph, the only one in the whole of 2024, would follow. That was a 2-0 at Ipswich Town in October of last year.
The outpouring of emotion when the Blues clinched a priceless three points at Brighton in January was understandable, then. Just a second away win in some 13 months, it followed the home success over Tottenham Hotspur seven days earlier to give Moyes two victories in his first three matches after returning to the club.
Those six points moved Everton away from immediate danger and were a springboard for the run that would see them surge clear of trouble, even if the Brighton result came at a cost - Moyes would lose both Orel Mangala and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to serious injuries in that match.
The atmosphere had been ferocious at the Amex that afternoon and tempers flared on the pitch at the end. Amid the rows that played out in what had been the Blues' penalty box, Moyes went to the away supporters at the other end of the ground and was received like a hero.
He has made a habit of making the away end happy. That was the first of eight away wins in the league to date during his second spell, including the latest success over Bournemouth. Only Arsenal have taken more points away from home than Everton in that same period, a record that shows how Moyes has transformed a relegation-threatened side to one capable of winning anywhere.
That sentiment has played out across both last season and this campaign. Crucial, grinding victories at Brighton and Crystal Palace gave way to feel-good celebrations in the spring as the Blues earned memorable wins at Forest, Fulham and Newcastle United.
The win at the City Ground, secured through Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stoppage-time strike, was the catalyst for a massive reaction from the travelling supporters.
They were then in party-mood from the first minute at Craven Cottage and could be heard high up in the stands at St James’ Park, where Carlos Alcaraz helped Everton overcome a Newcastle team fighting for Champions League qualification.
That form was no false dawn either, as shown by the past week of results.
Jack Grealish ended up celebrating in the fans when the Blues won at Molineux in August and Moyes has since ended two unwanted records.
Everton won at Manchester United for only the third time in the Premier League era - his first win there in 18 visits as a manager - and that was followed by the first top-flight success at Bournemouth, which had been a wrecking ground for his predecessors Lampard and Dyche.
When the ECHO asked what those scenes at the Vitality Stadium meant to him on Tuesday night, he simply smiled and said: “That shows that we're doing something if those away supporters are actually quite enjoying themselves.”