As much as every Everton fan will want Premier League action returning, it's time to assess how pre-season went.
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We’re now just a couple of days from our opener against Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium, so here are the things I’ve picked up on most from our pre-season outings.
On the whole, I thought it was a really competitive pre-season, and one that Everton have come through quite well. I said last month that I was impressed with the strength of opponents we were scheduled to come up against, including Champions League opposition in Stuttgart and a close rival in the league in Newcastle.
Everton dealt with those tests well, performance levels were strong and obviously getting a fantastic result up in Edinburgh does the world of good for confidence.
Pre-season doesn't mean an awful lot in terms of results, but the Everton players will have been wanting to impress David Moyes ahead of the Premier League returning.roundtable.ioEverton's Pre-Season Awards as Youngsters Steal The Show
Pre-season doesn't mean an awful lot in terms of results, but the Everton players will have been wanting to impress David Moyes ahead of the Premier League returning.
Barry, George, Rohl and Dibling - Everton’s future?
Those four probably stood out the most for me across pre-season.
I thought Barry was excellent throughout, showing glimpses of real progression this summer. Most notable was his centre-forward work for that goal in Hamburg, setting up Merlin Rohl. That’s exactly what we’ve longed for in a striker for so many years, getting involved in the build-up play and carving out his own opportunities. His goal against Newcastle showed similar qualities, sticking at it before creating the shooting opportunity for himself.
I was a big advocate for Barry last term, I’m glad he’s now seeing the fruits of his labour and I think this is going to be a big year for him.
George and Dibling obviously struggled for game time last season, and I think they’ve given Moyes a big reason to give them more minutes this year.
Dibling looked sharp against Stuttgart and Lille, I was really impressed with how confident he looked and his willingness to get beyond his defender. Tyrique George was similarly impressive against Newcastle, scoring his first goal in blue, even whilst under the weather!
Of course, we don’t know what the winger situation will look like come the 1st September, will Ndiaye still be here? Will Grealish come back? Who knows… But one thing is for certain, these two will play a big role for us this year and they have real potential to be brilliant assets for Everton.
And Merlin Rohl, what a summer he’s had. He has consistently delivered at least a 7 out of 10 performance in every game, wherever he’s been asked to play. He looks sharper than he did last season and it’s clear that Moyes is going to use him as a utility player, probably at fullback.
Defensive Frailties
One concerning aspect of pre-season for me was how shaky we looked defensively at times.
Mykolenko had a pretty torrid time of it, it must be said. That clip of him losing the ball before falling over probably was the worst of it, but also at Stoke I felt he looked a bit worrying. We know his shortcomings going forward, but one thing he always had was defensive structure and solidity, but this summer I’ve really not seen that at all.
James Tarkowski likewise I thought looked a bit worrying at times, making similar mistakes to what he did towards the back end of last season.
One I noticed in particular came against Lille, when a long ball forward wasn’t dealt with by either centre-back and almost resulted in a goalscoring chance. This was almost identical to Brentford’s first chance in the game at the Gtech in April costing us a penalty.
I was surprised that Moyes didn’t really try a back two of Branthwaite and O’Brien.
Jake O’Brien only lost one game last season when playing in his natural position of centre-half, and that was at the Emirates where Everton were unlucky to come away with a defeat.
I’m not going to bore you all and say how much we need a right-back, because we all know how desperate it’s becoming now. But for me, the defensive frailty in the squad is evident and I think both fullbacks need major improvement if we’re to achieve anything this season.
Jarrad Branthwaite
Now I know that I’ve just said the defence looks shaky. However, what an absolutely massive pre-season it was for our new number four.
Branthwaite’s season last year was so stop-start, picking up little setback injuries before sustaining that massive one in the closing stages of the Merseyside Derby.
First of all, fair play to him and the club on managing his rehabilitation so well. It’s clear they’re taking every step necessary to make sure he has a clean season.
If he stays fit, it’s going to feel like a new signing for us. Everton are a significantly more solid unit with Jarrad at centre-half, and seeing him with the captain’s armband in Stuttgart was a nice sight.
I thought he was fantastic against Lille also, he looks in great shape and I’m hoping he has a massive season for us.
Final thoughts
Of course, pre-season doesn’t mean anything if you lose your first game. If you compare us to this time last year, however, we look physically ready, which is pleasing. Last year against Leeds in that Monday Night Football, we looked undercooked. Not this year.
I think there’s a strange feeling of positivity around a lot of supporters, despite the shortcomings in the transfer window. I think everyone is just buzzing to get back in that ground on Saturday. Let’s hope we can kick it off with a win.