David Moyes will need to rely heavily on team spirit after his Everton squad was left short
David Moyes will need to rely heavily on team spirit after his Everton squad was left short
View Image
In modern times, Everton have had their fair share of managers who clearly like working with English players.
Sean Dyche was one. He regularly fielded a Premier League team that included nine English players during his spells at Burnley. On four occasions, he sent Burnley out for a Premier League match with 10 Englishmen in the ranks.
During his tenure at Everton, Dyche named Premier League starting line-ups that included nine English players several times.
Ronald Koeman was also fond of homegrown players. For a Premier League match at Manchester City early in the 2017-18 season, the Dutchman started eight English players.
Wayne Rooney scored in a 1-1 draw. Two months later, Koeman’s time in charge at Goodison Park was over.
Against Manchester United last Sunday, David Moyes had seven English players in his starting XI and sent on four from the bench.
And Nottingham-born Brennan Johnson, who started, had been English until he was 17, when he became Welsh.
If Tyrique George, who was excellent against United, was deployed as a central striker - as he could well be at some stage this season - Moyes could field a line-up made up of 11 English players and it would not look odd.
If a back four was used, the left-back might look a touch unfamiliar but Jarrad Branthwaite has played there before and is so good, he could play anywhere.
So, here goes. Pickford; Naitland-Miles, Tarkowski, Keane, Branthwaite; Garner, Armstrong; Hackney, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish; George.
That does not look too bad.
And if you wanted to play with a back three, Tyler Dibling could come into the equation as a wing-back. He is a £40million player, after all.
Should Moyes field an all-English XI in the Premier League, it will be the first time it has been done since February 27, 1999 when John Gregory sent out this Aston Villa team for a home match against Coventry City.
That team was: Oakes; Grayson, Southgate, Scimeca, Wright; Watson, Hendrie, Taylor, Merson; Joachim, Dublin. Villa lost 4-1.
Two of Liverpool’s three starting line-ups in the Premier League this season have not featured a single English player. Rio Ngumoha is likely to be the only English player to feature regularly for Andoni Iraola’s side this season.
Of course, football, thankfully, has long been a game without any borders. No-one is judged by their nationality. It is wonderfully inclusive.
So, is there any significance in clubs - and Everton are not alone in this - having a high percentage of homegrown players in first-team contention? (Premier League clubs have to have at least eight homegrown players in their 25-man squads).
From a negative point of view, it could reflect a failing in the transfer market. Everton have not scoured far and wide enough.
But from a positive point of view, it cannot harm any sense of camaraderie. It is only natural to form a bond with your countryman.
And once again, after that calamitous transfer window, this is a season in which Everton will have to rely heavily on a sense of camaraderie. Very heavily.