Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas on what a win over Ipswich Town would mean for David Moyes and his squad
Everton celebrate Carlos Alcaraz's winner against Wolves, which ensured their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions now stands at six matches
Everton celebrate Carlos Alcaraz's winner against Wolves, which ensured their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions now stands at six matches
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Everton. What a club.
It felt like the world was crumbling around the Blues a fortnight ago. The prospective sale of Harrison Armstrong, the chaotic deadline day that saw the club lose its best attacking player and then the reports The Friedkin Group is seeking, at the very least, outside investment.
All of those issues remain prevalent - a positive start to the season cannot cover the wider problems that appear to be lurking behind the scenes. But this has been a good start, and credit is due for that.
Maybe it is a mark of the resilience of the club and many of its playing staff that the team is able to respond to the turbulence around it by producing an unbeaten start to the campaign
It has not just been an unbeaten start, either. There have been the displays of fight that have seen last-gasp equalisers delivered against Bournemouth and Manchester United - the precociousness of a side that genuinely refuses to accept it has been beaten. There has been the defensive stubbornness that underpinned a valuable point at Tottenham Hotspur.
Yes, it could have been more. In truth, it should have been more. Yet while last weekend will not quite join the heady away days of David Moyes’ second spell - the wins at Manchester United, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and at Newcastle United, twice - that was a draw that was a sign of progress given the ghosts that haunt the club at Tottenham.
Everton have shown the professionalism to move aside Championship opposition in the Carabao Cup and to make their luck count against Crystal Palace, after a tough start.
On an individual level, too, there are positives: Jarrad Branthwaite is dominant, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has probed with ingenuity and Armstrong, Hayden Hackney, Thierno Barry and Tyrique George have all shown signs of promise. On Wednesday night Tyler Dibling joined that list with what will hopefully prove to have been a breakthrough performance.
What I found particularly satisfying at Wolves was the way the home crowd stuck with the players throughout the match. The goal took longer to come than anyone would have liked and Adam Armstrong did provide a scare. But there appeared to be an acknowledgement in the stands that Moyes had picked a strong side and that the opposition was not the most straightforward.
All of a sudden, we are six games into the season and the Blues are unbeaten in the league, despite having visited two grounds where they have miserable records, and through to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup. I doubt anyone expected that when the window closed to leave Moyes with a smaller squad than the one he had last year.
None of this should be taken for granted, of course. The good start is a necessity - while Christian Norgaard has not yet played, this has been a small squad at its strongest, freshest and fullest. Such was the mess at the end of the window, the question for this team, at least until January, is not whether injuries and suspensions will bite, but what position the club will be in when they do.
The more points Everton acquire now, the lower the risk of real trouble when problems hit.
That is what makes the Ipswich Town game so important on Saturday. The newly-promoted outfit have weapons and cannot be taken lightly. But a win would represent a superb start to the campaign delivered against the odds.
It would allow this squad to reset over a three-week break that should allow the players opportunity to rest and reset for the winter schedule. A win at the weekend would also mark a great start to the season at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The home form was the most obvious area for improvement this season and it is not possible to put a price on the value a four-game unbeaten start would have on the belief of this team, and the 50,000 Blues travelling to the waterfront to support them every other week.
Those at the club will have to spend the break thinking hard about the run of games that follows but, should they get there unscathed, those at Finch Farm would deserve immense credit for the start they had overseen given the tumult they have been operating through.