Chris Beesley picks out some moments missed from Everton's 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Comments
Sport
Everton are still without Iliman Ndiaye, Dwight McNeil, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja and Orel Mangala but David Moyes’ patched-up squad again showed the ‘Spirit of the Blues’ by following the terrace anthem’s lyrics of “we don’t know the meaning of losing,” and extending their unbeaten run to eight Premier League matches with a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Article continues below
Here’s some potential moments missed from the clash at Molineux.
READ MORE: 'It was evident' - national media ask Iliman Ndiaye question as Everton and Wolves 'accept' resultREAD MORE: 'This is why' - Vitor Pereira makes Beto claim after Everton striker's big chance at Wolves
Disney ending for Jack the lad?
With the likes of the aforementioned Ndiaye and McNeil both sidelined, Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom are starting out on the wings by default for Everton right now but going into March of a Premier League season without a goal or an assist to your name doesn’t look too clever for players primarily operating in the final third of the field. That’s exactly where the on-loan pair were though ahead of this contest.
Moyes was asked about it in his pre-match press conference and bluntly admitted that players in those areas who cannot give him goals or assists will not have longevity. Right on cue, Lindstrom set up Harrison for Everton’s goal – the 9,000th in the club's history in all competitions.
Both of them still have a long way to go to earn potential permanent switches to the Blues, but after the long wait, it’s a start. Idrissa Gueye celebrated the moment with a social media post on Instagram, tagging in Harrison, that read: “Congratulations for the goal, many more to come rafiki.”
Now many will know ‘Rafiki’ as the mandrill shaman in Disney’s The Lion King but rather than us thinking that the Stoke-on-Trent-born player is somehow like the wise old monkey who holds a young Simba aloft in front of the other animals of the African savanna, it must be stressed that the word also means ‘friend’ or ‘companion’ in Swahili.
It’s good to talk for Tarkowski
Seamus Coleman remains Everton’s club captain but given that the Republic of Ireland international has only played four times so far this season, it’s typically James Tarkowski wearing the armband these days and the stand-in skipper is often leading by example and instruction. In contrast to veteran Coleman, who holds the Blues’ Premier League appearance record but is now hampered by recurring injury issues in the autumn of his career, teak tough Tarkowski has clocked up 104th consecutive starts in the competition, having broken the record for an outfield player in the previous fixture at his former club Brentford.
Hot on the heels of Roy Keane going into a meltdown about Bruno Fernandes’ leadership credentials – or supposed lack of them – at Manchester United, Tarkowski was a vocal presence on the Molineux pitch.
The centre-back’s frequent candid chats with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford have long become par for the course but other team-mates could be seen receiving forceful instructions on this occasion.
Rookie defender Jake O’Brien was told where to go – literally – in terms of some handy hints about his positioning while striker Beto was seemingly encouraged to hold the ball up with more vigour at one point.
The biggest verbal volley came the way of Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen though when he caught Tarkowski with a naughty challenge that saw him booked but while he received an angry ear-bashing, at least he didn’t scamper off like a naughty schoolboy like fellow Norwegian striker Erling Haaland when the Everton hard man sought retribution after Vitalii Mykolenko had been caught at the Etihad on New Year’s Eve 2022.
Plenty of room in the Wolves’ den
Everton’s move to their new 52,888 capacity stadium next season will enable them to play in front of the biggest regular crowds in their history given that the Blues have only once enjoyed an average attendance of over 50,000, during their 1962/63 title-winning campaign. With around 30,000 fans on the club’s season ticket waiting list, Everton will be looking to sell out all of their Premier League games – and it’s now looking that way after the remarkable revival under David Moyes – at their future home by the Mersey waterfront.
Indeed, with the full house signs going up at every fixture at Goodison Park for a long time now, the sight of empty seats is quite striking these days at any Premier League encounter. Darker than yellow but lighter than orange, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ official shirt colour of ‘old gold’ is not always faithfully replicated on modern kits – the current one, which is too pale being the case – but there was still too much old gold on show at Molineux on Saturday night, if not on the pitch.
PROGRESS MADE: Chris Beesley's video verdict
Instead, it came in the shape of all the empty seats evident around the ground. This correspondent first spotted it when looking at the numerous gaping holes in the Stan Cullis Stand earlier in the second half and while initial thoughts were that they were perhaps created by supporters returning back to their viewing positions at a leisurely ‘Wembley hospitality’ type pace, they in fact stayed empty.
Perhaps home fans were put off by the 8pm Saturday night kick-off time but photographs from the game show that there were lots of gaps around the ground. Given that Molineux has a capacity of 31,750, the official attendance of 30,738 seemed particularly ambitious and didn’t add up with what could be seen in reality by the naked eye.
Crest crisis
A Wolves post on X previewing their game with Everton but including a Rayo Vallecano crest
A Wolves post on X previewing their game with Everton but including a Rayo Vallecano crest
It seems it’s not just the colour of hue of their jerseys that Wolves can’t get right at the moment, as when previewing the fixture, their social media team somehow got the wrong crest for Everton in a post on X that was later taken down. Instead of displaying the distinctive Prince Rupert’s Tower that adorns the Blues’ famous badge, complete with ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum’ motto (Nothing but the best is good enough), Everton were seemingly represented by the thunderbolt emblem of Rayo Vallecano, the third club of the Spanish capital, behind more illustrious neighbours, Real and Atletico Madrid.