It will be a surreal experience when Everton play their first game at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium on the second weekend of the Premier League season, but the question is whether David Moyes can build a team worthy of such an upmarket venue.
The home game against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 24 will be the first played away from Goodison Park in 113 years. Making the journey down to the waterfront rather than towards Stanley Park will take some getting used to for Everton supporters.
The modern structure already dominating this stretch of the River Mersey, combined with the blessed relief of the end to the Farhad Moshiri era and the relatively stable and sensible ownership of The Friedkin Group, has brought positivity to a fanbase more used to the doldrums of late.
Ensuring the high spirits extend onto the pitch is the next major challenge. In the end, Everton finished a comfortable 13th last term, and that had a lot to do with Moyes’ mid-season return.
Such was the uplift in the second half of the campaign, Everton collected 31 points from 19 league games following the Scot’s appointment, contrasting to the 17 his predecessor Sean Dyche managed in his last 19 matches in charge, and over the whole season, Moyes’s record would have been enough for an eighth-placed finish.
It was evident as soon as Moyes walked back through the doors that he still feels a deep connection to the club he managed for 11 years, and the rapport with the supporters was quick to reestablish itself.
Moyes admitted that he was shocked by the depths his former club had plummeted since his departure in 2013. Although he managed to prize out improvement from an average squad, the 62-year-old remains the club’s key asset.
A squad revamp was needed ahead of their move to the new abode, but by losing nine members of last season’s first team — including Abdoulaye Doucouré, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ashley Young — vast swathes of Premier League experience has left with them.
**Jack Grealish**’s season-long loan from Manchester City is certainly a coup and adjusts the balance somewhat. Moyes will fancy the challenge of trying to get the England international back to the levels he is capable of with a World Cup ahead next summer.
Carlos Alcaraz, who spent the second half of last season on loan, has signed permanently and the Argentinian midfielder has been joined by France under-21 forward Thierno Barry, from Villarreal, and former Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
More additions needed for Moyes to have fair crack
On the whole, though, Everton have lost out on a fair few targets: Francisco Conceição joined Juventus while three bids failed to extract Tyler Dibling from Southampton. Further signings will have to come before the end of the month.
Responsibility lies with the new leadership structure that includes Moyes. Angus Kinnear has joined from Leeds United to become Everton’s new CEO, while Nick Cox has been appointed as Technical Director and James Smith as Director of Scouting and Recruitment.
Everton may be getting themselves in shape away from the pitch but it is what Moyes and his players can conjure on it that will fundamentally determine whether the club can truly move on from troubled times and make headway up the table and beyond.
Ambitions have to be higher than a modest step up into mid-table. Thirty-one years have passed since their last trophy, and every season preview since 1995 has billed a cup run as an increasingly important target for the upcoming campaign.
European qualification should be an aim, especially when almost half the division will feature in continental action this season. One of the main reasons why Everton have missed out on numerous transfer targets is first-choice options being deterred by the lack of European football.
A more trustworthy attack will be key to any inroads made this term. Barry’s 11 La Liga goals secured Villarreal a fifth-placed finish in May, along with a return to the **Champions Leagu**e. Ensuring a productive relationship develops between the 6ft 5in striker and other creators, such as Iliman Ndiaye and Grealish, will be a priority for Moyes.
But one of the most pressing needs will be quickly establishing Hill Dickinson Stadium as a tough place for opponents to visit. Goodison Park had an aura with it’s compact stands, and although the new development is far more plush, it has been modelled to generate a similarly intimidating atmosphere.
When the ribbon is cut and the doors open properly on Sunday week, there will be time to take in the bricks and mortar that Everton will now call home, but then it’s down to the cast of players who will ultimately determine whether the dawn of a new era is here.