ECHO writers Joe Thomas, Chris Beesley and Connor O’Neill offer their thoughts in the second instalment of our two-part review of Everton's season
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates his goal at Sunderland while (inset) Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is congratulated on his goal at Wolves by Jack Grealish and Idrissa Gueye plus Jarrad Branthwaite suffers his season-ending injury against Liverpool
Everton's Iliman Ndiaye celebrates his goal at Sunderland while (inset) Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is congratulated on his goal at Wolves by Jack Grealish and Idrissa Gueye plus Jarrad Branthwaite suffers his season-ending injury against Liverpool
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Everton have completed the 2025/26 campaign, their historic first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium and members of the ECHO sportsdesk are offering their thoughts on proceedings with a review of Everton’s season.
A two-part special sees Joe Thomas, Chris Beesley and Connor O’Neill give their conclusions on the Blues’ offerings from a landmark year. Here’s the second instalment…
What was your goal of the season?
JT: My favourite was Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s strike at Wolves at the end of August. The lofted pass from Jack Grealish and the lethal, pure half volley from Dewsbury-Hall was sublime.
I was right behind the strike and remember saying: “Oh my God” to myself as it went in. Everton, inspired by the guile and intricacy of Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye were brilliant going forward that afternoon – and brilliant in a way I had not seen Everton excel in for so long.
The cuteness and intelligence and comfort with the ball on the edge of the box was glorious and it felt at that early stage of the campaign that Everton had evolved as a result of the most high-profile summer signings.
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CB: Iliman Ndiaye away to Sunderland.
I was fortunate enough to witness another incredible, individual strike from an Everton player up in the North East when Ross Barkley netted in the 3-0 win at Newcastle United in 2014 and when the ECHO produced an article in 2019 on the Blues’ goal of the decade it was my choice (David Prentice and Phil Kirkbride both went for Romelu Lukaku at home to Chelsea in the FA Cup while Adam Jones picked Phil Jagielka’s last-gasp equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield).
But for footballing genius, Ndiaye’s effort at the Stadium of Light was up there with Barkley’s in that there are few other players, especially in the Everton team, who I think could have scored it. Picking up the ball by the touchline on the right wing, the Senegal international proved unstoppable for no fewer than four Sunderland defenders before leaving keeper Robin Roefs flat-footed by his expert left-foot finish, perfectly planted into the top corner.
At that moment in time, the Blues looked a class apart from the Black Cats but unfortunately that was not proven to be the case in either the rest of this match or their chastening subsequent brace of encounters.
CON: This is an easy one, although a shoutout to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for his goal away to Manchester United, but the goal of the season has to go to Iliman Ndiaye for his effort against Chelsea.
Not only was it another fine piece of brilliance from Ndiaye, but the goal also blew the roof off Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Who is your Everton player of the season?
JT: James Garner was a worthy winner of the official awards and I think his emergence this year has been a real highlight. I was not sure whether he would survive the summer rebuild but he did so and has used the opportunity to flourish into an England international who should be heading to the World Cup.
He has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League this season and his performances in games like the wins at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United were exceptional. He played well wherever he was asked to fill in too, this season being another reminder of his versatility and signing Garner to a new deal was an important move in January.
CB: While Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was a breath of fresh air following his £25million move from Chelsea in August, getting from the start what it means to be an Everton player – both on and off the pitch – and adding a new dimension to their play with his goal output from midfield, James Garner was the worthy choice for the double gong of Everton Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.
As this correspondent has gone on record as stating on previous occasions, Garner’s displays went up a couple of levels this season and the night when he ran the show at the City Ground in a 2-0 win in December when the Blues were down to the bare bones proved just how good he can be. Other than Jarrad Branthwaite, who only made seven starts and Adam Aznou who had a solitary substitute appearance (both averaging 7), the Birkenhead-born star had the highest average score of anyone in the squad when it came to the ECHO player ratings (6.93) and he was full value for both his first England caps and new, improved contract.
Combining silk and steel in the engine room, he helped the team on several occasions by switching to full-back – on both sides, scoring in Everton’s first competitive game at Hill Dickinson when deployed on the left – and was the team’s most creative outlet when it came to picking out team-mates with deliveries from wide or dead-ball situations.
CON: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He’s been outstanding and was a big miss when he got injured in December.
Who was the biggest disappointment for you?
JT: This isn’t a slight on the player at all but the biggest disappointment for me was that Jarrad Branthwaite had so much of his season taken away from him through injury. He means so much to this team and I think Everton would be in Europe had he been consistently available.
I also think he would be heading to the World Cup. I really hope he gets a full pre-season and is able to push on next year because his presence is a game-changer for this side.
CB: It goes without saying that the obvious answer is Everton’s most expensive signing of last summer, Tyler Dibling, the prospect who Southampton had slapped a £100million price tag on earlier in the year and were still asking £50million for just weeks before the 2025/26 season started.
Even though the Blues prised him away from St Mary’s for around £35million plus add ons in the end, given the glowing endorsement Dibling was given by former Saints boss Russell Martin who declared: “he has something I’ve not seen in a British player in a long time,” and “he is the most talented player I’ve ever seen, that I’ve worked with,” (pointing out he’d coached a young Harry Kane and James Maddison), we must wonder where all that ability is hiding.
Nobody expected Dibling to only play the equivalent of less than six full matches all season (just 513 minutes) but on the time he did have on the pitch, he posted the lowest average score for player ratings of anyone in the squad who played more than once. Hopefully for everyone’s sake he can come good with a full Everton pre-season behind him but if not, he’s on course to become David Moyes’ biggest Blues flop since Per Kroldrup.
Also, after his initial promise on loan, Charly Alcaraz failed to kick on. While he’s another one who didn’t get a lot of minutes, similarly, when he was on the pitch, he often underwhelmed and displayed some questionable decision-making at times.
CON: Firstly, while the finger perhaps can’t just be pointed at him, there is no doubting that Tyler Dibling’s move to Everton just hasn’t worked out. Dibling has struggled from the outset. When handed opportunities, he simply hasn’t taken them, and too many times he has been a passenger in games. As things stand, you can’t help but feel this transfer isn’t going to work out, but a break over the summer could do Dibling the world of good. Coming back for pre-season training with a clean slate for the new season, we could see the Tyler Dibling we all would have hoped to see when he arrived last summer.
However, with only 17 appearances to his name this campaign, the 20-year-old has had a transitional season spent largely in the wilderness, which is disappointing to say the least.