Everton secure huge win in Moyes's second game back

Anyway, great summary of a lovely Sunday.

And Alan, just for you, I've added a reference to the "Moyes sub(s)" which was already in my full match report at Evertonia.com where my long-form articles are now being published. Worth bookmarking for anyone who enjoys that kind of content and, of course, the podcast.

While it is a fantastic result, or rather first 70 minutes, we mustn't get too euphoric, this was a very depleted Spurs side with injuries, and not enjoying much in the way of recent results.

Why Doucoure gets picked, week-in & week-out, is beyond me, he adds absolutely nothing, and prevents someone who may, by stealing a berth and a shirt.

Not blowing any trumpets, but I said some time ago, even when results weren't going well, we have a nucleus of players, who, if selected and played in the correct roles, can achieve a lot more.

Add to this, we have 3 influential players on their day to return, Dwight McNeil, Tim Iroegbunam and James Garner, plus (hopefully) any additions before the window closes.

I was very disappointed that Armstrong didn't at least get on from the start in place of you know who, or even one of the sub slots.

Winning always breeds confidence, and I'm glad Calvert-Lewin has (again, hopefully) started doing what most of us believed he was capable of. Now whether that is with us or he gets a transfer before the window shuts. Assuming of course we get at the very least, a replacement.

Special mentions for Lindstrøm, O'Brien (first full start), Gana and Mangala, kept that engine room purring and of course Ndiaye. All played well, except Mykolenko and Doucoure. Keane and Young were poor and incorrect subs indeed.

Brighton away, next up, will be a sterner test and possibly a yardstick as to whether we have actually turned that second corner.

Not many games left at Goodison Park now, let's give the Grand Old Lady the winning send-off she deserves.

Also, we all want Richarlison back but it won't happen unless Levy gets his £50M back and we haven't got that! Move on.

Next week will be tough but then it's Leicester at home and we need to be winning games like that.

I don't know the content of Harrison's contract, but I am pretty sure I read somewhere that Leeds could call him back if he wasn't being played regularly. I can't remember where I read it or if it was clickbait tittle-tattle, but certainly worth exploring.

You say we have no money, again pretty sure the new owners have pledged support for Moyes before the window shuts. Granted, not an open chequebook, but if both of our loans can be re-negotiated, there could be room for a loan of Richarlison till the Summer.

It doesn't look good for Broja, I feel sorry for the lad as he looked to be kicking on from injuries, but realistically he won't play any further significant role for us. Mention of paying up his contract, again, if possible would allow another avenue for loans.

Afterwards, he talked about giving O'Brien his Premier League debut on the right side of defence in terms of something that often happens with centre-backs, ie, initially played at full-back when they make the first team. Made me wonder whether O'Brien gets game-time now in preparation for him moving centrally in the summer, replacing a departing Branthwaite.

I was also pleased to not see Young at right-back when he came on, some consolation for Patterson there. Thought Young did okay by the way, but hoping Patterson gets more chances under Mr Moyes.

I know we fell apart for 20 minutes at the end, but complaining about that would be churlish considering our performance for over an hour put the game out of sight.

Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin, and Lindstrøm all magnificent. Gueye also broke up play everywhere in the first half, often in Spurs territory. He'll be a big miss when his legs go.

Be interesting to see personnel and tactics for the next game. Feeling a lot more positive.

Moyes looks different this time around, more serious in his facial expressions and not as passionate as his previous tenure, but that may be because of underlying issues within the players and club and perhaps he isn't enjoying seeing Everton struggle towards the bottom of the table.

I am hoping that we get more good results quickly that will take the pressure off him and then he can put his own stamp on the team and enjoy being manager again, and that will reflect in team performances.

One away game against Brighton to prep for and then three home games and, with the ‘Old Lady‘ fired up again, I'm looking forward to some entertaining matches. Let's keep the momentum going and climb the league.

I'd love to imagine that he's returned with a determination to actually win something this time 'round. However, I doubt the intervening years have changed him that dramatically.

Good to see some of the players who weren't happening under Dyche are beginning to show something under the new regime. Still early days and a lot still to be done.

Not huge changes, but sufficient management tweaks to alter the whole feeling around the team. We will go to Brighton now believing that we can get a result rather than just possibly grinding out a turgid if hard-fought 0-0.

Only early doors, but the noise from the ground also spoke volumes. I reckon it will still be a roller coaster of a ride to season end but my mindset is a lot happier and more confident.

Just need Doucoure to pick up a "niggly hammy" whilst on the grass so we don't have to waste time and effort writing about him.

Also, back in the '80s, I seem to remember Kevin Ratcliffe starting left-back before moving into the centre...

My take on the Spurs revival in the second half is that we had pressed hard and high for over an hour and question marks have to be asked about our fitness levels.

For all of the talk about Dyche's coaching and the bleep tests, it was plain to see that Managala and Gana (understandable for his age) were blowing for tugs after an hour.

They had had their hands full with Doucoure being given license to get forward but it was starting to cost us as their passes became wayward and their running laboured.

We needed Armstrong on the hour in place of Doucoure, who worked tirelessly and, in fairness to him, his energy levels are through the roof and he is a nuisance to the opposition (and a bit of a nuisance to his colleagues!).

Those last 10 minutes reminded me of Bournemouth at home. The fragility of our mindset was there to see. Very worrying that even with a 3-goal lead, our confidence was still undermined.

All-in-all, it was a great result. No coach can get everything right but Moyes has already shown that he has more in his locker than Sean Dyche.

O'Brien was excellent, solid as a rock and surprisingly good on the ball, Moyes may have found his Tony Hibbert Mk II, when he came outSpurs started building on from the left; he shouldn't have left the field — bad sub from Moyes.

Tarkowski and Branthwaite were solid, imponent and very focused, made some brilliant last-gasp tackling, the problem is it shouldn't have been the last gasp.

Mykolenko: a left-back is needed; he is erratic, and does pretty much everything wrong.

Gueye covers a lot of ground but he doesn't have the physique to win duels; for a 34-year-old, he runs a lot and puts in the effort, a big thank you… but, at the end of the season, he must go.

Mangala was solid, he has what Gueye doesn't have, but is way more slow. A good passer and a consistent player.

Doucoure was excellent in pressing up the field but offers little, however, I was dropping my jaw when he had a couple of incursions on the right wing, he is surprisingly fast and it was a good and smart move from Moyes, I would like to see more of that.

Ndiaye was the Man of the Match, don't need to say nothing really, except you don't sub the best players on the pitch, Davey, what was wrong with you?

Lindstrøm put in a good performance, he isn't a pacey winger but delivers good crosses and passes the ball well, plays one-twos promptly and with ease, seems to be motivated by Moyes.

Calvert-Lewin should have scored at least one more goal, to settle his tally with the performance, always available, linking up well, gaining duels and although people criticize him, he always seems to be completely drained when he shoots, but he was brilliant yesterday.

Patterson was surprisingly good with the ball playing right-wing, if only for a few minutes; I would like to see what he can do there when properly trained in the position.

Keane offers nothing, except for the usual panicking.

Young did nothing except what he does; letting the opponents play around him.

Moyes got it nailed on pre-match, with the attitude, motivation and tactics, showed some innovation and made some smart moves. But his subs were really bad – you can't put Keane and Young on the pitch and expect a quiet ending; he clearly hasn't seen them play at Everton.

He wanted the 3-0 scoreline and expected experience to do the job… but it's the opposite: he should have stuck with Ndiaye and O'Brien to get a fourth goal.

I can't understand Young and Keane going on to the pitch unless Moyes didn't want to upset the more experienced players of the squad.

I assumed they were for Denis Law?

Just shows what a difference a good manager can make to individuals and the team in general: O'Brien hardly got a kick when Dyche was here, claiming he had to learn about playing in the Premier League. Well, he looked okay yesterday.

Obviously Moyes has seen Harrison is not good enough, and under Moyes, Lindstrom looks an entirely different player. We also had players closer to one another which made link up play so much easier, and letting Ndaiye take up a central role paid dividends.

Moyes has spoken about how he likes the look of Armstrong and I am sure at some point he will replace Doucoure who put a shift in yesterday and maybe playing a high press Moyes thought Doucoure would do a job which he did.

I would be surprised if we didn't bring in 2 or 3 players before this window closes, with maybe a couple of outgoings to help balance the books. Garner and Iroegbunam soon to get back to full fitness will help but at this time neither are good enough to replace Gana or Mangala but could be useful coming off the bench.

The mooted Nuamah interest along with Willian, seems to be dragging on, or, non-existent. Hope if we do get anyone in, they are not panic buys.

It is not often you can say Spurs are a poor side, but I suppose a club with their size of Premier League players registered injured it affects them, and shows the problem Everton have with a smaller squad replacing injured players.

Every point matters until we are safe, and it is nice to be able to enjoy the weekend.

I suggest this is further evidence that the team is more effective with less possession, playing on the counter against a team deploying a high line. More than likely we will continue to struggle to create chances against teams which sit deeper allowing our players to have the majority of possession.

One thing you cannot say about Doucoure is that he always runs further and longer than anyone else in the team. Now that was all he did, he should be running the 10k not playing football! He has mainly played in the #10 position and tried to get up along side Calvert-Lewin.

As Dyche made us play much deeper, Doucoure could never make up the distance to support Calvert-Lewin. His size gives him a presence in the middle of the park. And as some have commented he is a nuisance there when out of possession.

What happens when we find a real #10 Harrison (?) or McNeil returns will tell us what Moyes thinks of him. He also puts in a shift pressing the defence.

Dyche gave up on this and preferred a low block but Moyes definitely played a press yesterday and will probably continue to do especially when we play teams who build from the back. So for the moment he does a job for Moyes and will do until an alternative is found.

Firstly, the positivity from the players was a beautiful thing to see and that first half was as good as anything I've seen in recent years. It did the heart a lot of good.

Unfortunately I was reminded of the countless times Moyes used to throw on defender after defender to hold onto a lead. Just like the last 15 to 20 mins yesterday, that tactic has always invited the opposition to throw wave after wave of attack towards our goal. We were fortunate there wasn't another few minutes of added time, because we all knew what was on the cards.

Spurs are in free fall and we are hopefully on the up. Please Mr Moyes ditch that flawed method of defending a lead and it'll be a more enjoyable 2nd half to the season.

Regarding O'Brien, it's possible he was taken off because of the three times he blocked the ball, once with a back heel flip and twice just blocking the ball but not getting hold of it and each time the ball was left with a Spurs attacker running on to it and attacking the retreating Everton defence, luckily Spurs never made Everton pay for these lapses.

I understand the lad has hardly played any football since the season started so will not judge him on this game but wait and see how he plays against better teams than the injury ravaged Spurs team.

I suggest this is further evidence that the team is more effective with less possession, playing on the counter against a team deploying a high line. More than likely we will continue to struggle to create chances against teams which sit deeper allowing our players to have the majority of possession.

Derek and David, it wasn't just Dyche. Carlo and Frank put Doucoure in their starting 11 every game they could. The only one who didn't was that shit bucket Benitez, and he only lasted 22 games. So Doucoure must be bringing something that his managers want and need.

Plus we haven't won a game in 2½ years without him in the lineup, and only two games since he joined the club in 2020. Please do not ask me to explain this statistic, because I cannot, but it's true.

We pressed them which led to the goals. Simple! I wish it was.

As always goals and results change everything including perceptions and the narrative of games. A key aspect yesterday perhaps, was that we made 34 clearances versus the 21 made by Spurs. Defensively we were pretty solid whereas Spurs were wide open.

One possible explanation as to why our players ran out of steam in the final twenty minutes was that they had expended a lot of energy chasing down opponents high up the field as well as tracking back in numbers.

I think the lad plays very safe, plays the ball backwards and sideways as much as he plays it forwards. He is just starting his season now so I will give him plenty of time to impress.

But those three attempts at playing the ball could have been done a lot better, just flicking his boot at the ball three times, he could have attempted to boot the ball to safety which was easier than what he did — give the ball to the opposition.

He has the rest of the season to improve his fitness and prove that he will do okay in the first team — I hope he does.

Calvert-Lewin chance to make it 4, when he swivelled and shot narrowly wide, was a turning point of the game. That would put them to bed, and perhaps allow a more controlled way to kill off the game (although the bench isn't exactly swimming with options).

Credit to Dejan Kulusevski, his goal was a bit of class, and his crossing was very dangerous from the right. Not the quickest, but a good footballer nonetheless.

*Richarlison?

Edit; The we can play with 2 alternating false No.9s. (Holy Young and Vernon Batman! Maybe we can find another Tony Kay to replace the aging Gana Gueye too)

I have a theory that most football fans only notice what players do with the ball, rarely seeing what they do without it. Players don't have the ball for 98% of the game. So what's most important? Bit rhetorical that question. Both are clearly important, but without doing both well, a player is limited.

Doucoure is one of the most limited players on the ball I have ever seen at Goodison. His short passing, especially, is not of a professional standard. Without the ball, he is strong but does have a tendency to give away cheap fouls.

The one area where he did add some value - scoring goals - seems to have dissipated. When he was banging a few in, a lot of his faults were acceptable. But since his injury problems about 12 months ago, his name is rarely on the scoresheet. I would suggest that some of this was related to the increasingly turgid tactics and his/the teams inability to get into the final third.

Admitedly, he will never be 'the answer' to our No.10 problems. However, if we can play a bit further up pitch like on Sunday, he can hopefully chip in with a few valuable goals before the end of the season. Which would at least make his hopeless attempts at keeping possession slightly more palatable.

That level of ineptitude will undoubtedly cost points