James Garner grabbing his chance to be the main man

A peek behind the curtain. The original plan for this feature was to be a look at which of Everton’s fringe players have taken their chances to impress over the past month, given the mountainous list of absences that David Moyes is having to grapple with.

But then, Everton pulled off an Everton. Moyes pulled off a Moyes. They went and beat high-flying Aston Villa 1-0 on Sunday.

It marked Everton’s first Premier League victory at Villa Park since March 2016, and their 10th away win in the top flight since Moyes took charge in January last year — it is a tally of away victories that only Arsenal can match in that time.

And there was one player who stood out, even in a superb team performance.

And so, a change of tact (and that feature mentioned will follow later this week), because James Garner’s display, and James Garner’s form, deserves a piece of its own.

By the end of last season, this writer feels it would be fair to say that Garner was at a crossroads in his Everton career.

Garner had been a regular under Sean Dyche and had retained his place under Moyes, but there were times in the second half of last season when it seemed the Scot was left wanting much more from the former Manchester United midfielder.

There were flashes of Garner’s quality — an inch-perfect throughball to put Beto through against Leicester City springs to mind — but there were plenty of instances of him not quite stamping his authority on proceedings.

Yet ever since pre-season, when Garner played as the anchor in a three-man midfield against Manchester United in the United States, the 24-year-old has gradually developed into one of Everton’s key players. And in the last couple of months, he has arguably been the key player.

Garner has taken up the mantle in the absence of Idrissa Gueye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Even if Everton’s results have dipped without their best outfielders, Garner’s performances have remained top-level.

His display at Nottingham Forest, where he scored and provided an assist, was outstanding, and he was probably the only Everton outfielder to maintain his high standards across a punishing week in which the Toffees failed to win home games against Brentford, Wolves and Sunderland, going out of the FA Cup in the process.

Garner did miss a penalty in the shootout loss to Sunderland, but he had previously scored a spot-kick to send that tie to extra time. And at Villa Park, Garner showed no signs that the miss had knocked his confidence.

Moyes had only three fit midfielders to choose from, and two of those — Merlin Rohl and Harrison Armstrong, aged 23 and 18 (now 19, having celebrated his birthday on Monday), respectively — were making just their second Premier League starts.

The onus, then, was very much on Garner, up against a Villa midfield full of quality with the likes of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans.

He duly delivered.

Garner not only marshalled his more inexperienced colleagues brilliantly, but in front of watching England boss Thomas Tuchel, he bossed the middle of the park. 

He ranked first in the game for touches (73), interceptions (four), recoveries (14), duels won (nine), tackles attempted (seven) and tackles won (four).

The maturity of Garner’s displays as of late has been particularly impressive. It was a maturity that was on show as he went 10 games without receiving his fifth booking of the season, in order to avoid a ban, between Everton facing Sunderland on November 3rd and Forest on December 30th.

Garner did pick up that yellow card on Sunday, and there was one moment not long after, when he put his hands on Rogers’ back during a chase, that Evertonian hearts may well have been in mouths. It would have been harsh, and the officials elected it was not worthy of another caution, but we have seen plenty of marginal calls go against Moyes’ men this term.

Then again, if not for the officials deeming that Armstrong was somehow interfering with play from an offside position, Garner would have had an assist when he teed up Jake O’Brien with a teasing cross in the first half.

As it was, Thierno Barry was Everton’s matchwinner, but Garner was the one getting the plaudits — and the Player of the Match award — at full-time.

Moyes has consistently talked up Garner’s chances of making England’s World Cup, and in this kind of form, he is surely in line for a call-up from Tuchel come March.

Talks, meanwhile, are on over a new contract, as Everton aim to tie Garner down. He is proving he is more than worth the investment.

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