Michael Kenrick 22/08/2026 16comments  |  Jump to last

Everton kick off the new Premier League season at Hill Dickinson Stadium this afternoon against Crystal Palace,  still without a new right-back and Christian Norgaard out injured.

Optimism for the new season has to be tempered by some of the continuing realities that drag us down, the biggest being that David Moyes is in denial over last season being a failure -- no one told him we were supposed to try and get into Europe!

So can he be expected to turn over a new leaf, play forward attacking football, give decent playing time to the prodigious young talent he has on the books, try and actually win football games??? Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Branthwaite, Rohl, Armstrong, Hackney and George will hopefully all prove to be good starting choices for this opening fixture, although Hackney is the only new signing. Brennabn Johnson is on the bench where James Garner is fit enough to be named also after recovering from his hernia operation, but Christian Norgaard's 'minor' muscle injury continues to prevent him from starting his Everton playing career.

Everton: Pickford; Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Rohl; Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Hackney; George, Barry, Ndiaye.

Subs: Travers, Patterson, Keane, O'Brien, Garner, Alcaraz,  Dibling, Johnson, Beto. 

 

Reader Comments (16)

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Derek Powell
1 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:47:29
He's got Rohl at right-back.
Rocco Bugaj
2 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:52:00
Derek, I was just about to write that. I'm from Germany and I've known [about] Röhl for a while.

Defensively, he lacks physicality and experience. Hopefully, a real right-back is still in-coming.
Kevin Molloy
3 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:53:19
Hackney, Armstrong and George all play.
Mike Powell
4 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:55:40
COME ON YOU BLUES
Kevin Naylor
5 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:56:07
Live forum link is an old one.
Jack Convery
6 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:57:32
That's what Big Jake gets for letting it be known that he doesn't want to play right-back.
Tony Hughes
7 Posted 22/08/2026 at 13:58:40
Rohl at right-back.
Alan McGuffog
8 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:02:42
And because Tarkowski is captain, he gets the nod ahead of O'Brien?

What a manager!
Tony Hughes
9 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:03:49
Probably the best available option at RB or Moyes making a point to the invisible men
David Harvey
10 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:07:05
Possible 443...I like..Rhol is wasted as a RB
Kevin Molloy
11 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:07:37
We'll be fine as long as we don't lose the ball.

I find it strange Michael that last season was the first season deemed a 'failure' given it was the first season in about 8 years that we were never at any point threatened with relegation.

In fact we were heading for the Champions League with 7 games to go. I don't blame Moyes for saying 'hang on, I'm the failure'?

What about the stingy owners, who still haven't invested in the defence for a thousand years.

Yes, we bottled the last 7 games, but that don'ts mean he's not been the best manager here for a decade. Why should he be the only one called out?

I'd love to see how Eddie Howe would have managed playing with Keane and Tarkowski all last season, and Mykolenko and O'Brien. Somehow I doubt we'd have been Top 6.
Edward Rogers
12 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:18:54
Garner on the bench ????
Ian Bennett
13 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:27:58
Collective failure across the players, manager and board. No one person was responsible for it, but they all need to own it and ensure it doesn't repeat again.
Ajay Gopal
14 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:28:31
I like this selection, almost my prediction but George has come in instead of Dibling - no complaints from me. I can understand why Moyes preferred Tarkowski to O’Brien. Jarrad and Jake have hardly played together as a CB pair, and Jarrad himself is coming back from an injury. Slightly nervous about this one, mainly because of their manager, who is supposed to be tactically astute. But COYB!
Billy Shears
15 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:31:50
Same as last season, methinks!...2-1 Blues 💙
Nicolas Piñon
16 Posted 22/08/2026 at 14:32:57
Why no palace formation?

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