I can remember the last time I felt this excited about an Everton team. It was back in ‘83 one of my last trips to Goodison. It was a 1-0 win against Watford (I think) won by a goal from David Johnson.
But it was a run from Adrian Heath that had me saying to myself, “This going to be a very good team.”
Inchy picked up the ball just inside the half and proceeded to beat five defenders before firing wide. I was right as Howard’s gang become the best Everton team.
Now, the Premier League, Sky and FFP have changed football and probably for the worse. So, it would be a bit of stretch to expect Frank Lampard to have that kind of success. But for the first time in a long time, Everton have spent well in the window and gotten rid of some overpaid deadwood.
All of a sudden, there are good options in midfield with Onana, Gana, Garner and Tom Davis. Then there is Alex Iwobi, Lampard and his staff have found the driving force that others couldn’t find in the Nigerian. From being the subject of jokes and derision, he’s arguably the first name on the team sheet. You can get tired just watching him run. Frank has the players to play a midfield three.
Nathan Patterson has stepped up and filled the slot of a legend in Seamus Coleman. Seamus will get game time this season, Frank is too in-tune with the supporters to let a favourite waste away on the bench. But as somebody else said, “Patterson looks like a young Gary Stevens.”
Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko make it easy to forget Lucas Digne.
Anthony Gordon, like Davis, a Scouser born a Blue, had four goals last season, but already has two this season. Lampard believes Gordon has goals in him and that’s enough for me.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin returns to training this week and I’d like to see him and Neal Maupay play together as I can see DCL winning flicks for Maupay to run on and Maupay’s running taking defenders away. No badges for me, just 50-plus years of watching and writing about footy.
IMO: I feel this will be the season, we finally win the League Cup. Right now, I’m listening to a live Bruce Springsteen playlist and the joyous celebration that is 10th Avenue Freezeout! If Bruce were a footy fan, he’d be a Blue, because he understands passion.
I’ve been disappointed by many Merseyside derbies, despaired by even more, thrilled by occasional moments like Jags’ screamer in 2014, ecstatic over our 2021 win… but yesterday’s was the first one during my time as a fan that I’ve been thoroughly entertained. That was a quality game.