David Moyes has already done something Sean Dyche failed to do as Everton undroppable emerges
Everton embarrassed Tottenham Hotspur with their first Premier League goals since Boxing Day as David Moyes picked up his first win since he returned to the club. Three goals in the first-half set the Blues on their way to an important 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first goal in 17 matches before Iliman Ndiaye added a second on the half-hour mark. Archie Gray then turned the ball into his own net on the stroke of half-time.
The victory moved the Blues four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. Next up is a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, but before then, our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the win over Spurs.
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Paul McParlan - Back to the Future!
Everton designated the match against Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday as 'Retro Day' and encouraged fans to wear their old Everton shirts to commemorate our years at Goodison Park. To choose to do this in the middle of a bitterly cold January seemed strange; most shirts could not be seen, buried beneath an avalanche of winter woollens and coats.
Might it not have been better to have held this event in April or May when the weather is warmer? It would have made a far more impressive visual experience. Nevertheless, the players and the manager seemed to have received the memo about turning the clock back!
After the lacklustre display against Aston Villa the previous Wednesday, the team seemed rejuvenated and regenerated, producing a display of vibrant attacking football that lifted spirits inside the stadium. There were echoes of David Moyes’ first appearance as Everton boss on 16 March 2002, when his arrival inspired The Blues to earn a crucial 2-1 home win over Fulham.
It was clear that Moyes needed to change something. He inherited a side that had not only forgotten how to win but also how to score a goal! Towards the end of the Villa game, he experimented with a back three, and although we lost, there were signs of improvement. If you can’t change the players, then the only alternative is to change the system, and Moyes quickly processed this. Sean Dyche never seemed to have a Plan B no matter how badly Plan A was going, and perhaps it was this lack of flexibility in his approach that cost him the job.
Against Tottenham Hotspur, Everton were on the front foot from the first minute, playing the ball forward at pace and putting the opposition under pressure. We imposed ourselves on the game, and the variation in our attacking play, powered by a swift interchange of passes, caused Spurs all manner of problems.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin thrived on the service he received, scoring a goal and nearly adding a second. It was so refreshing to see him playing in the opposition penalty area rather than chasing aimless long balls down the flanks. Jesper Lindstrom produced his best performance of the season and delivered a series of penetrating runs, passes, and crosses that created chances for others.
Jake O’Brien settled into the right back slot as though he had played there all his life. Orel Mangala and Idrissa Gana Gueye controlled the midfield, and Iliman Ndiaye absolutely revelled in the freedom he had been given by the manager.
We have some talented players, and Moyes might have found a way to bring the best out of them. David Moyes took us ‘Back to the Future’ with a display that brought back echoes of those days when we routinely qualified for Europe under his guidance.
And for our final season at Goodison, fans had a game that they could remember for all the right reasons! More retro days, please, David!
Alex McMonnies - In Moyes we trust
For 80 minutes, Sunday afternoon could not have gone much better for Everton. With ten minutes of normal time left to go, the performance and scoreline had been everything that Evertonians were hoping for when David Moyes returned to the managerial post.
A change in shape and mentality saw the Toffees well and truly overwhelm Ange Postecoglou's flailing Tottenham Hotspur outfit, and two excellent goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye, as well as an own goal from the unfortunate Archie Gray gave the Blues a 3-0 lead at half-time.
The only concerning aspect of the match was the closing stages in which a clearly fatigued Everton side allowed Tottenham back into the match, and goals from Dejan Kulusevski and the returning Richarlison meant the final result was only 3-2, which greatly flattered Spurs.
Everton's lack of depth was put on full display towards the end of the game with Ashley Young being forced to fill in at left midfield for the final few minutes. By my estimation, this is the fourth different position the 39-year-old has had to occupy in 18 months at Goodison Park, which is a testament to his professionalism, and the hugely unpopular signing is definitely among the front-runners for Everton's Player of the Season award at the current time.
The nervy ending certainly put a bit of a dampener on proceedings, but nevertheless, it still has to go down as the Blues' best game of the season so far by a considerable distance. There was an air of rejuvenation around the ground that originated from the players and quickly permeated the crowd, who finally got to enjoy an engaging Everton performance for the first time in a while.
One can only hope that this is less of a new manager bounce and more of an indication of what's to come in Moyes' second spell in charge of the club. Up next is a trip to face Brighton at the Amex, a ground where the Blues possess a more than respectable record in recent seasons.
A good result on Saturday would place Everton in a much more promising position ahead of a more favourable run of fixtures in February and March. In Moyes we trust, once again.