Everton’s great start to the season in numbers

Yes – I’ve been to four – two of which I paid the extra dosh in Village. I’ve also got one for the Brentford game, again in the posh seats. I usually only do two or three home games due to distance but I’m loving this new stadium, new Everton experience. If anyone hasn’t been yet, treat yourselves — it’s wonderful.

I think the football we’re playing now is light-years ahead of this time last year. I went to the home game v Fulham last season and we barely crossed the half-way line. Now we’re attacking and fluid.

Talking about Brentford, then it was the Brentford game that done it for me with regards Sean Dyche, Mark, when they unfortunately went down to 10 men just before half-time at Goodison Park last season.

Moyes has got us playing better and not just because he’s now got some better footballers — the team also picked up when he came in last season.

He gets a lot of credit (nothing wrong with this) but one thing that is rarely mentioned is that, after a calamitous start, when we were letting in goals for fun, Dyche had really tightened us up by the time he departed and Everton were actually getting a lot of praise from people within the game or their defensive discipline.

I thought that Brentford game really exposed Dyche and highlighted how much it looked like he was only concentrating on the defensive side of the game; something Moyes has slowly begun to rectify since his appointment.

I’m sorry to sound like Victor Meldrew but these articles comparing to last season are pretty pointless in my view. Some of the points raised about our defensive record being the best for 12 years are interesting and have validity.

However, we have had a good defensive record generally over the last few years and we have to be careful not to make widespread generalisations about a particular point in time especially after a couple of clean sheets.

Last season, when Dyche was at his lowest ebb, we had only conceded 5 more goals and we only conceded 2 more goals the season before at this juncture. In both campaigns, we had conceded most of the goals in August and actually conceded less for the next 3 months than this time around. Also. in both seasons. we had a very frugal December after this point in time.

I know I infuriate some readers but it is important to give a dose of reality that we aren’t as good as many of these articles suggest. Of course we are all delighted to see us sitting comfortably in 7th position and it’s great to be able to look at Everton in the top half again but everything is fluid and only a couple of weeks ago we were sitting 14th.

There are also a lot of stats to back up my claim that all isn’t as rosy as we think. In terms of this season, we are 18th in the league for Shots On Target, 15th for Goals Scored, and equally poor on Chances Created.

Expected Goals (which I don’t believe in) we are 12th but interestingly we are only 13th in Big Chances Created.

What this tells us is that the problem is not just our strikers and overall our goal return is reflective of our chances creation. No striker would thrive playing for us this season and hopefully the signs against Fulham and Forest suggest that we are turning a corner in this regard.

Interestingly we are 8th in terms of Touches In The Opposition Box which means we are progressing to a point but Grealish’s slide passes probably explain why we aren’t creating many opportunities as we aren’t getting in behind teams enough. Against Fulham, when we had Garner and Mykolenko attacking from both sides, we were a lot more dangerous than we had been.

The fact we are 15th in the league for Crosses and 15th for Possession further underlines this theory.

Certainly we can be hopeful that things are clearly on the turn but I don’t think we are in Dreamland just yet. Bah humbug.!!

Tony, you’re right — we were a lot harder to break down under Dyche, much better drilled at the back to my uneducated eyes.

But ours seems to have found a good balance between defence and attack. That Fulham game I mentioned, I was in the Park End, the goal that Everton were “attacking” first half.

From the kick-off we played backwards and sideways and even when a goal down we seemed to be playing for a 0-1. I asked the guy next to me what he thought the game plan was and he said he hadn’t a clue. It was like we were set up for a narrow defeat.

The nearest I’ve seen since, under Moyes, was the second half at Sunderland (I won’t cite the Man Utd game as that was needed), but even then Sunderland pushed us back rather than us sitting back.

We look a much better footballing team all round these days and I’m looking forward to games again, rather than just the ale house before and after.

Looking forward to the game is what it’s all about, Mark.

This is something that I don’t think many, if any, Evertonians were doing by the end of Sean Dyche’s reign.

“Everton have let in 17 goals so far this season – the joint fifth-best record in the league. It is also their joint fewest at this stage of the season across the past 12 campaigns.“

So basically since Moyes was last here.

Not really that impressed by people coming on here to boast about being at 4 matches. There are around 50,000 Evertonians who have been to them all. They support Everton. Not Davey Moyes. So do the tens of thousands on the waiting list for season tickets.

These people were here before Moyes and they will still be here when he’s gone. They won’t be fooled by articles such as this because they saw the dreadful draws against Villa and West Ham. They were very happy that we beat Palace, even if it was totally against the run of play, but some still have sleepless nights thinking about the fearful hidings we took from Spurs and Newcastle.

I’m sick of listening to triumphant foolishness about Moyes having a better record than Sean Dyche. Why can’t somebody put up a sensible article???

“Evertons great start to the season in numbers”??? Fuck me. Which numbers?

Davey Moyes did not take over a team in the Bottom 3. He did not have to contend with massive points deductions. He isn’t having to coax performances out of players fearing for their future. His bosses have not abandoned him…

He is not managing a club with financial ruin, possible extinction hanging over its head. The fact is (and it is a fact), compared to Sean Dyche, he is living a very well paid life of Riley.

Raise the bar, for fuck’s sake. We should be demanding a little more than an improvement on a predecessor who had his spirit ground into the dust trying to keep the worst-run football club in the world afloat.

“boast about being at 4 matches”

FFS Darren – give it a rest won’t you?

Why would you interpret that as “boasting”

this is why managers get paid the big bucks. It aint easy, you can take over a basket case and have them the most improved team in the league, but there will always be fans like Darren crying ‘Raise the Bar, FFS!’. And long may it continue. We all come at Everton with our own expectations.

I reckon we should all undergo a test, and confirm the month they finally accepted that Gary Lineker was a good signing, I reckon Darren you were late March? That way we can understand the tests we are applying to the team.

I do appreciate the job Dyche did as manager, yes I reckon he just about saved the club from oblivion, more than anyone else. And probably his finest act was also recognising when he’d come to the end of the road. as manager, there have also been some pretty hair raising moments, Frank Lampard’s beanie hat, Koeman, Allardyce, I am though feeling very optimistic these days, notwithstanding the defeats, just watching Grealish, KDH and Ndiaye with Garner behind them. We suddenly out of nowhere are a good side. I’ll happily clap that.

Kevin #13

I don’t think managers are paid the big bucks for that.

If the team are climbing the table they won’t give a fuck about what the “Darren’s” think (no offence Darren) but Mark… more motivated to travel a distance to watch Everton and then boast about it on ToffeeWeb… now there is potential.

Apologies Mark Murphy

I should have put “boast”

Moyes has created progress in how we attack or possess without getting cut to shreds when a turnover occurs. Dyche did mot have two outlets but I think he was limited in how little he trusted his players and also in his own creativity. Ultimately, that was a Dyche job back then that no one else wanted.

Could Moyes have crafted something more aesthetically pleasing with the squad Dyche had? I’m not so sure but that really isn’t the point. Moyes has improved enough of Dyche’s players to get credit from me.

Some might say; ‘despite Moyes, not because of him’ – but I couldn’t possibly comment.

Nah, fairplay to him, for a cautious, dour, dithering, KITAP1 merchant he’s doing OK – Up to now.

Compared to this time last year when we would’ve given an arm and a leg to be worrying if 7th was sustainable and God forbid we lose the odd game and drop down to 12th.

Next step is to prove the Thursday Cup win…somewhat on the back of Rice’s excellent form?…was not a fluke.

Can Moyes, KDH, NDaiye, Grealish and others win the FA Cup.

Let’s see how we manage during AFCON.

I’m not expecting a January transfer splurge (singular or pural) but might not Armstrong be just like a new signing?

Can Barry start knocking them in,1, 2, 3. like his name sake Len – will he be able to ‘shoulder’ the burden?

For the answers to these and other exciting questions tune in to the next thrilling episode of ‘The Regents Road Ramblers’ – an every day story of Dockside folk.

*Cue theme tune ‘Barwick Green’…

Plays 4 bars…

Oops…

Scratching needle on record sound

*Fades in correct Z Cars theme.

“Boast” and “triumphant”… I’m sorry to see you setting up your exaggerative straw men again, Darren. I thought you’d left that nasty habit behind.

Don’t you think people should be able respond to your query about number of games attended without being derided as boastful, or compliment the manager’s record without being falsely characterized as triumphant?

Isn’t it OK for us to enjoy the fact that we’re not in a relegation battle for the first time in five years? Must we be irate that there’s no title challenge yet?

The sneering simply isn’t fair.