Ahead of Wolves’ second home game of the season, Jack Johnson speaks to John Barlow from The Toffee Blues to get the lowdown on this weekend’s opponents.
1. With a loss to Leeds and a win against Brighton to open the season for Everton, what are your thoughts on Everton’s early results?
I think it has obviously been a pretty mixed bag. Leeds was a very poor performance overall, with a controversial penalty being the difference.
Brighton again, it wasn’t a pretty performance, but our quality in our attack shone through and proved to be the difference.
Barry is a player who has a lot of potential, and you can see that already when he has been on the pitch; Thierry Henry was full of praise for his Brighton performance.
Overall, I think his runs off the ball are a lot better than Beto I just think he needs to work on his hold-up play and battling for the ball.
Beto, when playing this season, has looked his usual strong self when holding the ball up, but he doesn’t look like he has a clue what to do with it. Barry and Beto will both be fighting for that starting role this season.
Strand Larsen is the obvious answer here. Hwang Hee-chan, I always feel, has a good performance against us also.
Well, Chermiti looks set to depart on loan within the coming days, with Rangers looking the most likely side to sign him. Chermiti hasn’t had the easiest of times at Everton, with last season being filled with injury.
I would say this season is make-or-break for him in terms of his Everton future. If his loan at Rangers goes poorly, I suspect Everton will look to try to move him on permanently.
With so many departures at the end of last season, leaving us with around 15 first-team players, it was important this summer to bulk out the squad, and I would say so far, the squad is looking a lot healthier and better. The signings of Grealish and Dibling add that extra quality on the wings that we have been lacking, as Iliman Ndiaye can’t do it all himself.
Thierno Barry is a very raw striker but has a high ceiling. Adam Aznou is a young prospect at left back who needs time to grow. Mark Travers is a very steady backup to Jordan Pickford, while the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, which was done out of nowhere and in days I feel could be our signing of the Summer.
We still need to add some more players to the squad, with right back and another central midfielder being so important. Jake O’Brien, who has been our makeshift right back since Moyes came in, has done an excellent job, but a proper right back would really improve the team overall.
When it started going wrong under Dyche early last season, I knew that Moyes would be our safest route to not just league safety but also progressing up the table. Moyes did a fantastic job last season, pulling us away from danger, and he has finally given Everton fans hope again after a turbulent few years fighting relegation.
I suspect it will be this:
Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Garner, Idrissa Gueye; Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto
I am going for a 2-1 win for Everton. I think Everton’s wingers can be the key to Everton picking up the 3 points, and Moyes’ record away from home since his return has been impressive. Good luck for the rest of the season.
