RBM Roundtable: Everton’s start to the 26/27 season

It's going to be a quiet couple of weeks for Everton with the first international break of the season being a double, which allows for national teams to play four games during the break.

The big news right now is that Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges filed against them. While this will not affect Everton directly, it will certainly have far-reaching ramifications in the world of football.

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Today though, the RBM team have been discussing Everton and how they've started the season. The Toffees are unbeaten after five games, with two wins and three draws so far. Their nine points puts them in seventh place in a cluster of four teams, with another couple just behind them.

With that in mind, for this edition of the roundtable, we asked the RBM writers the following questions –

What do you think of Everton's start to the season? Nine points in five games but no games against a top half team yet. How do you like the tactics and squad usage so far?

Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Geoff –

Quite surprised to be honest that they've held their own. Not over-concerned that we've not faced many from the top half (as WE are actually top half). I think we will struggle to score enough goals to maintain the start but the defence looks typically determined and driven so I don't think anyone like Arsenal or City is going to destroy us.

Tactically, as ever, it is a pragmatic approach. I was a little disappointed that the 4-1-4-1 we saw frequently in pre-season has given way to the 4-2-3-1 of last season. It may be that Moyes sees the 4-1-4-1 as too prone to counter-attack . On the plus side, with a Right Back (Ainsley Maitland-Niles) who is comfortable going forward, maybe it suits last season's system better? I'm glad a strong side has been picked for the Carabao Cup fixtures as it's a hugely important competition this year to try to get into Europe. I do hope there's more game time for Charly Alcaraz and Jake O'Brien as we need them to be ready, that's the only mild criticism of squad usage.

Pat –

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Everton's flying start to the season (and Thierno Barry's fine form) has somewhat erased the Folarin Balogun debacle on deadline day. Maitland-Niles' scorcher against Manchester United and otherwise stellar play at right-back has also given the Board (and Blues alike) a subtle sigh of relief.

To say we've been lucky so far would be a bit of an overstatement, but I think even David Moyes himself has to be shocked at the start we've had. While I still think Moyes lacks that killer instinct that Everton desperately need, let's see if he can get any more help in the January transfer window.

John –

For me, it's been a solid if not spectacular start and no one can grumble about being unbeaten and still in the league cup. I think that we expect to see late goals rescuing points but the week in which Everton beat both Wolves and Ipswich was a pleasant surprise as these have been the types of games where David Moyes has often floundered.

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Tactics have been what I'd expect from a Moyes team but his usage of subs is questionable and, despite it being a small squad, could rotate a bit more than he does, certainly during games.

Brian F –

The start to the season has been solid, with no losses on the board, but underwhelming in some aspects. Our defense seems to have the right mentality and should keep us comfortably midtable, but I don't see us scoring enough goals to continue to stay in the Top 6. The tactics and squad usage are obviously so limited that it's hard to argue for changes, though Barry is going to need to get a break at some point.

Kevin –

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You can only play the teams as and when they appear on the schedule. So far, Everton have won the two league games they'd have been expected to — against perennial victim Crystal Palace, and promotion side Ipswich Town, and drawn the rest; nine points from five constitutes a solid start to the campaign and – maybe as importantly – banishes the memory of last term's woeful finish.

Of the five opponents they've faced, Manchester United's Michael Carrick is the longest-serving manager, and the former Middlesbrough boss only took over January, so it could be argued that the Blues have enjoyed an advantage in terms of stability, with David Moyes currently the seventh-longest serving Premier League manager, which says something about turnover in the dugout in the modern English game. Throw in a couple of routine EFL Cup wins over varied Championship opposition, and things look pretty rosy.

The tactics are largely a function of the available players, with Moyes not being wedded to any particular approach. I get the feeling that the veteran would like to segue more towards a possession style, and away from the current transition-based system, but the continued absence of holding midfield specialist Christian Nørgaard has seen the Blues continue to be heavily reliant on forcing high turnovers, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall pushed up as high as he was last term, which I don't think plays into his strengths. I fear that we'll see some players dominating the available minutes, with others spending a lot of time looking in from the outside.

The use of Hayden Hackney in the last two games – out of position on the right for the last 15 minutes against Spurs, and then a 90th minute replacement for KDH last time out – is a concern. Carlos Alcaraz, who showed his worth as the game-winning substitute against Wolves in the cup, has only four minutes of league action, and has remained unused in the last three. With the small size of the squad, we could see it wear down quickly if the manager continues to overrely on trusted performers.

Calvin –

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Somehow the manager and players have channeled that deadline day debacle into a solid start to the season, with the Blues looking quite difficult to beat. They managed late equalizers in time added on in two of those games, which shows some resilience.

Moyes has been less rigid than usual with his squad selections, though the usage (or not) of Hayden Hackney has been puzzling given how impactful he has been when he sees the pitch.

While they have only conceded three goals so far, their expected goals conceded is higher at 7.20 (8th in the league), propped up by some astoundingly good goalkeeping from Jordan Pickford and equally astoundingly bad finishing from opponents, especially Crystal Palace in the season opener.

In front of goal their expected goals are at 8.35 (9th) though they've scored six. Thierno Barry is at our near the top in both xG and chances missed, but it is encouraging that he is getting into scoring areas.

Solid start, hopefully the manager is working on the week areas over this long break, given that tougher challenges await.

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