A Moment of Hope in a New Home

After moving to a brand-new stadium this season, Everton sought to usher in a new era. Previous attempts at rebuilds all failed.

The return of David Moyes, and some key additions, promise to ensure that this time, it won’t be fool’s gold.

Finishing solidly mid-table last season, Everton gave Goodison Park its farewell. The opening of Hill Dickinson Stadium meant that the club would be forced to turn a new page.

While the Toffees failed to match their rivals Liverpool transfer-wise, which they could never do, they made some good moves. Bringing in Jack Grealish proved, so far, to be a stroke of genius. Opting to spend more than other midtable clubs, they also brought in some notable names, such as Tyler Dibling.

PHOTO: Everton/Facebook

The return of Moyes seemed a strange one for a club looking to usher in a new era. While the former Everton man showed signs of still having it with West Ham, it was still a brutal tenure. However, as this season continues to prove, West Ham’s owners may be more responsible for the mess at the club.

Making any sort of definitive claim one month into the season is useless.

Everton may fall off a cliff, but for now, they promise to be on a stable path once more.

Since Moyes left for Manchester United a decade ago, the club continuously tried to reinvent itself. Culminating in that confusing 2017-18 Everton squad that sunk all remaining hope.

Chaotic ownership moves heading into the 2020s continued to prove that Everton seemed like a club well past its time in the Prem. Essentially, the Toffees looked closer to spending a good amount of time in the Championship rather than being a mid-table fixture once again. However, Roma’s owners, The Friedkin Group, came in and helped steady the ship.

Roma, like Everton, spent a good part of the past decade in a bit of a tumultuous period. Always finishing as the bridesmaid’s bridesmaid, the club tried new projects, but failed. Despite a rough year, they seem more secure with a top-class transfer strategy.

With more money available in the Prem, the ownership group implemented a similar policy. Mixing young players with proven veterans available on the cheap.

The addition of Grealish remains the most obvious example, but bringing in Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille proved to be a solid transfer. Similar to Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struggled at a larger club and now, with more freedom, found a place in Moyes’ system. Complementing these new additions are a litany of proven Prem veterans from Michael Keane to Idrissa Gueye.

Everton bringing in a young crop of players fits another trend that they attempted to do in seasons past. Bringing in the talented, but raw, Tyler Dibling gives the team another foot in the future. Other slightly older young talents, like Jake O’Brien and Carlos Alcaraz, give the team enough of a foundation for these youngsters.

By finding a more stable ownership, Everton positioned themselves well for this new era.

They inaugurated their new stadium with the most complete squad that they’ve put out in years.

When the club announced that they were bringing in Moyes to salvage the club at the start of the year, it felt like a lateral move. Sean Dyche’s final year threatened to pull the club into the Championship, but Moyes seemed just to be a caretaker manager.

Hovering one point above one of the worst relegation classes in recent memory, Moyes needed to keep the club from sinking to save face. Moyes, too, arrived in Liverpool needing to salvage his own reputation. His tenure at West Ham oscillated from winning the Conference League to constant relegation battles.

However, to be fair to the Scotsman, it continues to seem that the issues at West Ham run deeper than any manager. With that said, Moyes did struggle to get the most out of a somewhat talented Hammers side.

Moyes navigated a tricky final half-season at Goodison, eventually finishing above the likes of Tottenham and United. Seeing this, and potentially a lack of other options, the club opted to bring the club icon back. While he likely plays as a stopgap until Everton finds its next long-term manager, Moyes at least can deliver a certain level of stability.

Playing a more traditional 4-2-3-1 formation, Moyes leans heavily on a more defensive backline. The decision to play a natural center back, O’Brien, shows his commitment to that. Even his rotations at the left back spot skew towards a defensive-minded fullback.

The need for that type of backline stems from the freedom given to the front four. With three creative players who live in the attack, balance is required to ensure a minimum level of defensive cover. This, in turn, creates a unique team that prefers to lay their strengths in their attack.

Returning to the club where he made his name when they needed it the most, Moyes helped save them from the ultimate embarrassment. Heading into a new stadium and era, the club opted to keep on the manager who helped remake their image.

While not surprising fans with a Champions League push, Everton remains one of the more intriguing teams thus far. A fun attack combined with a new stadium represents a breath of fresh air.

Everton spent years looking for a new start, and with this venue, the Toffees may have finally found it.