There is little more that Everton could have wished for from the opening weeks of the season. They sit top of the Premier League table with a perfect record, the only team to have played four matches and won them all, and have progressed into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
In their first seven games of the season, Everton have scored 24 goals and conceded eight, keeping two clean sheets in the process. There have also been two hat-tricks from Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The additions that the club brought in over the summer have settled well and become first-team regulars already, whilst the strength in depth that Everton now possess has been on show in their EFL Cup efforts.
Coleman setting standards
He may not grab the headlines but Everton’s captain has been superb in the early part of the season. His crosses from the right have always been inviting, as with his set-piece deliveries, but now with an in-form Calvert-Lewin, there is someone there to attack them. Coleman’s runs down the right and quick passes are an asset to the team.
Furthermore, the manner in which he rallies those in blue has rarely changed whilst he’s had the armband. He is uncompromising and keeps his teammates on their toes. It is a lot easier to encourage them when the team are playing well, but it is equally as difficult to constantly insist on maintaining proper standards and not allowing them to get ahead of themselves. There is no messing about under Coleman’s watch.
Mina and Keane effective as a pair
Coleman is part of an improving defence under Carlo Ancelotti. Yerry Mina and Michael Keane are very similar centre-backs with regards to their style of defending, as both are good in the air and strong in the tackle but neither are particularly adept at playing the ball out from the back. However, despite that, they have started the campaign in perfect harmony and blended into a hard-to-bypass unit.
Ben Godfrey has been brought in from Norwich City and will offer competition to the pair whilst the hugely promising pair of Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite are still to return from injury. Ancelotti has growing options at the back, which will be needed given the cramped nature of the fixture schedule.
Doucoure: understated but effective
It is in midfield, though, that Everton have seen the most dramatic of upturns. Allan has added steel and creativity to the midfield and is the plugger-of-gaps and intuitive passer that the club have been needing for sometime. However, Allan’s absence against Brighton & Hove Albion was hardly noticed because of another new-signing’s impact.
Abdoulaye Doucoure brings with him energy and drive. He is constantly trying to turn over possession and carry the team forward at pace. He is quite vocal too - another virtue that Everton have been lacking as of late. His time at Watford meant that he could quickly settle at Everton given his Premier League experience.
Noticeable strength in depth
The boost that the new signings and Ancelotti have brought is noticeable, even in the players whose development tailed off under the previous manager. Gylfi Sigurdsson in particular seems to thrive with better players around him, relishing Doucoure’s energy and James Rodriguez’s guile. Likewise, Tom Davies has been dependable when called upon.
Everton’s run to the last eight of the League Cup, which took place in the space of three weeks and added further momentum to their quick start out of the blocks, has allowed Ancelotti to give game time to players who may not otherwise see it. Niels Nkounkou is one such player. He was signed as a development player from Marseille but has seen three first-team appearances already while shining at full-back.
Pickford’s errors are only concern
If there is one area that blemishes Everton’s perfect start, then it is goalkeeper. Jordan Pickford can, on his day, be a good goalkeeper, but he is increasingly losing his concentration and experiencing aberrations. He looks agitated, nervy, and always seeks to pull off a wonder save to buff up his confidence.
Pickford’s confidence is lost when he gives goals away like he did against Brighton; his clumsy drop allowed them back in the game. Similarly away to Fleetwood Town in the third-round of the League Cup, his two mistakes led to goals and gave the home side hope even if Everton eventually pulled away.
Some teams will sense Pickford’s anxiety more than others and try to exploit them by sending in crosses and putting the ball under the crossbar. When his errors start costing Everton points, Ancelotti will have to consider starting Robin Olsen, signed on loan from AS Roma on deadline day, in his place.