A crucial appointment

Rumours would circulate until it became ‘news’ on Merseyside that Farhad Moshiri had interviewed ex-Chelsea and Derby boss Frank Lampard and former Shanghai SIPG manager Vitor Pereira, and it had become apparent that the latter was to be appointed. This saw Everton fans Protest outside Goodison Park at the potential appointment, making it clear they wanted the modern management of Lampard as opposed to the Portuguese live-wire.

Moshiri made a U-turn, and Frank Lampard would be appointed on the 31st of January, tasked with a big job of keeping a sinking ship afloat. He began his tenure with an FA Cup thrashing of Brentford, beating them 4-1 and displayed some periods of brilliant football.

Early Everton under Lampard

Lampard’s first-season results were a mixed bag but were thankfully enough to see Everton’s survival confirmed in the most dramatic of fixtures against Crystal Palace. Goals from Micheal Keane, Richarlison and an 85’ winner from Dominic Calvert-Lewin saw the Toffees overturn a two-goal deficit at half-time.

The celebrations were jubilant, and it was clear to see that Lampard had invested everything into his squad and made them all believe they could succeed. Performances from Jordan Pickford and Richarlison in particular epitomised the determination Lampard had instilled in his players.

Despite staying up it was no secret last season was a disaster. Everton Football Club were at breaking point. It was time for a rebuild, which would include the stubbornness of the board shifting, and allowing Lampard time to make a team capable of getting the club to where it needs to be, and should be.

New season, new squad

Moving on to this season, Lampard was given the backing of the Everton board, and allowed himself and new Director of Football Kevin Thelwell the cash needed to improve the Everton team. The early sale of Richarlison was tough to take, but his transfer to Spurs saw the Toffees pick up 60m for their troubles, which was reinvested.

The early free transfer of veteran centre half James Tarkowski set the tone for Everton’s summer business. He and Connor Coady were signed to bolster Everton’s dismal defence from last season, particularly important due to how injury prone Yerry Mina is.

Everton also signed Ruben Vinagre on loan to provide back up to January signing Vitalii Mykolenko, whilst another January signing Nathan Patterson felt as much like a new signing as anyone else, as he returned from injury to take the baton from club captain Seamus Coleman.

Dwight McNeil was signed for relatively cheap from Burnley following their relegation to provide another forward option. Despite his severe lack of goals and assists registered last season, as he picked up just one goal contribution, his underlying stats are very impressive and is extremely hardworking too, plus he is still yet to achieve his full potential. 

Highly exciting young midfielder Amadou Onana was signed from Lille for a fee that will eventually rise to 31m. Everton beat West Ham to his signature, with the Blues hijacking the deal last minute, as Onana was extremely keen to come play for Everton over the hammers. 

Shortly before deadline day, Neal Maupay would sign from Brighton for just 10m, an impressive acquisition given his proven goalscoring ability in the Premier League and the blues were desperate for any sort of striker, but in particular for one of his elk and playing style – especially after Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered an injury In pre-season.

The signing of Neal Maupay allows Everton to shift between different formations, something they were unable to do last season given the only forward available for large amounts of the season was Salomon Rondon, a very static forward. Maupay is also a brilliant presser, and has a knack for scoring important goals, even if he hasn't been extremely prolific since signing for Brighton. 

Deadline day saw Everton welcome home former midfielder and fan favourite Idrissa Gueye from PSG for just 2m, providing much needed quality in midfield after some outgoings and a general lack of talent in said position. James Garner also signed for a snip at 8m from Manchester United following successful loan spells at Watford and then Nottingham Forest, helping them gain promotion to the Premier League last season.

Perhaps as important as any of the signings made, Everton managed to clear out lots of dead wood from the squad, including shipping out Jean-Phillipe Gbamin and Andre Gomes on loan, unlikely to return to Everton though due to the expiry of their contracts. Dele also left on loan with an option-to-buy to Besiktas, and it is likely the Turkish club will exercise this. Cenk Tosun also left for the Turkish side.

Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fabian Delph also left at the end of their contracts, all-in-all, seeing Everton save about 600k a week in wages, for years the club has needed a clear-out and it has finally commenced. Reports suggest that Everton also tried to offload Brazilian midfielder Allan, but couldn't find a suitor. He has rarely featured since the departure of Carlo Ancelotti. 

This season so far

Whilst Everton are yet to win a game this Premier League season, for anyone who watches Everton it is clear to see there has been drastic improvement, especially compared to the team Lampard inherited from his predecessor Rafa Benitez. The media love to spin the narrative that Everton have either not improved at all or got worse since the Englishman took over, but such opinions dumbfound Evertonians.

The most recent result, a draw to title chasing rivals Liverpool, greatly present the improvements in both the Everton team, and the Everton mentality. Lampard’s players refused to be beaten. A magnificent showing from England number one Jordan Pickford saw him win man of the match, but don’t let this trick you into thinking Everton spend the game under the cosh.

The blues had the best share of the game’s chances, as Tom Davies hit the post and debutant Neal Maupay was denied a goal on his first outing by an Alisson save. Everton thought they had scored the winner when Conor Coady tapped home from close range, but it was chalked off by VAR.

The game also saw tremendous showings from youngsters Nathan Patterson and Amadou Onana, both giving almost flawless performances despite being just 20 and 21 respectively. The pair showed the tenacity and determination required to play in a heated derby and Patterson in particular set the tone for his team-mates battling and besting both Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez in the early exchanges.

A look into the future

It was the youth which typified Everton's derby day performance, foreshadowing what Lampard and Thelwell aim to achieve in the coming years. The blues have a brilliant young core, Onana, Patterson, Mykolenko, Anthony Gordon and Garner are all aged 23 or under, as well as players such as Ellis Simms and Lewis Warrington looking very promising are out on loan. 

It really does feel as if Everton have started afresh under Frank Lampard, and the general consensus on the blue half of Merseyside is that the club are on an upward trajectory. It won't be long until this hard-working team pick up their first three points.