Is it time for Garner to dethrone Gana?
We all know what Idrissa Gueye does well; he first demonstrated it for Everton on a regular basis seven years ago. However, shooting has never been his strong suit, and there was a sadly predictable outcome when an inviting chance on the outskirts of the Luton Town area came his way while the game was still goalless.
The Senegalese international has long been one of the best in the business when it comes to fighting fires in front of his own defense and snuffing out danger in the engine room, and the Blues activating his £7.1million release clause following Aston Villa’s relegation in 2016 was one of the most astute deals that their first director of football Steve Walsh pulled off.
Such was his effectiveness in the role that Eric Cantona once dismissed as ‘the water carrier’ when Didier Deschamps filled it but was elevated to an art form by N’Golo Kante, another of Walsh’s inspired acquisitions at previous club Leicester City, that he earned a move to Paris Saint-Germain where he was tasked with providing a’minder’ role for the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar and others.
VERDICT: Everton’s biggest issue was revealed after 65 minutes as the plot failed to unfold.
RATINGS: Everton players rate Young and five others poorly in a humiliating defeat at the hands of Luton Town.
Gueye was barely prolific during his first stay at Goodison Park, scoring four times in 108 appearances, but we haven’t seen anything like that this time around, in a struggling side. He has now failed to score in 43 consecutive games, and there were moans of displeasure when an attractive chance from the edge of the area fell his way with the game still scoreless, only for his effort to fly off target.
Gueye did not return for the second half as Everton chased the game, as Jack Harrison came on to play down the right wing and James Garner moved into his preferred place in central midfield. Given that, at 22, he presents a considerably longer-term possibility than his near namesake ‘Gana,’ who turns 34 this week, many may have wondered why he wasn’t in from the start.
Garner showed his two-footedness and calmness to score his first Blues goal at Aston Villa on Wednesday, and he came close again here before hitting the crossbar. They have different skills in similar parts of the pitch, but may we soon witness a change of guard with a player who has been a regular in the side?
Calvert-Lewin demonstrates his predatory impulses.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has not scored in three consecutive matches since before his two-year injury misery began, so on what was another harrowing afternoon for Evertonians at Goodison Park, the extended scoring streak of their number nine brings some solace.
Calvert-Lewin struck against Southampton, Leeds United, and Brighton & Hove Albion at the opening of the 2021/22 season, with supporters returning in force for the first time since the coronavirus epidemic… Then came the quadriceps injury that would keep him out until the end of the year. The striker, who was a member of England’s squad at the 2021 European Championships as captain Harry Kane’s understudy, would be limited to participating in half of Everton’s matches for the next two seasons.
Having having been sent off in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge, the current Blues coach vowed to go to whatever length to get to the bottom of the player’s fitness difficulties. It wasn’t a quick fix, but after this summer’s ‘factory reset’ and bouncing back from a collision with Emiliano Martinez in his first start back, the 26-year-old is not only back among the goals, but also displaying a poacher’s instincts to knock them in from less than a yard out.
When Calvert-Lewin was younger, there was some disagreement about where he should play – Ronald Koeman famously used him as a wing-back – and, because he wasn’t always a natural striker, some questioned the predatory side of his finishing. It was a different goal than his previous two, but they all count, and Everton must be hoping that for the first time since the ‘lockdown’ campaign behind closed doors, they can start counting on their number nine again.
Thank you.
What’s the connection between prospective US owners and Goodison Park?
MSP Sport Capital’s Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad witnessed Everton’s 2-1 home defeat to Southampton in January, and now 777 Partners’ Josh Wander and Steve Pasko witnessed the Blues’ 2-1 defeat at Luton Town. The American duo arrived in Walton on a rainy weekend wearing trademark baseball caps, but while they’re poised to spend big to acquire a club that has spent more seasons in English football’s top flight than any other, they witnessed a team known as ‘The Hatters’ secure their first ever Premier League win.
Of course, the proposed Blues purchase by the Miami-based financial group has not been without criticism. Just 48 hours after the agreement to buy Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% ownership in the club was announced, Hertha Berlin fans held a large matchday protest, proclaiming: “Josh Wander, the only thing we assure you is our disapproval of you!” On the night of this game, it was reported that Vasco da Gama, a Brazilian team they control, had been punished with a FIFA transfer ban due to late payments on transfers.
There are certainly many questions and reassurances being sought about these relative newcomers in football ownership, but as Wander walked out of Goodison Park for the first time and replied, “Except the result,” whatever your thoughts about him and his company, he had gone one better than the current majority shareholder in at least one respect. Moshiri, the owner of Wantaway, has not attended a game at the stadium during either of the last two managers’ tenures.
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