When Everton wanted to bring Jack Grealish to the club last summer they launched a major charm offensive. The Manchester City midfielder was given a tour of the stunning, soon-to-be-completed new stadium and all the stops were pulled out.
Grealish was to be the face of a transformation. The catalyst on the field for a new era. He would be idolised by a passionate fanbase desperate for better days – if he agreed to come.
Then David Moyes got involved and the tone changed somewhat. Grealish was told in no uncertain terms that he would find no favours here. He was reminded that he had barely kicked a ball for Pep Guardiola at City over the past 12 months and that, should he want to nail down a place in Moyes’ first team, he would have to work his socks off and prove himself worthy. The language may have been a little saltier.
While those comments may have triggered a nervousness from those upstairs, waiting for ink on paper, they were music to the player’s ears. He signed and while injury intervened, the rest is history.
There is a perfect storm brewing at the side of the Mersey, powered by what appears to be a perfect match. On one side sits Moyes, who bleeds blue and who sees Everton as one of England’s powerhouses.
On the other is a new, American ownership and more than a dozen new executives whose job is to ensure Everton, up until so recently a basket case, maximises the opportunity and capitalises on the potential which is, all of a sudden, everywhere.
There is a perfect storm brewing at the side of the Mersey, powered by what appears to be a perfect match
David Moyes has electrified the fans again, turning this team into European contenders
| Team | Pl | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Aston Villa | 31 | +5 | 54 |
| 5. Liverpool | 31 | +8 | 49 |
| 6. Chelsea | 31 | +15 | 48 |
| 7. Brentford | 31 | +4 | 46 |
| 8. Everton | 31 | +2 | 46 |
| 9. Fulham | 31 | -1 | 44 |
| 10. Brighton | 31 | +4 | 43 |
| 11. Sunderland | 31 | -4 | 43 |
The last match before the international break, a 3-0 walloping of Chelsea, felt like lift-off for their new home. A feral, Goodison-esque atmosphere, fuelled by outrage at the perceived injustice of the visitors’ points-deduction-swerving punishment for breaching financial rules, was the loudest the Hill Dickinson Stadium has heard.
To say Moyes’ men and their fans were up for it would be an understatement. In the build-up, one senior player had guaranteed victory. ‘This lot won’t know what’s hit them,’ he told a staff member. He was right.
The win has left them eighth. They are dreaming not only of Europe…