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Everton’s season finally on the right track – if only they could start well...
That Everton managed to win only five of their first 24 Premier League games was universally considered to be something of a mystery. The absence of a prolific goalscorer may have partly explained the situation, but the fact that they have won four of their last six, including 10 points from the last twelve, suggests that they have merely been finding themselves on the green side of the very narrow plot of land separating a run of results from utter frustration. The Toffees now occupy eighth spot in the table, and David Moyes must be simultaneously feeling a sense of relief while wondering what might have been.
The thought of a side with such a strong mentality, allied to organisation and good quality in most areas of the pitch, being in any sort of trouble come the end of the season may seem beyond the comprehension of most. However, there is no doubt that until only a few short weeks ago, Everton could be described as being too close to the drop zone to feel any sense of comfort. At the worst point of a barren run of results, the side third from bottom got to within three points of them, a margin that certainly qualifies as 'striking distance'. The run of results is timely indeed, and underlines both the potential of Moyes' team even with key personnel missing, as well as highlighting what appears to have become an institutional problem – namely that of making a decent start to the season.
There appears to be no evidence that they are playing as a noticeably more cohesive or effective side in general terms. In fact, many of the Toffees' best performances came in early season affairs where territory, pressure and what would usually be goal opportunities were not converted into something tangible. That they have slotted a 0-1 FA Cup defeat by Reading into the midst of a good run would back up the view that the general levels have not really gone up, but maybe in the Premier League it has been their turn to get the break of the ball and seize the key moments of the match.
In that sense, the current season at Goodison appears to be following the pattern of the last, and Moyes must wish more than anything else that his side could come out of the blocks flying. It is said that in football you cannot win or achieve anything in the first ten matches of a season but you can certainly contrive to flush away whatever aspirations you had at the outset. With it now appearing that fifth place may be needed for a Europa League finish, there is a strong possibility of Everton's early-season inertia coming back to bite them in a cruel fashion. This would only highlight a message that is surely well understood by all at Goodison.
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