Ben Grounds, Sky Sports: Everton 'have their club back' under Moyes | OneFootball

Sky Sports' Ben Grounds has illustrated the impact David Moyes has had on Everton since returning to the club last month.

Having left the Toffees for Manchester United in 2013 after over a decade with the Merseysiders, Moyes replaced Sean Dyche in the dugout for the club's final five months at Goodison Park, and has recorded four wins, two draws and two defeats in the opening eight games of his second spell.

Everton are 14th in the Premier League at the time of writing; they have recently held Liverpool to a thrilling 2-2 draw in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park and were unlucky not to record a win against Manchester United, having been the better team in that game, as well as beating Crystal Palace. How would you sum up the last few months since the previous meeting of the sides at the end of November?

What a difference 13 weeks can make. It is like chalk and cheese compared to the mood around the reverse fixture under Sean Dyche, when Everton were unable to defeat a Brentford side reduced to 10 men before half-time and, at that stage, without a win on the road.

Dyche won just three games in 19 before he was dismissed; his successor needed just six matches to eclipse that number. As David Moyes took in the joyous scenes at Selhurst Park earlier this month on Everton’s last away outing, energy coursing through his veins, the connection between players, fans and their new (and old) manager was unavoidable.

For the first time since December 2023, back-to-back away Premier League wins have dismantled the doomsday scenario of the man synonymous with Everton for 11 years being responsible for taking the club down before the summer stadium move to Bramley Moore Dock.

Steel at the back, craft and creativity in midfield, and a potency in attack. Eight goals in open play compared to just seven under Dyche in half a season. Even with key personnel missing, Moyes has got everyone in his squad onside and buying into his methods.

He is Everton Football Club to many, including those who were perhaps signed by his predecessors. In masterminding a courageous performance and result in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, the scenes inside the stadium will forever be treasured by those fortunate enough to be present.

The raft of montages as James Tarkowski blasted in his 98th-minute equaliser are still being played on loop. It would not be a stretch to say that fans finally feel that they have their club back.

As you mentioned there, David Moyes returned to the club after 12 years away in January. No doubt the results will have helped, but what has the fan reaction to his return been like?

The results back up the notion that Moyes instantly commanded respect from the moment he swept back through the corridors of Finch Farm, but the man himself has not rested on his reputation.

He has spoken to each member of his squad, included the academy products on matchdays, and the spirit and togetherness have snowballed. Anyone who doubted the appointment has been proven wrong by no other club collecting more points than Everton since Moyes' appointment (after Gameweek 25).

The feeling is similar to when Newcastle sacked Steve Bruce and replaced him with Eddie Howe. A gloom has been lifted and everyone connected with the club feels the direction of travel is only upward.

He has returned to his spiritual home and, having journeyed through Manchester United and West Ham on his way back to Goodison Park, a small carrot among more conventional objectives between now and May is a target Moyes’ players may have set for their manager - to finish above those two clubs that let him go.

How sweet that would taste for the Scot, who has proven himself once again to be the master of man management in a matter of weeks.

With the gap to the bottom three increasing by the week, what do you think is a realistic target for Everton in what remains of the season?

For the first time in years, supporters are looking up rather than down. The team have not been in the top half of the Premier League table since November 2021, so we are not far off nose-bleed territory in relation to the club’s recent struggles.

Moyes’ mission was to preserve Everton's top-flight status in Goodison’s final season and, with each passing game at the grand old lady, the magnitude of that reality is coming into sharper focus - the memories bottled and emotions all the more raw.

It will be hard for any opponent travelling to Merseyside to handle the hostility of these precious final few games after 133 years of history, pride and passion with the team now joined up with its fanbase under Moyes.

The troublesome first half of the season makes talk of an outside European spot still a pipe dream at this stage, but a top-half finish should now be the target as part of a send-off befitting of this auspicious campaign.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping a particular eye on on Wednesday?

It has to be the man in form: Beto. His reaction to being named Player of the Match during the recent win at Crystal Palace further endeared him to his growing admirers.

“Finally!” he beamed as James Tarkowski presented him with the award. There is a warmth and human quality that has always shone through even during his most difficult moments under Dyche, who seldom provided him opportunities to lead from the front.

Under Moyes, the man signed from Udinese two summers ago is reborn, scoring five goals in four games. But it has been his overall contribution which has absorbed the losses of first-team players in other areas and made Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence barely felt.

Once seemingly deemed surplus to requirements, Beto is making up for lost time.

What should Brentford expect in terms of style and shape?

Jake O'Brien has been the big winner since Moyes' appointment, replacing Ashley Young at right-back. His inclusion has added to Everton's aerial potency at set-pieces, but the increased number of goals and shots per game since Dyche's departure points to a brand of football that is far more than direct, dead balls.

The early feature of his second coming was to move Iliman Ndiaye closer to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and, despite both now being replaced in the side due to injury, the message has still been to support and serve the central striker to address the meagre attacking output from the opening 19 games.

Abdoulaye Doucouré and Carlos Alcaraz have both filled the void left by Ndiaye's ongoing rehabilitation from a medial ligament injury, while Jesper Lindstrøm is improving with every game on the right flank, both in and out of possession.

There were moments under Dyche when the football had become pretty unwatchable, but it is a testament to Moyes' impact that the only difference in personnel from the January transfer window is Alcaraz.

There are shades of Manuel Fernandes' first loan spell in how quickly the Argentine has taken to life on Merseyside, with a touch of James Rodríguez about his eye for a pass.

South American flare is often a necessary ingredient to bringing joy back to a football pitch, and Moyes has done it again it seems in finding an attainable gem.

I would like to see James Garner continue his partnership alongside Idrissa Gueye in midfield, with Tim Iroegbunam and Young now familiar with their roles to see out games.

Given the number of senior players missing, Moyes still has very few selection headaches beyond deciding which of Doucouré, Alcaraz and Jack Harrison he uses as an impact substitute behind Beto up front.

The Toffees are unbeaten in the last five Premier League meetings with Brentford and won this fixture 3-1 last season. What's your score prediction for this one?

Brentford, of course, collected a 4-0 win at Leicester recently, making it four successive away Premier League wins for the first time in their history, so I expect two sides to be playing with confidence and free from any real pressure.

But the recent reverse in fortunes for Thomas Frank’s side in their home and away form places an emphasis on the hosts addressing the recent uncharacteristic dip in results in front of their own fans.

Much of that is down, I believe, to a quirk in the fixture list which has now been flipped, but beating this Everton side at present would represent a bit of a scalp.

After the excellent run of late, a midweek visit to London could prove a step too far for Moyes’ boys - but that was also the initial feeling prior to Everton’s last trip to the capital following the euphoric final Goodison derby.

A draw, like in November, feels the most likely outcome. I will go for 2-2.