There is no better indication of the progress Everton have made in eight months than the stark contrast between Goodison Park on Thursday and when Newcastle United last visited.
Yet while the two nights have echoes of each other, they tell a story of polar opposites. When Alexander Isak glided through half-tackles to create Newcastle’s fourth, Everton had the hallmarks of a team that had already lost its fight for survival. When Beto’s fine solo run completed a glorious team move this week, he sparked the wild celebrations of a team that refuses to do anything but look up no matter how hard external forces try to drag it down.
I’m not sure I will ever quite admit to thinking Everton were doomed last season, even in the most difficult of times I always thought there was a chance. But walking out of Goodison after that 4-1 hammering was the darkest moment of a torturous campaign. Everton were second from bottom, two points from safety and events both on and off the pitch created the impression that hope was gone – the only thing to cling onto was that this is Everton, surely Everton could not go down?
Everton did not go down. Somehow they survived. Somehow, as Sean Dyche’s plans have suffered knock after knock – takeover uncertainty, deadline day sales, injury and even the most severe points deduction in top flight history, they have continued to build.
But no matter how much progress has been made – and from Brentford to Nottingham it has been clear the surge is a sustained one and not a short-term burst of form – the shadow of that defeat to Newcastle has maintained a menacing presence in the back of my mind.
After that win, a celebratory team photo was shared from the away dressing room that rubbed salt on the wounds as Everton’s fanbase reached its nadir. However these teams came into the money intended to accelerate their climb there is little doubt that Newcastle avoided many of the traps Everton fell into and the club’s ascent was a painful reminder of what could, and maybe should, have been had Farhad Moshiri’s transfer funds been spent with more diligence.
The only way the scenes after the final whistle back then could be scrubbed from relevance was through redemption. Everton achieved that at the first time of asking and they deserved it. On Thursday night it was Newcastle, a side with an 8-0 win and defeat of Paris Saint Germain on its record for this year, that disintegrated under the lights of Goodison. They were the ones suffering the indignation of chants of “ole” and watching helplessly as Dwight McNeil pounced and Jack Harrison pressed and Beto sped.
That Everton should move out of the relegation zone and render the shackles of that 10 point deduction as futile in such an emphatic manner against a team responsible for such recent frustration was of immense satisfaction.
After the match, I asked Dyche whether, given what had happened eight months ago, the win was the most powerful evidence yet for showing how far this team had come in such a short period of time. The Blues boss may not have said it this clearly, but the answer is a resounding “yes”.
Instead, Dyche said: “I think different seasons bring different situations. We changed things in the summer, we tried to find more balance to the squad and I think we have done that. We tried to get a more connected squad and a more connected unit and then connect with the fans. I have spoken endlessly about it because I believe it. I have been in the game a long time as a player, and as a manager now, and I think it is the underbelly of an authentic team and that is what I wanted when I got here and I think you are seeing signs of it. There is still more to come from it, it has still got to continue to grow, but I think it is a very authentic looking group of players.”
He may not have been keen to stress it, but it is hard to believe that Dyche, like with his players and the Blues who watched their side avenge the misery of spring, did not find it particularly satisfying that a night of such importance came against that opponent.
