Lyndon Lloyd 13/08/2023 27comments  |  Jump to last

Everton have arranged another behind-closed-doors friendly for this week to give more playing time to the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as he nears readiness for Premier League action.

The Blues added a workout at Goodison Park against AC Monza to their pre-season schedule prior to the curtain-raiser against Sporting CP, matches that afforded Calvert-Lewin the chance to play his first minutes since recovering from his latest injury set-back suffered against Wolves in May, and have now set up another one against Manchester United.

The Everton striker played 45 minutes in each friendly but was not included in the match-day squad to face Fulham in the 2023-24 season-opener yesterday because, as Sean Dyche explained afterwards, he had not yet completed his rehabilitation in time.

Dyche suggested in his post-match press conference that Calvert-Lewin's patient rehab is now over and that he can take the next step towards featuring in a Premier League game this week with the scheduled practice match that will also benefit Vitalii Mykolenko and Arnaut Danjuma who are also short on match fitness.

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“We’re playing a game and there’s a number of players, not just Dom, that need to play in that game," the manager said. "Dom’s different because he’s finishing his rehab but some of the other players need minutes because they need to play having missed chunks of pre-season — Myko and Arnie, people like that, they need football.”

Everton travel to Aston Villa next Sunday for their second match of the new season looking to pick up their first points after the disappointing reverse against Fulham in a game they dominated in terms of chances but failed to convert.

 

Reader Comments (27)

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Habib Erkan Jr
1 Posted 14/08/2023 at 00:27:16
Time to fast track Chermiti's introduction to English football
Jerome Shields
2 Posted 14/08/2023 at 08:31:32
Probably the aim is to build confidence. I would put the defence in solitary confinement for the rest of the week and play them a video of the Fulham goal and the near similar follow-up. It was really bad.
Rob Halligan
3 Posted 14/08/2023 at 08:47:47
Sorry, never saw this thread, but I posted on the Jack Harrison thread that it's against Man Utd.
Mark Andrews
4 Posted 14/08/2023 at 09:28:19
Any chance of signing a striker any time soon?
What a joke of a club we are.
Brian Wilkinson
5 Posted 14/08/2023 at 12:37:56
I wonder if Maupay will be put down as a goal scorer in this behind closed door game as well.

No one has come in for the player yet, but plenty of clubs trying to get Tom Cannon in, do you think they know something we do not know.

Robert Tressell
6 Posted 14/08/2023 at 13:19:23
It wouldn't surprise me if we need to sell or offload Alli, Gbamin, Gomes, Holgate, Gray and maybe Maupay before we bring in others.

That means there's a reasonable chance we don't actually buy a new striker but rely on Calvert-Lewin, Chermiti, Maupay and Cannon (and Danjuma who is versatile) for the striker positions.

If Cannon is as good as many on here believe, that may even make some sense.

Dale Self
7 Posted 14/08/2023 at 13:31:07
True, Robert, we just need to avoid a desperate bad buy now. We have a decent operator in transfers and he is keeping us within our means.
Barry Hesketh
8 Posted 14/08/2023 at 13:37:32
Manchester United have organised a behind-closed-doors friendly against Everton on Tuesday.

The Manchester Evening News understands United will play Everton just a day after facing Wolves in the Premier League on Monday night, with the game viewed as a chance for fringe and younger players to get minutes.

United and Everton are understood to have a healthy relationship and the two clubs played a behind-closed-doors friendly at Carrington in December. The game ended 1-1 and both clubs agreed not to release further details about the contest.

The same agreement, which meant even club TV crews were absent, is set to place be in place for Tuesday's meeting.

Everton came close to relegation from the Premier League last season but survived after Sean Dyche's appointment. They began the new 2023-24 campaign on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 defeat against Fulham at Goodison Park – Source: Manchester Evening News

Wonder if we'll end up with McGuire and Onana ends up at United?

Dale Self
9 Posted 14/08/2023 at 13:40:30
Mings injured supposedly has Villa joining West Ham for the Slabhead Sweepstakes.
Dave Abrahams
10 Posted 14/08/2023 at 13:45:12
McTominay plus cash for Onana would suit me and Everton at the present time.
Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
11 Posted 14/08/2023 at 14:45:46
Villa fans saying they fell apart when Mings went off - hence the 5-1 defeat leaving them below us in the table.

Oh for the days when there was no table until 5pm on the 3rd Saturday of the season – by which time, all clubs had played 3 matches.

Mike Hayes
12 Posted 14/08/2023 at 14:49:57
The Guardian say Man Utd want Onana – checking him out tomorrow… 🤷
Henrik Lyngsie
13 Posted 14/08/2023 at 15:10:11
Sell Onana for big money and a free 2-year loan deal for Greenwood.
Will Mabon
14 Posted 14/08/2023 at 15:28:51
"Oh for the days when there was no table until 5pm on the 3rd Saturday of the season – by which time all clubs had played 3 matches."

When was that, Phil?

Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
15 Posted 14/08/2023 at 15:45:08
Oh, sorry, yes Will. You are right. Football only started in 1992 with the Premier League. I must have been thinking about another sport in another time dimension on another planet.

Does my head in when for example Arsenal have played at 3 pm and won and now have one more point than City who are kicking off at 5:30 pm and "City have a chance to return to the top of the table if they can beat Luton Town". If they both played at 3 pm, then not the drama the TV companies need and crave.

Or we have had 3 different teams who have been top of the table this weekend – only because they played their games at different times so some jackass at Sky or BT can big up how exciting the title race has become and state how sure it is going down to the wire as we come to the August Bank Holiday fixtures.

Peter Mills
16 Posted 14/08/2023 at 15:52:17
Will, Phil, I can remember anxiously awaiting that first League table at the start of the 1969-70 season when our 2 away wins at Arsenal and Man Utd hadn't registered in a top spot for us.

I didn't need to worry, as we claimed No 1 with a home win against Palace.

Will Mabon
17 Posted 14/08/2023 at 16:08:28
Phil, Peter,

I really don't remember that at all: late '60s was when I first really studied the tables. I guess that detail passed me by.

Barry Hesketh
18 Posted 14/08/2023 at 16:22:57
I imagine that there was some sort of agreement between the FA/Football League at the behest of the clubs to only publish a table after three matches.

I was always taught that the table after six matches were played gave a reasonable indication of what sort of season a club may have, I have been too scared to look at a table for so long now, due to Everton, that we eat our dinner off the arm of the chair.

Will Mabon
19 Posted 14/08/2023 at 16:34:42
Barry - chairs with arms? We used to dream about chairs with arms. And dinner. Don't know yer born.

That first six games thing – don't apply it to 2020-21!

Peter Mills
20 Posted 14/08/2023 at 16:54:25
Just to be accurate, the first table would be produced on the evening of the 2nd Saturday of the season. This was after 3 games, as the second game was played mid-week.
Will Mabon
21 Posted 14/08/2023 at 17:05:55
Peter,

Nice that there was an actual stable schedule too. Could've been 10 fixtures last Saturday at 3pm, to open the season, but we can't be having that now.

Christy Ring
22 Posted 14/08/2023 at 17:24:17
Players who are playing catch up because of injury, like Dom, Myko and Arne will benefit from this game, and hopefully Branthwaite will start, as Dyche said he needs game time also, as he missed most of pre-season.

Hopefully Dyche will start him beside Tarkowski next Sunday. I wonder will Greenwood be playing? If we looked for him on loan, would it be a step too far, for a top striker?

Dave Williams
23 Posted 14/08/2023 at 19:23:27
But Phil, with us both being great accountants (???) we would work it out ourselves anyway to see what position we were in!
John Kavanagh
24 Posted 15/08/2023 at 16:39:34
Blue Bill setting out his stall and putting Branthwaite and Onana on the table. Saves them the trouble and expense of sending scouts to matches. We, on the other hand, will be ever so grateful for taking whatever wasters they are desperate to offload for a fat fee and top wages in return.

That's why relations between the clubs are said to be so good, like between Russia and Belarus.

Tom Bowers
25 Posted 15/08/2023 at 17:44:12
So much conjecture especially concerning the offensive options.

When will Calvert-Lewin be ''fully fit'' (if ever)?

If not, then how will Harrison and Chermiti be utilised and when?

Dyche has a real conundrum but let's hope the right decision prevails in the next game at Villa as another loss will really piss us all off.

Will the seemingly permanent absentees have their futures sorted out, ie, Gbamin, Gomes and Alli?

Nick White
26 Posted 15/08/2023 at 18:16:00
Hopefully we will see Dom back on Sunday if he did the full 90 today.

A few mentions of Greenwood above. Absolutely not for me after hearing the recording. Awful. Can only see him going abroad as don't think any club in the UK would touch him. Even Man Utd fans are protesting about his possible return to their squad.

Robert Tressell
27 Posted 15/08/2023 at 18:32:31
Seems like a sensible measure to improve fitness levels. Hopefully the Calvert-Lewin, Godfrey, Branthwaite, Myolenko and Danjuma are now more or less good to go for the coming fixtures.

As for Greenwood, he's a cracking player – right up there with the likes of Saka and Foden, but I'm with you, Nick. I don't want him at the club.

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