- David Moyes' first game as Everton manager ends in defeat against Aston Villa
- Ollie Watkins grabs the only goal of the game and the Toffees fail to score once again.
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When the great Sir Alex Ferguson was replaced by the man nicknamed The Chosen One in 2013, a song was often chanted around Old Trafford. “Come on David Moyes, play like Fergie's boys,” they urged in the stands, until at least things got ugly.
When Moyes came full circle and returned to his old stomping grounds of Goodison Park more than a decade later, the mantra would have been more: “Come on, David Moyes, do anything but play like the Dychey boys.”
The man he replaced, Sean Dyche, was given his marching orders last week after a run in which they failed to score in eight of their last 10 league games. So Moyes, almost 23 years after his first debut here, had the opportunity to get the fans on board from the start by leaving his team free.
The problem was this: they looked no different to some of those turgid performances under the old boss and, as Ollie Watkins led Aston Villa to victory, the task Moyes has in hand suddenly looks a little harder than it might have. have said on the tin. .
Moyes is not to blame for any of Everton's shortcomings given the lack of time he has had on the pitch. And, of course, you will understand the magnitude of the job that awaits you in leading the Toffees to their swanky new stadium as a Premier League club.
But with just one point clear of the relegation zone ahead of Tottenham's visit on Sunday and a trip to Brighton the following game, they also know change must come urgently, or they will begin to inch towards the relegation trapdoor one day. once again. .
It was by no means a bad performance, but those hoping the so-called “new manager bounce” would produce an immediate upturn in form were left wanting when Moyes encountered similar problems that have dogged Everton's last 18 months: solid in an extreme but toothless. lack of creativity in the other.
The new manager's return was fairly discreet with a gentle greeting offered to all four corners of Goodison Park. It felt like it was a really touching moment for Moyes, who loves this club, as he was warmly received in return, but the banter ended there.
Ollie Watkins passes the ball to Jordan Henderson to seal the three points for Aston Villa
It's a tough watch for David Moyes as Everton again fail to find a way to score.
Villa were here to ruin any homecoming and looking for their second scalp as a new manager in a week after knocking Graham Potter out of the FA Cup in his West Ham goal. Unai Emery's men played well and achieved three consecutive victories.
However, their best early chances came from Everton errors. The usually impeccable Jarrad Branthwaite carelessly lost the ball and needed team-mate James Tarkowski to rescue him, then a disastrous back pass from Ashley Young gave Watkins the pass, only for him to fire a shot wide.
Everton's start was almost certain to be slower than in the first game of Moyes' final spell, where David Unsworth opened the scoring in the first minute in a 2-1 win over Fulham. The Scot was 38 years old and was then the youngest coach in the league; Now he is the oldest, at 61 years old.
Instead of 27 seconds, as it took Everton to score on Moyes' first debut, it took them 38 minutes to call Emi MartÃnez into action. Abdoulaye Doucoure's effort was easily saved after a good cross from Vitalii Mykolenko.
Villa took the lead shortly into the second half, again Branthwaite was the perpetrator as he gave away possession and Morgan Rogers fed Watkins. The striker charged at his England team-mate Pickford and scored with confidence.
From there, Everton saw much of the ball in Villa's half, but did almost nothing with it. Centers without direction to the area, passing from one side to another without urgency. Orel Mangala saw one saved by MartÃnez in added time (only his third shot on goal) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also parried one.
Emery's team were far from their best, but they put in an efficient display and that, along with Everton's usual poor finishing, was enough to ruin Moyes' homecoming. Work to be done.