The first month of the campaign has been one that has been, to put it kindly, not one the toffees will want to remember. Everton sit 20th in the Premier League after three matches, with a-8 GD. A 0-3 loss against Brighton kicked off the season in all the wrong ways. Ashley Young’s red card and a controversial VAR decision saw the seagulls take three points. Then it was a 4-0 thrashing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the clearly superior Spurs overpowered Dyche and company.
The blues would find their first competitive win of the campaign in a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory against Doncaster Rovers, as three different goal scorers secured Everton’s place in the next round. Then finally, on the last day of the month, Everton played a tactically sound match that saw Ndiyae shine and the attack come together. Coasting to a 2-0 win in the 87th minute, Everton lost 2-3. In what was likely the most back breaking result of recent memory, the blues conceded 3 goals very late on, and lost.
However, the side looked the best they have looked in the league for long stretches that match, and key players such as Branthwaite are set to return soon. There are things to be positive about yet, time to spotlight who impressed most in the month of August.
2ND – ILIMAN NDIYAE – 8 / 23 VOTES
Two new Evertonians received player of the month votes from our contributors, and the new man Iliman Ndiyae slots in with 8 votes. His first competitive matches as a toffee, the former Marseille and Sheffield United man got off to a quick start with life in royal blue. He put in an impressive 27 minute cameo against Brighton, and another solid half hour against Tottenham.
The new man got his first start against Doncaster, and performed fantastically scoring a brilliant goal. He pulled the strings against Bournemouth, linking the midfield to the attack and showing his expansive work-rate as he chased the ball all over the pitch. A minimum 7/10 performer in pretty much every appearance so far, Everton’s new #10 has shown dynamism in attack, an ability to beat players off the dribble, and has given the attack an incisive final ball. My personal pick for player of the month, it is no wonder Thelwell has been after the man for so long.
1ST – TIM IROEGBUNAM – 16 / 23 VOTES
The Toffee Blues Player of the Month, clocking in with an impressive 16 of the 23 votes, is Tim Iroegbunam. The former Villa man came to Everton this summer on a swap deal, as Unai Emery’s squad received Lewis Dobbin in return. I’m not sure anyone saw this as anything other than a depth piece for a thin midfield, and perhaps one for the future. However, Ireogbunam, after an impressive preseason, has inserted himself into the starting eleven and he is seemingly here to stay.
He started the first Premier League game of the season when the blues faced Brighton, and flew around unafraid all match long. The 21 year-old midfielder looked right at home, and put in a solid 6.6 performance in a game that went belly-up for the toffees. He further played a full 90 minutes against Tottenham, and held his own in a match that was never ending anyway except for a thrashing.
His high work rate and ability to track the ball has been supplemented by a knack for finding an assist as well. He has recorded in an assist against Doncaster in the cup, and assisted Michael Keane’s goal against Bournemouth. The young man has been impressive for Everton at a time where someone unknown stepping up is exactly what Sean Dyche needed. The Toffee Blues’s Player of the Month for August ’24.
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