Here we are back again, another month of football done and it only seems like last week that the Player Of The Month for September was selected. So far we have had Alex Iwobi and Nathan Patterson as our winners of the previous months.
Everton played 6 games throughout the month of October, winning 2, drawing 1 and losing 3. Ending the month at 12th in the Premier League table. Noticeable highlights of the month are obviously the 2 wins, starting off the month right with a brilliant 2-1 win over Southampton at St. Mary’s and the 3-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace at Goodison later in the month.
Poor performances against Manchester United at home in our 2-1 defeat and a infuriating 1-0 lose to Newcastle United at St James Park are moments that all Evertonians and I’m sure Frank Lampard will be longing to forget.
Now let’s get into the reason why we are all here anyways and go through some players who made the difference throughout October.
4th Place – Conor Coady – 1/17 votes
When Yerry Mina got injured in the opening game of the season there were a lot of groans around Goodison Park, with Ben Godfrey already injured also Everton’s Centre Back options were depleting, in steps Conor Coady. The 29 year old Defender on loan from Wolves for the season has been a revelation since joining and has strengthened the Everton Defence with his leadership and rock solid performances.
Coady scored the equaliser in Everton’s 2-1 away win against Southampton which set the team up to go grab the 3 points on the road which is something Evertonians haven’t seen often over the past season. It’s hard to pinpoint a game where Coady hasn’t averaged at least a 6/10 performance and long may it continue with £4.5M buy out option next Summer this signing looks to be a steal so far.
3rd Place – Jordan Pickford – 3/17 votes
Jordan Pickford must be happy to see some stability in front of him in the Everton Defence especially after the chopping and changing of last season. Pickford has kept 3 clean sheets so far this season with 2 of them being in October. Crystal Palace were not able to breakdown Everton’s Defence at Goodison in their 3-0 defeat and most notably Fulham just could not get past Jordan Pickford in the 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage. Fulham managed 24 shots at Everton’s goal with 6 shots being saved by Everton’s number 1
Evertonians will be glad to see Pickford in some good form and so will Gareth Southgate with the World Cup approaching, here is hoping Pickford can continue the fine form and stay injury free.
2nd Place – Alex Iwobi – 4/17 votes
3 Player Of The Month articles now and Alex Iwobi has been involved in all 3. Iwobi has been Everton’s Player Of The Season so far just for the sheer consistency of his performances and how well he has performed. To think a season ago that the Nigerian was more a bit part player under Rafa Benitez and according to Iwobi’s recent interview with the The i Rafa Benitez told Iwobi he was free to leave in the January Transfer Window on loan. Thankfully that didn’t happen.
Alex has contributed 6 assists and 1 goal already this season with 1 goal and 3 assists coming in October. Firstly his stunning goal against Manchester United in the 2-1 defeat at Goodison Park had Everton fans buzzing and are hoping to see more of the same going forward with him adding more goals to his game. 1 assist coming in Everton’s 2-1 win against Southampton and then finally 2 assists and an amazing performance against Crystal Palace in the 3-0 win. Iwobi’s beautiful 1-2 assist for Dwight McNeil’s goal to seal the win for the blues has been replayed over and over again
Iwobinho is truly here to stay at Everton with a new contract likely soon to be on the horizon
1st Place – James Tarkowski – 9/17 votes
Another one of Everton’s newest Defensive recruits ends up on the Player Of The Month list which can only be a testament to Kevin Thelwell and Frank Lampard’s recruitment in the summer. James Tarkowski similar to Conor Coady has been a breath of fresh air in the Everton Defence and has made an instant impact. Signed on a free transfer Everton fans knew they were getting a player who would fight tooth and nail for the shirt and bring some defensive stability to the team.
It takes some doing to knock Alex Iwobi off the top spot especially after the Nigerians impressive contribution stats in the month of October but Tarkowski’s performances rightly deserve praise and with the World Cup soon could Tarkowski potentially sneak into Gareth Southgate’s England side? Some Evertonians will be wanting to see Tarky make the World Cup but I think many will be like myself and would rather see him training at Finch Farm and off in Australia with the rest of the Everton squad.
Well that’s it for the October, we will be back with the November Player Of The Month article in early December. Here is hoping Lampard’s side can pick up some wins with the fixtures left in November.
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