da doce： Everton's start to the season has been a stuttered one, with small details letting them down at key moments. However, it is these failures that have prevented Sean Dyche from claiming his first Premier League win of the term, something he will seek to rectify fast.
How is Nathan Patterson playing this season?
da cassino： There remain a few problem areas for the former Burnley boss, who was hardly handed a transfer war chest over the summer with which to bolster his ranks, so unsurprisingly he has had to stride into the new campaign well aware of the deficiencies his squad still holds.
The full-back spots in particular remain arguably their weakest areas, with Nathan Patterson and Ashley Young the two enlisted as starters, backed up by the ageing and injury-prone Seamus Coleman, and the sluggish Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Whilst for Patterson, youth remains firmly on his side – as a work very much still in progress following his £16m move Rangers back in 2022 – he still remains somewhat unreliable at key moments despite the dynamism and attacking impetus he can inject.
As such, his 6.92 average match rating for the season marks an admirable return, buoyed by his one assist, one key pass and 3.3 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
Knee Injury (Everton)
1
Ankle Injury (Everton)
5
Ankle Surgery (Everton)
10
Quarantine (Rangers)
1
All stats via Transfermarkt
However, what these figures fail to outline is his positional deficiencies, with his youth breeding immense inexperience. Too often he finds himself nowhere to be seen or pushed too far forward, with last year's home clash against Brighton and Hove Albion a fine example of this.
Seeing an opposition crossfield ball come from right to left, the Scotland international jumped forward to intercept, leaving himself in no man's land for Kaoru Mitoma to skip past and score one of the four that Goodison Park would witness in a 4-1 drubbing.
It is also worth noting that, when he has pushed forward, he has only mustered a cross-success rate of 14%. With a hulking striker like Beto now in the mix, the squad will be reliant on his delivery.
Not only is the 21-year-old prone to moments like this often, but his injury record for someone so young marks him out as even more of a liability, suggesting that Dyche could do with finding someone else to ease his ailments in this right-back role.
How good is James Garner?
Fortunately, in James Garner, he arguably has the perfect answer, with the England youth international having starred in that role during his country's recent success at the U21 European Championships.
The 22-year-old joined from Manchester United in the 2022 summer, with the £15m expended expected to mark a fine investment in his quality and potential. After all, the term prior had seen him help Nottingham Forest earn promotion from the Championship, as he recorded 12 goal contributions alongside two key passes and 1.8 tackles per game all from midfield, via Sofascore.
Then, in that aforementioned international tournament, his 7.07 average rating was prefaced by a further three tackles per game.
He clearly has the know-how and footballing intelligence to feature in such a role, yet still would retain that "magic" that saw him lauded by journalist George Smith. Lee Carsley, his boss at international level, also praised his ability to cover numerous positions: "What impresses me most about Jimmy is his versatility. He has the ability to play two or three positions.
"He has a lot of different attributes. He can play numerous roles. We didn’t ask him to play a traditional right-back role, it was more hybrid. Certain moments would involve him coming more centrally, like a midfielder. He was able to show different faces of his game throughout the tournament."
His creativity from deep could prove pivotal in finally finishing the numerous chances Dyche's side continues to create, whilst also removing a key liability – like Patterson – until he is deemed up to the requisite level for a side set to be once again scrapping relegation.