The Blue Frontier - American Everton Analysis

Deadline day delivered one final dose of chaos for Everton. James and Ryan break down the collapse of Folarin Balogun's proposed move from Monaco, the desperate late approaches for Joshua Zirkzee and Tammy Abraham, Iliman Ndiaye's departure for Manchester City, Jack Grealish's return and the arrival of Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The individual deals matter, but this episode is ultimately about the plan behind them...or the apparent lack of one. Did Everton improve the squad, build for the future or simply raise money while becoming thinner? The discussion turns to the club's recruitment structure, the roles of Angus Kinnear and David Moyes, and what the Friedkin Group may need to change before another transfer window begins. This is a more frustrated Blue Frontier than usual, although Ryan does locate a silver lining or two in the absence of our dearly missed Captain of the Optimism Train. Thanks for listening, as always. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

Everton cruise into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a 4-0 win over Preston North End at Deepdale on August 26, 2026, and The Blue Frontier assesses a rare night of uncomplicated competence. Thierno Barry supplies the headline with a hat trick built on sharp penalty-box movement, while Brennan Johnson adds a goal and an assist off the bench to show a glimpse of why his pace helps Everton's attack. James and Shan examine how David Moyes' side handled possession-dominant football against a compact Preston setup, producing 29 shots and nearly four expected goals, almost entirely from open play. They also discuss James Garner's encouraging return, Tyler Dibling's uneven but useful start and how much anyone should infer from two wins against limited opposition. The conversation then turns to a frantic end of the transfer window: Iliman Ndiaye's reported Manchester City interest, Jack Grealish's possible return, Everton's unresolved right-back search and the baffling prospect of Jake O'Brien leaving without a proper run at center back. The result was comfortable; the squad-management questions are anything but. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

Everton finally break their summer media silence, but Angus Kinnear and David Moyes do not appear to be reading from quite the same script. James and Shan compare Kinnear's claim that the squad is "in a good place" with Moyes' insistence that Everton still have "an awful lot more" to do before the transfer window closes. The discussion centers on the unresolved right-back search, the difference between investment and short-term spending, and whether Everton's recruitment strategy can support the club's stated European ambitions. They also assess the Jack Grealish decision, the risk of selling Iliman Ndiaye this late in the window, and what those choices would mean for Tyler Dibling and Tyrique George. The episode closes with a preview of Everton vs Crystal Palace in the opening match of the 2026/27 Premier League season. With injuries leaving major questions at right-back and central midfield, the lineup may expose how complete this rebuild really is. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

The Blue Frontier brings the full trio back for Part Four of its 2025/26 Everton Team Assessment, turning to the front line and the club's stubborn inability to create enough chances or put the ball in the old onion bag. James Boyman, Shan Khan and Ryan Williams carry forward four recruitment priorities: open-play creation, progression, ball retention under pressure and athleticism. They test Beto and Thierno Barry against Wyscout and SkillCorner data, debate whether Everton should extend Beto or reset at centre-forward, and weigh the romantic returns of Richarlison and Romelu Lukaku against the actual market. Attention then shifts to Iliman Ndiaye, Tyrique George and the increasingly complicated Jack Grealish question. Right wing is the real battleground, with Tyler Dibling's development, Dwight McNeil's future and a sprawling shortlist assessed through film, data, fees and David Moyes' preferences. The conclusions are not unanimous, but the squad-building logic is clear. Players Discussed Centre-Forward Recent transfers and free agents: Gonçalo Ramos, Álvaro Rodríguez, Callum Wilson, Raúl Jiménez Reported targets: Folarin Balogun, Franculino Djú, Christian Kofane, Dušan Vlahović, Gabriel Jesus, Liam Delap, William Osula, Troy Parrott, Santiago Castro, Alexander Sørloth, Ayase Ueda Free agents: Che Adams, Danny Ings, Enner Valencia, Jordan Ayew, Jamie Vardy Relegated-club options: Tolu Arokodare, Taty Castellanos, Zian Flemming, Lyle Foster, Ashley Barnes, Armando Broja Potential loans: Evan Ferguson, Tammy Abraham, Joshua Zirkzee Data and alternative profiles: Lucas Beltrán, Jonathan David Wild cards: Richarlison, Romelu Lukaku Left Wing Current squad and recent business: Iliman Ndiaye, Tyrique George Market comparisons: Anthony Gordon, Yan Diomande, Crysencio Summerville Reported target: Jack Grealish Right Wing Recent transfers and free agents: Harry Wilson, Abdul Fatawu, Karim Adeyemi Reported targets and options: Jacob Murphy, Roony Bardghji, Assane Diao, Esmir Bajraktarević, Ethan Nwaneri, Jarrod Bowen, Jamie Leweling, Dario Osorio, Matías Soulé, Dwight McNeil Free agents: Adama Traoré, Riyad Mahrez, Krépin Diatta Previous targets and possible opportunities: Dilane Bakwa, Johan Bakayoko, Edon Zhegrova, Maghnes Akliouche Wild cards: Tim Weah, Christian Pulisic Data targets: Yankuba Minteh, Mohammed Kudus, Stanley Mills, Nestory Irankunda, Diego Moreira, Tom Fellows, Takefusa Kubo, Konstantinos Karetsas

In what may be an early seminal moment at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton and its support bullied Chelsea to a 3–0 defeat that was as satisfying as they come. Beto netted first with a composed chip over a shaky Robert Sanchez, then capitalizing on a Sanchez howler set up by a marauding Gana Gueye, and Iliman Ndiaye curled a 7% xG shot into the dead corner to really start the party. Jordan Pickford, meanwhile, recorded his 100th clean sheet for Everton and was the difference on multiple occasions, denying Chelsea on 1.34 xG while Sanchez shipped three on 0.98. James and Ryan have a lot of fun with this one: digging into Rosenior's baffling substitutions, celebrating some outstanding individual performances, and fielding a stack of listener comments. There's even a small ode to Chuck Norris, which makes more sense in context. If you want a feel-good recap of a feel-good match, give this one a listen. Up the Toffees. Links: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

The Blue Frontier welcomes Joe Thomas, Everton FC correspondent for the Liverpool Echo, for one of the show's most substantive conversations of the season: part press access deep-dive, part squad forensics, part meditation on what it means to cover a club that spent several years being as much a financial crime story as a football one. Joe unpacks the disconnect between how David Moyes sees Tyler Dibling's signing and how supporters have received it, offers context on why Adam Aznou's lack of minutes genuinely baffles him, and puts Merlin Rohl's post-Villa disappearing act into the framework of a squad asked to serve three different timelines at once. The home form debate gets the treatment it deserves: Joe's game-by-game read of Spurs, Newcastle, Wolves and Bournemouth includes the kind of touchline detail (like watching Moyes spot a problem developing in real time and still not being able to stop it) that you won't find anywhere else. On the Friedkin Group, he traces the shift from early transparency to a more guarded posture and makes the case that the upcoming accounts release could be the moment the new regime finally gets to show its work. There's also the stadium: why Hill Dickinson still needs to feel more Everton, why away reporters arrive equal parts impressed and jealous, and what it's like watching Goodison become a ghost of itself as the women's team tries to make it home. Plus: what Richarlison actually did to Danjuma in the Everton dressing room, the sliding doors moments from the Lampard season, and a frank account of what it's like staring a manager in the whites of the eyes and making a point they'd rather not answer. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

Everton pulled off another road masterclass, edging Newcastle 3-2 in a St. James' Park barnburner that had everything: deflections, drama, and one of Jordan Pickford's all-time great saves. On this week's Blue Frontier, James and Shan unpack how David Moyes' side climbed to second in the Premier League's away table (24 points from 13 trips, with just four losses all season) by leaning on a rock-solid spine. Iliman Ndiaye thrived back on the left (60 touches, 5/6 dribbles, relentless tracking), Jarrad Branthwaite bossed the backline (10 defensive contributions), and the midfield held firm against Tonali, Joelinton, and Ramsey. The timeline? Branthwaite's near-post flick from a corner, Beto pouncing on Nick Pope's howler, then Thierno Barry's ASSisted winner 60 seconds after Jacob Murphy's volley leveled it. But Pickford's 93rd-minute heroics stole the show in a match where Everton soaked up 40% of the game in their own third yet outfought the hosts (27 tackles to 13, 39 clearances to 11). Moyes' tweaks paid off, but questions linger on the Dwight McNeil experiment and long-term squad building. With 40 points in hand, is a home win against Burnley the next chapter? LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

The Blue Frontier is thrilled to welcome Paddy Boyland, The Athletic's Everton correspondent and co-host of the Everton Byline podcast, for our first proper guest episode. Hosts James, Ryan, and Shan dig deep with Paddy in a wide-ranging, insightful conversation. Paddy opens up about his Liverpool upbringing in a family of die-hard Evertonians, his first Goodison memories under Walter Smith's centre-back obsession, and the surreal moments of covering the club he's loved since childhood: interviewing Jordan Pickford, watching Carlo Ancelotti's unveiling, even getting barked at by Marcel Brands to get off the pitch. He reflects on the job's highs and lows, from the nail-biting Bournemouth survival game that left him pacing the press room to the darker days of 777's brinkmanship and the near-collapse scares that tested everyone's nerves. The discussion turns to the Friedkin era: accidental structural changes, Moyes' central role in recruitment, the shift toward Premier League-proven signings (Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall), transfer near-misses (Kudus, Gibbs-White), and why the Hill Dickinson Stadium transition (while a massive upgrade for press and revenue) still carries winter gripes and adjustment pains. Paddy offers balanced takes on Sean Dyche's strengths and limits, defends Thierno Barry against unfair scrutiny, and flags youth names like George Pickford worth watching. With Everton comfortably mid-table despite Branthwaite's long absence and AFCON disruptions, the panel weighs whether the Toffees have quietly exceeded expectations. A thoughtful, look at the club's present and future: plus Paddy's answer to the community's burning question: his favorite fruit. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier