Here are your Everton morning headlines for Tuesday, 20 October.
Neville on Ancelotti’s positive Calvert-Lewin influence
Dominic Calvert-Lewin continued his and Everton’s excellent start to the 2020/21 season by scoring a late equaliser against Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Many Blues fans have wondered over the years if he can develop to lead the line for the side, and since Carlo Ancelotti was appointed as manager, Calvert-Lewin has undoubtedly proved that he is firmly on that path.
Gary Neville, speaking on his latest podcast , pinpointed the influence of a top manager being key to the player’s recent improvement.
"They really do improve players and they improve players all the time. A club's greatest investment should be in the coach,” he said. See what else the former England international had to say about Calvert-Lewin’s progress here .
Richarlison suspension presents new challenge
Richarlison was sent off in the closing minutes of the Merseyside derby on Saturday for a poor challenge on Thiago Alcantara.
The Brazilian is now set to miss the next three games, against Southampton, Newcastle and Manchester United. However, it will present other players with an opportunity, as former Blue Michael Ball explained in his latest column .
Ball feels that Anthony Gordon, Bernard and Alex Iwobi will be fighting for the spot in Ancelotti’s team, which illustrates how Everton’s options have improved in recent times.
“It does show you how strong the squad is not that when a big player like Richarlison does get suspended, we look ok,” he wrote. “Last year or the year before, who would we have called upon?”
Everton requested goalkeeper start for under-23s
With Everton having a lot of goalkeepers on their books, it’s going to be hard for them all to get substantial game time.
Jordan Pickford is the established No.1, with new loanee Robin Olsen and Jonas Lossl facing a battle to even be named among Carlo Ancelotti’s substitutes at present.
It will be even harder for Joao Virginia to get a match, even though the 21-year-old is highly thought of by the Blues’ hierarchy.
This explains why goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly asked under-23s manager David Unsworth to include Virginia for their recent game with Tottenham.
Unsworth praised the young stopper after he kept a clean sheet, and you can read what he had to say in more detail here .
