Will Rooney gives his thoughts on the Toffees' Premier League defeat.
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00:00 Full-time here at Goodson Park on the opening day of the 2023/24 Premier League season.
00:05 Everton begin with a 1-0 defeat by Fulham.
00:10 Disappointing result for Everton because they were the better team for much of the game, certainly the first half.
00:14 But the same old problems that got them into trouble from the past two seasons, not being able to score goals,
00:21 unfortunately still haunted them because they were so profligate in the final phase.
00:26 In the first half they created so many chances, after 33 seconds Neil Mawpay went through on goal and just flash-wired.
00:32 That was a bit of a difficult one but five minutes later, Abdoulaye Dekhoury goes through on goal,
00:37 has options to his left and to his right, James Garner to his right for a tap-in, tries to go for glory instead.
00:42 Instead it's the same efforts by the Fulham keeper, Bernd Leno, to say Everton kept plugging away, they kept creating chances.
00:50 Mawpay has one saved, Michael Keane has one controversially disallowed.
00:56 He put the ball in the back of the net after the Fulham keeper Leno had dropped it.
01:00 But he was a judge to have been fouled by James Tarkowski, something at the final whistle.
01:04 Sean Dyche, Query's wife, VAR wasn't brought in, he couldn't understand why, he just thought that if anything James Tarkowski was trying to get out of the way of the Fulham keeper.
01:13 Second half, Everton weren't as dominant but they created chances, Fulham hit the post and then Everton hit the bar themselves.
01:20 Alex Owobi had a killing effort that was saved by the keeper and the ball fell kindly for Nathan Passon but he couldn't take the chance.
01:27 He saw his effort tipped onto the bar by Leno and ten minutes later Everton are punished.
01:33 On the break, Fulham break down the right, put the ball across and finish it off.
01:37 From there, Everton couldn't really get going again, James Tarkowski put a header not too far past the post.
01:42 They haven't played well but just those problems in front of goal again.
01:46 Dominic Calvert-Lewin absent from the squad, Sean Dyche has been cautious in the build-up about him, whether he'd be involved as the striker.
01:58 Obviously they've been very careful with Dominic Calvert-Lewin throughout the pre-season period, only two 45-minute cameos he made in friendlies.
02:05 Everton ultimately decided not to include him in the squad.
02:08 Yusuf Chimeti who signed on Friday, another one who was left out, Damari Gray, apparently still not fit despite reports suggesting he hasn't been training.
02:18 He's agreed to join Fulham.
02:21 Obviously Dwight McNeil injured, Arnaud Dandumri who came on and looked likely but looked a little bit short of fitness.
02:27 Put one wide at the end, luckily the offside flag spitted his blushes.
02:32 I think everyone in this season survived key for Everton.
02:38 I think no-one's getting carried away.
02:40 If Everton finish 15th, 16th, I think people will be, they're going to the last three or four games of the season as dead rope as people will be pleased.
02:48 There just needs to be steady progress.
02:51 Everton, we know the problems the VADs are in, the financial situation.
02:55 It's having a knock-on effect on the transfer window for Everton, they still need some attacking players in.
03:00 You haven't come away from this game thinking Everton are in real trouble this season because I don't think they will be.
03:06 Sean Dyche, they're going to be competitive in most of the games that they'll be in.
03:11 You just need to source out the lack of cutting edge in the final third.
03:16 At least you can't say they're positive, they created the chances.
03:19 Maybe on another day they'd put them away but maybe some more quality in the final third is needed.
03:25 Get Dominic Calverlue and back fit, maybe another striker in, another winger in, depending on what happens.
03:31 Looks like it's still going to be a busy few weeks for Everton.
03:34 A disappointing one to raise the curtain to, certainly, but I don't think too many fans will be overly concerned by what they see.
03:42 Plenty still to go, 37 games yet.
03:46 But Everton's problems are still not remedies, all the end of the year, Everton 0-1.
03:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]