"In a game between two sides who, for too long, have been lesser than the sum of their multi-million pound parts, the crowd urged Everton over the finishing line."
That was a line from my match report from April, compiled minutes after Jordan Pickford's late save from Ronaldo meant Anthony Gordon's first half goal was enough for Everton to overcome Manchester United and secure a vital three points. It felt like a massive moment in the Blues' season - coming just days after the horrible defeat at Burnley that confirmed the worst fears: Everton were in a relegation battle.
The hope it offered was another false dawn - just like the dramatic win over Newcastle United in the previous home game, the Toffees' predicament got worse before it got better.
Six months later, as Manchester United return to Goodison Park, so much has changed. Not everything - Everton's support that day was sensational and it has reached even greater levels since. Another intense coach welcome is planned for the players on Sunday and it will be just the latest inspirational showing from the fanbase. Last weekend at Southampton, as I was frantically typing my report in the hope of creating enough time to speak to match-winner Dwight McNeil before the players left for home, I could not help but take a minute to stop, watch and listen to the supporters in the away end as they celebrated with the players. Vitalii Mykolenko, Idrissa Gueye and Alex Iwobi were topless. Vocal chords were straining for one last rendition of Spirit of the Blues before the long journey home.
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But while part of the sentiment I expressed all those months ago remains, another has completely changed. Everton no longer feel like a side 'lesser than the sum of its multi-million pound parts'. The squad is far from perfect, performances have still left room for improvement and challenges will arise. This season is only eight league games old and no-one should get carried away. Everton have made progress but so have others, so don't rule out drama and sleepless nights just yet. This is Everton, of course.
Yet the atmosphere has changed and Frank Lampard and those around him have turned this squad into an outfit that feels stronger than the sum of its parts. There are talented individuals responsible for crucial moments - think Pickford's saves and the goals of Gordon, Neal Maupay, Demarai Gray and McNeil. There is also a collective spirit and the sense of a team set up to perform to its best. This isn't a disjointed Frankenstein team made up of the whims and plots of different managers and directors of football, clunking to Premier League survival. It is a group of players willing to fight for each other and the club. While such heart was on show at the end of last season, it feels like Lampard has reached a point where it is less about pragmatism and survival and more about growing and moving forward with those of the squad still left, plus the new additions.
Nothing embodies this more than the match winner at St Mary's. McNeil later told me that, despite the pressure he felt at not having scored for so long, he was buoyed by the belief of his teammates. He wasn't scared to step in for Gordon - he was grateful for the opportunity, which he took in such an emphatic manner. For his brilliance, it was a goal built on the bruises picked up by Mykolenko, James Tarkowski and Seamus Coleman. All three threw their bodies in the way as Southampton players lined up to try and score their second before the ball was cleared and Gray, Iwobi and McNeil did the rest.
The change is also embodied by the presence of Conor Coady and Tarkowski, the Everton 'dads' who have brought the key ingredient Everton's defence was missing last season - not heart, or fight or even talent, but stability. They lead by example, talking their team-mates through the game unfolding around them, and are said to be influential leaders off the pitch as well as on it. Everton have lost three centre-backs to bad injuries this season yet still have the best defensive record in the Premier League. Coady and Tarkowski have been central to that. The returning club captain Coleman, so composed in his first game back since 'that' night against Crystal Palace, adds another experienced leader to the setup.
Manchester United coming to Goodison Park is a big moment in any season. It is a game soaked in Premier League history. Six months since they last visited, the biggest compliment I can give to this Everton side is that they can go into this match with nothing to fear. They are no longer a side in crisis. Three Premier League clubs have already dismissed managers this season and Lampard, all summer touted by many outside the club as a contender to be the first to be sacked, is not even a favourite to be the next to depart. This Everton side will face challenges - this Sunday being a tough one. But it feels like a side built for a purpose and actually working towards it. It also feels like, unlike last year, it is a side that can survive bumps in the road - which is crucial, because there will be some.
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