Last season Spirit of the Blues was the anthem for Everton's escape from relegation.
As all four sides of Goodison Park rocked with the track in the minutes before kick-off and blue flags glittered in the evening summer sunlight the hope was it would now provide the soundtrack for better things to come. If that is to be the case, patience may initially be required.
This was a season opener in which Jordan Pickford raised a fist to those tens of thousands who now call him captain after he led the team out. It was a game in which Premier League debutant Nathan Patterson showed glimpses of his pre-season promise. It was a match that saw James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil and Ruben Vinagre make their Everton debuts and took place as two new midfielders edged closer to bolstering Frank Lampard's squad.
