Frank Lampard has often talked about the balance of his Everton squad since the dramatic end to the 2021/22 campaign, and it seems that now things have completely shifted.
Over the summer, fans have been desperate to see quality additions in multiple areas of the pitch - and at times it's proven quite a frustrating period for all involved. This has not been an easy window to work in for all manner of reasons, and it has transpired that a huge bulk of the work the Blues have needed has taken place towards the end.
At the beginning it was the defence that really came under the microscope, even if a huge chunk of supporters were desperate for some focus to be placed on the midfield. James Tarkowski, Conor Coady and Ruben Vinagre all arrived to bolster numbers at the back - while Dwight McNeil also confirmed his switch to Goodison Park before the beginning of the campaign.
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Since that first game of the season, however, the balance has completely transformed. With the deadline day arrivals of Idrissa Gueye and James Garner secured, suddenly one of the squad's biggest weaknesses seems to have become a major strength.
In that opening match of the season you might recall that options were severely limited to Lampard. Abdoulaye Doucoure started alongside Alex Iwobi, who at that time had not yet shown just how good he would be in that position, with those on the bench not exactly inspiring confidence.
Allan was struggling for fitness having just returned from injury and would surely only be used in an emergency, Jean-Philippe Gbamin seemingly had his writing on the wall for another move throughout the transfer window before a switch to Trabzonspor was confirmed. Lewis Warrington, while a hugely exciting prospect, is still young and can't yet be relied upon for consistent Premier League minutes.
With Tom Davies and Andre Gomes both unavailable for that match, it really showed the gaping hole that the Everton squad had. A 3-4-3 system helped deal with that in some sense to begin the campaign of course - but then Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate all picked up separate injuries inside the opening four matches.
The latter of those issues perhaps pointed towards the formation change that was seen against Leeds United. Davies, Iwobi and new arrival Amadou Onana played as a three across the centre of the pitch and provided a great platform for the Blues to build the rest of their game from.
Lampard said following the trip to Elland Road: "It's something that's always been in my mind. An issue I had probably in pre-season was that we went to play Minnesota United and got beat 4-0!
"But it's a different phase, it's pre-season, we've added since then and the profile of the squad has changed. So it's [the change in formation] not necessarily because of the injury to Mason at the weekend.
"I've spent a lot of time with the staff, we talk a lot and that always has to be something that you look at. Leeds clearly have a lot of energy in midfield, if we played how we had been with two it would have been a lot of work.
"We wanted to have more pressure up the pitch and have more threats in terms of runners up the pitch. I was delighted with the way the players took on the information."
Everton were able to do that with just one addition to their midfield over the transfer window. It wasn't perfect and didn't achieve the three points that many wanted, but it was clear to see the overall tempo of the side and the ability to commit more players into attacking areas was a benefit.
Now, Lampard has Gueye and Garner to potentially add into that mix. With Doucoure still on the comeback from injury and certainly more suited to a three-man midfield than a two, you can certainly see the club using that system a lot more often in the future.
Does it mean we've seen the end of a five-man defence at Everton over the course of 2022/23? Probably not.
When all players in the squad are fit again there are still a lot of centre-backs particularly for the club to consider in their plans. Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate particularly add a different dimension to that area of the pitch with their separate qualities than the currently available options do.
And, the Blues are still keen to be flexible in terms of their strategy. Lampard has spoken multiple times since his arrival that he doesn't see the club's "identity" as being linked to one particular style of play, but rather a set of non-negotiable ideals that can be moulded to multiple systems depending on the opponent.
What the vast improvement on midfield options has finally given Lampard, though, is that flexibility to change things up a little more often. Keeping opponents guessing in the future.
As long as he and his coaching staff can work hard to make the squad adept at switching between numerous styles in the future, then already things are looking better following the transfer window. It might not have been perfect, but this could be seen as a strong platform to progress.
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