An enforced break from action gives Frank Lampard an opportunity to look back at Everton's season so far, and on the whole there's a lot of positives to take.
The transfer window has seen the club improve their defence and midfield options significantly and allowed the manager to change his style somewhat. From a five-man defence, the Blues can now afford an extra player in midfield instead and their most recent performance against Liverpool showed the benefits of that new strategy.
Confusion still surrounds next weekend's fixture against West Ham United and whether the Premier League will be allowed to return, with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II to follow on Monday September 19th. Even if that round of matches is played, though, there will be another break straight afterwards for international games.
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As a one-off, there could be another opportunity for Lampard to test out his new system against a Hammers side below them in the table on the same amount of points. With the positive attitude from a hard-fought Merseyside derby point still prevalent, that could be crucial if those two sides are to meet when scheduled.
But, the real test for Everton will come in the following month. October is packed with fixtures that will ask very different questions of this new squad.
Southampton's mixed beginning to the campaign makes them an interesting prospect to come up against. The last time the Blues travelled to St Mary's too, Lampard was clear that he was not at all happy with the performance his players put in.
He remarked: "We’ve addressed a lot in terms of the way we want to play, but there’s still things you can’t change instantly. Today was really eye-opening in the second half, of where we are and where we want to get to.
"It felt like reverting to type a little bit after we conceded, and I want to change that. So, there’s lots to learn for us."
That makes the next trip to Southampton a very interesting one. Can the Blues prove that they have learned from those mistakes and take the match to their opponents, especially away from home?
Other trips in October include tough journeys to Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, while Fulham have given a lot of sides problems in the opening to this season too - and welcome Everton to Craven Cottage to end the month. At Goodison, Everton host both Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
On paper at least, none of those matches look necessarily easy. That's the nature of this season's Premier League in fairness, with a lot of sides improving themselves over the course of the summer and providing some intriguing individual challenges of their own.
As things stand, sides will probably be thinking the same thing about Everton. They might still be looking for their first league win of the season, but it's clear to see that they are improving their style of play and look a more dangerous prospect.
Six matches will come in quick succession throughout October and they provide a great chance for the side to build some crucial momentum. Who knows, once one victory comes through for the Blues then they might build up something of a head of steam to carry them through.
And another important factor is, of course, that the club will be looking to bring some of their players back from injury over that period as well. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is already back in training, the hope is that Jordan Pickford's problem won't keep him out for too long, Abdoulaye Doucoure could soon further add to available midfield options, Yerry Mina will be hoping to bolster the defence as well.
For Everton's new formation, which has only been in place for two matches as of yet, there's a number of big tests on the horizon. Recent years have seen the side all-too-often surrender the advantage in the middle of the pitch particularly, but that can't be the case anymore.
A new midfield full of energy, vibrant desire and quality must be the cornerstone of where Lampard's side look to progress. Goalscoring is highlighted as the key issue for them to solve in the coming weeks and months, but the clear hope is that Calvert-Lewin and new signing Neal Maupay can step into the void - while Anthony Gordon has started the campaign in very promising fashion with his own prospects in front of goal.
With the break for the World Cup soon to follow after a packed October, it becomes an absolutely vital month to set up the rest of the club's campaign. Make a success of the new system and keep the positive momentum going, and they could build a great platform to build on throughout the rest of 2022/23.
If that doesn't work out, however, then undoubtedly more questions will arise - and perhaps worries will set in a lot more. It's in Everton's hands to avoid any of that, and six matches across 29 days could go a long way to defining the season to come.
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