Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United
05:00, 29 Jan 2026
After coming on as a half-time substitute for Everton against Leeds United, you could see straightaway from the moment that Jarrad Branthwaite got on the ball, his calmness and composure seemed to relax everybody around him. Also, he didn’t just pass the ball for passing’s sake, he would wait for the midfielders or striker to find space, so he could pass the ball between the lines, turn and get at the opposition.
That’s down to his football ability. He showed quite quickly how much we’ve missed him so far this season.
Michael Keane has done well and we’ve defended well, but going forwards it’s great to see a defender who is trying to pass the ball forwards to break the lines and get through the opposition. Fingers crossed that Jarrad has come through it unscathed.
One player in my old position who possibly looked burnt out was Vitalii Mykolenko. I’ve given him the plaudits when he’s had a job to do, and he’s stood out in the games against the likes of Bukayo Saka or Mohamed Salah when he’s just had to cancel out one of the opponents’ danger men, he’s great at that.
But we’ve moved on from that approach now. In his four years at the club, we’ve often set up very defensively in our tactics and it feels like he doesn’t know where he needs to be going forward.
His deliveries are very safe, and he just needs to have a bit more belief in himself. He started getting into the game a little bit more in the second half, but his first thought always seemed to be to go backwards.
If you’re an opposition full-back, they’ll want to see Mykolenko turn back. Then, I can set myself and get a breather.
As soon as you start pushing forwards, being proactive and making me run down my side, that’s when I’ve got to either tackle you or stop you in some way and I might give a corner or a throw-in away. As an Evertonian, that also gets the crowd going and keeps the pressure on.
I’ve been there myself as a player. Sometimes, under Walter Smith at Everton, we had five, six, seven defenders and you might be asked to play wing-back and find a way of affecting the game in other parts of the pitch.
We’ve got Adam Aznou as an alternative option but perhaps the return of Jarrad could give Mykolenko confidence to think: “I can go forward now.”
There were mistakes all over the pitch for Leeds’ goal. We didn’t stop the cross, Mykolenko got caught half and half but then with Jake O’Brien not being left-sided, he didn’t come across quick enough, Nathan Patterson was trying to get back into position and Dwight McNeil didn’t track his run.
It was panic stations and there were a lot of errors in there, but with the return of Jarrad, you can see already in the second half, the composure he set. I feel he can also get more out of Mykolenko because he’ll have confidence going forward.
I’ve had that feeling myself as a player, when I’ve gone forward, all of a sudden the opposition have scored, and that stops your from doing it again. I think Mykolenko needs to retrain his brain now because if he goes forward he’s got to commit, but he’s now got a quality defender behind him that will cover him over those extra two or three metres to the left if there’s a counter-attack.
I wouldn’t say that David Moyes has had an easy time with his selections, but over the last few weeks, the team has more or less picked itself with so many players being out. He’s never had the option of having all four of his centre-backs being fit and available.
I thought having the three centre-backs on the pitch at once might have suited us, but I don’t think it worked against Leeds as they were still getting a bit of joy and he then reverted back to a flat back four. It was good to see that the manager tried something though, could he do that away? Possibly.
It’s a great option to have and what we want. If we want to be successful and playing in Europe, we’re going to need two teams of 11 players with quality in all areas.
David Moyes still needs to be careful with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Branthwaite coming back from surgery. Having been out all season, Jarrad will be as keen as mustard to play every minute possible and while we as fans want that too, we also want to keep him fit for the rest of the season as well.
You can call it ‘second day-itis.’ At first, you’ve got the adrenaline of coming back and wearing that royal blue jersey again, but then you might be sore and the medical team will make sure that he’s assessed.
It’s going to take time for Jarrad to get back to full match fitness and rhythm. Now though, for the first time, there is competition for places and if you drop your form, there is someone there to take your shirt.
We know at Brighton, the hosts are going to have a lot of the ball and try and dictate proceedings. We’ll need a lot of good communication and that’s where we want to see our leaders come to the fore.
I think James Tarkowski has been up and down this season. While he’s been fantastic in moments, at other times he’s been a bit overzealous, making unnecessary tackles when they’ve not been required that have changed the momentum of games.
Captain or not, there is the opportunity to make a change. David Moyes has got that option and that’s what you want with a selection headache and something of a guessing game over who he is going to pick in his starting 11.