Everton had a close shave with relegation last season, finishing a mere four points above 18th-placed Burnley. Just how alarming a period was that for the club?

The final five months of last season were as worrying a period as I’ve ever experienced as an Evertonian. At least the teams that flirted with relegation in the ‘90s had characters that you felt could drag us out of trouble.

It was only in the final nine games, in which Richarlison truly lived up to his talisman status in scoring six goals, where we saw the necessary qualities to avoid going down. The relief was palpable among the players, the manager and the supporters. The fans were in many ways the most decisive factor in taking 14 points from the final nine games last term.

Frank Lampard’s side lost their opening two Premier League games of this season and drew with Nottingham Forest last weekend. Are there signs of last term’s troubles seeping into this campaign?

Lampard is still getting to grips with the size of the rebuild task he inherited. With Richarlison now gone, the first three weeks of the new campaign haven’t exactly inspired confidence that the upcoming nine months are going to be drastically different to the last.

While Everton need to focus on themselves, witnessing the likes of Leeds, Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Brentford all making strong starts leaves Lampard in no doubt about the increased quality in this league; this is a far tougher division than it was last term.

I don’t see the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City taking anywhere near as many points as they did last year. It means no games can be thrown away and yet the feeling among many supporters is that the club have gone into the season underprepared, and that lack of firepower has been very evident.

In failing to beat Forest, Everton have now gone eight league games in August without beating a newly promoted side, but Forest didn’t sit in a low block like some of the previous teams who proved obdurate opponents for a side lacking in invention. Opposition sides will fancy themselves to outscore Everton.

This summer, James Tarkowski has been signed on a free and Conor Coady has arrived on a season-long loan, while Dwight McNeil and Amadou Onana have joined for more than £50m combined. What have you made of the business so far and where else do they need to strengthen?

Lampard has targeted bringing in players with strong character this summer in the hope his new-look side don’t find themselves in trouble again. But there is still a fair bit of work that needs to be done in the market.

Selling Richarlison was tinged with a sense of inevitability given the forward’s ambition to play among Europe’s elite at a time when Everton are still some way off offering Champions League football. The Brazilian was described by Lampard as a “unique talent that is very hard to replace” and it is clear where Everton must find solutions in the final days of the window.

Demarai Gray salvaged a point in the final two minutes of normal time against Nottingham Forest but latching on to a long ball from back to front from your goalkeeper is not going to prove a plentiful and profitable route to goal.

Salomon Rondon was handed a rare start up front but his last league goal was in December 2021. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will return at some point, but it is not really clear from his appearances following injury last term what kind of striker Everton will be getting without the same schemers who provided him the service during his breakthrough 2020/21 campaign.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

Alex Iwobi has continued his excellent form having been reinvented into a midfielder, while the start Nathan Patterson has made as a right wing-back has been very encouraging. 

An area of weakness last term was defending set-pieces, but the arrivals of Coady and Tarkowski has already made a noticeable difference. What Everton now need is for the pair to have an impact in such situations offensively - and Brentford showed at Fulham that they are susceptible to conceding from dead balls despite the arrival of Tarkowski’s former Burnley team-mate Ben Mee.

Then there is the mercurial Anthony Gordon; a delight to watch when he is in full flow, and a dangerous weapon on the counter attack. There is clear talent there, and Chelsea's well-documented interest is understandable, but he is far from the finished article.

Given the scrutiny surrounding Gordon’s future, one of the positives from the dropped points against Forest was that the teenager's attitude and commitment couldn't be questioned. Having failed to score from five shots on target, he will be desperate to get off the mark for the new season.

How is Lampard likely to set up his side at the Gtech Community Stadium?

Seven senior players have already spent time out injured after just three games, adding to Lampard’s unenviable task of shaping the side in his desired image. 

There were times last weekend when it was clear the manager was caught between two stools in terms of his approach. On the one hand, he is seeing the new season as a clean break and a chance to adopt his preferred style of playing out from the back and through the thirds. But in switching it up more regularly to longer passes from deep in that second period to suit a fluid front three, Lampard was acknowledging the personnel he has available are still learning to become confident in playing under pressure in their own defensive third.

Brennan Johnson caught out James Tarkowski in the first half in much the same way Brentford pounced on United during that first period a fortnight ago, while Everton moved to a more direct approach that missed out the midfield when Rondon was replaced in the second half.

Lampard will have watched back those videos of Christian Eriksen being hounded off the ball by Mathias Jensen along with the work rate of Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney with an acute awareness of the risks involved if his centre-backs don’t play with greater speed of thought.

That said, I expect Lampard will stick with his 3-4-3 formation, which ought to allow Jordan Pickford an additional option at restarts. It sounds a very specific talking point, but it proved crucial in that 4-0 thrashing for United so how well Everton beat the press will have a significant bearing on the result.

Brentford won both league encounters in 2021/22, while the Toffees ran out 4-1 winners at Goodison Park in the FA Cup fourth round. What’s your score prediction this time around?

Everton had 19 shots against Forest but an expected goals tally of just 1.43. They will have to be far more ruthless if they are to record a first Premier League win of the season at Brentford.

What was noticeable last weekend was how often Everton got the ball in wide positions but rarely troubled the Forest defence with their crosses in open play, even via the low route. Set-pieces were even worse. Gordon and Gray are not natural wingers in my view, but more like No.10s who drift inside. There was only one noteworthy occasion when Gray put in an early cross that Rondon was some way off reaching.

Dwight McNeil was bought to provide width and those deliveries, but until Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back fit, his role is somewhat limited. It made sense for him to have been taken out of the side last weekend, but the way Aleksandar Mitrovic outmuscled his opponent to score Fulham’s late winner last weekend will give Lampard belief that having McNeil and Rondon on the pitch at the same time could be a combination worth exploring.

So far, all three of Everton's games have been tight affairs. Fans will hope another week at Finch Farm working on those combinations will help the team fall on the right side of what should be another closely fought contest. My prediction is a 2-2 draw.