Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. ‘Welcome Marco’, read the banner that Bournemouth fans unfurled before kick-off at the Vitality Stadium and Herr Rose duly delivered a performance straight out of the Cherries playbook.
Bournemouth may have a fresh face on the touchline but the football that took Andoni Iraola to Anfield is here to stay. High-pressing, high-octane and high on entertainment.
Unfortunately, that entertainment can come at a cost. And in this instance it was two points just as three looked secured.
Rose thought he was about to make the perfect first impression at the Vitality Stadium after Alex Scott stroked home what appeared to be the winner on 41 minutes. It was a clinical counter, after James Tarkowski failed to shackle Evanilson following a direct move up the pitch.
Bournemouth looked the likelier to score as the game wore on too, a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford and block from Hayden Hackney denying them a two-goal cushion.
Alex Scott opens the scoring with a cool finish from just inside the box
James Tarkowski celebrates his late equaliser as Everton salvaged a point
Everton players had earlier been furious when referee Chris Kavanagh waved away appeals for a penalty after a tangle of legs between James Hill and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
They were celebrating, however, after Tarkowski’s stoppage-time equaliser. Several Bournemouth players failed to clear a corner, the ball fell for Tarkowski and he made amends for his earlier mistake with a low finish that beat Djordje Petrovic.
It was much-needed tonic for David Moyes, whose side’s bright to the season is in danger of being overshadowed by doubts over the future of several of his key players.
Young midfielder Harrison Armstrong is the latest to edge towards the exit door, amid interest from Nottingham Forest. That one would go down very badly with Evertonians, who chanted Armstrong’s name throughout here – along with a threat to start a riot if he is sold.
With Manchester City among the clubs circling around Iliman Ndiaye, and defender Jake O’Brien said to want out, expect a busy few days at Finch Farm.
For Rose, who said he ‘appreciated’ his enthusiastic pre-match welcome but had to shuffle off disconsolately at full time, the perfect start on home soil slipped through his fingers.
David Moyes and Marco Rose embrace before their sides fought out a draw
Short-sighted Toffees shouldn’t sanction Armstrong sale
What is the point of Everton? It’s a question that has been asked a lot in recent weeks. And understandably so.
Everton are the only club in England’s top four leagues not to have won a trophy, or been promoted, this century. They have finished between 13th and 17th for five seasons in a row. They last won a European knockout game when David Cameron was in his first term as prime minister.
But whatever the answer to that question may be, it almost certainly does not lie in selling Armstrong.
Despite pre-match rumours that he would be left out of Moyes’ matchday squad amid interest from Forest, the midfielder started here. Armstrong was as willing a runner as ever but struggled to impose himself on the game.
To outside observers, a fee in the region of £40million for a 19-year-old who has played just 21 senior games and is yet to score a Premier League goal may seem too good to turn down.
Not so to those who have watched this England youth international develop, who have seen the maturity that belies his tender years and the mobility that has re-energised Everton’s midfield in the first few weeks of this season.
But more than that, selling Armstrong to Nottingham Forest in the final few days of the transfer window would say an awful lot about where Everton stand in 2026. And none of it good.
Harrison Armstrong is subject of interest from Nottingham Forest
The Toffees have been forced to sell their finest academy products due to financial duress in recent decades. Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, fair enough. Anthony Gordon to Newcastle? Needs must.
But this feels different. This feels like the wilful flogging of an academy gem to achieve little more than a shortcut to satisfying financial rules.
And it feels like a pivotal moment in the ownership of the rarely-seen Friedkin Group, and their perception among the Everton fanbase. A fanbase who belted out: ‘Don’t sell Armstrong, I just don’t think you understand… you’re going to have a riot on your hands’ from before kick-off and at full time here.
Moyes cut a frustrated figure when asked about Armstrong post-match. ‘There’s been an offer,’ he said. ‘Apart from that I don’t think there’s much else I can say, it’s a club decision. We don’t want to lose anybody and we still need to add players to what we’ve got. I’ve been saying it for a while.’
Asked about the fans’ chanting, he replied: ‘I think you always have to consider supporters. There’s also times at clubs when people who are really powerful make difficult decisions. Not all decisions are popular. Sometimes they have to do it for different reasons.’
There’s been little to celebrate for Everton fans in recent years, but a homegrown talent breaking through is at least cause for optimism. It would be foolish to extinguish it.
And another worrying question. If Armstrong doesn’t see himself progressing at Everton, what does that say about the club’s direction of travel?
