Thierno Barry, who has five goals for Everton this season, was back on the scoresheet in the 3-3 draw with Blackburn Rovers in the behind-closed-doors friendly. Online footage has also emerged of him training with his own personal coach.
Barry's hunger to improve
He is Everton's centre-forward now. He wears 11 at the moment but he is the number nine and has already shown this year that he can score with different parts of his body.
It is a new, modern thing with these individual coaches on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The footage just shows that he is hungry though – hopefully the Everton coaching staff are involved in that and know what he is up to!
Balancing extra work with club duties
He hopes Barry is not doing too much but it shows he still wants to learn and improve himself. As long as he and Everton are in sync over what he is doing away from Finch Farm and he does not pick up any injuries, he is all for that.
Barry wants to impress and David Moyes wants players who are prepared to open their ears and learn. Barry is doing that and whether you like him or not, he is the one who has got to score the goals for the team and will have targets in his head. If he thinks doing what he is doing away from the training ground will improve him, then good on him.
Upcoming clash with Hull City
Everton return to action at Hull City on Sunday and go into the fixture only one point behind in the table. That was a shock on the first game of the season because Manchester United were expected to run riot, but they were “mauled by the Tigers” and the home fans were loving it and being back in the Premier League.
It was great to see on the day but now Everton have got to show them why they have never been relegated from the Premier League and assert their dominance as the established top flight side, trying to dictate the play. That has been the only real frustration from this season so far – they have let opposition sides dictate them.
Reunion with Tim Iroegbunam
The game is also an early opportunity to come up against Tim Iroegbunam, who was sold on transfer deadline day. The speaker was really pleased with what they got out of him during his time at the club. It was like a swap with Aston Villa for Lewis Dobbin, and it now feels like they got the best of the business from that deal.
He was one of the shining lights last season when he got his opportunity and it felt like he was someone David Moyes believed he could trust to do a job. He was big and athletic with a good engine, and the speaker was disappointed when he left because they would have liked to have kept him in a royal blue shirt as it feels like he has got a lot of potential.
But he has moved on now and it is always difficult playing against a team you have been with and have a connection to. Let's make it tough for him – they know his plus points, but they know his negatives as well.
