I was in the away end at Nottingham Forest and saw the future of Everton

The first part of Michael Ball's column focuses on James Garner and the performance of the team in the win over Nottingham Forest

I was in the away end at Nottingham Forest and saw the future of Everton

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Everton still have improvements to make

I was in the away end on Saturday and the positivity and togetherness was there for all to see again.

There is a demand for Everton away tickets at the moment, which just shows that the fans are determined to keep pushing, getting behind the team and behind Sean Dyche. But also to continue to show the disapproval of the 10-point deduction. So the spirits were high.

Watching Everton away under Dyche has been a positive experience so it was no surprise how the game started. We showed our quality and the fans were in strong voice.

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While the fans made their feeling clear again, it was up to the players to go out and perform - and they did that. It wasn't pretty at times. We were dominating and clearly the much better side, so at half-time I was disappointed that we hadn't gone ahead with Beto's chance and more of the dangerous play. Jordan Pickford didn't have to do anything and we defended really well.

Forest were having an off day, they're not the best side in the Premier League at the moment. Still, you have to earn the right to win games and it looked like the match may have been slipping away. We went down to their level and were surrendering possession a bit too easily before Dwight McNeils fantastic goal - the away end went berserk.

We probably got away with a penalty after a foul from Abdoulaye Doucoure. At the time I thought it was a penalty - it was right in front of me. I was surprised it wasn't given by VAR, so that's a bit of luck we needed too.

We got let off the hook at times, especially in the second half. Forest started smelling a bit of blood and if they had more quality we could've dropped a couple of points.

But as Evertonians we don't care about performances at the moment following the deduction, it's about getting points on the board.

The question mark around this squad is that we need it to be fully fit for every game. Against Forest we didn't have that - no Amadou Onana, no Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is our talisman. So you're thinking who is going to step up to the plate? But the defence and midfield were excellent.

Garner can be the future of Everton

James Garner was brilliant going back to his old team, he ran the show.

He was comfortable, showing desire and loads of commitment. He set the tone with the pressing and caused Forest a lot of problems, both on and off the ball. It looks like he is benefitting from a consistent run in the team and a set position in central midfield.

I was really impressed that we managed to sign him last summer. Manchester United didn't really want to sell him, Forest wanted him back after a good loan spell. So it was brilliant to see him come through, not just for the here and now but for the future of the club.

It has taken him a while to get going after a strange back injury last season. But he's a good footballer and unfortunately when you're a good footballer with a good footballing brain you get played all over the place because you've got the ability.

It was probably the Aston Villa game in the League Cup away where he really showed his quality and willingness in central midfield. From that game he has grown in confidence and shown why we brought him in.

He never goes hiding and that's what you want from your central midfielder. You need to go and help your team-mates without taking the easy option and he's got that gift.

He's going to be the future of Everton Football Club, so it's great to see him hitting form - long may it continue.

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